You may not have the face that launched a thousand ships but have you the voice to sell a new soap powder or lull a million children to sleep with a bedtime story?
Think about voice-overs for a minute:
# When we call a business, we are often prompted to choose a language: English or Spanish.
# When we shop, an overhead voice tells us what's on sale... at the movies we are asked to silence our cell-phone. Later, a God-like voice informs us that an up-coming movie will take place "in a world" that looks much more exciting than our own.
# Then take hotels - the elevator there has such a distinct way of announcing your arrival to the lobby. She (the elevator) says lobby the way that you or I might say 'chocolate' or 'sexy.' Doesn’t it make you feel as if you've landed somewhere special?
# Take driving, we now have to contend with two women - the boss and that other woman on the sat nav telling us where to go! Even pulling out of the parking garage, a thoughtful voice warns pedestrians that we are not paying attention to them..
# Or take theme parks you're greeted by Star Wars characters, ghosts and goblins, and other Goofy characters whose voices are instantly recognizable to you, oddly enough, when they pose for pictures with you they never say a word!
These are just a few ways that voice-overs touch our lives on a daily basis. But have you ever considered how those voices got there? Each one of the examples involve a specialized artist called a voice-actor. These voice talents use only their vocal range and acting abilities to create the intended theatre of the mind... to share the proper mood, feeling, and sentiment with the audience.
In the past, voice-overs were a perk for actors; consequently clients could only expect RADA type voices to sell their product. Fortunately this is no longer the case and today some of the best and most successful ads. are based on strong provincial accents with all sorts of ordinary people getting the work and proving that genuine accents and intonation can sell effectively.
An increasing number of people have never had anything to do with show business and in order to book voice over jobs, would have had to live in places like London, Hollywood or New York. But that is rapidly changing and today many voice-actors record and upload files from their homes or private studios.
Such is the demand for really distinctive voices that advertising companies are constantly on the look-out for fresh talent and experts stress that a regional accent need no longer be a barrier to a career in voice-overs. Each one can add their own distinctive sound to TV and radio commercials and the ever-growing market for spoken-word cassettes
This World-wide market for the spoken word is causing a shortage of suitable voices to read the material which includes anything from the complete recording of a book to how-to’s on every imaginable subject.
Whether you are a “resting” actor or a student working through university and believe you can compete with the voices you are hearing on commercials, you can go to a recording studio and book a test demonstration tape. This way you will find out from the professionals whether your voice has potential or not.
Your test tape can also be used for posting to potential clients as a demo. Another spin off could be from the recording studio itself, being in the business, it can benefit them being able to pass on details of an original new voice.
Referring to voices, some studio types tend to speak in the phraseology of a pastry cook and words like aroma; flavour and texture are common-place! So try and think how you might sound. Sounds likely to succeed are said to be compared to chocolate cream, wine and even freshly brewed coffee.
Having got this far there are still a few things to keep in mind:
.... All successful voices deliver a script confidently
.... Have good inflection and get the maximum amount of meaning from the script
.... Most importantly they must sound interested in what they are saying and sustain the interest of the listener.
It’s a wide open market and you don’t need a college degree, so what are you waiting for?
mylesgee@eircom.net
.
