Number 1

Developing the Transparent Voice

Voiceover is about communicating a message by lifting the words off the page and making them sound like you’ve just made them up, as opposed to ‘reading’.  It’s called  ‘transparency’.  Great voice over artists have heaps of it.

Without transparency, your voice won’t ever connect with the listener.  You might sound good, but unless that message really lands, you just won’t have a voiceover career.

If often ask potential students if they are a good sight reader.  That is, can they pick up any piece of written material and read it aloud and have it make sense?  They always answer yes.

The thing is, we can all read, and we can all sight read but being successful as a voiceover artist is about a lot more than just reading.

One of the things that always amazes me about coaching is that I never know what kind of talent a student has until they are in the studio with a script and doing it.

I have had some potential students call me and talk to me with a voice of honey or a deep voice or a cute voice or what I perceive to be a ‘now’ kind of voice but more often than not it’s not a stand-out voice that comes up with the goods in our studio sessions.   It’s often someone with a fairly ordinary voice.  Note I said ordinary.  I didn’t say boring.  There’s a big difference.

Sometimes I get someone with a strongly identifiable voice.  A voice that’s so quirky, advertisers want to grab that voice as their own.  However, the thing about having a strongly identifiable voice is just that; it’s strongly identifiable, so unless that actor has the ability to change their voice, it might mean that their work is limited by their strong style.

But even with a strongly identifiable voice, there are many techniques that I teach which will help you create a demo that shows your strengths and says you have versatility.  I know plenty of voice actors who do have a recognizable voice style who have been in regular work for years.

However, the actors who make the huge 6 figure living from voiceovers are voice artists who are incredibly versatile and understand the different voice styles required for scripts.

If you want to understand those voice styles in depth, and how to create ‘transparent’ reads, download my audio programs. Called ‘Master Your Voiceover Technique’, they come with scripts for you to print out, so you can work along with me and peel back the onion of technique from the comfort of your own home.  Here’s the link.  http://voiceovercoach.com.au/courses/mastering-your-technique