Mike’s Week on the Mike (23-29 March)

Not so much of a week on the mike as a week loosely connected to it. Sure enough, Film24 and the BBC World Service featured, as they do so often, and on Wednesday we put the first series of “Dinosaur Secrets” to bed for the History Channel (that’s all fourteen episodes now in the can).

What made this week particularly interesting were two events I attended: the first was on Tuesday and was entitled “ProGob 2009″. This was organised by some people who work in television continuity and presentation, and was a gathering of those in the industry in London. I met a few people I’d not before, watched one or two few people I know quite well get amusingly squiffy (you know who you are), and had quite a fun time in the bar at Soho House myself.

Then on Thursday night I found myself back at The London Studios on the South Bank, for the final goodbye to the old London News Network Transmission Centre. I worked in TX at the South Bank for nearly nine years, first as an announcer for Carlton Television, and then (doing that “hopping to the other side of the glass” thing I do) as a Network Director/Transmission Controller for the ITV network, until I left in late 2002 to go to the BBC as a News Director. Thursday’s event marked the official end of ITV transmission from central London (though the last programme was switched to line the previous Friday). ITV’s Southern Transmission Centre is now based at Chiswick Park, under the auspices of Technicolor Network Services. My time on the South Bank was overwhelmingly a happy one, and though this event was tinged with emotion, it was great to see some familiar, though recently absent, faces.

Recession? What recession?

Try this one on for size: “Recession is a state of mind”.

Controversial, eh? Let me say, right up front, that I’m not being flippant here. Anyone who’s been laid off and is reading this shouldn’t take offence at what I’ve just said, but I think it’s time I set out my own stall on this for anyone who is working as a freelance. You see, I decided some time ago that I wasn’t “doing” the downturn, myself, and guess what? Things here are going from strength to strength. This post applies to anyone who works for themselves – not just Voice Actors – and the three points I make apply pretty well to anyone who falls into the freelancer category.

I’ve studied more than a little NLP (that’s “Neuro Linguistic Programming”, if you’re unfamiliar), and one of the tenets of NLP is that you get more of what you focus on. Call it the Universal Law of Attraction if you like (plenty’s been written about that, after all) but the truth is that you usually get what you expect, and if you’re spending a lot of time thinking doom and gloom and convincing yourself you’re just holding off the inevitable decline, then you’ll probably talk yourself into just that.

So, if you’ve been walking around sounding like Marvin the Paranoid Android for the last few months, what can you do to “reframe” for a more positive outlook? Here are three things to consider, to get you started on the Road to Recession-Free Enlightenment:

Firstly, remember that there are always some businesses that thrive in a recession. In any given sector there are always survivors, even when their competitors go to the wall. The key is working out what sets these businesses apart – and then doing the same things yourself. NLP calls this “modelling behaviour”. What is it that makes a successful business a success in the “current climate”? (I hate that phrase, by the way.) Is it how they market themselves? How they treat their customers? The quality of their work? Or something else? What could you be doing differently to give yourself that same advantage?

This leads into my second point: how much are you applying yourself to the business of making new clients? Repeat business is often said to be the best form of business – it just keeps coming, without you having to put in the effort. But at the moment there’s a chance that your existing contacts may be cutting back on their requirements, whether that’s in voiceover or other areas. Even if this applies to just a few of them, and even if that’s just by a small amount, the voice talent or freelance who relies too much on their existing clients for work may soon find that the pot starts to shrink…

So, get out there and make new contacts! Talk is cheap, so pick up the phone. No good at cold calling? This is a seriously good time to get over it and get some practice! (What’s the worst that can happen? They put the phone down? C’mon!) Alternatively, increase your chances of success by doing some research and reframing them as “warm calls” instead. Martha Retallick has a great article on this at Freelance Switch (which is, incidentally, a great source of information for anyone who’s working for themselves).

