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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I just came back from SACANIME where I appeared on Sept 3-5th 2010.  Other guests included Steve Blum, Ali Hillis, Liam O’Brian and Mari Ijima.  This was the first time I appeared with Mari.  We both played the part of Minmei.  She did the original Japanese version Macross, and I did Robotech.

http://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaForstadt/Sacanime

ROBOTECH 25 Celebration

AIRTEL PLAZA HOTEL

Van Nuys CA

September 18, 2010

CLICK HERE

I’m still getting over the shock of hearing about Carl Macek's untimely death. He was the original producer/writer of Robotech. I recently saw him at a party and he looked wonderfully healthy.  Carl, gave me the opportunity to have my 15 minutes, no make that 25 years of fame, when he produced a series that no one had any idea would change the face of anime forever.  Before Robotech, we were just cranking out this strange sort of stuff, we never had any idea of where it was going.  Suddenly, the Robotech phenomenon took over and hasn’t stopped to this day.
Carl was a lovely and very generous soul.  I remember spending the day with him in Philadelphia at one of the first of a series of Robotech conventions.  We went to a delicious restaurant on South Street.  He truly loved to enjoy the good things in life. He’s had the blessing of a love filled marriage with Svea for many years, which is not always possible in our industry.
Because of Carl, I was able to meet so many incredible people including Ulpio Minocci, who was one of the kindest and most talented individuals I have ever met.
I will miss him so much.  He was someone who was so filled with interesting stories and was a true gentleman.
 

Dear Rebecca:
My best wishes for you and your family and friend for this night, for this Xmas!
The best for all!

Sincerely yours, Javier

Thanks for you time in Skype! I really enjoy chat with you!
A dream come true! Sicnerely my best wishes for you, your family and friends!
This is a pic of me in a convention at the Japanese Gardens of Buenos Aires.
Javier / Alois

Dear Ms. Forstadt,

I'm so sorry to bother you. I'm a big fan I am of yours, starting back with Robotech in the 1980s. I know you've had many more successes other than Robotech – your body of work is actually very overwhelming! You've really touched many generations of fans with your work! I saw you breifly at an anime convention a few years ago, but you were going into the restroom, so I didn't want to bother you. You graciously said hi to me, though, which I never forgot.

I'm sure you're very busy, but I would really love to have your autograph. Do you have any type of PO Box or agency I can send a photo and self-addressed stamped envelope to? It would really mean a lot to me, and if you charge any type of autograph fee, just let me know, because I would be willing to include that, too.

Even if you aren't able to get to my request, thank you for taking the time to read this. I may not be able to ever meet you in person, so I appreciate being able to tell you how much your work means to me. Thank you for all of your hard work over the years, and I wish you continued success!

-Jason Scanlon

Hello!

I wanted to say that your new website is looking nice!

I'm a big fan of anime dubs, and the last show I heard you in was Code Geass.
It's too bad that there seem too be so much less anime dubs coming from LA these days, I love the work done by Bang Zoom and the other studios. I hope they can get more projects and I can hear you and the other LA actors in more dubs in the (hopefully near) future!

Oh, and here's a picture I made quite awhile ago, it has pictures of many characters you've voiced:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b179/Balmung_HHQ/rebawest.jpg

Dear Rebecca.
I am soooooo glad that you received my e-mail and gave me those very valuable advice.I am really excited talking to you —–( my God)
Thank you soo much fo taking the time reading my mail and answering my questions. They are really useful advice.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I live in Ottawa, Canada now but I am chinese, English is my second language actually but I don't think my English is too bad and I sometimes get the highest mark in my English class, lol ,=D
I always want to be a voice actor or I can say a kid voice actor who dub for those kid characters in cartoons or any films, dramas.etc. OH, how exciting would that be! … hehe
I am taking dancing and singing class in my spare time now because I thought it would probably be helpful for applying for a voice actor.(on the other hand, these are my hobbies,hehe)
Besides, I'm planning to take some drama classes in the future as well.
These are the things I am doing right now as a preparation.Do have any other advice for me? How can i apply for this job now if it is possible ?
By the way, do you need any special voice training for the job? If you do, could you please give me some tips so that I can follow them?
Thank you sooooo much for answering me !!!!!!!! Your words mean a lot to me.!!!!!!!!!!! (honestly!)
LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
Best wishes
Emily
Hello Dear Rebecca
My name is Emily and I am a 15-year-old girl. I really like your voice acting and I think you are fantastic! (LOVE YOU SO MUCH)
I really admire you very much and you are my God.
I am a girl really love voice acting and the only thing I want to do in the future is to be a voice actor!  I hope to be just like you someday since i so live voice acting! I think this is a really interesting  and special job.
Therefore, I have some questions about how to get into this career and how to do well to be a successful voice actor. I hope you could take your valuable time and trouble to just give me some short answers.Thank you so much.
So if i want to become a voice actor now, but special training I should take?
How and where can i apply for this job and how old I must be to be able to get into this job? (I wish to voice actor for the cartoon characters and especially for those chldren characters because some people had said that I've got a sweet and nice voice.=D)
May I ask that how did you get into the voice actor and when did you get your first chance to dub?
These are my questions and I really hope to receive your valuable answers.They will mean a lot to me!
Again, thank you for your kindness and taking the time to read my e-mail.
LOVE YOU !
Best wishes
Emily

