Tag Archives: voiceover auditions

Voice Over Myths – and why they even started:

I’d like to discuss the three biggest myths in voiceover, because they really distract from the main focus of a truly successful performance. Before that, I’d like to explain where these myths ALL came from. Understanding this will instantly help you understand why they are no longer relevant.
Much of where voice acting began was in tv and radio advertising. Some film narration. The style back then even in film was similar to the style of voice acting. It all connected. It was all – perfect. Polished. Sterilized. Professional. Announced. Perhaps film acting wasn’t exactly like this, but there was certainly a theatricality to it that we now only really associate with stage acting. Film acting, like voice acting, has transitioned into a much more realistic style of expression and behavior. We are in the age of realism in acting now. And, hallelujah to that! We can finally suspend our disbelief properly!

Myth #1: Always stand up when doing a voice over performance.
This one stems straight from those old-school announcers of course. The goal was the booming strong chest voice read. It was all about the celebrated diaphragm! Once again, we are in the age of realism now, and we don’t talk that way ever in our normal conversations. Another factor to support the dispelling of this myth for good is that in real life we talk standing up, sitting down, lying down. The way we should position our bodies while reading a script and doing an audition should reflect the emotional energy of the text. Is it excited? Stand up! Is it warm and sincere? Try sitting. Position your body to feel what you’re supposed to feel energetically, not for fuller access to your diaphragm. This is called voice ACTING for a reason.

Myth #2: Make sure you articulate really well, and sound professional.
Once again, this is an unfortunate carry-over from the days of announcing. When we talk to friends, even coworkers really, we don’t ‘aim’ to sound professional. Our goal in everyday conversation is to convey our thoughts and emotions, period. We are not focused on what we sound like. Therefore we are relaxed. If you want to sound believable in voice acting, you want to sound like you’re not ‘doing’ voice acting the way we used to know it. Just connect with the message. Be there.

Myth #3: You must warm up your voice before your auditions.
Nope. Once again, we talk all day long and from the moment we get up…or at least from the moment we’ve had a few sips of our coffee. Either way, the point is that we are not aiming for a well-oiled machine from which to operate from. We are aiming to service the WRITING. Warm up by reading the script MANY times in your head first. Understand the message. The keywords that emphasize the message. The emotional perspective you have that supports this message.

Acting certainly makes use of “tools”, but let your real focus be on feelings and you will instantly see a greater connection to every script you audition for.

More Mastery of Keywords for Voiceover Success

If you want to book voice over jobs, you need more than just a pretty voice.  Way more.  Acting chops.  Good timing.  Articulation (but not too much).  And an understanding of the voiceover script.  This tells the writer or producer that you GET IT.  How exactly will they “hear” that you “get” the script?  You tell them in each and every sentence by emphasizing the most important words.  How do you know what the most important words are?  (cue the ironic laugh here)  You cross your fingers, pay attention to what you’re reading, and learn a little bit of detective work here at Voiceover Gurus.  Today we’ll go over some possible strategies (and why there is no “exact” strategy) and we’ll also dissect a few scripts.  Ready to peel some voice over onions?  Let’s get started!

First, let’s talk about the “ish.”  There is no specific formula for understanding what the key words are in each sentence, and this is mostly due to the fact that none of these thousands of writers are following an exact formula themselves.  Writers are creative, which means they go by the beat of their own drum, or pen.  Or laptop.  But after casting, coaching, and analyzing my way through thousands of scripts, I’ve begun to compile a few tools for identifying keywords that amounts to a method…of sorts.  Method-ish.

One aspect to finding what is at the heart of the sentence is to determine what is good about the product….what the benefit is.  This aspect usually only applies to commercials, so I promise to cover aspects that are universal to other voiceover genres as well.  These keywords can be adjectives, point out an aspect of the product that is unique to the market, or perhaps even speak to a solution it provides to a common problem.  These are just a few of the possibilities to keep your eyes open for.  While you want to focus on as few keywords  as possible per sentence, there will be exceptions.  Sometimes writers are looking for drama.  This means emphasizing a few words that seem to drive home the point harder.  Another case will be when there are commas in the sentence (see the Traditional Medicinals example below).  Commas are essentially used as a pause, when a writer has a separate, but connected point to make.