Finally, for now, here’s another powerful reframe that might help you to shift gear. One of the greatest benefits of being freelance is that you’ll never be made redundant. You work for clients on a per-project basis. Projects and clients may come and go, but you’re self-employed for as long as you want to be. And no one can tell you different! This is a really powerful shift in mindset, if you choose to accept it.

The above three tips apply to anyone who works for themselves. Please share them with everyone you know who might have convinced themselves that this has to be a struggle. Replace “struggle” with “hard work”. Then ask yourself if it even needs to be that hard. If you’re going to work for yourself, then you’re going to have to work. So, as someone once said, “work smarter, not harder”.

Next time I’ll talk about why the Voiceover business might actually be one of the better places to be in the throes of a recession, and I’ll share some great resources I’ve found recently.

The Bullet-proof Voiceover Industry

Last time I wrote about the things that freelances can do to reframe their outlook in the midst of the recession. This time I’m going to share resources from just three of those in our industry who are convinced that the voiceover business may not get hit that hard, if at all. In fact, there’s even a school of thought that says this may be a time to make hay…

Minneapolis-based voice talent Terry Daniel has been around long enough to know a thing or two about the peaks and troughs of working as a Voiceover Artist. On his blog, he shares his top “5 Tips to Grow & Maintain Your Business in this Tough Economy“. It’s sage advice that will keep your feet on the ground but your brain in the right mindset.

The second and third resources come in the form of audio podcasts from Voices.com. The Voice Over Experts podcasts are a mine of useful tips for anyone starting out in the business, and are full of useful reminders for those of us who’ve been at it a while longer, too.

In Voice Over Experts episode 74, veteran voice actor Pat Fraley sets out his 9 reasons why there’s no need to panic. Among the points he cites are that in a recession, people stay in more. And they’re going to want to be entertained. That’s good for people like you and me who provide voiceovers for everything from video games to TV programmes, right?

Finally, award-winning voiceover and voiceover coach, Bettye Zoller, has her own take on “Areas of Demand for Voice Overs Despite the Economic Downturn” in Voice Over Experts episode 82. She says: “One of the greatest things about the voice over business is that it keeps reinventing itself. Why not reinvent yourself as a voice talent, too?” And you know what? I think she has a point.

All of these three people have stuff to say that’s worth listening to, and they’ve even recorded them to save you having to read, which seems very reasonable indeed, especially as this advice is being given out for free, already. So, why not get some refreshments and indulge them with half an hour of your time, right now?

There we are then, it’s official: I’m opting out of this recession. I have better things to concentrate my efforts on. Fancy joining me?

Online voice directories – worth the cost of admission?

I blogged yesterday about how using online services like Voice123 and Voices.com could be helpful to those getting into the voiceover business.

Timely as ever, Nevada-based voiceover artist and TV presenter, Dave Courvoisier, has been blogging himself about whether such sites are worth the cost of membership. On his “Voice-Acting in Vegas” blog, he also features some sound advice from established voice actor and coach, Bettye Zoller. You can read Dave’s post, including Bettye’s thoughts, here.

What are your views? Please feel free to leave a comment!

Mike’s Week on the Mike (16-22 March)

I’m pleased to report another busy week. There’ve been several appearances at the BBC World Service in my regular role as newsreader, plus I was also asked to the promotions department there to voice a corporate video for the Digital Radio Mondiale consortium (of which the BBC is a part) ahead of a couple of conferences in the coming weeks.

Wednesday saw me making one of my regular trips out to Reading to Matinée Sound and Vision to add my voice to an online training course being produced by WhP in France. Then on my return, I voiced another corporate in my home studio for Hi-Gloss Productions here in London for a client of theirs in the UAE. Thursday found me at the Palace of Home Shopping, with some promos for QVC, and Friday rounded things off with my regular continuity work for movie channel Film24.

