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22.01.2022 VOICE OVER COACH TIP: HOW TO WORK FROM YOUR HOME STUDIO! With the COVID19 lockdown and the possibility of social isolation extending for longer, it's important you know whether the work you record from home is hitting the mark. In many cases, you’re not being directed. You’ve simply been asked to supply the job....Continue reading
21.01.2022 Zoom Private Voice Over Coaching that will help you nail that audition or build your technique and skills for working in voice over or audio book narration! If you want: - professional voice acting technique - insider knowledge about the industry and trends... - to know how to collaborate in the studio to create great reads - to learn how to self-produce - to find out where you’d fit in I’ll coach you on what works and whyand what doesn’t and why not! and give you the skills and techniques to help you create killer reads that get you booked time and time again. Already have a voice over demo? Send it through and I’ll give you a FREE assessment when we speak. https://www.voiceovercoach.com.au//zoom-voice-over-coachi/
20.01.2022 VOICE OVER COACH TIP: NEVER OVERLOAD YOUR DEMO! When you load your voice over demo with examples of everything, in an attempt at showing versatility, you are putting way too much bait on the one hook. Instead, with a coach preferably, figure out what it is about your voice style that a casting person would ‘buy’.... Work with your coach on different kinds (or styles) of scripts to find out which one’s you’re naturally good at. Are you best at conversational delivery, good at stylized announcer scripts, got a great bright voice suited to promos, energized or retail reads? Are you great at storytelling, solid at information or instructional delivery, stunning at jumping into someone else’s shoes? Could you be an audiobook narrator? Do you have great skills for character voices? But the thing is, unless you present a demo that solves the casting person’s problem, which is, who will we book to do this job?, by overloading, you’ve done these things: - Wasted an opportunity to show variety and versatility for the work they cast. - Showed that you are unclear about what kind of voice actor you are, and worst of all - Annoyed them. As in, you made them do the work, trying to imagine what you’d be good at, or where you’d fit - When you present a demo that’s just full of stuff, all it says is that you don’t understand the structure of the industry. You will appear unprofessional and appear as though you don’t know what you’re doing. By targeting your voice over demo, you'll show exactly what you can do! Happy Voiceover-ing :)
20.01.2022 HOW TO DEEP DIVE AND UNDERSTAND VOICE OVER SCRIPTS! You may have noticed that sourcing good samples of voiceover scripts is really difficult. To study and research voiceover, you need to get yourself some good quality, creative scripts, so you can begin to understand their structure....Continue reading
19.01.2022 STORYTELLING TIPS FOR AUDIO BOOK NARRATION... Great storytelling sets a mood and draws us into the landscape and lives of those in the story. Great storytelling creates a feeling that causes us to want to return time and time again.... When you, as the narrator, are able to understand the author’s intention, you’ll be able to play with creating the right mood, the right attitude and the right colour to deliver the story through the ‘words on the page’. First up, you need to know who the narrator is in your story. Are you: - Outside the story witnessing events, called third person, as in ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’ - Narrating a story that you’re a player in, called first person, that is ‘I’, and probably you have dialogue, or - Someone commenting on events from a distance where the narrator talks directly to the other character or characters by using ‘you’, as in You walked into the bathroom and saw the sand on the floor. You knew he’d been there.etc Once again, it matters not how lovely your voice is. It’s not about your voice, although it’s essential that you need to have a voice that’s clear, clean and understands nuance, character and meaning. Truly great narrators seem to disappear in favour of the story they’re telling and the visuals they are creating. Happy book narrating!
