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Make A Voiceover CV

by Marina Caldarone
November 2004

Marina Caldarone is an Acting Coach and Drama Director for Crying Out Loud - a production company making voice-over cds for actors.

The Voice Over CV

Maybe it is with the rise of 'reality' TV, the change in the sound of continuity voices, or the fact that there seem to be more 'real' voices advertising on the radio but there seems to be an new awareness amongst actors of the Voice in the industry. The CD can be as useful a marketing tool as the CV. How else would a potential 'Voice' employer get to know you?

But then the awareness evaporates somewhat as few actors actually know what needs to be on that CD, and with the plethora of voice over production companies out there - how does the actor choose who to record with?

Having worked within this arena for a few years now, I have put together some of the most commonly asked questions, and also asked some top employers within the industry what, for them, constitutes a good CD.

What is a Voice Over CD (sometimes called voice-reel)?

This is a CD you will make in a professional studio, so it is fully edited with effects and music, that contains extracts to demonstrate your voice - and your acting abilities - for various sectors of the voice market.

I have defined the sectors as:
* Commercials (fully produced so that they sound as if they were transmitted),
* Drama,
* Narrative that is story telling, as opposed to
* Documentary.
* Not animation, this has it's own rules......

Unless you are talking the student rate, all the script material will be provided by the production company, though it can be useful to bring along any drama scripts that have worked for you in the past.

You do not need to cover every category. You may not be comfortable with a particular section. Not everyone wants to make radio drama, for example. The actor should focus on what is best for his or her voice. The balance of material and choices are made during the consultation before the record when a variety of scripts are sampled. The consultation should be at least a day before the record so that the actor has time to familiarise herself with the material, it should not be learned, nor should it be over-worked - you should get lots of direction on the microphone on the day. You should be familiar enough with it that you can "lift it off the page", we must not hear you 'reading' it!

What if I have never used a microphone before?

No problem. You should be guided quite carefully whilst recording. You do not need to have any previous experience.

Should every actor have a Voice Over CD?

Not at all, though if you have a good voice, and want to break into the above markets, then you must have one.

Joanna Scarratt, of Agency Peters, Fraser and Dunlop, Commercials Department 'I think some actors have to be aware that some people just don't have an 'ear'. Being able to undertake voice work successfully is a skill and that skill is not possessed by everyone. But I don't think you can ever tell unless you actually go into a studio and have a go. I have been proved wrong!!!'

What are the chances of employment?

The question I am most asked, it is like asking 'If I go to Drama School will I make a living as an actor?'

Impossible to answer really. In the four years I have been making CDs I have seen success at every level - not for every actor and not for all markets, but perseverance is all, and the financial rewards of making just one radio ad, can pay for the making of the CD many times over.

What should I expect to pay to have it made?

You will be charged between £200 and £500 for the CD. This a huge price differential, and I hope that the attached check list bullet point section will help you make your choice as to who to record with. Some companies are now offering Student/Recent Graduate rates too, always worth asking. It may mean you have to do a bit more, in terms of selecting some of your own material, but with the library and tutorial resources at Drama School, that shouldn't be a problem.

How long should the record take?

It depends on whether you have the work edited whilst you are there. If that is the case, it may take up to 6 hours. If the edit is done in the producers time, not yours, it need only take an hour and a half. This is a choice. Some actors may choose to be part of the editing process. Others prefer to leave this to the producers.

How long should each track last?

Some ads are sound bites, seconds long. Others are mini documentaries at a minute long. The other tracks should last between a minute and a minute thirty seconds each. From a ring round, this is what the listener wants. Any longer and they switch to the next track. That is long enough to establish the voice.

If I have done some radio drama should I include an excerpt on my CD?

Again a taste thing. John Taylor, of Fiction Factory, an Independent radio drama producer says 'CD's that feature clips form previous productions which the actors have worked on are the best showcase for ensemble skills.' I have spoken to others who prefer the actor to record speeches anew.

As a singer should I include jingles?

No. This is a very specific and different market.

Shall I demonstrate all the accents I can do?

The consensus of opinion is no. Find the different 'weights' and tones within your natural voice. It is important that the tracks don't all sound the same. And remember that there are different listeners for the tracks.

Drama is maybe the category where accents might show the voice in a different light, but again only if absolutely authentic. Let your director, not your peers, be the judge of that.

Martin Sims, Director Eardrum Ltd (one of Britain's leading Radio Commercials makers) and Managing Director Earache Voices (voice-over agency) puts it succinctly, 'Sadly, many of the unsolicited voice-over cds I listen to are largely useless an in fact hinder - rather than help the actor get voice work........they contain countless different accents and dialects, none of which are 'native' to the actor. Basically if I want a Geordie voice, I'll cast a Geordie actor. Accents should only be featured if they are native or soooooooo good that everyone believes they are native'.

