The Many Misconceptions About Voiceover

If you are new to the voiceover industry, or you are considering changing career paths in order to give your voice the chance to shine, you will want to be very careful to avoid the many myths and misconceptions related to this field.  There are many of them, but here we will touch on a few that could be very misleading and cause your new career to fail in no time.

It’s Not About the Imitations There are so many people who come into this industry who believe that the name of the game is to be able to mimic the stars and cartoon characters well known to people throughout the country.  They create entire demo reels showcasing their ability to mimic others.  This is not what voiceover is about and, in fact, that sort of demo reel can actually hurt your chances to sign with potential clients.  Why?  In most cases, the casting directors want to hear your voice, not someone else’s.  A little bit of imitation work can be beneficial, but the majority of your work will be done in your own voice.

It’s More Than Audiobooks and Cartoons While it is true that audiobooks and animation have been a source of income for many voiceover artists, they are not the only forms of voiceover work.  In fact, they don’t even represent the majority of the work.  Be sure that you aren’t limiting yourself as a VO professional.  There is work to be had recording for commercials, internet spots, video games, narration, training videos, introduction videos, and other corporate work.

Not Everyone Can Do Voiceover Anyone with a voice can be recorded, right?  While that may be true, it doesn’t mean that the recording will be worth anything.  And, more importantly, there is much more involved with working as a voiceover artist than speaking into a microphone.  You will be operating your own business, which means marketing, accounting, time management, and much more.  Not everyone can make it as a voiceover artist.