19.01.2022 HOW TO UNDERSTAND LANGUAGE IN YOUR SCRIPTS... Much of what’s contained in ‘written language’ can have dual meanings when its converted to ‘spoken word’. Here’s an example. ‘and keep shopping for more suitable courses’. Now does that mean more suitable courses, or more suitable courses. You must ask that question.... What about words that have two pronunciations? Is data pronounced, ‘darta’, or dayta. Is innovative pronounced, innovative, or inovaytive? Double check pronunciations of names, even if you think you know. If you aren’t sure about where emphasis should go, ask for clarification. Questions, no matter how silly they might seem, are essential to making this a smooth job. Making it Count So, once you’ve done the forensics and made your notes, you need to speak to the producer or writer. Many producers just want the job done and don’t want to be part of the session. This is where you can come unstuck as well. Say, you ask all the questions and confidently complete the job, only to have the client call and say, Umm, this line blah blah blahwe were wondering if you could do it a little slowerand while you’re there, the second to last paragraph was too slow. So are you able to speed it up. Grrrr! So back you go, trying to second guess what they want. The thing is, most voiceover artists are not engineers. If you’re like me, you’re self-taught and largely improvising your engineering skills. To have to go back is a pain. So, I always ask if the producer can call me or Zoom into the session; and okay and clarify everything I’m doing. This last thing has always proven to be the best strategy to get the job done right first and build a relationship with the client. I know that on some pay-to-plays this is not possible. You’ll be able to ask questions of the script regarding meaning and pronunciation, but the p2p’s don’t want you to build a relationship with the client. It doesn’t suit their model. In the professional world it’s not only possible, I believe it’s essential. I hope this has helped you to refine your self-producing experience. Happy voiceovering!
18.01.2022 HOW TO BOOK WORK DURING ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS... Not only are we dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, but we’re in a global economic recession and we have no idea how long it will last. We also have very little idea how and which companies or brands will survive, thrive or disappear altogether, but during such times, change always happens....Continue reading
17.01.2022 If you’ve ever thought that audio book narration is for you. Or you’re an author whose publisher wants you to narrate your own book, then you’ll probably want to know more about the whole process. The big news is that the growth of audio books and, with it, the search for excellent narrators is growing.... Head to link to find out how https://www.voiceovercoach.com.au/lessons-in-audio-book-na/
16.01.2022 VOICE OVER COACH TIP: HOW TO FIGURE OUT WHERE TO BREATHE DURING YOUR READ! Have you ever been given a script and felt unsure about where to breathe? You're not alone!...Continue reading
16.01.2022 TIPS ON HOW TO DELIVER DIFFERENT SCRIPT STYLES! Let’s go through the different ways that voiceover artists deliver information. Because of their nature, each requires a slightly different approach....Continue reading
15.01.2022 HOW TO CREATE A REPERTOIRE OF VOICES! Gathering a Repertoire of voices is key for both kinds of voice acting. I gathered my ‘character voices’ from people I heard out there in the world that were interesting, quirky, entertaining or classic of their type, whether it was a lady with a whiskey and cigarettes voice or a clichéd uni student.... I also listen for the way emotion ‘sounds’ with people. How does someone who’s passive aggressive speak? What about someone who’s just heard bad news, someone who’s in love, inspired, or completely indecisive? Perhaps you already do this and perhaps you have a solid repertoire. Great! You’ll need to be able to dip into your unique stash of voices when you’re in the studio. If not, then begin to collect voices‘characters’. They’re everywhere. Memorize them! When you listen to the voice, notice what the person looks like. Memorise them visually. I visualize very strongly when I’m working with characters. The reason for that is you’ll need to ‘physicalize’ them. The character is not just coming from your voice choices, it’s aided by the way you think about the shape and type of the body the voice is coming from. I would also add that if you can create 6 fabulously entertaining character voices that are unrecognizable as you, then you probably have the natural ability required. Happy Voiceovering!
14.01.2022 WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE FLUFFING YOUR LINES! You’ve just been handed a script that you’ve never seen before, right? So you’re never expected to be perfect on the first read, or the 2nd and 3rd for that matter. ... It can take time to create the right rhythms and meaning for someone else’s idea. And besides that, some words and phrases are real doozies. I had to say ‘unique New York style sofa’ once in a very fast retail read. Try saying that fast. Yikes! If you fluff, just go back to the beginning of the sentence or paragraph and go again, without apologizing. Very important - it’s not a sin to fluff! Just stay with words and get better at working out how the flow or the rhythm works best. And if you keep falling over the same line, phrase or word, just take a little more time with that part. Make it part of the performance. Happy Voiceover-ing!
