Voice overs

Miss~fit

Hi,
has anyone ever done voice overs?
I've done a web search and there seems to be plenty of agencies out there, but is there anything i should look for? does it pay well?

Any help or advice greatfully received.:D

petshopgirlemma

The thought of the competition from the hundreds of out of work performing arts / acting graduates, let alone "resting" actors with agents you're competing against will probably put you off?!!

davedunn

I also would like to have a shot at this. More information and some decent used companies would be great if anyone know of any or have past experience?

Thanks,

David

scuzz

I work as a voice over talent on a freelance basis. It is a tough industry without a doubt. A lot of places will probably want someone with some form of background in broadcasting/acting so you know how to "use" your voice.

I use www.voice123.com which is an international site. On this you can audition for projects through a service which will highlight however many people the client's looking for. Or you'll receive a direct invite, which normally means the client's seen your profile and likes your voice. Although there's no guarantee you'll get the job just because of this.

The money varies. Some places have no budget - a good one for getting some experience - others have lots of money $4000. You would need to be prepared to be paid in various currencies. You'd need to consider this when going for jobs, as if they're offerin $20 and only pay by cheque, you may only end up with a couple of pounds.

You can join this site for free, but when I did that I found I couldn't audition for the invites that came to me. To be a full member, you need to pay around $300 (£150 or there abouts) I have cleared my joining fee and made a profit, but I do have a background in the industry.

The other thing to consider, is most places would like you to use a professional recording studio, and if you don't have ready access to one, you'll either have to invest in setting one up at home, or hiring one out, which can be costly. It would also help if you have a knowledge of editing audio tracks as a lot of companies will request you send them a finished track which means any stumbles are edited out.

Hope this helps

Chloe5

How do you 'learn' to use your voice (voice coach?). My neice has a lovely voice and she has no drama training etc. If her company wants anything done publically, they often ask her to do it.

She would be very interested in this but thinks that there's still some way to go and says there's breathing and voice range, etc. What tips would you suggest or how could she learn to improve her voice?

Many thanks.

scuzz

A voice coach may well help. They can be quite pricey though I think. My friend went to one and it was about £20 an hour.

Maybe she could try her local radio station for advice - although they may say they're too busy to help, but always worth a shot.

A friend of mine even has a voice agent to help find her work, but I've no idea what the cost is of this, or how much work she gets through this.

Does your niece have any demos to provide people with? As many places will want a demo CD/mp3 before even considering her.

DKLS

I hire VO artists on a regular basis, I used to use agencies, but their fees were too high, so now go direct to the artist direct.

Most have their own websites with a number of samples on, in a variety of tones.

E.g

Hard sell
Soft sell
Sultry
Authritive etc

maka_2

i can do something very strange with my voice so strange i have never herd anyone else that can do it and people say it would make a great voice for a disney film. anybody want to use my talents?? pm me