If you listen to the majority of voice over demos from most voice talents (especially the guys), you’d think that there must be a billion radio stations out there and each and everyone one is a CHR or Hot AC format (hey, I’ve got one too, so I’m not throwing stones, just making an observation.) The power voice or the raspy voice or the cool everyman voice can be offered by about a thousand voices.

But once a VO’s done his/her few contracts for the month (be honest, we KNOW who gets the majority of the work…it CAN’T be all of us), what else has one got? Well there’s the straight announcer voice that can be altered with a few inflection changes. OK, that’s good.

Let me ask a harmless question: are you a voice actor?

“You mean like impressions?” No, sort of, but more acting.

“You mean like my Homer Simpson impression?” Uh, no.

I mean can you leave your imaging and announcer voice behind and actually become a character with only your voice?

(Silence)

Hmmm. Well, while you ponder that thought, let me just point out that I have a very marketable announcer voice, and I have done my fair share of imaging work. But when it comes down to making money, my voice acting abilities are what sets me apart from many voice talents. It also allows me to pay a mortgage. Oh yes, voice acting isn’t about $50/spot work….did I fail to mention that?

Am I the greatest voice acting talent ever? Yes, when I am in the booth alone or in an ISDN session, that’s what I subliminally tell myself; but in reality, no. However to the producers that hire me for President’s day commercials or St. Patrick’s Day commercials or for video games, I am the best voice because I can bring their character to life like no other.

Can you?

That isn’t a “one-up-manship” question, but rather a way for you to critically look at your abilities.

I know some voice overs who will never be voice actors- the creativity or the vocal abilities really aren’t inside them. They make their money off their “money voice”. That’s awesome!

But if you have some characters inside you but you’ve never really fleshed them out or you’ve never strayed far from the voices you’ve been doing since high school, I’d like to offer you some unsolicited advice.

Get your ass to class.

Voice acting class actually. There you’ll find other voice actors of various professional experiences, abilities and talents who have gathered with a teacher they trust to develop the basic skills they need to create or expand a character repertoire. They’ll help you try new things without pointing fingers or laughing. It’s a group of sincere, like-minded folks who want to succeed and more often than not want YOU to succeed.

Finding a class in your area may take some work. I would start with some professional recording studios that often produce commercials or a college with an acting program. I alternate between two acting classes (mostly because I enjoy the students and teachers at both). The Voice Squad is run by Len Tobin. The Voice Actor Workshop of WNY is run by Toni Silveri who has performed and trained with some of voice acting’s greatest talents including the late but still infamous Daws Butler. There are some great national teachers who often take their act on the road including Pat Fraley as well as James Alburger and Penny Abshire; if they are presenting within a “state” of you, get your ass to their class too. James and Penny offer this voice acting teachers guide too. The Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) also have a resource page you may want to check out as well.

I also work with and train voice talent through the Voice Talent Workshop.

You’ve have got to stretch not just your vocal muscles but your creative muscles as well. If you think you can act, you need to try. There’s money in them there pipes…you just need to flush it out!

Tags: character voices, commentary, voice actors, voice casting, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Doesn’t that title sound like a National Geographic Special or at least some TV show you’d see on PBS?

Well that’s apropos I suppose since many of the TV programs on cable channels like National Geographic, Discovery Channel and the like all feature off screen narrators; great voice talents like Will Lyman, Hal Douglas (who actually introduces Will Lyman’s demo) and Gene Galusha just to name a few of the more frequently heard, anonymous voice talkers.

Often times people say to me “Why do you talk about other voice over talents?” or inquire as to why I would reference them on my voice over site. The answer is simple and I suppose I should trademark it right here and now as I’ve used it for years: voice over talents are like golfers. Golfers aren’t truly competing against each other, they are really trying to beat the course.

In the same way, voice over talents aren’t competing against each other, they are competing for the subjective ear of the producer hiring for the job. I’ve never met Will, Hal or Gene and I may have even come up for the same job as they have (you never really know half the time) but I can’t sound like them and they can’t sound like me and on any given day in any given studio it’s the producer’s ear that we all compete for/against not each other.

So my hats off to these great talents and other spectacular narrators often ignored by the media but never ignored by the ears of the audience.

Any favorite narrators you would like to include?

Tags: commentary, narrations, voice actors, voice casting, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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If only jobs were as easy or exciting as they initially sounded.

The idea of being a chocolate taster seems like a good idea but if you think about it, maybe not. After a while, you are likely going to be pretty sick of chocolate.

It’s kind of the same thing when casting a voice for a production. There are lots of talented men and women out there who serve as professional announcers or voice over talent and can easily a voiceover your commercial, imaging project, on-hold message or video narration.

And I mean lots.

That’s where the challenge comes in.

Describing the type of voiceover you want

As the potential voice over employer (client), having to describe a voice you want for your project for a production house or on-line audition service will almost require a PhD in similes. If it makes you feel any better, voice talents are just as bad as describing their sound for clients (the over used description “voice of God has always struck me as a rather unqualifiable reference that always makes me chuckle).

