Almost every day, I see a post asking “How to I get into Voice Acting?”
or
“I was offered a VO gig, how can I tell if it’s legit or a scam?”
We will get to that in a bit, but first, a short video which will answer most of your questions.
Breaking Into Voice Acting: The Real Path
"You have a great voice!"“I can do really good impressions!” doesn't book jobs. Voice acting is acting—period.
Step 1: Master Acting First
Start with acting classes at reputable schools: https://www.atcstudios.org/five-things-you-should-know
Take: Intro to Acting → Monologue Study → Scene Study (A/B scenes) → Character Study (for animation/gaming).
Do a play under professional direction, even a 5-minute scene.
*What is a “legit” acting conservatory? Details at bottom of page.
Step 2: Narrow Your Field to Voice Acting.
Find a legitimate VO coach.
If a prospect promises you’ll make six digits in your first year- run away at a brisk pace.
This is a real business. Learning to be a good actor, coachhing, demo production will take time and money.
If the last project a potential coach booked was in 1995, not good either.
Start with group classes (Zoom works), small enough that you can work in every session.
Invest in one-on-one coaching when ready to get into the real nitty gritty
Identify your niche: Commercial, Promo, Medical, Explainers, Imaging, Narration
Step 3: Professional Demo Reels
Your calling card. Industry standard: 60 seconds of your absolute best.
Investment: $1,000-$3,000 for professional production
Don't DIY—homemade demos get mocked and deleted
Beware cheap producers without proper script/music licensing
Process takes 3-7 days with the right producer
Two schools of thought when it comes to demos. Some coaches will have you doing major national brands, presumably to show what you CAN do… (with side coaching).
On a real booking- there is no side coaching, you are naked and on your own.
This approach has a litany of problems. If you are a beginner, the chances you actually voiced an ad for CocaCola is slim to none.
Agents KNOW who the actual voice is, and you are stealing credit for someone elses work. There is the copyright issue, and best case scenario, you are starting a business with a lie. I saw one voice actor who edited his voice over to replace the one on a national spot. Pure amatuer. And again, another lie.
In contrast, your demo should be a resume of work you actually booked. This shows the agent/ casting director you are capable of booking AND what you sound like.
Now the tricky catch 22. You are just starting out and have no clips for your “resume demo”.
Do not steal by transcribing an ad from TV / radio or use “practice scripts” available online.
It is the job of a demo producer to write “local” spots. Use made-up businesses. No one will know if you did “Route 23 Acura” or not.
AND…The read for a high end car is identical in both national and dealership local.
You can also ad the typical hyped up local dealer Ford spot.
“Kings Furniture of Denver”- made up, but shows what you CAN do in a resume format demo.
As you book actual work, you start adding and subtracting clips in your demo.
There are also a lot of engineering tricks (my secret sauce), to make a demo sound like a legit collection of your work, rather than a session in the studio.
YOUR DEMO REELS ARE YOUR CALLING CARD- EQUIVALENT TO AN ACTOR’S HEADSHOT!
Expensive? Yes.
It IS the life of your business. Be careful with bargain basement prices, often the producer will not put the time in to get a perfect demo.
I’d ballpark to say $900.00 on the low end; to $2800.00 for decent work.
Please do NOT pay more than $3500, and only if this gal/guy has decades of performace and production experience.
Any fees higher than that, avoid. You do not need to spend that kind of money.
The good news is, all money spent in your VO business is tax deductable from any taxable income which you earned in the business.
Step 4: Equipment & Setup
Only after demos are complete:
Condenser microphone. The AT 2020 is an excellent starting point.
Avoid fragile USB mics. Stick with XLR connections and cables.Digital Interface.
Recording software
Sound-treated recording space
Your coach guides equipment choice, thus she/he needs enginnering experience.
Eventually you can go sky high with lots of toys with blinky lights.
Not needed to get started.
Technology changes too quickly to post a list of equipment here.
By the time I hit “save”, new options will come out.
Step 5: Marketing
Simple website: downloadable demos + contact info on homepage
Second page: resume and bio
Now you're ready to compete in this ultra-competitive field
Remember: This is a journey, not a sprint. Every step builds the foundation for sustainable success.
iS IT ‘ANNOUNCING’, ‘VOICE OVER’, OR ‘VOICE ‘ACTING’?
When the first audio recording technology was introduced, microphones, recording media, electronics, speakers and forth were difficult to understand.
Talent really needed to make every word super clear, which led to the “announcer” style. Think of old news film.
Up into the early 80’s, radio DJ’s on Top 40 stations were known as “pukers”.
A radio announcer who attempts to add excitement to his delivery by talking from the back of the throat, a common affectation.
I am sure there are many others who were “announcers”, hand to ear and all. However, Don Pardo comes to mind.
Pardo would live announce the start of WNBC-TV’s afternoon news, “From WNBC-TV…this is Liiiiive at Fiiiive, with Jack Cafferty and Sue Simmons.”