Finally, my week on the mike extended to a night of karaoke with my mate Toby on Friday, which was terrific fun! If you’ve always wanted to try karaoke but the idea of singing to a whole room of strangers puts you off, then why not try private karaoke with a few of your friends? We visited Lucky Voice in London’s Soho, and had such a good time that they’re worth a plug here too!

Voice directories – your key to getting started?

We’re coming to the end of this short series on getting started in voiceovers. I promised that before we finished I’d take a look at how to find work, and I also said I’d give you a tip on how you might find work that fitted around your schedule, if you weren’t working as a full time Voiceover Artist. It’s my belief that this is where the online voice directories might become your new best friends.

I’m talking about sites like Voice123.com and Voices.com (though there are plenty of others). A lot has been written elsewhere about the usefulness and efficacy of these directories, so I’m not going to do that again here. Suffice to say that plenty of people complain that they never get the gig, while others can’t praise them highly enough and claim to be working virtually non-stop. You will have your own experience if you choose to use them. The fact that you generally have to have a paid subscription in order to take part in castings on these sites has led to them becoming known, somewhat derogatorily, as “Pay-to-Play” sites, and a lot of voice talents don’t like that model. For them it goes against the grain to pay a subscription in order to audition for a job they statistically stand little chance of getting. In fact, the long-standing advice is “never pay to audition”, and the very idea is enough to enrage some actors.

The bottom line is that each of these sites allows you to set up a profile, along with audio clips and demos, and then to audition for work. Hell, you can even use one of these sites as your own website if you haven’t got one (check out mine here and here – I did this for a year or so until I got my website set up properly). Each time a job is posted that fits your profile, you can opt to be notified by email, prepare an audition and submit it.

Here’s the key for the new Voiceover Artist: this doesn’t happen in real time. There’s always a delay. Now granted, there’s nothing to stop someone picking an early audition and closing off the project early, and if you consistently audition at the last minute you may fall foul of some of the metrics used in the automated system, but I think this gives you the opportunity to respond in your own time to jobs without having to drop everything the minute the phone rings. Most projects run their course and many projects don’t even get cast for a while after they’re closed, so although the owners of the sites may furrow their brows at me here, I’m suggesting that you apply when it suits you.

A couple of things to bear in mind, though:

Firstly, only audition for jobs that you honestly think suit your voice and your talents. It’s so easy to take a scatter-gun approach and audition for everything. If you do that, you’re wasting not only your time but that of the voice seeker too. You’ll get better at judging as time goes on, but don’t use the auditioning model to rehearse. You won’t get feedback and critique; you’ll just piss people off. By all means print out the scripts of everything you get sent and use them for practice, but don’t audition unless you really think you can “nail it”.

And secondly, remember that these services are very, very busy with jobs – especially in the US. The number of jobs is outweighed only by the number of prospective talents applying. You may get nowhere fast, but remember that it’s a numbers game. If you’re doing everything right; if your demo is technically good; and – most importantly – if you’re what the producer wants today, then you stand a fair chance of getting the gig. Bear in mind though that recouping the cost of your subscription may take time, and I can’t guarantee of course that it will be an investment that works for you.

All of that said, though, what the voice directories do give you is a way of not having to be at the end of the phone and ready to drop everything at a moment’s notice. The jobs often require the talent to record and edit at home, rather than attend a session at a fixed time, too.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this short series on getting starting in voiceovers as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Thanks for reading, and for your comments (you can leave yours below). If there’s anything else you’d like to see discussed here, drop me a line!

If you build it, they will come…

So, you still want to get into voiceovers, eh? Assuming that you’re following this series; that you’ve given some thought to the kind of work you want to do; and that you’ve been working on getting your voicey skills up to snuff, you’re going to have to take the plunge and buy some recording gear. Yes, it’s time to build your first studio!

A few years ago this would have cost you around £15,000 (about $20,000 at the current conversion), and a few years before that it would have been unthinkable: not just because of the prohibitive cost, but because voiceover artists roamed the land (or at the very least, Soho) auditioning and recording in professional recording studios.

