Voice Over Blog

You’ve decided you want a great voice for a critical project. Now you think, “Should I hire professional voice talent?” Aunt Susie probably isn’t appropriate, and your best buddy has a pleasant voice but has as much personality as that gray chair in the corner. So, you do some research online and discover there are multiple places for you to find outstanding voice over talent. Good thing you decided not to use “just anybody” for such a critical mission.

Maybe your budget is getting stretched, but here’s the thing: Spending the fair compensation an experienced VO talent commands will ultimately repay you in droves. A professional voice over talent will “elevate” your project to the level it deserves—a level of success.

A Wise Investment in Voice Over

You know what “they” say: You get what you pay for, and choosing a friend or relative or someone on a website thousands of miles away who says they’ll voice for $20 is just not up to your
standard. Is it? You’ve put so much time, effort, and energy into this project that you know you can’t throw caution to the wind and use just anyone.

The voice that will work magic for your product has rhythm and appropriate pace. It emphasizes the right words, leaves a pause for a quick and subtle breath, and injects emotion into the read without overdoing it—it’s a “real person read, that’s not “announcery.” It enunciates, pronounces, and delivers exactly that “right sound” that your project can’t live without. This voice has “style.” This voice talent is versatile, lends authenticity to your brand, and sustains credibility that doesn’t come with text-to-voice or no voice.

Why Hire a Professional Voice Talent

Consider these other key reasons to hire a professional voice talent

1) This isn’t just a “one and done” thing: As a professional voice talent, we read copy a lot—

all kinds of copy, for which all kinds of directors give us all kinds of directions. Don’t follow those, and the talent is out of an audition. Chances are, as talent, we’ve (almost) seen and read it all. But we can’t wait for the challenge of YOUR script because it’s unique in the world of scripts.

2) We’re efficient, and time is money: If you choose someone without experience, you could be waiting for “the right take” a long time. We’ll not only give you a take you want to use, but we can also give you a few of them, and you can choose. Spare yourself the agony of rolling your eyes over a talent who doesn’t come close to reading your copy the way you envision it. Hire a pro.

3) We’ve got all the technical toys: To be successful when dealing with top agencies, casting directors, and other clients, we’ve got to know our stuff—and sound like it. So you can bet we’ve sought out the best technical advisors like George the Tech or Uncle Roy Yokelson to guide us through microphones and placement, interface, soundproofing, software such as Adobe Audition or Twisted Wave, and more. In today’s competitive world of commerce and voice over, we know we can leave nothing to chance in our professional home studios. We love the latest, greatest in technology, those products that help us sound just like you want us to.

Sure, we read your copy, but the final recording we deliver will be as flawless as possible. We know you can’t afford mistakes of any kind, and we’re there to ensure they’re nowhere to be found in the files we send you.

4) We’re all about customer service: Yours. Maybe you need a script written. We’re here for you. Or maybe you just need it tweaked. No worries. You want this when? OK. You’ll have it. Would you like to record with SourceConnect? No problem. You have priorities, and yours are ours. This is our job, and we’re not just doing it “part-time” or for fun.

Oh, and if you need a few pick-ups—maybe the pronunciation isn’t just right, or you changed your mind about the wording of a sentence, no problem, no worries. After all, we’re here to ensure this recording is exactly how you want it.

5) We’ll help you build your brand: A professional leaves lots of space for creative expression with your copy. After all, we’re not just voice over talent. We are voice over actors, interpreting the words of your script with as much conviction as an Oscar- or Tony-winning actor. Whether it’s a voice for your video, a radio commercial, social media blast, having that “human” element in your presentation establishes a valuable connection with the listener or viewer. And it helps inspire loyalty to your brand.

If you’re unsure where to look for voice talent, I won’t be shy about saying, “I’m available.” Let’s do this.

Having a voice over actor for your project can take whatever you are working on to the next level, but how can you make the most out of a voice over artist’s skills? When starting work with talent, it can be hard at first to figure out how to get the best voice over performance. Often, your job is not over after you have simply picked a voice over actor, and you will have to offer some kind of direction to help shape the final product.

Thankfully, you can do many things to ensure a voice over actor has the direction they need to get you the lines you want. With careful attention before and after you hire a voice over actor, guiding the voice over process to get the best performance can be very straightforward.

Make Sure You Have the Right Fit for the Job

Before a voice over actor enters the recording booth, you need to ensure you have the right voice for your type of project. Voiceover actors have different specialties, and the type of voice you select will be appropriate based on the type of work you want to do.

For example, making a car commercial for the Superbowl will require a different voice than one for delicate hair care that runs after a game show. Character voice acting for an animated show or a video game will require different expectations than reading for audiobooks. Some aspects to consider are:

• Age
• Tone
• Accent
• Language
• Gender
• Experience
• Familiarity with Similar Projects

This part is crucial because it is one of the easiest things to do upfront to ensure a good performance from a voice over actor.