But these totally subjective descriptions from clients and voice over talents are a large part of what makes voice casting an incredibly inexact science that rarely proves accurate. It’s not because the employer or announcer wants to mislead, but more because the spectrum of sound quality is so skewed to each listener’s taste.

Sifting through voice over talent auditions

If one voice over talent audition is heard, a hundred are heard. Old voices, young voices, sleek, rough, country-bumpkin and city slicker. The even worse news is that on some auditions all the aforementioned voices may be on just one audition.

Set some uninterrupted time aside and plow through them… it’s going to take awhile.

The weird science of voice auditioning

From the office secretary of a small business to the Chief Creative Officer at a worldwide advertising agency (and that IS how broad the range is of people selecting a voice talent nowadays), what you think you want at the beginning of the process is rarely what you end up with at the end of the voice over auditioning process. Of course, there are exceptions but usually the process of voice talent auditioning creates some sort of epiphany for the client at some point in the production process.

Whether it’s the special sound of a female talent’s low vocal register or the dead-on impersonation offered a male talent, a voice talent can cement an ad campaign’s direction or so amazingly enhance a marketing concept that a new campaign idea is born. It happens all the time.

Ultimately, the best suggestion for a client is to keep an open mind, even when you “know what you want”.

Going through the process

Here are some simple tips to get you through the voice audition process:

• Decide whether you want to request general audition recordings (which mean listing to generic voiceover demos) or if you want the talents to record a customized demo for the audition. While customized auditions are usually free (especially for non-union voice over talent) voices usually want to know a budget range to see if the project is ultimately going to be worth their time to audition for so…

• Establish a reasonable budget for the voice talent’s services and let the talent know what the “range” of that budget is

• Be sure to indicate the type of production it’s going to be: commercial, video narration, voice imaging…and be as specific about details as possible. This will ensure the voice talent can send you the demo that most suits your needs

• Be sure to indicate what format you want the audition to arrive as: MP3, WAV file or mailed on a CD. Voice talents are usually glad to give prospective clients want you want in whatever format you want it

• If you’re going to initially ask for generic demos, make two piles, keepers and tossers:
– The keepers you may ask to audition again with a more specific piece of copy or you may want to interview them, your choice
– With the tossers, while it would be more professional if you created a generic but personally addressed letter politely saying “thanks but no thanks” most voice over talents subscribe to the notion that they didn’t get the job they just auditioned for; which make the “you got the job” call THAT much sweeter.

• If you want a custom audition, make sure you provide pronunciation keys in the script. A mispronunciation is upsetting for the talent and frustrating for the listener

• On customized demos, be ready to hear the same script over and over….focus on listening for script intrepretation, tone and inflection. Don’t focus on the words or you’ll zone out (see the earlier chocolate taster reference).

Tags: advertising, character voices, commentary, commercials, narrations, podcasting, radio, technology, tv, voice actors, voice casting, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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I get asked all the time about producing voice over demos. I certainly have produced more than my share and its a lot of work for one minute’s worth of voiceover, job-getting magic. But you’re impatient and you want the golden ticket NOW.

Well to answer all the voiceover newbies, here’s the magic answer:

You’ve got 20 seconds, if you’re lucky!
Now get in line, cross your fingers and say a prayer.

You’ve just sent in your voice over demo for a possible voiceover job….along with anywhere from 5 to 200 other voice over talents.

In 20 seconds (usually less) a producer is going to toss your demo into the :

• “Keep for review pile” (which will get whittled down again until the producer picks “the” voice talent) or
• “Throw in the garbage” file.

Anyone in voice-overs (even the so-called “big names”) know a voice over talent is going to get rejected more often than they get hired…the numbers are not in the talent’s favor no matter how talented.

Since most times the voice actor is not likely to be auditioning in person (especially outside the big 3 U.S. markets) you (the talent) have only one tool at your disposal to represent your enormous talent, range, creativity, charming personality, client-friendly demeanor, multi-faceted character repertoire and stunning good looks (in the eyes of the listener). That tool is your voiceover demo.

And now you’re only getting 10 seconds…this better be good.

A 10 second demo?

No, I was just kidding. The industry standard is one minute for the length of your voice over demo with segments of spots ranging anywhere from about 6 seconds to 12 seconds depending on the content. The point is that whatever the producer hears in the first 10-15 seconds will determine whether your voice has the exact (or very close to exact) quality the producer is looking for.

What is that quality? Only the producer knows (it’s very subjective) so all you should worry now only about showing your best work as professionally as possible.

Generic or customized?

Every voice artist should have at least one strong generic demo to be able to present to a prospective client (at the moment, the most favored demo format is an MP3 for e-mail and a CD for snail mail….and yes, the CD should have a professional look to it, not a Sharpie scrawl of your name across it).