So what changed? Several things in fact, in a short space of time. Technology has a habit of getting cheaper, year-on-year, and the area of professional audio is no exception. By the mid-1990s it was possible, with the kind of sums I mentioned above, to kit yourself out with a microphone, a studio-grade tape machine, a mixer and so on and to record at home. But what really made it a viable option for voice talents and producers was that ISDN lines became available. In the UK, this changed the landscape virtually overnight. In parts of the US too, but not perhaps to the same widespread degree it did here. Suddenly the days of the travelling, jobbing voiceover, doing sessions in different parts of the country on different days of the week, were over. Voiceovers moved increasingly into the world of the home worker.

ISDN for Dummies – a quick primer…

ISDN lines are basically digital phone lines – they’re the same copper pairs between you and the exchange (or “switch”), but without all the DTMF signalling gubbins and A/D converters that you need to handle speech and connect an analogue phone. ISDN gives 2 data circuits, each carrying 64Kbps of data. These can be used in various configurations, and in the days pre-broadband, this was as fast as the information superhighway got – for those who could afford it.

Anyway, that’s all besides the point (yes, there is a point): bonding your two 64K “bearers” together means you get 128Kbps, and by using a variant of the MPEG audio codec – usually Layer 2 – 128Kbps mono is just about enough for carrying broadcast-quality speech, thank you very much and goodnight.

But we’re a long way off installing an ISDN line – assuming you ever need one at all. So, file everything you’ve just learned under “Useful Trivia” and rejoin the group, Grasshopper…

While all of this was going on, the PC on your desktop, each time you upgraded, was growing in power exponentially. Suddenly the tape machine was a museum piece: with a decent sound card and a suitably large and fast hard drive, the desktop PC could do all that tape could do, and oh so much more besides. Editing used to mean cutting blocks, chinagraph pencils and single-sided razor blades. Then along came the fledgling versions of what would later become programs like Pro Tools and Adobe Audition. In their infancy they were basic and clunky, but in next to no time Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) were replacing 1/4″ tape editing forever.

Fast-forward to today, and the home studio consists of just a few basic building blocks:

• a microphone
• a mic amplifier (also called a “preamp” or “mic pre”)
• an analogue to digital converter (which could be a sound card or an external USB/Firewire device)
• a computer with recording software
• a suitable space to record in
• a way of monitoring what you’ve recorded

…plus the stands, cables and so on to connect them all together. Let’s take all that bit by bit. You may require a packed lunch, but stick with me and I promise it’ll all be worthwhile in the end.

Where’s the mixer, Dad?

Purists will be throwing their hands in the air at this point and demanding to know why I’m not suggesting you buy a mixing desk. Simple: you don’t need one. You might never need one (I still don’t have one…)

You’re in the business, at this stage, of recording voice, and voice alone. At this stage commercial production or mixing soundtracks are not, I’m assuming, your main priority. And even if they are, you’d be surprised how many people now perfect their mix in software, rather than by what I lovingly refer to as “fader-waggling”. Even Apple’s complimentary copy of Garageband will do more than you think.

So… don’t muddy the water. Don’t spend more than you need to. You can always add a mixer to the, er, mix, later.

The Microphone

For our purposes, there are two basic types of microphone: condensers and dynamics (there are also “ribbon mics”, but we’ll ignore them for the purposes of this seminar). Dynamics power themselves, tend to be somewhat cheaper and are usually “noisier” when you listen to them on their own, but the better ones compete well and are used in a lot of radio stations (the Beyer M201 is a good example, and was the standard BBC Radio 4 mic for many years). Simply speaking, a dynamic microphone has a very sensitive membrane, or “diaphragm”, which vibrates between a couple of magnets when sound hits it. This generates a tiny electric current, which then gets amplified on its way through the preamp.