14.01.2022 GOT A RETAIL READ COMING UP? HERE'S HOW TO DEAL WITH THE FAST PACE! If you love working with retail scripts, you'll know they require different techniques. I call this technique 'de-breathing'.... Retail scripts are heavily stylised with often just the product and price included. This script style is what I call, ‘punch’ retail, where the read is jam-packed and you’re required to deliver with high energy and travel pretty fast through the copy. It’s often not very ‘creative’ work but ‘punch’ retail is everywhere and can mean the difference between an average income and a sensational one for a voiceover artist. Now, technique wise, you might be thinking: How do I do that? How do I breathe if they’re all going to be taken out? Good question, because unless you do it really well, that read is going to sound really disjointed. Because the thing about a retail read that will have all the breaths removed is that you need to make it sound seamless. In order to do that, you first need to mark the script in the places that you will take a breath and of course because the breath is going to be removed, you can draw in a huge lung-full of air, which will be enough to get you through the next paragraph. The most important thing to know, or to practice about this kind of breathing, is that before you take the big breath, you’ll need to literally stop! You’ll then take the breath andcontinue, but in order to make the breath edit work and the read sound seamless, you need to remember where you were rhythmically before you took that breath. You need to remember what inflections you used on which words. You need to remember whether you finished a previous sentence with a downward, an upward or a neutral inflection, so that subsequent choices will ‘sound’ right. Yes, this is a real skill - not everyone can pull-off retail successfully. As part of your approach to any script, you need to be conscious that you will need to breathe, but you’ll need to ask yourself this, ‘When am I going to breathe and how am I going to breathe?' So, this week, listen to radio and television with a new ear for breath and breathing. When do you hear them, when don’t you hear them? Practice reading along with some ads and try to pick where the breaths were taken out. Developing an ear for voiceover and what’s out there is a real key to voiceover success. Happy listening!
14.01.2022 HOW TO DEAL WITH HAVING TO RECORD LINE BY LINE OR PARAGRAPH BY PARAGRAPH! Never worry about thisyou may be surprised to know that some work is recorded in this way. It could be that the text is non naturalistic.... Perhaps it’s just a series of random phrases for a television commercial and each phrase needs to have a certain meaning or inflection. When a decision is made to do this, it’s often because the producer is absolutely clear about the timing, pace, rhythm or inflection they want. All you have to be able to do is follow their (hopefully) perfect direction - so listen well. And you do need to be absolutely aware of your energy and volume levels and keep them consistent, so that when it comes time to edit your work, it’s seamless. Sometimes at the end of this process of discovering the script, the producer may ask you if you’d like to now read it from the top, straight through. The best way to be prepared for a voiceover session is to be prepared for anything! Happy Voiceover-ing :)
12.01.2022 PART 1 - VOICE OVER MISTAKES TO AVOID! Before you launch a career, or send a demo (or a link to one) to anybody, you must have all your voice marketing ducks in a row. The most important thing? Understand your voice style (or styles) and capabilities!... I know that we all listen to voices out there and think, I’d like to be doing that. And if your voice style suits it, then why not! But it’s a mistake to ever try and do anything that’s not in your range. Let’s talk about how to avoid some of these mistakes and make sure you make the right impression, first time, every time. Mistake 1: DIFFERENT VOICE STYLES Yes it’s true that being versatile is a great way to build your career, but versatile in which way? When you’re showcasing your different voice styles, each one of them needs to be equal to, or better than anything else you hear on air. If you then decide that you definitely fit that voice style or genre, you need to research and make a study of the kind of work that voice style is used for. Then you need to create your own work: ‘borrow’ the copy from a broadcast commercial or a narration and slightly rework it, or find a coach who can help you decide which kind of script to use. MISTAKE 2: DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES Not every voice actor is wildly versatile, and you don’t have to be to get work. But it helps to showcase your talents by varying your voice samples in subtle ways. Creating variation in a voice demo or samples on your website can be achieved by changing the way you approach the script. Here are 3 ways to make sure your demos always make you sound as though you’re versatile: Vary your energy. Are your chilled and relaxed, or bursting with good news and excitement? Does this message warrant a serious tone, or one of hope and encouragement? Are you being seductive, manipulative, or are you just delivering the work, in the guise of a trusted friend? Vary your pace. Each script you look at will have special requirements. All will have been written to time they’ve created a script with a word count that will fit into an allotted time. So, most scripts will require a different pace. Know which kind of read is slower, more thoughtful, which has the energy and drive and anything in between. But always remember that pace should always vary within the read. And don’t forget, there’ll be parts of the script that are less important, so you can move through those sentences or phrases a little quicker than you would with key message words or phrases. Vary your emotional Perspective. Having an opinion, a ‘take’ on what you’re reading can really help to lift your performance. But emotion in scripts is not simple. To make it work best, you need to always ask yourself, Who is this message or information for and what do I want them to feel or think? Tomorrow I'll cover off the final 3 mistakes! Happy Voiceover-ing :)
