There is a growing number of voice acting jobs available today that offer opportunities for aspiring voice over artists to audition for lucrative positions. The following tips should help talented actors as well as those who are only interested in voice acting be more confident with their approach to voice over auditions.
Here are five things you should think about when attending a voice over audition or auditioning from your home studio:
Vocal Quality
The quality of your voice is very important because there may be some voice over auditions that consist of only one word. Your instrument is critical for your career, so make sure to stay well hydrated and avoid any foods or beverages that can cause your mouth to be dry. Cigarettes, alcohol, citrus, dairy, cold drinks and coffee are the worst offenders.
Learn effective relaxation techniques and practice them frequently so that you can avoid tension in your voice, and don’t hold your breath during your voice over audition. Finally, take time to do some vocal warm-up exercises before your audition. This is particularly important when you’re audition is for a narration voice over job where proper placement is important and so that your voice will not give out while reading the copy.
Acting Skills
You will get better results if you approach each and every voice over audition as if it were an audition for an acting role. If you have not already received acting training, consider enrolling in an acting class so that you can learn some basic skills. Some skills you will need are how to create a character and how to be truthful even under imaginary circumstances.
For some auditions, like for an animated character or a voice over in a commercial, your acting skills will be more important than your voice quality. If you would like to be able to get voice over narration jobs, you should spend some time every day reading aloud from the newspaper or a novel. In that way, reading will become second nature to you.
Script Interpretation
Being successful with voice over auditions depends on you being able to break down scripts quickly. Even though most copy for commercial voice over work is short, but that is not to say that it is going to be easy. In actuality, one line auditions are often harder to nail than a full page promo. The reason for this is because you will need to search for clues in the script to help you determine what message the advertiser would like delivered to the audience and how you should deliver it.
Variety
When auditioning in a studio, you should remember that the casting director will help you if you just ask. This is especially true when you need help to pronounce a word correctly. An important part of being successful as a voice actor is being able to take direction. During the audition, if you get the sense that the director is not sure what they are looking for, this is a good time to use your talent to provide your client with options. Play with a variety of modulation techniques such as pitch, tone, volume, pauses, dialects and accent.
Microphone Techniques
If you don’t have experience working in a sound booth, a voice over workshop can help you learn how your voice will sound when picked up by sensitive microphones. It might be that you can benefit from working on your plosives or that you have a “sweet spot” or angle at which your voice sounds best when approaching the microphone. Don’t worry if you are unable to practice with a professional microphone before voice over auditions. However, you should make sure that you are not wearing noisy clothing or jewelry that clinks.
It is my hope that the above tips will help your next voice over audition a success.