Voice Overs 101

“I think I would be great at being a presenter or voice over artist because I have a great voice”

Everyone who works in radio, most of all copywriters and producers have heard that line, over and over and over again. We have had demos emailed to us by strangers. And we’ve had people think that we are the big shots who get people on air. We don’t, well not at least in this country and media industry.

Here are a couple of things to take note of when you consider being a voice over artist. First of all KILL THE FAKE WENG’. It can be sniffed 10 kilometres away!
Being a voice over artist isn’t a competition for fake accents. Shame some people getaway with it. But the truth is, if you don’t have a European, Arabic, Asian, Latina, Nigerian, Caribbean or American accent, don’t. I repeat DO NOT acquire one when you are in front of a mic.

Voice over work is simply acting with your voice, and theatre of the mind. We fuse script and sound to create a picture in people’s mind. Get it?
That means a character should be depicted from your voice. That means you need to be able to follow direction from the person who scripted the commercial. You should be able to breathe life into a script and create a mood. You need to understand that.

For those interested in being on air. I suggest you cease listening to some of your friends who glorify your voice. Because radio isn’t just about a great voice you need a personality to match.

I have met people with amazing voices but boring as hell to listen to. Your friends are not the gauge; go to a studio conduct a voice test and ask for an honest critique of your performance. It is ok if you get nervous it is normal.
But you need to be willing to accept direction and pointers on how to deliver a script. Sure some scripts are horribly written. But that doesn’t mean your voice needs to butcher it further.

Oh! And a little pointer, when reading a script…smile. We can always tell when someone smiles. Try it. Get a script; record it without smiling and when smiling. Listen to the difference; you’ll see what I mean.