12.01.2022 VOICE OVER COACH TIP: How to make the right emotional choices for your scripts Often in voice over, the emotional choice can be rather theatrical. Of course when we say theatrical, we often see or hear BIG. You can’t be big in voiceover.... *Don’t forget, the digital medium doesn’t like loud voices. You need to contain your theatricality. I call this ‘heightened’ performancewhere you are definitely ‘larger than life’, just not ‘louder than life’. In order to convince a half-listening audience, you may need to ‘act’ as though the icecream you’re talking about is the best thing you’ve ever tasted, that the socks in the sale are amazingor that if you buy this product you’ll never have a bad day again. You may need to ‘act’ as though you’re the authority on what you’re talking about. That’s a real skill if you’re not very familiar with the scriptand even more so if you really DON’T know what you’re talking about. It happens. Especially with Medical scripts. You may need to be bitchy, bewildered or bumbling, manipulative, seductive or incredibly excited about your message. So, in order to help you become better at looking at a script and coming up with unique, engaging performance options, I want you to become more conscious of how you sound in any given ‘real-life’ situation. I want you to listen for emotions that you use to underpin your story, or how emotions colour the response you get from someone. Begin building your knowledge of how to use those skills in your voiceover reads. After all, just like any form of performance, voiceover is not real life, just a very short-form-slice-of-life that just happens to be commercial advertising. Happy voiceovering!
12.01.2022 Voiceover scripts are very different from each other. The message is different, the intention is different and the audience is different. But there are similarities also. Many scripts are written to a kind of template. In ‘commercial’ advertising especially, there are techniques that work so well, they are repeated time after time. https://www.voiceovercoach.com.au/understanding.../
10.01.2022 CHECKLIST BEFORE YOU MAKE A DEMO! You need to know where you fit in voiceover. You need to have nailed the techniques for approaching different script styles and understand how to use your voice to give each script its own personality. So you want to make sure that before you go to this expense you have covered off these things:... - You know what you’re good at - You’re confident in the studio - You understand how to take direction - You know how to approach scripts that you’d be cast for - You’ve sourced (or worked with a coach to source) the right kind of scripts for you - You’ve researched where you would direct your demo to get cast - You need to be at a point in your training where you are confident that making a demo and any further investment will give you a return. Need help with your demo? Email me abbe(at)voiceovercoach.com.au Happy Voiceover journey!
09.01.2022 PART 2 - VOICEOVER MISTAKES TO AVOID! Yesterday I covered off the first two mistakes - different voice styles and different personalities MISTAKE 3 - MICROPHONE TECHNIQUE... Practice your positioning in front of the mic. For instance, being right on the mic and using very little voice, can actually create a very big sound. Be aware of plosives that is noises on ‘p’s’ and ‘b’s’. Watch for harsh vowel sounds at the beginning of a word that get caught in your throat and practice softening those vowels. MISTAKE 4 - CHANGING OUR VOICE TO TELL THE STORY WITH CHARACTER WORK This is where I hear most voice over mistakes. Someone who wants to do character work, either in games or animation, includes a whole lot of examples of voices that: - don’t appeal, - have no personality, - no emotional arc, or - tell no particular story. If you’re using character voices in an audio demo, the listener must be able to visualise the character. If you do this successfully, they’ll sit up and take notice, but beware thinking that your raft of funny, cute or quirky voices sampled on a demo is enough. It’s not! You must do some work on preparing this material to best showcase your talents. Once again, if in doubt, find a coach who can help you. Only ever work with a coach who is an industry professional, either working as a voice actor themselves or producing material. MISTAKE 5: DELIVERY OF INFORMATION Most of the voice over work I do is delivery of information. I always believe that no matter what I’m saying, it’s still a story that I’m speaking to one person, or a small group of people to tell that story. But there are some very common, very off-putting mistakes I hear people make when they’re reading script like this. They read too fast this means that the listener doesn’t get a chance to take in the information and process it. They go from one piece of information to the next too fast! To make any read hit the mark, you must go through the process of sorting out the language. Here’s a link to a recent blog I wrote that will give you some specific techniques for doing just that. Don’t forget, your job as a voice actor is to convince someone to do something on behalf of the advertiser. If you’re working in animation or games, it’s to create a ‘believable’ character, with believable motives and emotional states. The better you are at this, the more work you’ll book. So, make sure you’re not making these 5 simple voice over mistakes with the samples or material you send out or link to. Happy voiceovering!
