[VO MegaThread] So...You Want To Be A Voice Actor

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > [VO MegaThread] So...You Want To Be A Voice Actor

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The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

PHIZ KALIFA posted:

How do I start doing VA for romance novels?

https://www.acx.com/ and undercut everyone else. There should still be a ton on there.

lol yep:

The Joe Man fucked around with this message at 06:45 on Mar 25, 2020

# ¿ Mar 25, 2020 06:40

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# ¿ May 8, 2024 10:35

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

PHIZ KALIFA posted:

perf, thanks bud!

i am mostly curious if i can keep from laughing throughout.

Please update the thread if you end up booking/finishing one!

Between myself and a frequent actress I hire, we finished off the audio for another game's trailer coming out shortly. I believe that it'll be a fully animated cartoon instead of just game footage so that'll be kinda cool to see.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2020 21:20

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

See everyone? The system works! :peanut:

Depressio111117 posted:

My question - how much/what kind of legwork should I expect from a V/O producer, and what's a decent vs. a ripoff price for their services? There's a company nearby that will provide scripts, script edits, three coaching sessions, and final edits and consultation for $1,200, which seems like a good enough deal. I am also a terrible judge of this sorta thing, and should probably shop around a little more. I just want to get a baseline idea of what I might be looking at.

Tia!

I wouldn't pay $1200 for services I could do myself. Not sure what good scripts would be when you'll be reading someone else's copy (who are also in charge of their own edits), "coaching sessions" are usually bullshit because every job you do is different and general coaching doesn't really apply unless you're horrible (you're not), and then editing/mastering the audio files is something you should absolutely learn to do yourself (or the client has their producers handle it themselves).

I'd save the $1,200 and reinvest part of it into some decent audio editing software. I still use what I originally learned on back in radio (Adobe Audition), but I'm sure other goons have good (and more up to date) suggestions as well.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2020 19:03

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

I just figured out how to add an extremely light and natural sounding reverb to anything without making it sound like a dying robot.

This means I can charge way more now right

In other news: recently completed all level narration/new units/trailer VO for the next game from one of my main clients. Expecting the full trailer to drop any day now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/431950/Age_of_Fear_4_The_Iron_Killer/

# ¿ Sep 28, 2020 00:23

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Only just noticed this now due to a random post in the adventure game thread:
http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/audition/

Deadline is tomorrow, 10am EST. Managed to finish only one of the character auditions and shot it over to an alternate email since their audition inbox is apparently full. Hopefully they'll extend the deadline because of it.

EDIT: WarpedNaba, if you see this in time, you should absolutely go for the fortune teller guy.

The Joe Man fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Oct 5, 2020

# ¿ Oct 5, 2020 07:35

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

https://www.facebook.com/ListenToMelanieVO/

ltmvoiceoverclasses@gmail.com

# ¿ Oct 18, 2020 22:08

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Strangeland has been cast. Didn't snag the part (James Earl Jones Furnace Fella); at a glance it looks like it's a lot of previous folks they've worked with (which isn't out of the ordinary if actors prove they're easy to work with):

https://twitter.com/WadjetEyeGames/status/1317600081256865793

# ¿ Oct 19, 2020 01:47

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Depressio111117 posted:

Hey y�all - so I�ve got a few recordings under my belt now and feel confident about the equipment and software I want to invest in.

I guess I�m a little stuck about next steps, however - should I make a reel? Is it all right to have music under my examples, or should I try to avoid that? Is getting representation worth it (I live in a pretty big market) or is going it alone better?

Yes, make a reel. 90s length is the best and have as much variety as possible. Music beds underneath each unless it's not appropriate for the clip. Representation-wise, you'll have to research your local agencies and see if their actors have been successful. The main decision is to go union or non-union, and some agencies require you join the union. Since I don't live in LA or NY (and most of my clients are international and all over the world), I'm non-union and find my own clients.

# ¿ Nov 17, 2020 23:37

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Trailer finally finished for one of my latest projects. Hasn't been uploaded anywhere else but the Steam page for now though:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/431950/Age_of_Fear_4_The_Iron_Killer/

Only registered members can see post attachments!

# ¿ Dec 16, 2020 00:26

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

feedmyleg posted:

Hey all! I'm no VO pro, but I am putting together a video project where I'm doing the voiceover. Was hoping to get a little perspective on my read by posting some (WIP) audio that you can listen to here and here. It's for a ~40 minute doc on monster/folklore history, for context.

My main question is, is it "too much"? I've found that I'm not very good at having conversational, naturalistic reads in my past voice "work" so I've tried the other direction for this and attempted to have a bit of a more authoritative/broadcaster lilt to my voice. However, I'm worried that it'll be exhausting to listen to for an extended time, too forceful and too sing-songy and overly serious. Mainly just worried that it sounds like I'm trying waaay too hard. But I also might be overthinking it!