Condensers, meanwhile, require “phantom power” (you’ll sometimes see this referred to as a 48-volt supply). Phantom power is just a way of getting the power the mic needs down a microphone cable without upsetting anything else. This is most safely achieved using “XLR” connectors, rather than “TRS” connectors, and the provision of XLR jacks on equipment is one sign that you’re dealing in the pro or semi-pro realm.

Condenser microphones range from the fairly cheap (£100-ish) up to many thousands of pounds. They’re sensitive, both to noise and to unwanted noise, but will generally give better results than a dynamic mic if used properly. They’ll bring out more of the nuances of your voice, but the better ones will also show up the shortcomings of your recording room…

The Preamp and Interface

Both types of mics need a pre-amplifier to bring the tiny voltage coming out of the mic up to “line level” for other equipment to process, and something to turn the analogue audio coming out into digits that the computer can process.

Preamps range from the cheap and cheerful to the esoteric and shockingly expensive, but a USB or Firewire interface will have one built in which will do the job just fine for you at this stage. Look for kit which allows “balanced connections“. I won’t go into why in this post (Media College has a really good tutorial here), but suffice to say that balanced connections will serve you well in the long run.

Alternatively, if you’re on a budget, there are some half-decent USB mics that will plug straight into your PC or Mac, though how good they are in comparison is a matter of hot debate. You can seek advice on this in the various online forums if you want a second opinion. Good examples of USB mics are made by Audio Technica, SE Electronics, Samson and Røde, among others, and some of them get good press. On the other hand, the purists will always insist that a USB mic with its own preamp built in just can’t compete with a separate preamp and condenser combo under ideal conditions.

In terms of your interface, you broadly have two options for getting sound into your computer:

1. You can plug your microphone directly into an external USB/Firewire interface (something like an Mbox 2 Mini), which then plugs into a USB or Firewire port on your machine.
2. You can buy a mic preamp (which will probably be better quality and will have more bells and whistles) and plug the output of the preamp into a professional-grade sound card on your computer. Check out, for starters, something like the “dbx 286″ or the “Focusrite Platinum Voicemaster Pro”. Either of these, or something like them, will serve you well if your budget allows.

Once you’ve got your sound card (or USB/Firewire interface) you’ve now sorted out the tedious business of turning analogue audio into digits for the computer’s benefit.

The Computer and Software

Your next step needs to be to work out whether your existing computer is up to the task. Is it quiet? If you can hear it working, your microphone will too. If you’ve got the cash, investing in a silent or near-silent machine from a company that specialises in building them is a good investment – especially if it’s going to have to live in the same room as you’re planning to record in. Otherwise, consider putting the computer outside the room and running longer cables for the keyboard, mouse and monitor. Ideally, you’ll want two hard drives: one for programs and one for recording (this can help avoid “glitches” in your recordings). And at the very least, your faithful machine is probably going to need an upgrade to its sound card. Domestic sound cards are noisy and aren’t designed for the nuances of professional audio that we’re going to be working with, and the the 3.5mm jacks which are built in just aren’t up to the job. So, either an entry-level professional-grade sound card (M Audio do some nice ones which will also allow you to run Pro Tools M-Powered later if you need to) or some form of USB or Firewire interface will be the order of the day (again, you won’t go too far wrong with an M Box 2 Mini – which actually comes bundled with Pro Tools LE).

You’ll be needing some cheap (or, better still, free) sound recording software. Audacity is free and many people swear by it; on the other hand you’d have to pry my copy of Sound Studio 3 ($79, Mac only) out of my cold, dead hands. It’s all a matter of preference. I’ve already mentioned Pro Tools. This program is the Swiss Army knife of audio production, especially for radio and television. Sound engineers love it, and some voice talents use it and love it too, but for our initial purposes of recording a voice track it’s overkill, and a sledgehammer to crack a nut (IMHO).

