The voiceover profession is vast and diverse, offering possibilities for all people to contribute their voices (and life experience) to a wide range of media, from television and film to radio and podcasts to video games and animation. With new platforms and technologies appearing continuously, the need for qualified voice actors only continues to increase.
The voiceover industry may appear secretive and exclusive to those who are not familiar with it, yet anyone who has the will and perseverance to succeed can enter it. In our voiceover meetups here in Las Vegas, we have the pleasure to meet fantastic people with different and interesting backgrounds, we have met Pilots, Lawyers, Engineers, Nurses, you name it, who want to have a creative outlet outside of their "main" career or profession.
In our meetups, we emphasize the fact that the voiceover profession (as many other things in life) is highly competitive, there are many skilled and seasoned voice actors available on the market, and they are all competing for the same jobs and opportunities. This means that people who wish to be successful in the field must be prepared to invest the time and energy necessary to refine their abilities and differentiate themselves from the competition.
One of those differentiators usually is what they did (or still do) professionally in their previous or current career; for instance, a friend of ours in the VO group is a commercial pilot and decided to start doing voice overs to express himself creatively. After training and getting the basic chops of voiceover, he would be a very strong candidate to get jobs and narrate voice overs for the airline industry (Pilot Training videos or software, New Plane Features, etc). Our mentor Melissa Moats even helped him with his branding: he is now known as Captain VO!
A person's experience and profession can provide them with a unique perspective and set of skills that they can bring to their voiceover work. For example, a person who has worked in customer service may have developed excellent communication and interpersonal skills, which can be beneficial for voiceover work that involves interacting with clients or delivering scripts that require a friendly and approachable tone. Similarly, someone who has a background in acting or public speaking may be more comfortable in front of a microphone and have a natural ability to deliver a script with expression and emotion.
Humility and the willingness to listen and learn are also key components of the voiceover business. Being humble, can help a voiceover artist to be open to learning and improving their craft. By maintaining a humble attitude and being open to feedback and criticism, a voiceover artist can more readily accept and learn from constructive criticism, which can help them to grow and develop as an artist.
The most successful performers are those that "leave their ego at the door" and are willing to let their mentors teach them and show them the nuisances of the each voiceover genre (corporate narration, movie trailers, commercials, Telephony / IVR prompts, etc). These skills also come in very handy when getting your first job and interacting with producers, script writers and ad agency executives; you are there to perform and need to learn when to speak and when to keep quiet and take direction from them.
The growth of online platforms and software tools has made it simpler than ever for voice over actors to audition and record from any location, contributing significantly to the expansion of the voiceover profession. This has made it simpler for actors to network with peers, clients as well as getting jobs while also allowing the industry to attract a larger pool of talent.
The voiceover profession is a vibrant and fascinating field that presents limitless chances for people from all walks of life, who are willing to explore and expand their creativity, regardless of their degree of experience or whether they are just beginning their voice over acting career.