    Thanks for being my friend in Facebook and kindly answering my questions about TMMS and Miss Giggles.
    
    
    Anyways
    
    1. Which Mr Men and Little Miss Characters were your favourites?  Honestly, I don't really know.  I have mainly come in to voice my own part.  They all seem very funny.
    
    2. What do you like about The Mr Men Show either it is funny or a good programme for children and why?   it seems to be.  It has a kind of twisted but funny sense of humor that I know American audiences will like
    
    3. Which do you like about Mr Men? Either Books or TV before you went into voicing Miss Giggles (or you heard of it as you told me)   I have to say that I wasn't really aware of The Mr. Men Show before I started doing the voices.  My kids are 19 and 22.  It's been a while since I sat there watching kids programming.
    
    
    Also, I'd been friends with some of American Voice actors before you, such as Alicyn Packard (She done great voice of Miss Sunshine) and Richard Epcar.

    I've known Richard for about 30 years.  It's hard to believe because I'm only 29. LOL

    and I also heard that the first two Mr Men Show DVDs were coming to America from September, I was hoping to get them for Christmas as either my dad will get them or I'll might get them from Amazon as soon as they appeared after they're released in USA. (If you're wondering, I got the DVD Player that plays Region 1 DVDs aswell as a DVD Player that could play the DVDs I got in the UK)

I have heard its coming out in the fall.
Rebecca

    
    
    Please Reply Back
    
    Daniel Coffey

Hello, My name is Daniel Coffey, from England and 18 years old, also I been liking Mr Men and Little Miss for a while.
 
and I also enjoyed The Mr Men Show since it aired on Channel 5 with British Voices (except Mr Rude and Mr Scatterbrain whom voiced by a American actor which in the US Version), and I also seen the couple of US Clips on YouTube, so I enjoyed both versions.
 
Anyways, Mind I ask some questions?
 
1. What's got you into Mr Men?
 
2. When you start to voicing one of little misses, Little Miss Giggles?
 
3. How do you feel voicing Miss Giggles?
 
4. What will you sounds like whilst you voicing her?
 
5. Who were your friends during the Season 2 Project?
 
 
and I think thats all, Hope you dont mind answering some of them.
 
 
 
Please Reply Back.
 
Daniel Coffey

Just a quick note …Got the poster, thank you!! Nice poster! I was not sure
what to expect, but that was…large….

Poster alone would probably be 25 or 30 dollars….you signing it was icing on the cake!

I'm jealous of your handwriting. Mine is chicken scratch comparatively speaking!

Dan

Hello, I wanted to let you know that I sent you $20 by Paypal, prior to the deadline. I hope this was able to assist you.

Robotech & the Macross saga brought to me an enormous amount of joy, wonder & inspiration; upon originially airing after school & lasting through today.

Thank you so much for your intricate portrayal and wonderful performance of Minmay.

I am greatly enjoying your role as a Tachikoma in the 2 seasons of GIST: SAC. I hope more seasons will come. When I viewed season-1 I was sure I recognized Minmay's voice (Reba West) as the star Tachikoma who was the apple of Batou's eye. But I did not find the actress 'Reba West' credited.

Thankfully for internet I was able to piece it altogether + even find your online presence.

You have made major contributions to some of my all-time favorite & loved anime productions.

warm regards,
-Josh Simpson