Radio DJ’s had the toughest time adapting to the non-announcer style.
VOICE OVER AND VOICE ACTING
More or less interchangable. After the announcer style went out of vogue, casting wanted a natural “guy next door” sound. Trained talent who did not sound trained.
I found it to be the most useless direction to give to the talent. WHO is the “guy next door”? WHAT is my relationship with “the guy next door”?
What do I WANT from the “guy next door”? And the list goes on. This is where voice ACTING comes into play.
A FEW SEMESTERS AT A REPUTABLE ACTING SCHOOL WILL TEACH YOU ALL THESE THINGS, AND HOW TO EXECUTE DIRECTION QUICKLY.
It is worth repeating. Going into Voice Acting is expensive up front. Acting classes, coaching, demo reels, equipment, sound treating your recording space,self-marketing, book keeping, and so forth.
But! Done right, can be quite rewarding.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMS.
This portion is from ATCstudios.Org
1. No Performing Arts Conservatory should be aligned with an agency.
Scam agencies are rampant. You've probably seen an expose on them on television. Legitimate agencies make money only when the performer makes money from acting jobs, NOT by selling you classes, photographs or "portfolios." Beware of agencies that say things like "You have a great look! All you need to get going are some photos (or classes)." "No experience necessary" is also a dead giveaway: there are plenty of people out there who have experience, and know what they're doing. Why would they work with someone who has no clue? (The answer is, 'because they can sell you photos, classes, etc.!')
2. Disciplines (i.e. acting, on-camera, improv, voice acting, directing, playwriting, etc.) should be offered at gradient levels to provide students a well-grounded training experience.
It's important to make sure there are multiple levels of experience represented within the class structure. If you are just starting out, you do NOT want to be in a scene class with people who already understand how to break down a scene, know the "lingo," and are ruthlessly going after their objectives. You will be lost, and your class time will not be enjoyable or beneficial.
3. A fair percentage of instructors should be professionals in their particular performance discipline. Professionals teach what works.
If you are interested in an academic theatre training, you should be looking to university and college programs. But if you want to learn the craft, techniques and the "business" of show business, look for a performing arts conservatory that has show business professionals on its teaching staff. These people have been out there in the "real world" and know the techniques that work. They live the business every day, know how to network and can pass on that knowledge to you.
4. An outlet to "try out" what the student has learned should be provided.
A performing arts conservatory has the very word "performing" in its title. There should be an opportunity to try out the techniques you've gathered. This does not necessarily mean that if you're just starting out, you should have the added pressure of performing, BUT as you progress in your training, performing for an audience should actually be PART of your training.
5. No Performing Arts Conservatory should promise that students will get a job, agent, or be the next super-star.
Show business has NO guarantees. So much depends on talent, persistence, and simply being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes casting will come down to the color of one's hair! There is no way a conservatory, agency or manager can predict what YOUR future will bring.
ATC Studios will never promise you any of the above. What we do guarantee is high quality, professional training that will prepare you for that job, that agent, or even for becoming the next super-star!
BEWARE OF ONLINE SCAMS TARGETING VOICE ACTORS
Believe or not, there are many. Here are some red flags to watch out for.
An e-mail worded something along the lines of, “We heard your work and think you would be a good match for our product…” These usually come by the way of Facebook, but can show up in your mailbox. Especially if your website has a “contact me” e-mail.
The e-mail comes from a “G-Mail” account. Legit businesses have their domain name after the @ in their e-mail.
You are sent a check for “the wrong amount”, and they ask that you send back the difference. Meanwhile, the check you are holding is phony, and you end up giving them your money.
They try to move the conversation to “Telegram” or other untraceable form of communication.
No legit company will ever do this.If you are uncertain, look for a web presence. See if they have a website. Cross reference through the web.
Scammers are getting ahead of this by creating phony websites, so again, cross reference. See if the company and/or person is on linked in- and for how long. Look for business history.
If you are asked for any money upfront, hang up and delete.
If you ended up doing the job, and then they ask for a fee to release your funds, another scam. Best bet is to think of that effort of that recording to be practice.
If an “agency” says they are interested in representing you for a fee upfront. Scam operation.
If an “agency” says they are interested, but that you need new demos, that is OK; BUT if they want you to use of of their producers, that is not OK.
Many new actors and models experience this in terms of headshots.
Legit agencies make their money from a commission of your payment in full.
Usually managers get 20%, agents get 10%.
Sometimes the agent goes through a manager, so that’s a 30% commission.
Depending on your agreement with your representation, your agent MAY take 10% of ALL work you book, even if it’s not through them. This is more the case of being “signed” versus “freelance”, but it is legit.If you are uncertain if a VO offer is legit, and you have representation, refer the prospect to your representation.
If it is a scam, they will more than likely vanish. If it is legit, your representation will handle the deal.
Legit companies do not hire on Facebook.
Bottom Line: If you are unsure, or see any of these red flags, or too good to be true, delete and move on.