One thing that is most likely NOT a keyword is the word “you” or “your” (with a very limited amount of exceptions.)  The reason for this is that most people who are listening to a commercial automatically know that they are the potential “you” that is being addressed.  But what they are really listening for is what’s IN IT FOR THEM.  That means you haven’t arrived at your keyword yet on an empty word like “you.”  Same thing goes for words that are repeated – by the nature of their repetition they are already being emphasized.  It also sounds awkward when you emphasize the same word twice in one sentence, almost as if the listener may be dumb and didn’t “get it” the first time.  Example:  “The phones you want, for whatever you want.”  Try reading it out loud emphasizing just the “you’s” or just the “want’s”.  It will sound absurd.  Now emphasize phones and whatever (the product and its benefit).  Better?  Let’s get back to more of those keywords we want to find….here’s a commercial script for Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat tea:

If, like us, you’re vocal about sustainability, you’ll like that we partner with rural Appalachian families who harvest limited amounts of slippery elm by hand to help, well, make you even more vocal.  Literally.  Plant power for a better you.  Traditional Medicinals.

So – we’ve got our work cut out for us here on this first monster sentence.  Several commas mean several individual points being made by the writer.  If there’s a stand-alone word then obviously it gets attention….you don’t really have to “punch” it or emphasize it in any special way since the pause after it that comes with acknowledging the comma will be sufficient enough to put it on its own platform.  After that you have a choice between the words like or us.  Given what comes after it I would choose us.  The first reason is that they’re clearly creating a connection between their company’s stance on sustainability with your own.  If you’re not convinced, I covered that as well on my second reason – I read it aloud and punched the word like instead.  It sounds as if you’re using it incorrectly, as if you’re talking about someone “liking” them.  It didn’t stand up when actually tested.  The best way to believe this is to record yourself.  It’s hard to hear yourself while you’re in the act of performing/being.  Next I would say the heart of the whole spot is here in the word sustainability, however I would also raise my inflection up higher on the word vocal, as it creates a leading sound….it creates expectation on the part of the listener.  It makes us perk up (thinking…vocal about what?!).  Next I would choose limited and by hand.  I think Appalachian families are important, and we’ll still hear it no matter what, but the exact execution of that sustainability they were promising comes in the form of the “limited” and “by hand” points they’re making.  The last point in that sentence comes in the word more.  It can’t be vocal, because we’ve already made that point.  It’s redundant.  As was just saying that.  The last line before the product is mentioned may break some rules.  It reads like a tag line, and that usually means they’re making their biggest, most memorable point.  The most impactful here if made to choose would be plant and better, because it sums things up in a concise cause and effect manner.  Let’s explore more possibilities with this ad for Naturtint:

Unlike most dyes, Naturtint’s ground-breaking formula brings maximum color and shine to your locks without harsh chemicals like ammonia and resorcinol.  Enriched with natural ingredients like non-GMO corn, oat, and soy, Naturtint provides strength and vitality to even the most damaged hair.  With 29 exclusive shades, what color will you choose?

First keyword here is most, as they are setting up a comparison.  Next would be Naturtint,  maximum, and without.  It obvious we are speaking about color and shine when we are speaking of hair dye, but THEIR dye brings out the MAXIMUM effect.  Same goes for the chemicals.  There are common chemical culprits in the world of hair dyes, and the benefit to using their dye is that you don’t have them(without!). I ignored empty promises like ground-breaking in favor of the RESULTS of that formula.  Same would go for the next sentence – I would favor the actual ingredients over the promise of “natural ingredients” – non-GMO corn, oat, and soy.  Then it would be strength, vitality, and perhaps damaged.  Lastly,  we have 29 and exclusive (every dye company offers shades), and then (rule breaker alert!) YOU.  The reason is that color is a given, as we know, and choices are obvious given the “29”, so by default you can assume they just want to draw the listener in and give them ownership of this possibility.

For one more example of keyword dissection, as well as an understanding of what else it takes to nail a voiceover performance, check this out:  http://www.voiceovergurus.com/guru_blog/?p=80

Voiceover ACTING Part 2

It’s called Voice Acting for a reason, so to continue writing about the best voiceover techniques, I’ll continue writing about the craft of acting. I’m still so chock full of Uta Hagen brilliance, so it’s gonna be Uta Uta Uta for at least this blog article and maybe a few more. I promise you won’t bore of her and her insight into acting.

