VOICE TALENT

It is recommended that you take a class in voice-overs to get a handle on how all of this works. Your city should have an acting studio that teaches a class in voice work. Most cities have schools that offer all sorts of different classes, from ballroom dancing and pottery to computer basics and foreign languages. These centers usually have some classes that cover film and television careers, and you are likely to find a voice-over class there as well. Wherever you find it, take this class. Your teacher will not only tell you what you need to know to make the voice demo itself, but also where and how much it will cost you to make the demo. The teacher will also give you guidelines as to how many copies of it you will need to have made, how to create a catchy cover (called a j-card), and to whom you should deliver your demos once they are ready.

You may want to take some classes in diction. These classes will help ensure that you are able to speak clearly and at the right pace so that you are easily understood. A singing class does not hurt either. And although you may have already decided that you do not want to act on-screen, it is important to understand that even though only your voice may be featured, you are still acting! There is a big difference between simply reading lines and actually acting them so that what you are saying is believable. This is why you are called “voice talent” and not just “voice.” So, take one or two basic acting classes, just so that you can sound like you really mean it when you tell your listeners to buy Super Sweet Smelling Soap or if you land your big break doing the voice for a new Disney character in a feature-length animated film.