If my anxieties are in fact founded, I was wondering if anyone had any tips or resources for getting a more naturalistic and conversational read? Whenever I've tried it's always ended up seeming like I'm reading off of a piece of paper. I'd love to be able to sound extemporaneous but I have no idea how to pull that off, not being a trained actor.

e: The whole thing might be exacerbated by the fact that I can be a little overly-formal in my writing at times, so let me know if you think that might be part of the issue. But I'll also be quoting a good number of historical sources which are written formally.

Very decent, overall! Main things I noticed were occasional mouth clickiness and yes, sing-songiness in parts but it's not extreme enough to distract/exhaust the listener fully (unless you're actively listening for it). Your sentences end in the correct range and emphasis is mostly on the correct parts; it's the middle of sentences that keep jumping up & down for no discernable reason other than variation. While I don't have any online resources I can point to, my personal advice would be to look at each sentence as an individual whole, and then try to stretch out and cap your ups at a more midrange point (or start high and slowly ramp lower, then up towards the end of the sentence if warranted).

While I've done projects like this, reading naturally is also my weakpoint and the main thing I've kept in mind while recording is to keep the interesting parts of the read engaging for the reader while giving them an auditory break on the filler words getting there (if that makes any sense).

# ¿ Dec 30, 2020 04:10

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

BonoMan posted:

Do we have some good deep voices in here? I have a client, whose sales kickoff intro video I'm finalizing today, is now asking for a "Welcome to Sales Kickoff 2021" VO over the end.

I can pay $50 - there was nothing in the budget for VO originally so I'm squeezing blood from the stone here.

I can whip this out shortly; shoot me a PM with a bit more details and I'll send it over ASAP.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2021 22:25

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Sataere posted:

Since quarantine started, I've been finding myself doing VO work for friends on projects and finding I really enjoy it. I'd love some criticism on the quality of my equipment/performance. While everything sounds fine to me, I'm not sure I have the ear some of you in the thread will have. If I'm going to keep doing this, I'd like to make sure I'm putting my best foot forward. Below is a sample.

https://youtu.be/Bl6Xne_TPX8

Nothing egregious but very mouth-clicky and lacking "oomph" overall which is likely due to poor mastering. To help generally enhance your recordings, I'd recommend doing a post-production pass on them. This one is good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x__NthInRs

SwitchbladeKult posted:

Hey everyone. Want to show off my new digs. I've come a long way over the last several years; from recording with a home made microphone shield in a closet to having an actual dedicated recording booth.

This is super cool! How much did this cost to build roughly (and does it work as well as you'd hoped)?

# ¿ Mar 2, 2021 02:49

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Xibanya posted:

* it�s the sexy and vaguely villainous dad. why doesn�t anyone want to be the sexy and vaguely villainous dad? that�s the best kind of dad

Haven't read it yet but this sounds right up my alley

EDIT: Question: Do you want these in a slight Russian accent or you going for whatever?

The Joe Man fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Mar 12, 2021

# ¿ Mar 12, 2021 04:01

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

I'm finding auditions harder to find. Anyone have any luck with decent sites they've found for casting calls?

# ¿ Apr 20, 2021 05:14

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

WarpedNaba posted:

So I made an ASMR soundtrack on Soundcloud as a test, but it ain't getting any views or (More importantly) feedback. Any ideas if there's a place to get a critique on that?

I guess here? Not sure how I'd even critique that though since as far as I'm aware, everything to do with ASMR is completely opposite of good recording habits for professional VO.

Edward Mass posted:

One of my local VO talent agencies (I'm not represented by them) has fallen off the face of the Earth. Should I be worried that I might need to move to Dallas or Houston?

If you're not represented by them, who cares. They either were too lovely to lock in clients and shuttered or got bought by some other agency. Or they were a grift to begin with.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2021 00:27

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Chris Pistols posted:

After threatening it for a while, finally threw out some auditions for audiobook narration on ACX. Been accepted for one and couldn't be happier! While the client says they're happy with the quality of the recording I submitted for the audition, I'm very aware that this will be my first paid gig from my own home set-up - the most I've recorded at home are IVRs for phone systems (and they are very forgiving when it comes to sound quality).

I've done a sizable block of recording today with the intention to go through and edit tomorrow. Is anyone open to critiquing the sound quality and maybe suggest what buttons to press to tart it up a bit?

Thank you, Goons.

Thoons.

Chop out a 1min chunk and post it, I'll take a listen. Which production software are you using?

Also congrats on your first paid gig! Never ended up agreeing to an ACX job but normal-voiced audiobooks aren't really my strong suit. Feels like an endurance marathon.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2021 01:30

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Chris Pistols posted:

Many thanks!

https://voca.ro/16jyQw1JnIeh

The more I listen to it, the less I like it. I'm using Adobe Audition and have been going through tutorials for pre-sets, but I get the feeling if something's wrong with my core set-up that will just be nothing more than turd-polishing. So Goons, does this sound like poo poo and, if so, why?

Thanks for your help!

1. Only potential habitual thing I noticed was occasional nasal/wheeze noise when you breathed in for the next sentence. Sounded more nose than mouth. Not sure if you can fix it but maybe blow your nose or alter your breathing.

