A reader of The Magazine of Santa Clarita recently asked what skills are necessary for audiobook narration. In the past few months I’ve explained four of ten different skills needed. Here’s her question again, and the fifth, sixth and seventh skills explained.
Q: I’m a professional commercial voice actor, but I’d love to get into narrating audiobooks, and don’t know what specialized skills it takes to do it professionally. Are there any guidelines I should know about before attempting to jump into this arena? Thanks in advance for your info. –Selina H., Westlake Village, CA
A: Narrating an audiobook takes myriad skills. Master 10 crucial skills for audiobook narration and you’ll successfully accomplish a performance that most audiobook listeners take for granted. Here are three more of the fundamental skills you must have:
Consistency: Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” He wasn’t referring to audiobook narration, however, where consistency is highly prized. Energy, articulation, breath control, pitch control and characterization are all areas where solid consistency will get a narrator hired repeatedly, because audiobook publishers can count on them to deliver.
Analysis/Interpretation: This requires understanding the story arc and the characters (in fiction), discerning your listening audience, and employing the appropriate delivery. It involves understanding concepts and making them understandable to the listener.
Characterization: Bringing life to your characters is a must. They must be distinct from each other and consistent in their tone, attitude, age and accent. And their voices much match their given character description (if there is any).
Next month, I’ll lay out the rest of the skills necessary for professional audiobook narration. Stay tuned!
Cashman Commercials © 2011
Marc Cashman creates and produces copy and music advertising for radio and television, was named one of the “Best Voices of the Year” by AudioFile Magazine, and was the Keynote Speaker and Master Class instructor at the international voiceover conventions VOICE 2008 and 2010 in Los Angeles. Winner of over 150 advertising awards, and a working voice actor as well, he teaches voiceover technique at California Institute of the Arts and instructs voice acting of all levels through his classes, The Cashman Cache of Voice-Acting Techniques in Los Angeles, California.
Marc can be contacted at cashcomm@earthlink.net or his website, www.cashmancommercials.com.