Insight into acting, for Uta at least, but probably for many acting teachers, is really about the insight into human nature. On a personal level, if you are translating this information for yourself, the pursuit of acting truly begins with insight into yourself. Your character. Your emotions. Your body language. Your voice. Your behavior. Dig deep. As Uta might have said, this pursuit is about finding the essence of who you are and trusting it, respecting it, and working with IT, not putting on a mask. I see this every day with the actors I work with – they all want to be something they are not. They either believe acting is about being something totally different from what you already are (rather, think you are) or they too are subconsciously mistrusting their own selves and what they have to offer, and simply can’t accept that acting may involve their own actual and true selves. I can see the conundrum here perhaps – many actors are in pursuit of a new possibility for themselves, and therefore are trying to escape the very things they don’t like about themselves. But yes, the problem here is that most acting techniques will draw from the well of experience and therefore of developed character that already exist within. Perhaps the very crux then of acting, and therefore voiceover acting, is understanding and acceptance of oneself. Uta elaborates on this problem with self acceptance. She believes this need to stray completely from oneself, to put on a mask, comes from an inherent distrust in our own selves. She suggests that perhaps we all feel we are boring, and that only by becoming something else can we arouse interest from the audience. She uses the example of a cat to illustrate some possible hope in our own depth of character – a party of actors are in the midst of a dramatic moment onstage and yet the audience’s attention is laser-focused on a cat who is following a bit of blowing lint with its eyes. The cat is truly in the moment, and not following any prescribed notions of how to be or what to do. He is in a spontaneous, focused, and forward-moving situation with his attention. The cat is engaged, truly engaged, and therefore captures our attention in a way that the actors onstage who are predictably going through the scene cannot. Uta poses that we can learn from this cat to trust in our own spontaneity – that the only boring thing would be the mechanical execution of our “part”, not the real “us” in action.

For those of you trusting in your SELVES already, I’ve stumbled upon a new site for voiceover auditions and other information related to the voiceover universe at Behind The Voice Actors. I haven’t fully vetted it but I did notice an award given on the site to an excellent voice actor I knew when casting commercials in NYC –John DiMaggio. John now lives in LA, is constantly busy voicing projects such as Futurama, Adventure Time, and Penguins of Madagascar. Here’s to John, who most likely is bringing the best of HIMSELF to his voice work.

Where to find Voiceover Auditions & more

You want to know where to find voiceover auditions, yes?  From whatever small town you are in?  In Portland, OR, and other smaller cities, my voice over students don’t have the benefit of a live casting community.  My newest voiceover students don’t even know what that means.  If you are brand new to the voiceover audition business and you’re wondering how you will fit in to the industry, assuming you have completed your training, read on.  This is beginner level stuff only.

Let’s start with the basics.  If you’re in a small city where there is no such thing as a casting director or a talent agent, you’re not as hard up as you think.  You can still get voiceover auditions right from your own home.  Recording your auditions is a separate beast altogether, and I will write about that another time with the help of an engineer or two.  Basically though, minimal recording software, an affordable mic, some thick curtains or a small closet will be a modest start to setting up your audition-from-home space.  Let’s assume you have that set up for now.  Now what?  These days there are a few pay-to-play sites that make it very easy for the tinytown voice actor like yourself  to find opportunities.  Hey, I said tiny town, not tiny voice.  You have a big, wonderful, unique voice, like no other, and it should be heard!  These sites have a reputation, well multiple reputations, for being…..i don’t even know actually.  People just have a lot to complain about don’t they?  But don’t criticize the medium, just the method.  Some of you need this medium, you don’t really have many alternatives.  So check them out.  Perhaps the people complaining about them just don’t book any auditions.  Eh?  The first of these sites is Voices.com and the other is voice123.com.  These sites will be invaluable to you if you want to wake up to an inbox of emails listing auditions every morning.  You should check them both out and see which personality suits you best.  There are subtle differences to each and you will only discover which is best by playing around on them for a bit.  For those of you who have decided to dedicate 10 hour days to searching for auditions from your new home studio, go ahead and maximize your chances and register for both.  There are some strategies you might want to discover and develop to maximize your opportunities for booking voiceover auditions here, such as knowing when and how fast to submit your auditions before the casting roll becomes so full of takes that there’s no way they’re going to hear your excellent take# 147.  The other important thing to remember is that this is a SUBJECTIVE business.  I know a top notch voice actor from NYC that didn’t book anything for a whole year.  His first job when he did book?  A National Network voiceover campaign that ran for two years.  Voiceover Gold.  Have faith in yourself.

I promised “more” in my title.  Uh.  Okay, you already know about the pay-to-play sites?  Get creative then.  Go to your local Craigslist  page and search under gigs/creative/tv production/etc.  Call all the production companies and studios in your area and ask if they accept demos.  Call the big companies in your area and ask who might be responsible for their in-house training videos and other such corporate narration info.  Go to Voicebank.net and contact every agency listed to see if they accept demos and are accepting new talent for representation at that time.  Well, maybe not EVERY agency.  You might want to skip all the NY/LA ones until you build your resume.  You may be fabulous already, but these huge cities are full of fabulous voice actors that are there in the flesh.  You can’t compete with that.  Unless you have one of those Star Trek transporter things.  Oh wait, if you have one of those, I hope you’re doing something way more interesting with it than hopping from one audition to the next.