Voice: Acting

Sure, you’ve got a great voice. But what really matters for a successful voice over career is your ability to tell your clients’ stories, says voice over veteran Bob Souer. No, he doesn’t book EVERY job, but that’s OK, he says, because …

Can’t find a quiet place to practice voice over? Don’t know HOW to practice? Or maybe you feel you don’t NEED to? David Goldberg, director and owner of Edge Studio, sees through this procrastination and offers six ways to get over those walls. “I guarantee that if you apply yourself in regular daily practice, you’ll sound better,” he says. Now start climbing …

TV cartoons and puppets are no longer just for kids, as adults increasingly turn on to these shows. But voicing them takes the same attention to creating a “sense of character and truth in character,” says veteran voice actor, coach and puppeteer Paul Liberti. For instance, “A puppet still needs to have a sense of breath, of eye focus – and everything that goes into allowing us to suspend our belief that we are looking at a real living and breathing character – and not a bath mat with two ping pong balls on it.” Here’s more, plus news about his upcoming classes in puppetry and VO animation …

Variety in your voice over reads is a key to getting more jobs and keeping clients. You’re up to it – but your right and left brains might need a nudge. In this thorough practice guide, veteran voice talent and coach Randye Kaye shows how to combine mind control and imagination for results that you can – well, only imagine …

Acting skills are the key to success in voice overs, and veteran voice actor/coach Vanessa Hart reviews the “what” and “how” to obtaining these skills in this excerpt from her new voice over training CD and study guide, “The Power of 5 – The Fundamentals.” But even skilled actors must be able to make the transition to acting just with their voice …

Award-winning voice talent and coach Marc Cashman sums up a dozen top skills that are fundamental to a successful career in voice acting. Hmm … amazingly, they all start with the letter “C” – from Clarity to Confidence – and they’re essential to every successful VO performance …

Observing this voice-over studio session was fascinating and instructive – especially since the production’s client was in another country – listening via Skype, relates leading VO talent and coach Deb Munro. Say what? If you don’t know Skype, it’s time to learn about the service that connects the world with audio and video – not only for voice-over jobs, but for training, as well …

Working exclusively online can bottle up your body and mind, so voice actor Steven Lowell, who is also public relations manager for Voice123 – the huge online voice-over marketplace – offers five “survival tips” for working as a “remote” voice talent. From creating the sense of a commute to work, to committing to new methods, here are lessons learned …

Quick: Create a voice-over character with XYZ (pick a few) characteristics. If what emerges sounds rather stereotyped and shallow to you, Pat Fraley – voice-over trainer, creator of more than 4,000 characters…

Voice Actor Caution signs. You’ve seen them. Those yellow, diamond-shaped traffic signs placed strategically along winding roads. Each one warns us to slow down and pay more attention because a…