09.01.2022 WHY YOU SHOULDN'T STRESS ABOUT HOW LONG YOUR SESSION IS TAKING... Voiceover is a creative and collaborative process between the Producer, the Engineer (sometimes they are the same person) and you, the voiceover artist. Every job is different!... Every job has different requirements and challenges. Sometimes it takes 3 reads and other times it takes 33. You need to remember that before the session, the words on the script were ‘written words’ only. In your hands they become ‘spoken words’ and in that sense are ‘heard’ for the first time. Sometimes the producer will take you around the world and back, trying the read many different ways, only to decide that take 2 was perfect. Just enjoy the ride!
09.01.2022 VOICE OVER COACH TIP: HOW TO DEAL WITH ANIMATION AND GAME SCRIPTS In animation and games, you’ll be working with an image to create a voice for your character. Choices are fuelled by the way the character looks, its body shape, the expression on its face and its emotional journey with consideration to story arcs.... Then you need to understand your character’s dynamic in regard to scenes and other characters in the story. In animation and games, you don’t just read the words, you inhabit the world of the character. Don’t forget, you’ll be recording the scenes in the studio, usually with the other cast, or sometimes (if it’s a small role) with the directorand then the animators work with the audio to bring the characters to life.. So, when you are ‘reading’, this is your opportunity to read the language in a way that makes for exciting, expressive animation. Give the animator something to work with. Need help? Email me [email protected]
08.01.2022 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR HOW TO WORK FROM YOUR HOME STUDIO... If you want to build a career in voiceover you may find yourself working from a home studio. But how do you know whether that job that you just recorded is hitting the mark? ...Continue reading
08.01.2022 HOW TO MAKE A GREAT VOICE OVER DEMO! Your voice over demo, or samples of the work you do, is crucial to your getting booked and building your profile. Your demo is almost always the only way you can introduce yourself and your skills to studios, producers, agents and any potential employer.... So How Will You Make a Great Voice Over Demo? Think of it like this. You’re baiting a hook to catch a fish. Your voiceover demo is the bait that will catch you that big voiceover fish; a producer who will cast you for that great job. But if the bait isn’t tasty enough to catch the right kind of fish, you’re in trouble. Sure, the fish might have a sniff, see what’s there. But if at first sniff, nothing interesting stands out, they’ll most probably just glide on by, not even bothering to linger. Quell horror!!! The content in a voiceover demo, it’s rhythm and how it’s structured is the key to your success, but I’m constantly surprised at demos I hear that just don’t cut it. I had a 3-minute demo (too long) sent to me recently that was a sample of poetry, character voices and accents, audio book narration and some commercial reads. The thing is, this person was actually pretty good, but the demo was poorly executed. And sample number 5 on the demo was actually a bookable commercial read. That read needed to have been the first sample heard in a solid commercially focused demo and sent to those who are looking for voices in the commercial area. Asked why he structured it that way, he said he wanted the listener to hear variations and variety. Okay, that may have been what he wanted, but what did the potential booker hear? Need help with your Voice Over demo? Email me abbe(at)voiceovercoach.com.au
08.01.2022 VOICE OVER COACH TIP: How to make language sing! When I’m coaching or producing in the studio, I often talk about voiceover in terms of ‘notes’, a high note, a low note etc. Understanding pitch in much the same way as a singer or musician does, can be incredibly useful.... For instance, if you start a sentence on a high note, you may have nowhere to go and you might sense that your delivery is sailing up and up and upand you can’t work out why it sounds wrong. Try playing with the text in the previous paragraph and really listen to what’s happening in ‘note’ terms. Sometimes reading sounds awful if there is too much inflection on individual words for no reason, a bit like a roller-coaster. This always causes the read to sound disconnected, disjointed and gives away that the person is reading (badly). Generally what you need to do is look beyond ‘sentence structure’ itself and into the sentence to find how many different thoughts and ideas are there. In grammar rules, what I term thoughts and ideas will be referred to as clauses or phrases. Treat these as stand-alone thoughts, each with its own meaning, distinct from any thoughts or ideas either before or after it. Then string those individual thoughts together like they’re one long word, just as singers do. Now when you read those thoughts or ideas, you need to notice whether you leave gaps, or pause or stop between words. Your delivery must be natural. You must sound authentic and understand how to deliver a read that is not only easy on the listeners ear, it connects with the story you’re telling whether it’s an ad, a training manual or an audio book. Of course just like anything, to become proficient you must practice. To build a career in voiceover you must know your voice intimately. So ‘read off the page’ every day. Set aside time to read ‘aloud’ for at least 20 minutes, When you read you need to train yourself to listen to yourself as well. Read and listenlisten and read. Take on these little lessons and you’ll be amazed how your sightreading improves. Happy Voiceovering!
