They tell me I have a good speaking voice, and I know I have a face for radio… I’ve done things like the announcements for voice mail and call directors for a couple of companies I’ve worked for, and figure I could maybe make a part time gig out of this, as well as other commercial voice work?
I have a digital recording studio at home (singer and recording engineer in my spare time), so I could do the production or at least some tracking and demos right here. I’m not quite crazy enough to quit the day job, so my availability for auditions would be rather limited, but I could submit demos easily enough.
Has anyone done any voiceover work? Is it something that one can do as a side job, or would it require a great deal of time commitment?
I know a couple of people who do it pretty frequently, but even then they have a full-time job to pay the rent. From what I’ve heard from them (and from my own limited experience in TV/voice work), the main problem is the irregularity of the jobs. In most cases, a call comes from the agency the day before the client wants to record, so it can be hard to organize a schedule.
My advice would be to give your information and demo tapes to several different agencies. With luck, you’ll get a few jobs at first that may help you to build up some recognition within the industry, which will hopefully lead to more work.
Book: “Putting Your Mouth Where the Money Is”. $19.95
I had to do a few professional voiceovers as part of other stuff I was doing. (Fake Alec Guinness accent, anyone?) I got this book mostly to check I wasn’t making too embarrassing mistakes.
It pretty much explains the whole process of getting into the field, what reasonable expectations are, etc. Bottom line is: if you think you have a good speaking voice, and you can read without making mistakes, and you also can change your voice, you’ve a very good chance of getting work.
Partly_Warmer, good things to know, thank you so much!
I actually just walked out of an hour session in our office’s badly ventilated, un-airconditioned (In Singapore that means something) recording booth. I’ve been doing voice-work for about 6 years now, and STILL I can’t tell you how to get into it without going through an agency.
All the stuff I’ve done (mostly computer-based training manuals for the military, kids edu-ware, and a couple of pilots for a cartoon) was through word-of-mouth recommendation. Folks know I can do a variety of voices, and I have a presence, so when they need a voice person they call me. However, I’ve also had my fair share of folks calling me and not calling back -whatever their reasons may be.
The_Raven: If you have the full studio works at home, methinks you are a step ahead in making that demo tape/disc. I’ve been planning and plotting to do something for years, but without the gear readily available it’s been kind’ve awkward to get off the ground!
I do commercial production for radio and also do some freelance here and there. I suggest putting together a demo and dropping it off at some local ad agencies (that handle audio production). They may be looking for an additional voice or might just keep you in mind when things get busy. The home studio is a big plus, especially if you have decent equipment. I assume you have a good microphone (I use an Electrovoice RE-20), compressor, and some sort of eq/fx processor. What do you edit on? Pro-Tools is ideal. I use Saw Pro at home and Saw Studio Lite at work, but know lots of people who get by with cool edit. I would also add that it’s easier to do radio v/o work if you can produce a finished spot, complete with FX and music. Lots of my old DJ buddies do this regularly.