The Room

Think very carefully about where you’re going to record. If you already have identified a quiet (and I do mean quiet) space in your house, then revisit it now before you spend anything. What can you hear? Seriously… The brain does a great job of filtering out stuff we don’t “need” to hear. Once you start listening for it, you may notice road noise, the tube, aircraft, lift machinery, dogs, neighbours, kids, stairwell noise and so on, depending on where you’re living. You’ll probably also hear your computer fan – laptops can get noisy as their little fans race to move the hot air. Some of these issues you may be able to work around if you’re recording on your own time; others you may not. If your space is less quiet than you thought, then any decent bit of kit (and that’s what you’re going to need, after all) is going to record that extraneous noise for the world to hear. This will be the second thing a producer or potential client notices, after your voice itself. Or possibly the first, if it’s that distracting.

Assuming that you’ve got not too much in the way of noise coming in from outside, your next step is to look at how to mop up the noise bouncing around inside your studio. Professional studios are “dead-sounding” for a reason: all of the reflected sound off the walls in a room will eventually find its way back into the microphone and onto your recording. That’s why we don’t record in the bathroom. If you’ve got a nice airing cupboard, walk-in wardrobe or similar, you can probably save yourself some money here. Otherwise you’re going to need to look at some sort of acoustic treatment, whether that’s in the form of tiles which you can stick in strategic places to absorb the sound, or in the form of something rather more handy, like “The Mic Thing”. This creation is a heavy duty mic stand with wrap-around padding, and it works surprisingly well for its £190 price tag (Some Audio Guy wrote a great review of it on his blog here, complete with an audio file).

The Monitoring

“Monitoring” is just techno-speak for a means of listening back. You’re going to need headphones and speakers. There are many, many options for both of these, but my advice would be to go for “closed back” headphones, which won’t allow too much sound to “bleed” back into the microphone. (So no, you can’t use the ones that came with your iPod. Sorry.)

You may squeeze through, for now, with your existing computer speakers, if you’re just recording voice. But be aware that computer speakers generally fall into two categories: the crap ones (pardon my French) that come with the average desktop, and the room-shaking sort that send the dog running off with its tail between its legs. Neither is what you want when you’re trying to get a neutral handle on what you’ve just recorded. Look out for speakers that are sold as “studio monitors” or “reference monitors”: they’re designed to be “flat” in terms of their frequency response, and not to emphasise either the bass or the high end, so  you know what your recording actually sounds like, and not what it would sound like if it were part of the soundtrack to “World of Warcraft”.

Both your headphones and your first set of speakers can be had for under £200/$250 all-in. Again, seek advice from the forums to see what’s popular – and available – in your own part of the world.

The End

It’s a little bit of a minefield, I’ll grant you, and once you’ve got all this stuff you’re going to have to make your way up the learning curve of how to use it to good effect. But the good news is that, spent wisely, £500-£700 ($750-$1000) will give you a decent starting point which you can upgrade in stages when things take off. And if you do it properly, you’ll have a better-sounding setup than would have cost you £15,000 a few years back. Now that’s progress…

What a mistake to make…

I read a great blog post this week at VoiceOverExtra.com by David Goldberg, who’s a producer and voice coach at EdgeStudio in the United States.

In his piece, David talks about the reasons why some voiceover artists don’t get asked back twice and covers everything from basic schoolboy errors in marketing (like not putting your contact details on your demo) to some of the finer points of studio etiquette.

There’s a lot of stuff here which seasoned talents will know, either consciously or otherwise, but you might be surprised at what you hadn’t thought of. If you’re following my articles on getting started in voiceovers, then you owe it to yourself to take a look! Here’s the link.

Mike’s Week on the Mike (9-15 March)

It’s true that I wouldn’t want every week to be as madly busy as last week was, and thankfully things calmed somewhat this week, which allowed me time to go looking for new work and to sign up for some more online directories.