07.01.2022 VOICE OVER COACH TIP: HOW TO MAKE THE WORDS ON THE SCRIPT YOUR OWN! In all voice over scripts you are required to ‘own’ the language in a way that sounds as though you just made the whole thing up. If it’s a commercial, it’s about believability, first and foremost.... If we don’t believe you, you’re not doing your job. The first thing to do is to make it about the words on the page, not just about your fabulous voice. A technique for creating believability is to put yourself in the listeners shoes. When you do your read, really imagine that there’s a person there listening to the message and deliver it to them. When you listen back to the read, ask it this question. "If I was listening to this for the first time, would I understand it, believe it and be persuaded by it?" Unless you give attention to ‘who’ you’re addressing, you will almost always sound like you’re just reading the words. And this is a big voiceover fail! So, for all scripts the key thing to remember is this...it’s believability that makes a great voice over artist. In the commercial world, we need to trust your message and to believe what you’re saying. In the non-broadcast (information delivery) world, we need to believe that you are the expert, the all-knowing; delivering this information with a complete understanding of what you’re saying and what that means to your listening audience. VoiceOver, in many ways, is a game. The game of convincing communication. Happy voiceovering!
06.01.2022 PART 1 - AUDIO BOOK NARRATION TIPS... You may be thinking, Well sure. I love reading and I can read well, so I’d be good at this. And that may well be true.... But there are a few other things that are true about audio books. The first thing I want to say is that audio book narration is a deeply specialised craft. Skills you’ll need are far more than reading words in ‘your’ voice. You need to interpret the narrator or lead character’s voice, the author's intention and the overall tone of the work. This could mean taking on a particular persona or attitude. It could mean creating a ‘character’ voice. And it could mean having to voice several different characters, differing sometimes vastly in in age and gender. If you’re the author, sometimes the publisher may want you to narrate your own book. If this is a memoir, it makes perfect sense that you narrate your own book. That’s also often the case with a non-fiction book where you, the author, are also the expert. Here are a few tips for narrating your own book - You need to sound like you are ‘telling’ your own story. Inhabit your words. Don’t read! - You know the words. You wrote them. So, use the words only as a guide, and when you’re reading, imagine that you have someone right in front of you, who wants and needs to hear your story or your information. This should feel as though you are delivering the words straight from your memory. - Take your time and let the different parts of your information and/or your story sink inbefore you move on. - Reading too fast is impossible to listen to. - Watch becoming too precious with the language. Pronunciation especially can get in the way. Make it natural and if that means using a contraction, such as ‘I’ll’, in your narration, where it reads ‘I will’ in the book, then do that. Don’t forget, it’s much more about connection than it is about ‘elocution’. Avoid speaking too loudly. You are talking into an ear. Audio book narration is an intimate engagement. Drop your volume. But don’t drop your energy! Come back tomorrow when I cover off how to get an audio book gig!