Joanna from PFD reinforces this, 'Whenever actors ask about making a voicetape, I always say, push your natural voice - if anyone wants a Liverpudlian, Mancunian, South Walian, they'll get one. That way you can concentrate on the performance. And keep it low key'.

John Taylor, Director of Fiction Factory, 'I really don't like half baked accents. I think if an actor can't do the real accent to a 98% conviction, they should leave it to the locals.'

Should I include poetry?

A matter of taste this one! The poetry market is tiny, so it wouldn't be included other than to demonstrate your voice in its purest form. I have spoken to as many producers who really don't like the inclusion as those that do. Up to you and the recording company.

John Taylor, 'Shakespeare usually comes off pretty badly, I wouldn't recommend it.....it's so hard doing those big speeches out of context'

Your check list!

* There must be a consultation - these are often offered free, as during this stage the client is also weighing up whether to go with this company. During this session you can feed in any particular skills, like fluent second languages, to be scripted and included in the CD. But you cannot expect to take the material away with you if you want to 'go away and think about it'. It is yours if you wish to record with that company. That is only fair.

* Check the number of tracks that the company will include on the CD. Some offer as few as 5! I would suggest that 10 is the minimum ideally, remember you are including material for possibly 4 separate markets - you need a chance to show variety.

* Ensure that with your fully edited CD you will receive a Contacts listing that will list the names and contact addresses for employers in the Voice industry - that might be from companies that make CD-Roms through to Independent Radio Drama production companies to those Radio Stations that make Ads in house. You are looking for over 400 contacts in that publication.

* Look at the web site of the CD production company - who are their clients? This level of endorsement is a useful barometer.

* Is the price quoted inclusive of VAT?

* Is the producer also a creative director? That is, will you receive lots of direction and support on the microphone. Some studios hire the space with a technician and you do what you like! This is not ideal. You need some guidance always, you cannot truly hear your own voice so even if you play it back, it is impossible to listen objectively.

* This is an interesting one - not all studios record in digital as standard, some will charge again for this. It is a hidden 'extra', as is the easy-going attitude to you taking longer in the studio than you had booked, to find later that you have been charged for that extra 20 minutes, and charged the rate for a full hour. This is normal practice in commercial studio use, but you need to know this beforehand as it will influence your decision to record with that studio or not.........

* If you run over your allocated studio time, are you charged? If so what are the charges?

Radio is the most visual of all the media. Your ability to create a whole world with just your voice is paramount. The objective with all the material is to make the listener believe, see and understand what you are telling them, you must not be 'reading ' the text, the listener can hear that, there must be real impulses. No diaphragmatic support required! It is a subtle art, you are speaking to someone who is as far for you as is the microphone. It must sound real and feel real to you speaking it.

Joanna from PFD sums up, 'As a listener I am looking for sincerity, for a true voice.......the thing about the voice is that it is totally unforgiving - a performance on stage for example is all about the whole body, the look, the set, the sound design....bit with the voice, there's nothing, maybe a bit of music or sound effect, but at the end of the day, the performance has been crystallised into that one sound. And it can be an incredibly powerful thing'.

Martin Sims, 'the other main bug bear is CDs which feature lots of different 'character' voices, ie comedy and social stereotypes. Once again, if I want an old man, I'll cast an old man. The days of the versatile voice-over who can do everything are long gone. Reality TV has tuned the nations' ears to the sound of real people with real accents. Therefore the most important thing I need to hear on any CD is the actor's natural voice, speaking in a natural way, in commercial terms to 'sell without sounding selly'.

Animation

Speaking with Richard Hansom, of Aardman Animation, I conclude that if you want to work within the animation arena, your CD needs to be entirely different from the standard one. It needs to be at least 6 tracks of no more than 30 seconds each, and the requirements are rather opposite to what I have just itemised.

They are :
* Forget naturalism - forget all that stuff about making it real!
* Show extraordinary vocal and age range.
* Show different accents and different characters, eg a talking weevil.
* Show massive flexibility.
* Don't be tame.
* Each must have a different 'weight' of voice bearing in mind that you may be cast as half a dozen different characters in the same programme.
* Watch as much animation as possible and learn from that.
* The animator works to the vocal performance, not the other way around, so the sheer magnitude of characterisation is all! Its got to bigger and bolder than just 'real'.

Aardman do not receive unsolicited CDs, only those from established Voice-Over agents!