2. While for most recordings I'd advise going through and eliminating all breaths between sentences, it'll likely be WAY more work than it's worth for something like an audiobook. However, it's another thing you could do and would likely also take care of the previous problem.

3. Your recording is too quiet. To solve this and also give yourself a small base boost, set this macro up and apply it to each finished recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x__NthInRs

# ¿ Aug 20, 2021 05:29

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Xibanya posted:

screaming "I SAID NO SLATE" out loud at my monitor after hearing the nth audition which slates after my casting call said not to.

also encountered a new nemesis: the person who announces which take it is right before that take occurs. They join my rogues gallery alongside other supervillains such as the guy who always slates midsentence

Ha my new nemesis is the casting director (or whoever they decide to make the job posting) saying that an audition file is required with application but they don't provide an actual audition script to read. Or even a rough estimate of total work/lines required if hired.

No, I am not going to go back and forth through email with a "cover letter" and try to pull an audition script out of you for a cheap job that you've now turned into a terrible time =/= money proposition before I've even begun.

Just post the drat script and an email address to send the audition file and reply back if hired. Anything less is a waste of time for everyone!!

# ¿ Aug 24, 2021 00:48

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Signed up for Backstage a bit ago. Haven't gone hard yet but also haven't landed any of the handful of gigs I've auditioned for (including a sexy frozen dinner commercial and the new "TASTE THE RAINBOW" Skittles guy).

So unfortunately I can't 100% recommend it at the moment since I haven't been hired yet but if you decide to also give it a shot, it'd be appreciated if you did it through my link:
https://fbuy.io/backstage/josefgagnier

Tons of paid gigs on there and the competition seems to mostly suck (from what I've heard) so maybe you'll have better luck. Profile setup was a bit of a pain so feel free to ask me anything about it if you get stuck.

# ¿ Sep 23, 2021 22:02

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Boar It posted:

I'm still not sure if I should just say gently caress it and aim for a paid gig (however low paying and basic) or if I should do a bunch of unpaid stuff first. It honestly seems like a lot of fan projects etc are way too over ambitious and expect far too much from you despite not paying you.

I'm well past the point of working for free unless it's for a friend or I really dig a project because I (correctly) consider this work and I'd absolutely rather be doing something else with my time. However I guess my main advice would be that if you have the time and the footage/audio/whatever is professional enough to put on your demo then fine, take a volunteer gig if you want. If it's something you'd be embarrassed by once it's finalized then I'd say don't bother.

Regarding Backstage, yeah it's like $75/yr after using a promo code or referral link. I plan to call them sometime this week though to hash out some questions I have regarding client accountability and payment enforcement so I have a better idea of wtf the process is on the other side of things.

# ¿ Nov 8, 2021 13:16

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Edward Mass posted:

How long is too long to be using the same hardware? I�ve recently discovered that I have been using the same equipment for almost seven years.

If everything is still working for you, I don't really see any need to change. I've had the same equipment (recording-wise) for about a decade now aside from minor production software changes.

If something in particular isn't working, specify it and one of us will probably have a solution that doesn't require $$$$$.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2021 22:51

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

EDIT: Job has been completed

HOWEVER, I'm still on the lookout for actresses to hire for current and upcoming clients, feel free to PM or email me with demo/samples if you'd like to be on the short list.

The Joe Man fucked around with this message at 08:20 on Feb 7, 2022

# ¿ Feb 2, 2022 05:43

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

feedmyleg posted:

Crosspost from the work for hire thread:

I want to finish up an old radio drama from a decade ago that I adore and is 90% finished, but is missing a few key bits to get over the finish line. It's a quick, simple, easy gig for the right voice actor.

I'm looking to record under 50 lines with someone who can do a passable Spanish accent. It really doesn't even need to be that good, just vaguely recognizably from Spain. Most of the lines are from "extras" who speak minor background dialogue, and then there are a handful of lines from a villainous Spanish man who is either sniveling or authoritative.

I'm happy to pay whatever your going rate is—as long as the accent's decent-enough, I'm not picky. I just want to finish the project.

I can also provide you with the audio of characters you'll be talking with, and if it helps, finished scenes so that you get a sense of the tone.

Figured you'd get a bite by now. Send me the full details/scripts through PM and I'll see if I can finally clear this off your plate.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2022 14:57

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

This looks extremely valuable:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17z2coJ5xRsIVz8lDvcln8fldxaat7YDnS0pOJ-SHxn4/edit#gid=0

# ¿ Sep 8, 2022 07:40

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# ¿ May 8, 2024 10:35

The Joe Man: Apr 7, 2007; Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Subscribe to this Twitter account for email notifications on fresh auditions. Some decent gigs slip through:
https://twitter.com/VACastingRT

Newest animated trailer just dropped from one of my main clients, all voices done by my primary actress and myself:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1109660/Age_of_Fear_5_The_Day_of_the_Rat/

# ¿ Jan 5, 2023 05:25

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > [VO MegaThread] So...You Want To Be A Voice Actor

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