There are many ways to get into the voiceover industry, and how to get voiceover work, but it’s much easier to get into this lucrative industry if you are an already trained actor. In this article, I will explain what the different kinds of voiceover are and how to get start in voice acting.
How to Get Voiceover Work: The VO Work Available to Actors:
There are several types of voiceover, or voice-acting if you prefer that term, and several answers to the question – How to Get Voiceover Work. All pay comparatively well and all are commonplace in the industry today. These are:
Narrative Voiceover – narrating television, film, radio, and any number of commercial products. Typical salaries for this range from £150-£250/$175-$300* per hour, plus royalties or buyouts if applicable depending on the job. You can learn how to become an audiobook narrator and try to do some narrative voiceover work.
Commercial Voiceover – advertising on radio, television, cinema, and of course, the web. The basic studio fees (BSF) in commercial VO are as the narrative fees above, but the performance royalty buyouts in this sector make eyes turn green. For a good national commercial, you can easily pick up $10k-$15k for just a couple of hours of work, based on the number of times the advert is viewed. Web is the most popular and the standard usage for web advertising is around 400% of your BSF.
Voice of God – performing as the master of ceremonies or the evening announcer at corporate events is big business globally. With over 1.8 million events happening each year in just the USA alone, there is a huge demand for solid VOG voice talent to help control the attendees and make the event run smoothly. It’s not uncommon to earn from $500 – $3000 for each individual event.
Animations/Character/Kids – although there are fewer opportunities than the events market, there are more and more animations, cartoons, web series and more being made each year. Successful animations go viral and stars are born. Tied into merchandising, the animation market extends to a global reach and can make people a lot of money. For payments, there are your BSF’s, your royalties and your buyouts, and of course any merchandising you can get – plus appearances and trade-shows if you’re successful.
Audiobooks – the writing was firmly written on the wall when Amazon bought-out Audible and turned it into the largest audiobook company in the world. It’s no joke to say that every single fiction book published today will have an associated audiobook. The pay is comparatively low for an audiobook compared to some streams, in the region of $800-$1500 per book, but the work is steady and there is a lot of it.
Gaming – in today’s gaming market, stars are born. Look at Troy Baker, the star of huge franchises such as The Last of Us, Batman (playing both Batman and the Joker, after Mark Hamill), Uncharted 4, Infamous, Borderlands, Bio shock Infinity ….the list goes on. Games are not restricted by geography and quickly become huge around the globe, played by millions of players regularly. Most good gaming actors receive fan mail! For smaller parts, your BSF and 100% buyout per hour applies. If you start to get well known, you start to command your own price.
Corporate – although a little more grey and dull-sounding than the rest, the corporate VO world is easily the biggest marketplace for voice artists. Steady work, well paid as an hourly rate, reasonable buyouts and a nice income applies with your basic studio fees, and sometimes usage.
As An Actor, There are 4 Skills You Need.
“You Need a Professional Outlook”
As an actor, you’re used to being in the media industry. You are either already employed as an actor or you’ve already tried to get acting work. At the very least you know that a professional outlook is mandatory and that you’re going to get nowhere without it.
You know how to respect your clients, how to move within the industry and how to not piss people off! This is one true aspect in how to get voiceover work!
If this is starting to sound like we’re reading your stars or your tarot cards – I’m just telling the truth – you have this experience already as an actor, I’m not blowing sunshine…where I shouldn’t!
“You Need to Know How to Act”
Obviously – you’re an actor. Please refer to the title of this article! This is the key skill in your armory and sets you apart from the majority of voiceover artists who have not had dramatic training.
You don’t know it yet (because you’re not a pro’ voiceover artist), but you are already directly suited to work in gaming, animations, radio plays and more. Even more than that, you’re suited to many more types of voiceover than you think because you’re already an actor. What is being a Voice of God if God is not a character that can be played?
“Knowledge of How to Cast”
Isn’t it amazing how similar the worlds of acting and voiceover are? You are an actor – you get roles by casting for them. You have this in the bag. Well, you nearly have this in the bag.
Being flippant aside, casting is the key to jumping the queue on all the voiceover artists who aren’t actors. As a casting director 90% of what comes across my desk is rubbish, and that means that in a positive light – it’s very easy to stand out of you’re johnny-on-the-spot with your casting.
“Experience & Your CV”
You may have experience and you may not. I suspect as an actor you do have quite a lot; if nothing else, the years of dramatic training you did and the productions you were in during that time.
But listen. Come close, I’ll tell you a secret…
Your acting experience is not differentiated as acting and voiceover on your CV by casting directors and voice directors – we see it as all the same.
So if you already have experience as an actor, you already have experience as a voice artist! You’re ahead of the game!
Thank you for your reading.Good Luck!
