Every time I attend a convention I am asked
How can I become a voice over actor?
So, I thought I would give you some tips on how to break into the biz.
First, why do you want to be a voice over actor? Do you have a passion for acting? An actor’s life is not always glamorous. In fact, it is mostly unpredictable. One day you’re busy and the next, you are waiting tables. Even with voice overs it sometimes makes a difference if you are young, cute, and the flavor of the month.
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Doing voiceovers is a fun business but you have to be realistic. Don’t drop your day job until you are well established. There is fierce competition these days, especially with online audition sites such as Voices.com or Voices123. Now-a-days anyone can become a voice over actor. All you have to do is pay up and start sending MP3’s to audition sites. The problem is, everyone and their brother is trying to do the same thing, so you better be good.
I, personally, am a little put off by pay for audition sites. In the Screen Actor’s Guild, this is a no no. We get paid by the job and do not have to pay to play.
The biggest bang for your buck as far as voice overs go are commercials. If you are dreaming about becoming rich and famous doing anime, dream on. The anime industry is coming to an almost screeching halt unless you are willing to go live in Texas. Unfortunately, our Texas buddies have settled for less than the going dubbing rate, which has undercut the Industry. Commercials offer residuals. They are awesome, especially if you can land a National Commercial. Some people have been known to put a hefty down payment on a house, simply from working for about 15 minutes.
Dubbing (as in anime) is a completely different animal than doing commercials or original animation. To be successful in original animation you have to be completely off the wall like Robin Williams. Be prepared to take improvisation classes.
Dubbing is highly technical. You have to be somewhat musical to get the rhythm to sync the dialogue to match the picture. Try writing scripts for anime. It’s like solving a Mensa puzzle. I did it for 10 years before tearing my hair out. With Pro-Tools and other advanced editing software, it is much easier than it was when I first started in the Stone Age.Pro Tools will and tweak until the track you laid down fits. The problem is ,there is some pretty bad dubbing out there as a result. We used to have to do a loop over and over until it fit, so we got pretty good at it.
To be a voice over actor these days it is becoming essential tohave a professional home studio. That is a whole learning curve in itself and I admit that I am not completely up to speed. I always loved going into a studio with a professional engineer and a director. Now you have to be a full service actor/engineer, director.
I would say your best bet is to start a podcast or go on Blog Talk Radio if you want to hear yourself on the airwaves. It’s free! You create your own celebrity and have virtually no competition. Sell stuff on your blog and you will become a millionaire entrepreneur. (or maybe you’ll earn a few hundred extra bucks a month) It’s all up to you!
If you have any questions about becoming a voice over actor, please leave a comment. Tweet and Share this post. Oh, and click on any of the banner ads. There are some cool ones. As I said, us voice over actors need to eat.
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About Rebecca Forstadt
Rebecca Forstadt, your blog about voice acting actually helps those who want to become voice actors. I find this interesting.
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Thanks Ric. I’m glad it helped. If there is anything specific you want to know about voice acting let me know and I will answer it as a post. You can either leave a comment or go to http://www.rebeccaforstadt.com/about/contact-me/
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So I wanted to know what kind of day job you had before you started being successful at voice acting. Was it the typical waitressing/bartending jobs that aspiring actors go for? Or something else?
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Hi KowKow, Thanks for writing. Day job? I’ve never been a 9-5er. I don’t think I would know how. I did my share of waitressing. I was awful at it. I worked on some big TV shows doing wardrobe but I really wanted to be an actress. Now that I’m older, and don’t have a millionaire for a husband, I support myself as an entrepreneur. I sold cosmetics for a while and now I help people set up WordPress blogs. I’d really just love to take off and go traveling so if you want to leave a donation so I can go to Paris, it would be appreciated. LOL. Hope to hear from you again soon!
Rebecca
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My name is christopher barber, 32, las vegas nv, us marine, model, runway, print, aspiring voice over actor, I would like to know where to begin, as far as trying to locate audition sites, I was told by james earl jones, no kidding around, himself that I should do what I can to try to become a voice actor, that was all I needed! Also how can I go about obtaining my screen actors guild card, I live in las vegas, and am always in contact with famous people as ive been working down on the strip for better than 10 years, but I get asked if I have a sag card, and I say no, and the convo stops there, u have my e mail pls respond. Ma’am
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Rebecca Forstadt
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November 14th, 2011 at 10:33 am
Hi Christopher, Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog and sorry it took so long to get back to you. Thank you for your service in the marines as well. There are online voice over sites such as Voices.com and Voices 123 that make it easy for beginners and non union talent to do auditions. You need to have a way to record from home and a decent microphone. It’s a good way to practice as well. I’m sure you could contact a local agent in Las Vegas to find out what you would need to get some work in your area. There is a voice over actor from Vegas named Dave Courvosier who is very active on social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Make sure to follow him . His website is http://www.courvo.com/
Hope that helps a little and good luck to you.
Rebecca Forstadt
http://www.rebeccaforstadt.com
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Hi, Rebecca,
I have been thinking about working in this business for a long time now (it’s no understatement to say that ever since I was a kid I’ve been dreaming for a career in acting of some kind). Specifically in anime (although that is not all I plan on doing!) It’s just the fact that I don’t live in the US (I live in Canada), and I know the anime industry is big in the US, particularly Texas and others. I know I shouldn’t let country barriers stop me; I’ve also heard from advice I’ve gathered from other sources that it would be a good idea to start local, in theater or radio maybe (I’m working in a play right now). One more thing I’ve heard is that it isn’t really a good idea to move from one country to the US in order to find work as a voice actor. I know other VAs may have differing opinions on this subject, I was wondering if I may have yours as well? I would greatly appreciate it if you would get back to me, and I apologize if maybe I should’ve done more research on this first.
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Rebecca Forstadt
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November 23rd, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Hi Mark, Thanks for leaving a comment. I agree that it’s a good idea to have some kind of acting training. The voice over industry is pretty competitive, especially now that there are online audition sites. However, they may be good to get some practice in. I don’t know that it would be a good idea to go from country to country. See if you can get work in Canada. There aren’t very many anime studios at this time. I would go for commercials as they pay the best. Hope that helps a bit.
Rebecca Forstadt
http://www.rebeccaforstadt.com
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