Knowing the importance of voice acting and how the entire industry works are crucial to become a successful actor. This may include understanding the specific work opportunities that exist, who your voice over customers are, and how various voice over projects work.
A voice-over or voice acting is a spoken-word recording offered by an experienced voice actor for a production. It helps content creators to bring stories and characters to life while sharing information with their target audiences. Voice overs are needed in various industries such as marketing, advertising, animation, education, and gaming.
Voice over opportunities is abundant even for multilingual people. Most content creators are realizing the need and importance of voice in today’s world where voice is everywhere. If you have a great voice and you have always wanted to be a voice actor, there are many opportunities out there for you to unleash your talent.
1. Voice over clients
An important step in becoming successful in voice acting, according to Martin Allanson, is to understand your voice over clients. Producers and content creators in need of voice actors for various voice over projects are your target clients. They may be marketing professionals, advertising experts, video game creators, filmmakers, advertising agencies, and more.
A recent report reveals that most clients believe that high-quality voice-overs are essential for a successful project. Besides, more than 71 percent of client agree to the fact that using voice-overs help capture their preferred audience’s attention compared to the impact they would make if they failed to use them. So, how do you succeed in your voice over career?
It’s no secret that the voice over industry is becoming more competitive, especially if you are just getting started and trying to make a big name for yourself. It takes a serious investment of your time and practice to learn the specific skills required to become a prominent voice actor. There are four important elements of a successful voice acting career which you must master. These include;
2. The talent
If you have a voice-over talent, you’ll hopefully identify your unique signature voice. This is the unique voice that represents everything real and authentic about you. In case you have not identified your signature voice, address the issue as soon as possible. It is recommended to consult with a reliable voice over coach to help you unleash your talent.
The more of your talent that shows up in all your vocal performances, the more in-demand your skills will be. This is more than just the character, caricature performance, and stylized voice over delivery. Your talent is all about the straight down to earth vocal delivery you would offer in an important piece of ad copy or an attention-grabbing narration of an emotionally-striking documentary.
No matter how unappealing or boring this might sound, the truth is that mastering your signature vocal delivery creates a relevant, long-lasting voice acting career. So, what’s the secret to nailing your signature vocal delivery?
Take baby steps. Start by recording yourself reading different styles of voicer scripts. Listen to these recordings and choose one that you are most comfortable with how you sound. Make sure that it’s your authentic voice. Remember, it should be the voice the copy style that creates the lowest level of resistance for you as you perform. Also, you may want to work with an experienced voice over coach.
3. The business manager
All successful voice actors are good marketers. After all, marketing your talent and services play an integral role in the overall success of your career. It’s crucial to understand that the market or voicer clients will not come to you. You need to find cost-effective marketing techniques to reach your target market.
You probably have outstanding talent, and you have been waiting for your biggest moment to show up. Guess what? You might have to wait a little longer unless you know how to get your skills noticed by the right audience.
This is the primary you should get in touch with a reliable agent who can serve as your manager. He or she can represent you, create a viable business model, and help get your talent noticed. Remember, you work with your manager or agent, you don’t work for them. The agent must know the most effective marketing strategies and how to successfully reach out to the target market.
4. The sound engineer
Today’s voice over professional is more than just talent. You must be an outstanding voice engineer. To achieve this level of competency, you must undergo comprehensive training on self-recording, production process, and editing.
It’s important to know your voice recording software perfectly, practice your editing, and post-production techniques. That means you need to practice with every tool you have, know different types of audio, and more.
5. The marketing function
To get where you need, you need an error-free blueprint. You may not want to drive to New York City from Los Angeles unless you have an accurate map. Besides, you would take a look at directions on Google Maps and see if there are traffic delays. It is in your best interest to a similar approach when it comes to your voice acting career.
What do you want to achieve? You must specify where you want to end up. You cannot achieve something you don’t know in the first place. Therefore, it’s recommended to write down your goals and plan effectively how to get there. An integral part of this plan is the marketing function. Identify who you want to work for and find the most effective way to attract their attention.
Lastly, it’s time to have fun with your craft. If you don’t love voice acting, everyone will notice, and you don’t expect anyone to work with a voice artist who has no passion. Let your passion bleed into your voice over, and show the world what you got.