George Washington III - How do I do what you do?

"Wow.....this looks fun! How do I get into this?"

Admittedly, I get that question fairly frequently. I am adapting an email I have used to answer that question to this website...hopefully it will give you a launching point to try it yourself.

I guarantee nothing. This is not the sure fire, foolproof method to do anything but get some information. Your mileage, as they say, may vary. Links to all the books available on Amazon will appear below. Interested in gear? Click here to see what I use.

Book and Web Resources

Starting out, I would take a look at a book by James Alburger titled The Art of Voice Acting. It is a great resource for how to get going and how to train, and includes a CD with sample spots and practice techniques. Another book I would recommend is Word of Mouth: A Guide to Commercial Voice-Over Excellence by Susan Blu and Molly Ann Mullins. Some of the material in it is somewhat dated; for instance, there is almost no mention of CDs or MP3s as audition tools at all. But the basics of it are sound. I also used a company called Edge Studio and bought their entry-to-the-business guide and their collection of scripts. Each is about $20. The scripts are not a necessity, but they certainly are easier than transcribing them yourself from radio and/or television commercials (though that is a good way to stay current). Check all of it out under the Career Building link.

I also recommend a fantastic book, The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording by Jeffrey Fisher and Harlan Hogan, and it also has a lot of great information, even beyond the home recording aspect. Harlan Hogan also has his own book, VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor, which frankly should be required reading for ALL of us just getting into the business. it is funny and informative.

Listen and Practice

Listen to commercials to get an idea of the sounds people are buying. For me, it's tough, since I am normally listening to NPR, but hey... you gotta sacrifice. Also, check out the talent demos at the studios on my Links page. Yes, you will see many of the same names on all of these sites! These are the working actors who are getting jobs. You can hear all the styles they use, and start incorporating things into your own repertoire.

Practice, practice. Work on "cold reads," where you don't get to practice a spot over and over. That's how the REAL world works. Work on keeping your vocal energy up. Work on “reading ahead,” seeing what you are going to read in the next line so you can adjust your inflection properly when leading longer scripts. Start thinking about the types of scripts you want to use in your demo. Different characterizations, different styles of read. Take your cues from product reads you hear and see…and mot important of all....

RECORD YOURSELF! There is no other way to get an idea on what you are doing without it.

The Demo

When you're ready, look around your local area for recording studios and give them a call to see if they do voiceover demos. Some of the books I recommend have the names of studios all over the U.S. Do not assume that just because they are recording studio, they can do a good job making your demo; you want someone who is experienced at the job. I can’t stress enough: DON’T do the demo if you are not ready! Though you are not spending much to get it done, you certainly don’t want to waste your time, or the engineer’s time when you get there. Make sure you have something on the order of 15-20 spots to choose from.

Your demo should be about 2 minutes long at the longest. I was given a demonstration on how long people listen to individual spots when looking for a voice….it is typically less than 5 seconds. My demo is actually in two parts: about 2 minutes for commercials, and a minute and a half for A/V narration type work. Your demo should be varied and energetic. This doesn’t mean no slow spots….but each cut shouldn’t be very long at all.

Once you have a demo ready, it is all about distribution. And patience.

Training
If you are interested in training, and you should be, I highly recommend Susan Berkley (''Thank you for using AT&T") at the Great Voice Company in New Jersey She offers an 8 week teleclass you can dial into and various bootcamps and courses during the year in New York. There are others out there, of course, but hers is the one I recommend out of personal, very positive experience. Edge Studios also offers both tele-training and in-studio training in the New York and Washington D.C. areas.





		*"Wow.....this looks fun! How do I get into this?"* Admittedly, I get that question fairly frequently. I am adapting an email I have used to answer that question to this website...hopefully it will give you a launching point to try it yourself. I guarantee nothing. This is not the sure fire, foolproof method to do anything but get some information. Your mileage, as they say, may vary. Links to all the books available on Amazon will appear below. Interested in gear? Click here to see what I use. Book and Web Resources Starting out, I would take a look at a book by James Alburger titled The Art of Voice Acting. It is a great resource for how to get going and how to train, and includes a CD with sample spots and practice techniques. Another book I would recommend is Word of Mouth: A Guide to Commercial Voice-Over Excellence by Susan Blu and Molly Ann Mullins. Some of the material in it is somewhat dated; for instance, there is almost no mention of CDs or MP3s as audition tools at all. But the basics of it are sound. I also used a company called Edge Studio and bought their entry-to-the-business guide and their collection of scripts. Each is about $20. The scripts are not a necessity, but they certainly are easier than transcribing them yourself from radio and/or television commercials (though that is a good way to stay current). Check all of it out under the Career Building link. I also recommend a fantastic book, The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording by Jeffrey Fisher and Harlan Hogan, and it also has a lot of great information, even beyond the home recording aspect. Harlan Hogan also has his own book, VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor, which frankly should be required reading for ALL of us just getting into the business. it is funny and informative. Listen and Practice Listen to commercials to get an idea of the sounds people are buying. For me, it's tough, since I am normally listening to NPR, but hey... you gotta sacrifice. Also, check out the talent demos at the studios on my Links page. Yes, you will see many of the same names on all of these sites! These are the working actors who are getting jobs. You can hear all the styles they use, and start incorporating things into your own repertoire. Practice, practice. Work on "cold reads," where you don't get to practice a spot over and over. That's how the REAL world works. Work on keeping your vocal energy up. Work on “reading ahead,” seeing what you are going to read in the next line so you can adjust your inflection properly when leading longer scripts. Start thinking about the types of scripts you want to use in your demo. Different characterizations, different styles of read. Take your cues from product reads you hear and see…and mot important of all.... RECORD YOURSELF! There is no other way to get an idea on what you are doing without it. The Demo When you're ready, look around your local area for recording studios and give them a call to see if they do voiceover demos. Some of the books I recommend have the names of studios all over the U.S. Do not assume that just because they are recording studio, they can do a good job making your demo; you want someone who is experienced at the job. I can’t stress enough: DON’T do the demo if you are not ready! Though you are not spending much to get it done, you certainly don’t want to waste your time, or the engineer’s time when you get there. Make sure you have something on the order of 15-20 spots to choose from. Your demo should be about 2 minutes long at the longest. I was given a demonstration on how long people listen to individual spots when looking for a voice….it is typically less than 5 seconds. My demo is actually in two parts: about 2 minutes for commercials, and a minute and a half for A/V narration type work. Your demo should be varied and energetic. This doesn’t mean no slow spots….but each cut shouldn’t be very long at all. Once you have a demo ready, it is all about distribution. And patience. Training If you are interested in training, and you should be, I highly recommend Susan Berkley (''Thank you for using AT&T") at the Great Voice Company in New Jersey She offers an 8 week teleclass you can dial into and various bootcamps and courses during the year in New York. There are others out there, of course, but hers is the one I recommend out of personal, very positive experience. Edge Studios also offers both tele-training and in-studio training in the New York and Washington D.C. areas.