Have a Finished Script

Another crucial part of creating a great voice over is to have a finished script. There are cases where some edits need to be made or some parts need to be re-written, but these should be exceptions. Having a finished script will allow voice over actors time to practice their lines, get into character, and take notes. If a script is unfinished or there are too many edits during a recording session, the voice over actor gets less time to record valuable lines. The benefit of a script is that more time can be spent getting the read you want.

Part of having a finished script also means making it readable for the voice over actors you hire. Something with 12-point font on a PDF with no typos and space to write in the margins will go a long way before you even start recording.

Give The Voice Over Actor Context

Giving the voice over actor enough information about the project ahead of time is essential, too. Any information about the type of project can help, and specific details go a long way. The more descriptive you are, the more a voice over actor has to work with.

If it is a commercial voiceover, let them know the audience and general feel the ad should evoke. If it is for a character or a game, give supplemental material about the world and any necessary jargon they need to know. If certain words need to be pronounced a certain way, specify that.

Any available visuals that can give a voice over actor context are also helpful. No matter what work is being done, a visual aid like a storyboard, concept art, or a product mock-up can be invaluable when a voice over actor wants extra information to better prepare for a read.

Context does not need to be from your current project, and it can also be from previous projects. If there is a specific clip from a voice over that you find to be effective, send it to the voice over actor to give them a better idea of what you are looking for.

Communicate During the Recording Session

Give feedback when the voice over actor starts recording. It is unlikely your first take will be perfect and could take multiple sessions. Let the voice over actor know if a read requires a faster pace, a more forceful tone, or emphasis on specific words. In-moment feedback can make the session more productive.

On the flip side, do not hover over a voice over actor and micromanage their craft. As a professional voice over actor, there are moments when you should let them trust their guts and let them explore their lines. Knowing when to provide feedback and when to ease off is critical.

A voice over actor can strain vocal cords if a read involves high-volume sounds. Look out for your voice over actor during recording, and take breaks during more prolonged, intense recording sessions. Well-placed breaks ensure voice over actors can give a hundred percent during a session.

With so many opportunities to put your voice over work “out there,” it’s easy to think, “That’s just great,” but with so much opportunity comes so much competition. You have many more chances to be heard than, say, 15 years ago. So, what’s a great VO talent to do? You want to work, and to do that, you must put in the work. Lots of it, whether you choose a voice over agent or pay-to-play.

Pay-to-Play Is Crowded

Maybe you want to dip your VO toe into pay-to-play, meaning you pay a company to allow you to audition with many other VO talents for paid jobs. The biggest players are Voice123, now owned by Backstage, and Voices. More boutique sites include Bodalgo, CastVoices, and VOPlanet.

Not everyone loves them totally—maybe partially? “People have long complained that online casting platforms make commodities of voice actors,” says voice over guru J. Michael Collins.

And voice artist Gabrielle Nistico says, “There’s really very little to anything that I actually like about the pay-to-play model, and I can tell you it is awful for one’s self-esteem, and it is really, really bad when you find yourself questioning what’s wrong with you. It’s not what’s wrong with you. The question is, what’s wrong with the system?”

The Rhythm of the Algorithm

If you’re determined, and of course you are, you know you’ll actually be connecting with potential clients in ways that you couldn’t do otherwise. Once you subscribe, you’ll have lots of voice over auditions, whose quantity and quality will be determined by “the algorithm.” Friend or foe to you, it’s in control of your fate here, and it can be cruel.

Remember the TV show “The Match Game?” Pay-to-play is that concept on speed. Many say “optimizing your profile” on the site is the key to success. To learn how to do that on Voice123, I highly recommend the awesomeness of the V123 Pros, Natasha and Katherine. They’re highly successful on the platform and have taught many aspiring VO stars how to make the most of Voice123.

If you’re new to Voice 123, which started in 2003, please do take the ladies’ course called “Optimizing Your Experience on V123,” and prepare to spend a day or so going through 15 well organized lessons. You can be successful on Voice123 without this, but hint: It will take A LOT longer without Natasha and Katherine. As Natasha told me, “Voice123 isn’t for the faint of heart,” and I would add, no pay-to-play site is, either.

You can spend $199 a year, $395, $600, $888, $2,200, or by invitation only, $4,950—the first category finds you competing against 3,582 other talents, while the top tire for very seasoned money-earners is only 84 talents. In the more crowded tiers, be prepared to get up early, so you’re not auditioning as number 51 when 50 auditions were requested—the usual number. I found Voice123 ready and willing to assess my auditions and offer positive feedback to me. I haven’t yet put myself on Voices.com, but many successful VO artists love it.

