Santa Clarita Magazine readers send me questions every day about the voiceover business. Here’s a good one:
Q: Marc, I’m taking a beginner voice acting class now, and I feel as if everyone in the class has something to offer except me. There’s one guy who has a very believable and friendly voice. And a young girl who has an amazingly hip, cool voice for announcing. And two guys who have really deep, resonant voices, while I have this higher pitched voice, and I’m not really sure what I have to offer, and so I don’t feel as confident. Is there anything I can do with my voice to perfect my voice acting? —Samir C., Hollywood, CA
A: Samir, the best thing you can do when you’re behind the microphone is to always be honest and sincere in what you’re saying. Don’t worry about the sound of your voice. You could have the most beautiful-sounding voice in the world, but if you don’t know what to do with it, or if you can’t put two words together or sound conversational or believable, it’s a waste. Your voice quality isn’t as important as your believability.
That said, not everyone who wants to be a voice actor can be. You have to have a specific set of inherent talent and skill to be competitive in this highly competitive field. Solid articulation, a pleasing-sounding voice, good breath control, an ability to read aloud effortlessly, without making many mistakes, the ability to understand what a script calls for and to perform with the appropriate delivery style, the skill of telling a story in a compelling way—these are all skill-sets that you must develop and incorporate into every voice acting audition or session. And the only way that you can become proficient is through constant practice.
I’ll share more voiceover questions and answers in the coming months. If you have any questions, please write to me and I’ll get back to you.
Cashman Commercials © 2009
Marc Cashman creates and produces copy and music advertising for radio and television. Winner of over 150 advertising awards, he also instructs voice acting of all levels through his classes, The Cashman Cache of Voice-Acting Techniques in Los Angeles, CA, and does One-on-One coaching via phone and the Internet. He can be contacted at cashcomm@earthlink.net or his website, www.cashmancommercials.com .