06.01.2022 3 night, 3 week Studio Practice Voice Over Course! This 3 night voice over course will help you refine what you already have and teach you more about the skills, the process and what’s possible in the studio. If you’ve done my Discover Voiceover Technique Workshop and are bursting to get in front of the mic and get a feel for the studio, or you want to perfect your technique and learn more about how to collaborate in the studio and create great reads, this is just what you’re... looking for. We’ll tailor each session to whatever you need to work on most, whether it’s mainstream radio and TV ads, retail, character voices for animation or corporate narration. Don’t worry if I’ve never worked with you before, we’ll have a conversation, so I can get a feel for what voice over scripts you’ll be suited for. Next course: 3 Consecutive Wednesday evenings in February 2021: Wednesday’s, February 10th, 17th and 24th 6.30-10/10.30 @Sonic Playground, 439 City Road South Melbourne $630+GST https://www.voiceovercoach.com.au/coachi/voice-over-course/
05.01.2022 SEPTEMBER 12: DISCOVER VOICE OVER ZOOM WORKSHOP 10am-1pm There's still a couple of spots in this workshop! Over 3 hours I'll cover off: - The way the industry works - The type of work voice over artists do... - The types and styles of scripts you’re cast for - How you get cast and how the casting process works - The reality of voiceover work in the Covid/post Covid world - The secrets to making a great voice over demo - Creating a home studio - How to market your talents Cost $90+GST, click link below to register https://www.voiceovercoach.com.au//discover-voice-over-te/
05.01.2022 HOW TO SET UP YOUR HOME STUDIO DURING COVID-19 In 2020 this was the first and biggest change to my own working voiceover life and that of many of my colleagues. Although in many places globally voice artists have been set up to work from home for some time, I only had a very improvised set-up which I used primarily for coaching....Continue reading
04.01.2022 PART 2 - AUDIO BOOK NARRATION TIPS... Casting the right narrator, whether you’re selected to do 1st, 2nd or 3rd person narration, has everything to do with skill and ability. Some narrators are not good at jumping into character. They may suit a nonfiction book.... If the book is fiction, there are many more considerations and requirements for achieving a narration that makes a truly great ‘audio book’. Are you able to create a ‘voice’ for the narrator that honours the author's intentions? Are you someone who has the ability to jump into other characters and present believable dialogue? In audio book narration we do this ‘on the fly’. That is, we do it in real time, as we go. To do this successfully, you need to know that there is a difference between your narrator voice and any character who may speak, be quoted, or be in dialogue with another. Think of it like this. A Narrator is telling the story, speaking directly to the listening audience. Dialogue requires you to create a believable visual or scene in which the characters speak, to move the story forward. HOW DO YOU GET AN AUDIO BOOK GIG? There are several different ways you can be cast to narrate an audio book. In Australia, and I’m sure in many other countries, there are sound recording studios that work directly with publishers to record the books. Or there are audio book publishers, who both commission work to be recorded in, or, like sound studios work directly with the books original publisher to cast and record the book. There are audio book producers and publishers in the US mostly, who work with people recording from their own home studios. This can be quite a task. You need to be able to create spotlessly clean and clear audio. You also need to be your own producer. That is, you need to judge and be consistent with your pace, volume, voice styles and characters. This can be where you might need some training. To be considered, you first need to alert those studios to your desire and talents by sending them a short (3-5 minutes) of a title that you feel you would be cast for. Find good titles that are well written, preferably contemporary. And it’s absolutely fine that you record this audition on your phone. They’re not interested in recording quality, just the quality of your storytelling. In my first year of recording major books (done heaps of children’s books over the years) I’ve discovered how much I love narrating an excellently written audio book. It’s deeply satisfying. If you want to hear examples of any of my work, you can just go to Audible.com and put my name, Abbe Holmes, into the search. Unless you have an Audible account, you can’t get access, but I would imagine that anyone who wants to narrate audio books listens to them regularly and is quite familiar with Audible. If not, and you feel you could be a narrator, then you need to begin your study of what’s what out there in audio book narration land. Happy Narrating!
