How to Study for Your Job as a Voiceover Artist

If you are breaking into the voiceover industry, then you likely have looked into many different aspects of the career. You might have assembled a home office, built yourself a website, and even applied for a job or two.  However, in order to keep progressing as a voice actor, you need to practice and study the craft.  This is true in most any profession, and particularly for those who are novices in their respective fields.  So, how do you study to hone your craft?

Listen Voiceover can be found in so many different arenas these days – commercials, television shows, movies, theater performances, how to videos, social media advertisements, and the list goes on from there.  So, you won’t be hard pressed at all to find examples that you can study and learn from.  Pick out voiceover performances that you really like.  But, also pick out some that you recognize as poorly done.  Try to figure out what you appreciate in the good, and what you’d want to avoid in the bad.

Experiment Once you have studied the works of others, play with your own voice.  Set up the recording studio and just go in to play once in a while.  No one has to hear the outcome of these sessions except you, but it is entirely worthwhile, because you may discover different approaches that would be valuable in prospective jobs.  This is also a great way to work on impressions, if you are hoping to use them to maximize your appeal.

Sign Up for Classes You may not find classes specifically catering to voice acting in your area, but chances are very good that you can find some general acting- and improvisation classes near you.  These can be very valuable for voice actors and actresses.  After all, we still must know how to ‘become the character’ for the sake of our work. Attend conferences set up by professional groups
like WoVo (World Voices Organization), Faffcon or VO Atlanta. 

Above all else, always try to learn from each and every job that you do, whether you read a single line or a three hundred page novel.