Be a Voice on Voice.com

At Voice.com, founded in 2003, you can be free as a Guest, Premium at $499 a year, or Platinum at $2,999 a year, an invite-only level. One website says the platform hosts more than 5,000 jobs each month for more than 100 languages. Users explain that you’ll pay 20 percent of earnings to Voice.com, no matter the level.

One VO blogger shared a comment from a Platinum member: “I have auditioned over 700 times in the past 12 months and have been hired about 16 times. Of those 700+ auditions, around 270 remained ‘closed’ with no action taken.”

I suppose she had to ask herself, “Is this worth my time?”

Reasons to Go With a Voice Over Agent or Pay-to-Play

If all of the above sounds just too much for you, maybe you think that having an agent will be the answer to your prayers and problems. It’s easy to think, “That agent will just email me with auditions, and I’ll do them, and I’ll get work.”

Hmmm. It’s not quite that simple. True, they can be a part of your VO career, but odds are, you’ll do more for yourself with your targeted marketing. You can find regional and national agents, and top talent may have several. Agents don’t have much time, so when you apply, follow directions completely and accurately. Otherwise, you can eliminate yourself right off the bat.

It goes without saying, but I will: Don’t reach out to agents until you have sufficient experience and great demos. There’s no place for a beginner when a top advertising agency wants you on a live session on SourceConnect. Your agent will take a percentage of your work—it’s how they make money. It’s usually between 10 and 20 percent of the job fee.

Don’t wait for an agent to jump-start your VO career. True, they find clients, interface, and negotiate with them, but you can do that, too. Don’t wait for an agent to reach out to you with auditions. Maximize your time marketing yourself in other productive ways to keep working and sustaining an income you can rely on.

Everyone is trying to stand out these days with products, campaigns, brands, and businesses. With the information overload that bombards consumers daily, any competitive edge for a business can radically shift. One of the simplest ways to differentiate your company is by understanding how voice over impacts your business.

A distinct voice that fits your business needs is a surefire way to cut through to a consumer base already saturated with extraneous information. Voice overs can give your business a flexible and effective method for delivering relevant information to your customers.

What is Voice Over, and What Can It be Used For?

A voice over is any voice line or narration that an audience hears without an actor being seen. People who do voice over work are voice actors or voice talents, and finding the right one for your business or brand voice is essential to making the most of a project.

• Within the voice over industry, there are also many types of voice over genres you can make use of. Some common ones include:
• Commercial Voiceover: These involve advertising a product or a service, and can be done through TV, radio, or online.
• Narration: These are when a voice over covers a technical process, an explainer video, or tutorial/training content. A narration can go through something step-by-step, or it can even be for content like an audiobook.
• Interactive Voice Prompts (IVR): IVR relates to any voice-based system that delivers announcements or prompts. These include voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, GPS voices, app voiceovers, PA systems, and over-the-phone voice prompts.
• Character Voice over: These types of voiceover involve a character voiced by the voice actor. This can be for a mascot for your brand, an animated TV show/movie, or even a video game.
• Promotional Voiceover: Promo voice overs typically cover upcoming events, services, or content. These include trailers for TV shows, movies, video games, or broadcast sports events.

Because of the wide variety of voice over types, there is no limit to how it can enhance your business.

Benefits of Voice Over for Your Brand

There are many ways any of the above types of voice over can help your business. No matter what type of voice over you need, there are vital benefits to using a voice to boost your business.

A recognizable voice over can help establish a recognizable brand. Business owners are focused on the look of their businesses online, but a professionally done voice over adds completeness to your brand’s presence. You can set the tone for your company by using the right voice, so voice over impacts your business consistently.

A recognizable voice helps people remember your business or service and allows people to share your messages more easily with others. Sharing a video with a voice over or sending links containing information about a business becomes much easier when there is a voice for people to remember attached to it.

Professional voiceovers can keep your business’s messaging consistent, too. Using the same or similar sounding voice actors to promote your brand and for internal communications keeps a consistent tone that is easy to market the rest of your messages around.

Connecting to Your Customers

Another effective way to utilize voice over is to match your consumer base through a voice representing your business. If you have access to demographic data showing you who is engaging with your company, then a voice over fitting that demographic can help sell a product, generate buzz for a promotion, or get the target audience to pay attention to what you have to say. You can tweak several aspects of voice over when trying to match a demographic, like age, gender, tone, language, accent, etc.

There are even customer service applications for voice over. If you need an excellent on-hold voice line for your business, voice prompts for frequently asked questions, or a voice for a dedicated app; then quality voice talent is a must. Everyone knows how annoying it can be on the receiving end of a tedious customer service matter, and having an appropriate voice can reduce that tension.