04.01.2022 HOW TO USE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES FOR DIFFERENT SCRIPTS! As a Voice Actor, you'll be presented with different script styles that require you to approach them differently. The following tips will help you... First, let’s look at script styles in the area the area where there’s still the most work....Continue reading
03.01.2022 VOICE OVER COACH: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EMPHASIS AND INFLECTION! Two little words! Two very important little words. These are the two words that give some voice over actors the most difficulty and of course, they mean very different things....Continue reading
03.01.2022 4 WAYS TO MARKET YOUR VOICE OVER BUSINESS! With many of us slowly coming out of COVID-19 lockdown, it's a great time to reassess your marketing efforts. The tips below may help you!... 1 CREATE A PERSONAL WEBSITE It really doesn’t need to be more than one page, as long as it presents your best work and is Search Engine Optimised in the right way. Unless you understand how to do SEO, find a professional who can do some keyword research with you. For this you need to know the key words or phrases that potential searchers are putting into Google when they’re looking for a voice actor who has your talents. A couple of examples are ‘Australian female voiceover for medical reads’. It may be ‘mature US male for promo voiceover’. If you have a talent that’s more niche, like mimicking (and it better be good!) speaking in, or translating, another language or any other quirks, then make sure that’s included. 2 CREATE A LINKED IN ACCOUNT If your skills are in the non-broadcast area, this can be a great way to make contact with companies who may be looking for voice talent. It’ll mean cold calling online. Create a great, but short, in-mail about your abilities, include a link or links to your work and make sure your subject line has the word ‘voiceover’ in it. Such as ‘Need a professional male voiceover for your next project?’ 3 CREATE A LIST OF CONTACTS Call sound studios, radio stations and video production houses. Tell them who you are and what kind of voice actor you are. Ask them for a person’s name and an email address to send a demo. Keep notes - good notes! 4 BUILD RELATIONSHIPS Whenever you speak to someone about your talents and availability, or you get booked for a job, it’s an opportunity to begin building a relationship. Do this carefully and with a strategy in place: Be authentic. Never pushy! As in, never call up a studio and ask if there’s any work. Avoid contacting people too often. Find a legitimate reason for contact, such as, ‘I did a job recently that I thought you might like to hear’. Remind those who seemed the most interested that you’re still available. Once a month to six weeks is probably about right. Need help with your voice over marketing? Email me [email protected]
03.01.2022 HOW TO FOLLOW UP ONCE YOU'VE SENT YOUR DEMO OUT! If you’ve sent your demo to everyone you can think of, studios, radio stations and producersand you’ve had little or no response, you may be wondering what's gone wrong! You may even be thinking:...Continue reading
01.01.2022 HOW TO MAKE LANGUAGE SING! When I’m coaching or producing in the studio, I often talk about voiceover in terms of ‘notes’, a high note, a low note etc. Understanding pitch in much the same way as a singer or musician does, can be incredibly useful.... For instance, if you start a sentence on a high note, you may have nowhere to go and you might sense that your delivery is sailing up and up and upand you can’t work out why it sounds wrong. Try playing with the text in the previous paragraph and really listen to what’s happening in ‘note’ terms. Sometimes reading sounds awful if there is too much inflection on individual words for no reason, a bit like a roller-coaster. This always causes the read to sound disconnected, disjointed and gives away that the person is reading (badly). Generally what you need to do is look beyond ‘sentence structure’ itself and into the sentence to find how many different thoughts and ideas are there. In grammar rules, what I term thoughts and ideas will be referred to as clauses or phrases. Treat these as stand-alone thoughts, each with its own meaning, distinct from any thoughts or ideas either before or after it. Then string those individual thoughts together like they’re one long word, just as singers do. Now when you read those thoughts or ideas, you need to notice whether you leave gaps, or pause or stop between words. Your delivery must be natural. You must sound authentic and understand how to deliver a read that is not only easy on the listeners ear, it connects with the story you’re telling whether it’s an ad, a training manual or an audio book. Of course just like anything, to become proficient you must practice. To build a career in voiceover you must know your voice intimately. So ‘read off the page’ every day. Set aside time to read ‘aloud’ for at least 20 minutes, When you read you need to train yourself to listen to yourself as well. Read and listenlisten and read. Happy Voiceovering!
01.01.2022 VOICE OVER DEMO TIPS! If you’ve sent your demo to everyone you can think of, studios, radio stations and producersand you’ve had little or no response, you may be wondering what's gone wrong! You may even be thinking:...Continue reading
