How to Make Real Money Doing Voice Overs
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One of the best ways to break into the voice over industry is to actually work for a radio or TV station in the on-air department. In the case of a TV station you need to be hired by the production department. In either radio or TV if you have a good enough voice you will be doing commercials as part of your regular production schedule. This will give you a chance to practice and learn your skills as you mix voice, music and sound effects.
Sometimes sound effects are hard to come by and you have to get creative! The sound of fire can be made by crunching cellophane slowly in your hand and the sound of a sailing ship can be made with a stytrofoam cup, crushing it gently in your hand. An inflated paper bag and a little reverb will give you the sound of a small explosion provided you give it a good smack! You get my meaning. Hopefully your radio station will have a good sound effect library.
Just by working on air at a station will give exposure to the business community and before long you will be getting requests to do voice-overs on a freelance basis. This can involve narrations as well as commercials.Most stations will let you use the production studios after hours in order to do your freelance work at no charge. If they do charge you then pass on the cost to your client.
You will find most requests for production is always at the last minute with an imminent deadline and very often on a Friday afternoon when the sales staff has brought in their orders and gone home for a long weekend. This leaves you with having to get client approval and very often this means you will have to play your completed spot to the client who often has a commission waiting to hear your valiant efforts. Very often there is someone in the crowd who has a small objection and wants a change and you end up cutting your spot all over again and calling back again, hopefully for final approval!
The for the most part voice-overs are fun to do and hopefully as you pick up freelance work, the clients will stay with you and repeat order from you. You will have a chance to use your creativity, especially if you have to write the copy yourself.
You will also get strange requests. A TV station called me one afternoon wanting me to be the voice of a golf ball for an animated spot for an upcoming golf event. I complied and the spot worked out well thank goodness. They had me cry out as the golf ball (me) dropped into the hole!
If you work outside of radio and TV and want to do voicework on a regular basis you need to have a quality voice and an agent. You need to work in NYC and be a member of Aftra. Once you get in and get into the loop you can make good money. Do not forget the trade papers like Backstage and Variety. You will often see ads for auditions, both union and non-union. The money can be very good so persevere!
I have always found freelance voice-over work to be inconsistent so do not give up your day job, at least not until you get well established. Good luck. I hope you find your niche in the voice-over industry and get your piece of the many spots and narration scripts that are out there.
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Source by Alan Munro