Today’s 5 Questions for a Professional Voice Over Talent are answered by Rick Lance, a professional voice-over talent based in Nashville, Tennesee.

1. The beginning: When did you know you wanted to be a voiceover talent; how did your career begin (please include what year it started) and then when did your passion for voiceover develop into something professional?

In 1993 was singing a songwriter demo in a large Nashville studio (one source of income while trying to find my way to country music super stardom) when the engineer ask me if I’d do this TV Commercial for his desperate client. I said, ” Ok, do you have a tape of it?” He said, no, we have a script.” I said, what… you mean you just want me to talk?” That was my first voice over. I’m sure it really sucked but it worked for the client and I made $100.00.

Although, it made me think more about VO work and what it really is, it took many years for me to take it seriously enough to think I could make a living at it. My music and the commercial photography studio business I had were my priorities. But soon I began taking acting workshops, doing some theater and on camera work.

The funniest thing I did was about a half a dozen cheesy Karaoke videos (with beautiful babe, arm-in-arm running through fields of daisies and such) for the Japanese market. And I was in several country music videos and a couple of B films.

All along I was doing VO gigs and I began to get busier with them. About 7 years ago I went full time as I finally had burned out on the music biz and was tired of trying to keep my photo business alive. Technology changes were killing the small photographers and we were dropping like flies.

2. What is the one thing you know now that you wish someone had told you when you first started out in voiceover?

That it would become so easy for every “yahoo” with a microphone and a computer to enter the business and glut the market with substandard work. Which is exactly what happened when digital photography became the norm. Every nut with a new camera called himself a professional forcing me to compete with that. I was a Photographer’s Mate in the US Navy, mostly in a Photo Recon air crew, but I had photo training in Photographic A School, Pensacola, FL and continued on in college with photo and communication studies after discharge. At the same time, however, the accessibility of less expensive, high quality recording equipment allowed me to enter the VO biz! But I also entered with talent, ability and a basic plan.

3. What do you see as the biggest professional or personal obstacle you face that impacts your voiceover business and how are you working to overcome it?

When I entered the field I thought that not having a radio background or broadcast training would become a problem. But I found out that the trend was for a more natural, real-people kind of sound for commercial work and other forms of media communications that were being developed.

Mostly, now the greatest challenge involves always increasing my brand… cutting through the clutter, seeking out those opportunities out there.. and keeping consistently as busy as I want to be, with my yearly income consistently well into the six figures.

4. What personal trait or professional tool has helped you succeed the most in your career so far?

First, my musical background… my ability to hear pitch, texture, dynamics, timing, etc. Second, some acting on camera and theater background and third, my aging voice seems to simply add more appeal to the clients and prospective clients that come my way. Also my basic understanding of audio and recording gear helped keep the learning curve less curvy.

5. In your development as a voice over performer, who has been the one particular individual or what has been the one piece of performance advice (maybe a key performance trick, etc.) that you felt has had the most impact on your actual voice over performance and why?

As voice actors we need to be very visual people and react truly from the heart. My photo business experience and natural photographic ability allows me to isolate a moment in time while I’m reading a script. If I can see it, feel it, smell it, taste it, etc. I can perform more effectively. As I said earlier, my musical ability comes in mighty handy as well.

As far as people and other influences… James Alburger & Penny Abshire, Pat Fraley, Harlan Hogan, Randy Thomas & Peter Rofe, Rodney Saulsberry, Susan Berkely… through their books, CDs, workshops and on line resources…. as well as several music biz folks, Robert Redford, Rex Allen, Walt Disney, my Italian mother, horses, dogs and Native American philosophy.

Tags: 5 Questions for a Professional Voice Over Talent, 5Q:VO, commentary, voiceover advice // 4 Comments »