Cameron Anthony Park

So I received a phone call yesterday from a friend of a client. They take an on-camera acting class together and I guess they got into a conversation about voice over work. Phone numbers were exchanged and next thing I know, she called me to ask about the basic entryway into this often secretive society known as the voice-over world.

“I’ve been acting for a while. I’ve never done voice over. I didn’t even know it existed until I met (insert successful VO client name). I can’t believe how well they do! And that’s all from voice over, huh? So, how does one get into that business if they’ve never had any previous experience with it?”

Not exactly what this particular caller said, but that layer of equal parts curiosity, skepticism and eventual bewilderment always exists. Always. I had it when I was first introduced to this niche industry and every one and anyone who’s ever discovered it (often times by accident) has gone through this very similar process of emotions.

As I began answering her questions and leading her to a handful of helpful sites and names I couldn’t help but begin to write this entry simultaneously in my head.

So I want to make money doing Voice-Over. Where should I start?

1) Get voice-over training.

Even if it’s an introduction course. Voice-over is different from other forms of acting. It’s not as complex as rocket science (or putting together a coffee table from IKEA) but there are certain skills one needs to be exposed to in order to understand their abilities and what they can offer to the business at hand.

Plus, you want to not waste your time and make some easy money right?

Check out some of the local courses offered here. Personally I’ve audited courses from a few of these places and coaches but the only ones that really stick out as worthwhile (from both personal experience and insider word of mouth) are from Kalmenson, Lori Tritel and The Tobias Group. Prices vary and I don’t know if they all offer intro courses (Kalmenson’s does) but it’s a good place to start snooping to find the right opener to your potential VO career.

Generally speaking, a solid intro workshop should cost around the $750 range for several meetings (a four to eight week course with a two-three hour meeting per week average).

2) Listen and pay attention.

Before, during and after your introduction courses, listen to every piece of voice over out there. Radio commercials, TV commercials, cartoons, trailers, documentary narrators, reality show VO, etc. They’re all different. Start with radio commercials. Listen to the characters and how the talent plays them. Then listen to announcers at the end of most spots. They sound different in approach, quality and delivery. Listen to the superfast legal tags at the ends of spots.

More importantly, check this site out and snoop around to listen for some modern day voice-over demos of working professionals. This is the end all directory of voice-over talent and agencies in the US and a great place to listen to the top talents of the industry. And it won’t cost you a thing!

3) Get a demo produced.

Once you’ve graduated from your intro to voice over class the next step to voice over wealth is to get a professional demo produced. You can scan through here for a directory of options.

Demos could cost anywhere from around $800 to as much as $5,000. You don’t have to pay that much. Some morons do. A fair market value for a solid professionally produced demo should not cost any more than $1,500 per demo. I’ve been involved with this business for several years now. I’ve worked with just about every big name in this business and I would not and could not charge more than a $1,000 on average per demo. But some people do. They feel more secure paying a high fee to feel like they bought something of value. Look, they don’t pay these actors to think. When you get a couple demos done simultaneously (one commercial demo and one animation, promo, narration or trailer demo) it may even cost less.

The important thing is that you want to get your demo produced by someone who isn’t just a sound engineer but also someone who’s got a pretty solid track record of being involved with this particular industry. The needs, skills and requirements of this niche business can be very specific so you want to make your monetary investments count.

Check out who they’ve worked with before. Cross check them with Voicebank. See who reps them. This is the information age so you should make the effort to gather the right, helpful information.

4) Get out there and find some work!

So, you’ve taken the classes. You’ve studied your competition. You’ve got a kick ass demo in hand. You constantly flip through the radio channels solely to find commercials (this is when you know you’re serious). So now, what then?

Send it out there for the world to hear!

Go do a little research and find out who the top VO agencies are and their rightful agents. Find other successful VO talents and see who reps them and if they are happy with their agents. Email your demo out to these agents.

Find out who the assistants are. Email your demos to them as well. Most often these guys are the real gate keepers of the agency.

Find out who may be involved with casting voice-over in the ad agencies. Email them your demo.

This is a crazy age where you don’t even really need an agent. Trust me, they don’t do all that much.

Go to Voice123 and submit your demo there. Create a profile and be diligent and persistant. Treat it with respect, like a job you may enjoy. Stay on top of it.

I’m losing steam. Plus I’m getting bored. But the major points are all there. If you have any other questions, feel free to write me here and I’ll try to answer them with great fervor (I didn’t even know what that meant, I just thought it sounded cool but I think it works).

Hey, this is a pretty funny site.

Also…

How the heck can I embed videos from Hulu on my blog?!?!

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