The Profession of Voice-Overs

Of all the performing fields, this is the toughest to break into. "The voice business," says "The Voicecaster" Bob Lloyd, "Is the most lucrative part of show business, and, because of that, it is also the most competitive. You can count on two or three hands the number of new people each year who make a living at it."

However, if you keep hearing that your voice could make Scrooge buy mistletoe, and you want to take a crack at the Voice Biz, first understand, just as every other field, that this is no place for part-time fun and games. Bob Lloyd adds, "My biggest concern with people who are trying to get into it, is that they treat it as an adjunct to everything else. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it's probably pretty much in direct proportion to the rewards you will get from it. Being in the voice business requires a dedication and a work ethic that is perhaps even more difficult than being in the face business. If I had any counsel to give to anyone who wants to get into the voice business, they better damn well figure out how they can put in at least 12 to 20 hours a week working at it."

In any case, your first step is to get yourself into a good voice-over workshop. Regardless of how trained you are as an actor, you need specific training in voice-over technique. Then, when you're ready, the next stop is a recording studio to put together a good demo tape. Note, we said when you're ready. "Don't take a voice-over class that promises you a demo tape in six weeks," says voice-over coach Louise Chamis. "That's like promising you a spot in A Chorus Line after six weeks of tap dance lessons." On your tape (reel-to reel, 7}/2 speed), you'll want about three or four "commercials." Use anything from magazine copy to TV or radio ads and gear your choices to the impression your voice gives the listener (called how you "come in"). Can you come in "motherly?" Do a baby powder commercial. Can you sound sexy? Try a perfume spot. Is your voice light and bright? Soda might be a good choice. (Many V/O teachers will go to your session with you to help "direct.")



We didn't mention character voices (old man, wicked witch, etc.) because agents mainly want to hear how well you vary in your own voice. They only want to hear character voices at the end of your tape, and you'd better have what the industry calls "good separation": clear distinctions between characters (your Pluto shouldn't sound like your Yogi Bear). If you can do 20 well-separated characters, choose your best six, write a few lines of dialogue for each, and place them at the end of the tape. Just be certain the entire tape is no longer than three minutes, with the first two-and-a-half minutes or so demonstrating variations in your voice. "The people who make the most money in this business are those with one voice, but are able to have 13 variations of that voice (intimate, bright, etc.)," says voice-over agent Don Pitts.

And be sure your tape is not only professionally done, but that you are a pro. If you need more training in voice-overs, get it before you start sending out anything. Arlin Miller, voice-over teacher, sums it up: "You're only going to get one shot in this town. Make it your best shot. Don't rush it. Wait until you can give them something dynamite to hear, because that's what it's going to take. It's going to really have to blow them away. Good's not good enough."

Send a copy of your tape to the voice-over agents at those agencies that handle the area. Here's a list of some:

• Abrams-Rubaloff & Lawrence
  
  
• Commercials Unlimited
  
  
• Cunningham, Escort & Dipene
  
  
• ICM
  
  
• Joseph, Heldfond & Rix
  

To find the name of the specific agent who handles voice-overs, call AFTRA or SAG at the numbers designated for that and ask for "Representation."

If the agent likes what he hears, he'll call you in and have you do some copy live so he'll know it didn't take you six months to put together a decent tape.

Once you're signed, your agent will call you in periodically, along with his other voice-over clients who have the required sound for a particular commercial, to tape your auditions. He sends these for consideration to whoever is doing the commercial. He'll probably also give you a list of production companies, etc. - not only in Los Angeles but all over the country - and ask you to drop off or mail your tape to them. (These can number in the hundreds.)

If hired, you'll do a session and be paid residuals according to the SAG or AFTRA rules covering off-camera anchor radio announcers and actors.

• "Wallah wallah" "sync," "looping," "foley," etc.: These are all forms of putting additional sound to a movie or television show. "Sync" is the same as "looping". "Wallah" is "atmosphere noise" - non-scripted background dialogue, grunts, laughs, etc. "Foley" means sound effects - people walking, matches being struck, etc. All of these can provide additional income (usually union scale for a day).
  
  
• Wallah: Get known in the voice-over community, and you might be allowed to join any one of a number of different "wallah" groups around town. (You'll need to be a good improvisor too.) You find them by working in voice-overs. They're not big on publicizing themselves or in a hurry to get more members, but once they know and trust you, there's a shot.
  
  
• Sync, looping: You're hired to deliver a specific line. Once again, to find these jobs, get known in the voice-over community.
  
  
• Foley: An extremely closed area. Your best shot is to try to attach yourself to experienced people, called "walkers," and become an "assistant walker." To find them, check the sound people at the various studios.
  
  
• "The Voicecaster": Specifically, as referred to above, Bob Lloyd. He's apparently the only full-time voice-over casting director in the country. (There is a voice-over casting outfit in Toronto, Canada, called "Voicecasters." Others, such as on-camera casting directors, occasionally do voice-over casting, but that's all Mr. Lloyd does and he does it all the time.)
  

Getting him to give you a listen involves no more than bringing him a professionally-recorded tape. In this case, however, it's irrelevant how long your tape is. You'll want to put every different kind of voice you can do - as long as those voices are, as Mr. Lloyd put it, "competitive" - that is, if they can compete with the already established pros. "My needs are different," he says. "I want to know as much about you (i.e., your voice/s) as possible. So your tape can be three times as long as the typical voice-over tape as long as it keeps telling me different things."

If he likes what he hears, Mr. Lloyd will retain your tape and put your name in his computer with a description of all the good voices you do. When people (from all over the country) call him asking for, say, a guy who does a great Jimmy Cagney or a gal who can really sound like a Valley Girl, he pulls those names from his computer and, if you're among them, he may call you in.

• Cartoon voice-overs: "Voice-overs is the most exclusive area in the entertainment industry, and, with the possible exception of jingle- singing, cartoons are the most exclusive in the voice-over field," says Andrea Romano, casting director for Hanna-Barbera.
  

If you want to take a crack at it, you can start by sending her a tape (cassette or reel-to-reel) which, in this case, should only be cartoon voices - "No spokesman stuff," as Ms. Romano puts it, continuing, "Your tape should be about three minutes, certainly no longer than five minutes. I look for versatility - the more versatility the better. But if you do only two good voices that's okay too. And the funnier the better. I listen to a lot of tapes, and if you can get my attention by being funny... And watch Saturday morning cartoons. You'll get a good idea of what's selling. And do a little exercise: turn the sound down and make up voices."

Ms. Romano will listen to it, and if you call her she'll give you a critique of your tape.