Some folks create generic demos based on category…a generic commercial demo, a generic narration demo, a generic character voice demo and so on. Tailored demos simply mean the producer has a demo script he/she wants you to voice; if you are asked, do it.

How do I determine voice over demo content?

Assuming here we’re talking about creating a strong generic demo (not a category voice demo) the recommendations here are:

• The best or most widely heard of any spots or narrations you’ve been paid to create (this should include straight reads as well as character voices). Preferably you want the fully produced cuts on your demo, not the dry reads unless that’s how they were produced.
• Any tailored commercial, narration or voice imaging demos that you felt really presented your talents well.
• Determine your best work from all your categories (commercials, narrations, voice imaging, on-hold, audio books etc.). Then consider the type of work you’re most often hired or considered for and include best of all those segments mixed as you think works best.

When you’re done producing your voiceover demo….you’re not. Play it for other people in the business, get their opinions, and tell them to be cruel, put it up on some voice over bulletin boards that encourage member-to-member critiques. Take all the info to heart (but not personally, the critiques are about “the voice”, not you) and make the changes that you think make the most sense.

What’s in that first 10 seconds?

Your money voice. Every voice artists has one, some have a few. The money voice is either:

• That voice that seems to bring you the most work/that you’re most known for OR
• The voice that you can do well that seems to be in vogue among those who are hiring (at the moment, it’s the sort of conversational, everyman voice as opposed to the big-balls announcer voice).

Now the truth.

Voice demos are close to the apex of and imperfect science. It is an ever-evolving tool and one for which your lively hood depends…but no matter how good it is, your demo is useless if no one hears it. That requires marketing.

And that’s a subject for another day.

Hope this helps.

Tags: character voices, commentary, commercials, marketing, narrations, podcasting, radio, technology, tv, voice actors, voice casting, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
6 Comments »

Goodness knows I have been on the receiving end of professional rejection many times in the voice over business. I’ve gotten to the point when I do auditions, I find it’s safer just to assume I didn’t get the job so that I can enjoy the surprise when I am called in to do the project.

Rejection is part of my job.

Sometimes I am the bearer of bad news, especially to other voice over talents who contact me, unsolicited, to ask if I have work for them or if I could feature them on my site. My answer is no.

Hey, I’ve been out there, beating the pavement for voice work (a more glamorous term is marketing, but we’re all friends here, no need to be glamorous). And I know you gotta ask if there are opportunities…”all they can say is no”, right?

No harm in “the ask” except for my rule: voice talents that are featured on this site are recruited by me, they didn’t solicit me. They didn’t send me a demo or ask to be listed on the site…I came across their unique sound; I contacted them and said “Come on, let play!” If they had pestered me for work they would have all but assured themselves of never ever getting on the roster.

Does that make the voiceover roster at audio’connell Voice Over Talent exclusive and exclusionary? Yes. Not everybody gets to play.That does not mean that those who don’t get invited are talent-less. They have talent, loads of it usually but not the “right” sound; it’s my personal taste, one that my clients rely on me for. So, sadly, my answer is no.

Rejection is part of my job.

Tags: commentary, voice actors, voice casting, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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As we saddle up for the fourth quarter of the year, a time when networks like MTV and Premiere Radio Networks start assembling their countdown shows, I thought it fitting that I would announce (with 60+ days still left in the year) the best performance by a voice over talent in 2006.

The rules of this award, created by me and owned by me state that I cannot give the award to myself (darn those rule makers!)

No, the 2006 award for best voiceover goes to a voice that’s known by many generations both from his (ok, first clue: it’s a guy) radio and television voice work (some of it on-camera). He is also one of the oldest (clue #2), living (clue #3) and occasionally working (clue #4) voices around. He also loves to sail (clue #5).

On September 5^th, like many Americans, I was watching the debut of the “new” CBS Evening News with Katie Couric opened the show with some headlines, read from her new multi-million dollar set inside her new multi-million dollar studio.

The new theme music was cued, the graphics came up and THAT voice intoned: “THIS is the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.”

The voice wasn’t just perfect because of its own rich quality, nor was it simply the really well paced read.
With all that included, the reason THAT voice worked so well was because the CBS Evening News, a broadcast steep in journalistic history, reeling not so long ago from a costly news scandal and now introducing the first solo female news anchor (which shouldn’t have been such a big deal) needed to deftly combine all the news gathering technology and fanciful broadcast elements with its storied (and successful) journalistic past.

When Walter Conkrite, the broadcast’s most famous and beloved anchor, introduced this newest version of the CBS Evening News, he was also imparting his implied blessing on this new news show. Almost so far in the background as to be imperceptible (as many good voiceover talents are) but authoritative and certainly recognizable enough to impart a feeling of trust in the news show that was about to be unveiled.To Walter Cronkite, I bestow The Best Voiceover Performance of 2006 Award. And to the CBS staffer who came up with the idea to use Cronkite, like they say in the beer ads: Brilliant!

Tags: CBS News, commentary, narrations, tv, voice actors, voice casting by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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