Voice Over Interview
I was recently approached by a student who was interested in interviewing me for their senior project. They chose the topic of Voice Acting for it, and information was passed along the way to get us in touch with one another. It’s fun to talk shop, even at the level I’m at now, and I wanted to thank them for taking the time to chat! Below is the short interview, which they gave me permission to use here. I hope it gives anyone aspiring to join the wild world of VO an insight to what the job looks like!
~ Kxo
1) What made you interested in voice acting?
It was a dream career for me, one I thought unattainable when I was a kid. I aspired to do something in the creative arena but didn’t know what. My career path changed several times through high school, and more in college. I didn’t get to act until later in my scholastic years, my freshman year in college being my first real musical on stage, but I knew I had a passion for it. All I knew was that I’d grown up watching so many cartoons, anime, and playing video games… and wanted to be a part of that.
In 2015 I lost my job on the storefront, for personal reasons, and began graphic design for authors as a hobby. At that point, I had a couple of one-off gigs under my belt, independent projects and a short-lived run as a narrator for a growing YouTube channel. It wasn’t until I had a long talk with one of my clients that she mentioned audiobooks were seeing a huge boom. I couldn’t get out to theater productions in a while, for health reasons, and I missed acting. Not to mention, home studios were becoming easier and more affordable to put together. When he heard about my interest, my step-dad actually gave me a gift to get started: a condenser microphone that I still use to this day. I discovered a massive demand for remote voice over; commercial, audiobook narration, animation, video games, podcasts, and more recently e-learning, apps, all of which were opportunities wide open for voice over artists.
2) What experience did you need to get into this field?
Before I went into the field myself, a lot of voice over artists I talked to recommended taking an acting course first. This is such great advice, and the first thing I pass on when asked by other aspiring voice actors. When I started, I’d already been through college and community theater, and had been performing music and dance since I was young. But the arts are always changing and keeps me on my toes, so I’m learning new things to this day! Improv was also recommended, as well accent and dialect coaching to broaden your skill set. Voice acting is acting, but we typically don’t get to use facial expressions or body language to showcase it… just our voices. (Motion capture is a different story though!) I’m a singer as well, so I utilize breathing techniques and warmups to make sure my voice isn’t completely run down at the end of the day.
People tell me they don’t realize how much goes into voice acting, as some think I just sit behind a microphone and talk. At the basic level, it is, but it still takes training and endurance for long-form reading or character work. Audiobooks require a lot of expression and performance, especially to take on several characters (gender, age, accent, mood factored in) and is different from reading from an e-learning script, but it’s good to sound engaging and dynamic, no matter what. A couple of pointers I would’ve told myself when I started: First, depending on the medium, know the tone and follow the director’s notes. And second, start slow in short sessions, and work your way up.
Communication, flexibility, punctuality and of course, transparency, are good things to have as you’re essentially your own business. I’ve been fortunate to have directors (or Rights Holders/Authors in the Audiobook field) that are compassionate when discussing emergencies and flexing for time, or patient when it comes to engineering issues.
Also not required but recommended, especially for home studio voices, is to learn how to use recording software. For traditional in-person studio sessions, the company and engineer take care of the recording and equipment, so it depends on what method you’re working with for equipment knowledge. I can say that working from home is a challenge, so be patient and don’t be afraid to ask questions and network with peers. Marketing is also a huge part of it. Not everyone makes it mandatory to share your work, but you can get some potential clients hooked by sharing samples, demos or promoting your productions and work to keep it fresh and available to possible listeners/viewers. A basic understanding of social media and getting your brand set up on a website is also part of the job.
3) How do the audition processes work?
Even before 2020’s work from home requirements, the voice over scene was growing, to allow for a ton of in-home auditioning and producing. Auditions vary for different projects.
Some sites, like what’s available for Audible, you can search by genre, voice type, etc., and choose which productions to audition for, or you may be approached by an author through a direct message if they enjoy what you put on your demo profile. For every title, you get a script of selected text, and that’s where you can take your artistic liberties to the booth. Once edited down, submit your file to them. This process can be tedious, and I’d suggest getting a second opinion, or another listener, if you’re comfortable with it. I run most all of my stuff through my engineer. Other places will listen to your demos and your skill level of accents, range and such, and will email or dm if there is a match for a specific read.
One site, named Casting Call Club, will have a full cast list of characters available, with a brief description on each, and 3+ lines to read. They give you direction notes in the text, but some I’ve found leave it open to interpretation, or include a blank space that just says “improv, combat effort”. (This is one of the only sites that will publicly show your recorded audition to peers, in an anonymous upvote system and room for notes. This seems intimidating for folks who are rather shy, but so far I haven’t seen any issues with the users here, most of them are very supportive and as far as I know, it is moderated fairly well).
What all voice acting casting websites have in common, is to register for your profile, write a brief bio, gather a few short demos and set it up. When submitting the files to the director or production team, the time for response varies. It could be same day, or up to a few weeks before hearing back. You may get a callback to read through a second time with more direction, or if necessary, a director will ask to do a live video direction session with you. Sometimes they have the courtesy to send you an email or a rejection notice, but I have run into productions that cast without a word to those who have missed out. If you’re familiar with auditioning of any kind, this part can be rough, depending on feedback or the let-down of missing out on a role. As my coach often tells me – keep your eyes up and keep on moving.
