Did you know that people around the world spend an average of 84 minutes per day watching video content? Are you aware that in the United States, for instance, online audio is being consumed by 73% of the population in a month, and 1 hour and 33 minutes is spent every day, on average, listening to audio content in Canada?
As a voice-over artist, these statistics should put a smile on your face. However, if you are new to the voice-over industry, you might need a few tips to get started. This article will look at 4 tips for a new voice-over artist. Continue reading to learn more!
Record with the Correct Posture
This tip might sound like we’re going back to basics. However, it is quite important to record with the correct posture. Many voiceover artists forget to do this, especially those that are new. This has nothing to do with etiquette and has everything to do with science.
Did you know that if your head is too far forward or too far backward, it will cause unnecessary tension in the vocal cords? This will affect your range and ability to convey emotions, but more importantly, you will tire your voice out much faster.
Best Ways to Find Work
As a new voice-over artist, one of the most challenging hurdles you will have to overcome would be finding work to begin with. While this might sound easy, it can be pretty tricky, especially if you aren’t sure what you are doing.
The best place to start as a new voice-over artist would be online voice-over platforms, such as Voquent. These marketplaces will allow you to create a profile, record demos, set your pricing, and, most importantly, have the client find you instead of looking for the work yourself.
Find the Emphasis Word
The next tip for a new voice-over artist would be to find the sentence’s emphasis word. When you talk throughout the day, especially when telling a story, there are certain words in a sentence that you emphasize.
For example, look at the emphasis on these two sentences; “I didn’t do that.” and “I didn’t do that.”. Depending on where the emphasis is will change the entire sentence’s meaning. Of course, this doesn’t happen with every sentence, but as a voice-over actor, you must identify if a sentence should emphasize a specific word. It is crucial to sell the message.
Study the Script
Study the script as much as possible. The primary reason you should study the writing is that this will give you an idea of how your character should sound.
More importantly, the script will dictate the tone that should be used for your voice-over. According to many clients, many voice-over artists don’t read the script and come in sounding like announcers. To avoid being one of those artists, read the script for clues about the piece’s tone. Should it inform, educate, sell, or entertain?