No matter what part of your business you want to focus on improving, voice over is one addition that goes a long way. It can connect you to your consumers more personally, establish a solid and recognizable brand voice, extend your business’s reach across all channels, and even expand your consumer base. The right voice over can quickly bring your business a noticeable return on investment. That’s how voice over impacts YOUR business, and does it well.

The sheer number of scripts Hollywood executives see each year makes the competition pretty stiff. Of the tens of thousands of scripts registered with the Writers Guild of America (WGA), only a few hundred get picked up by Hollywood. Thankfully, there are many ways to get started in scriptwriting and to hone the craft to a refined edge. Writing a script for a movie can be a worthwhile goal, but the task is often daunting. A good script only comes together after a painstaking process that can take a very long time. Often, the final product is the result of innumerable drafts and revisions, but that is only the beginning.

No one writes a script for fun, and the aim is to sell it to a studio or producer. Unless you want to produce and finance the project, you need to get people on board with your idea. You may have agents, studios, and producers in the mix when you consider selling it.

Get Educated, Get Inspired

Before you start spilling ideas onto an empty page, know that many people have already done what you are trying to do and have written entire books about it. There are several books about how to get started in scriptwriting, coming up with ideas, how to get inspired, how to structure a script, etc. Consider reading up on the craft before just diving in. Here are some books to help you start:

• The Nutshell Technique by Jill Chamberlain
• Story by Robert McKee
• Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger
• From Script to Screen by Linda Seger
• The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler
• The TV Writer’s Workbook by Ellen Sandler
• The Coffee Break Screenwriter by Pilar Alessandra
• Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field
• Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds by Michael Hauge
• Your Screenplay Sucks! By Willaim M. Akers

Studying scriptwriting does not have to be entirely academic, either. Go through a list of your favorite movies, TV shows, and novels to see how they are structured. You can get a feel for how a script came to life by simply watching something you enjoy and analyzing it a little deeper.

Generating Ideas and Loglines to Get Started in Scriptwriting

The next step is to start coming up with ideas. Not all of these ideas will evolve into a script or may only be expanded on slightly, but it is essential to have a running list of ideas to which you can always add. Current events, history, your own life, the life of a celebrity, lines from a song, or the public domain are all excellent places to start. Try to write down ideas as they come to you before you worry about expanding any particular one.

Once you have some ideas down, it is time to create loglines. A logline is a story broken down into a single sentence or phrase and is one of the essential aspects of scriptwriting. It should describe the protagonist, the goal, the antagonist, the conflict, and any potential obstacles in the story. Iconic examples, such as the first lines from the opening crawl of Star Wars, are easy examples of what a logline can look like.

Ideally, you never want to have just one logline. Come up with five to ten ideas to turn into loglines and test them out. Ask your agent, friends, or even strangers what they think of a logline and whether or not they would see a movie based on it. Seek out voices from inside and outside the industry to get holistic feedback about your lines.

Making a Story Treatment, Fleshing out Characters, and Creating a Plot

The treatment is another critical part of developing and selling a script. It includes a logline, the title, a 2-5 page synopsis, and the central characters. Treatments should give the highlights of the story and the characters. It should also give a sense of style, lay out the genre, and give the readers an idea of how the story pans out.

Often, the treatment is used for marketing and feedback. Many producers and studios will also read a treatment to see if it is worth investing in. From a structural point of view, the treatment also helps you as the scriptwriter. You can see the whole story and how the characters move through each part. The overview can give you an idea of what to change or where to add more details as the whole script starts coming together.

The characters of the story need to be exciting and empathetic. The audience needs to relate to the protagonist and understand their goals. The antagonist should have their reasons, which must be understandable to the audience. Some characters need to be likable but not alienate the audience.

The script’s plot should be laid out at this point, but structuring it still takes work. Making a beat sheet is a great way to keep all the moving parts in order when crafting a plot. This describes the smaller events that link to bigger ones to create the plot. You can use note cards, a flowchart, or a spreadsheet to organize these events and ensure they flow well into each other.

Get Started in Scriptwriting With Your First Draft

After completing all the other steps, it is time to write the first draft. The draft should be anywhere from 90-120 pages written in 12-point Courier font. There are no set rules for this part other than formatting guidelines based on the type of script you are writing. Producers get dozens of scripts daily and only read the first ten pages unless the script hooks them. Make sure the first ten pages are strong; then, it is all about keeping yourself honest and writing a set number of pages daily or weekly.

Once your first draft is done, take a break. Let the script rest for a few weeks to clear your head. When you come back to it, you will have a fresh set of eyes to look over it and can then start revising and rewriting it. During this stage, you must share your script with others so that you can get a variety of perspectives. Others might catch what you have missed. Once you have rewritten the script a few times, made the necessary edits, and formatted it correctly, you have reached the finish line. Your script is ready to be sent out into the world.