4) Who are your inspirations?
Oh … so many people. To name a few:
Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect, Overwatch), Lori Alan (Spongebob, Family Guy), Laura Bailey (World of Warcraft, Avengers), Ashly Burch (Borderlands, Life is Strange), Troy Baker (The Last of Us), Nolan North (Uncharted), Steve Blum (Naruto, Cowboy Bebop), Matt Mercer (Critical Role, Overwatch)
I could honestly go on and on, name so many, and gush about how much they made an impact on my drive to break into this field. If you’re not familiar with them by name, look them up, they each have tremendous resumes that you’d probably recognize! :) I discovered them through video games and anime/cartoons but some of them also have live-action credits for web, tv, movies. I got a chance to meet a few of them too, including Nolan, Ashly, Yuri Lowenthal (Spiderman) and his wife Tara Platt (Naruto). They were so sweet, and it was surreal to be in the same room as them. Steve Blum also has an online training course where you can learn from him and his VO pals, if you’re interested to check it out! (Not an ad, haha, he’s a down to earth veteran VO passing on some great knowledge!)
Additionally, I’m not sure if many are familiar with the Police Academy movies or maybe Spaceballs. Michael Winslow, who made all those sound effects with his voice, was one of the first times I’d ever seen a walking ‘foley artist’ in film. I’m far from that level of skill but seeing his work at a young age definitely attributed to my exploration of the use of voice.
5) What have you done and what do you aspire to do?
I started back in 2015 (which was years ago, I know) but I consider myself a “seasoned newbie”, still building up my credits. I narrated for a Top Ten MMA channel on YouTube early on, participated in a few Indie machinima and animated projects, and have grown since then. Notably, I was Jane in Machinima called “Elrios Mages”, Sylwia in The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim (mod) expansion of “Summerset Isle” which is playable through Nexus for PC, an AI Welcome Bot in independent animated short called “Heroes Breaker”, and one of the voices of Starfleet Command in Star Trek: Fleet Ops. I’ve also done some radio spots promoting my prior bands, as well as the automated phone voice for a small business.
I am on track to hit my 20th audiobook [later] this year, and the library that I’ve narrated so far varies from Young Adult, Dark Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, and also Sci-Fi for both indie and bestselling authors. They are available on Audible, Amazon and iTunes. Two of my audiobooks headed to release soon are called Disenchanted which is a dark historical fantasy about a cursed princess, and Vampire in the Night a vampire paranormal romance. They are by bestselling authors Brianna Sugalski and Rhiannon Frater, respectively. I’m most excited to share them, as two of my longest narrations, and were fun and challenging as far as accents and character work.
I’m always auditioning for new projects, including an animated pitch for Adult Swim, and various video games and animations that come through my audition network. My dream, shooting for the stars of course—is to be the voice of a in a triple-A video game, be picked up by one of the big 5 book publishers, or even participate in a Disney/Pixar movie.
Non-Audiobook gigs currently in production or post-production:
- Magic the Gathering’s Kaldheim lore, produced by fan-based company Voice For All, as Lathril.
- ‘Remote Angel’ Webtoon comic dub, created by the artist Yenniefer, as Icela and various voices
- ‘Dirty Little Secrets’, a Sims Machinima produced by Veslin Radonov, as Ruby Weatherford.
- The Elder Scrolls: Skywind, a massive overhaul in the Elder Scrolls game verse, as several voices including 2 Redguard and a few Dark Elves.
And lastly, a couple of projects in development include a podcast concept, surrounding entertainment, video games, and more.
6) How has the overall experience been for you?
I say this a lot, but it’s been a real adventure, always fun and challenging! There’s a huge learning curve, and it can be overwhelming at times. I basically run my own business, as an independent contractor, which is a nice freedom to have. Although it can be tough some days, I keep at it because I finally found a career that I love and enjoy. Last year was a rough spot for everyone but changed my perspective on a lot of things. I believe it somewhat changed the course of my artistry. I hit the ground running, aiming for a small and reasonable goal. After a few gigs were booked, I just kept on going. The ability to portray characters or to tell a story in this medium has been very fulfilling.
Networking with colleagues has been amazing. My engineer/coach is a godsend, as she’s helped me every step of the way. Though any creative network is not without flaw, the people I surround myself with are completely supportive and informative as well. I do enjoy meeting fellow voice actors, actors and musicians and have gotten to coach and provide feedback a couple of times. I’ve found that I enjoy guiding any aspiring artists on the way, when and where I can.
All in all, I’m thankful to be where I’m at, even at this level, knowing that there’s so much room to grow. I’ve been fortunate enough to network with actors I’ve followed for years, who are living the dreams I’m shooting for. Not to mention, getting recommendations from past clients or approached for projects based on what’s already out there is so invigorating and exciting, as my repertoire grows.
I can’t wait to see where the next year takes me. :D