Aside from the usual BBC World Service and Film24 commitments, the London Oncology Clinic asked me to provide the voice for their latest online video, describing the various forms of scans used with cancer patients. They had really good feedback to the first one, which we did last year (which is here). The new video will be up in a couple of weeks, and I’ll post a link when I have one.

Good feedback too for F1 driver, Nick Heidfeld’s new website, which went live recently. I’m the English voice for the Web TV sections on the site, and the third segment went online this week. It’s a feature on Nick’s visit to CeBit in Hannover, and you can find the video here.

Train to win!

In today’s instalment of my series on how to get into the voiceover business, we’ll look a little at how to improve your game. Most of us aren’t blessed with the skills to be a great voiceover right from the get-go, so how do you develop your talent? I’ve said before that you only get one chance to make a first impression, so you really want to make sure that you’re in fighting form when you come to approach your potential clients.

How do you know when you’re ready though? What you really need here is input from someone who knows, not just someone who wants to tell you what they think you want to hear. Friends and lovers, therefore, should probably not be your first port of call when you’re looking for constructive feedback on your voicey “chops”.

The availability of training and coaching is an area where the market in the US and the market here in the UK differ hugely. I could write another post about this (and probably will at some point), but suffice to say there’s a much, much wider variety of resources available Stateside than in Blighty. In America, voiceover classes, “workouts” and so on are widely available, especially in the larger metropolitan centres, and even the Learning Annexe runs affordable classes that make training in the world of voiceover available to a wide cross-section of the populace. Not only that, but many who set themselves up as voiceover coaches will tutor you by phone or on Skype.

Where there’s choice, there’ll also be a variance in quality, of course. Not all tutors and courses are created equal. So, before parting with your hard-earned, seek some feedback if you can, from those who’ve already taken the course or worked with the coach in question. Ideally, these shouldn’t just be testimonials supplied by the prospective tutor, unless they can be independently verified.

Here in Britain, things are a bit more limited. This might be because the population is six times smaller, and hence the market and the opportunities are correspondingly smaller as a result, or it might be because we’re much better at it and don’t need the practice (I’m joking, but I’m donning my flameproof nightie and running as I type…)

Even in and around London there are surprisingly few “off-the shelf” options for voiceover coaching. A quick Google search will reveal a handful of options, however. If you’re enquiring then be sure to ask pertinent questions. What’s included in the fee? Will there be something to take away at the end of it, like a CD or audio files? Is the course a one-to-one or in a class (and how large might that class be?) How flexible are they to what you’re looking for? And above all, what’s their experience, and where do they aim to take you on the journey?

If you’re starting from scratch, my own personal view is that you should be wary of anyone who promises to take you from a standing start to having a demo ready in the space of a day. You may go away with a shiny silver disc with your voice on it, but unless you’re truly blessed, it normally takes a lot more than a day to get up to speed (there’s a lot to take in). But that’s just my view, and your own experience may differ.

If you’re fortunate enough to be within striking distance of the capital, another option to try might be the “Introduction to Voiceover” courses run by the City Lit in Central London. The City Lit (or the “City Literary Institute”, to give it its full, but barely-ever used title) specialises in affordable training courses on all sorts of stuff, but prides itself on the quality of tutelage provided, which is generally offered by those who have a good level of hands-on experience in the area in question. If you’re not sure your voice is ready for this course, they also run a couple of “Technical Voice Production” courses, which are aimed at getting your underlying vocal technique up to scratch by the teaching and application of breathing technique, resonance and so on.

If you’re in the UK, but outside London, you may run into difficulties finding any voiceover coaching at all. So, if opportunities for classes or coaching are thin on the ground, what are your options?

Well, for a start, remember that voiceover is a form of acting. Indeed, in the States, the terms “Voiceover Artist”, “Voice Talent” and “Voice Actor” are pretty much interchangeable, so acting classes and actors’ voice training may serve you well. Improvisation classes might help you to “loosen up” and find your voice when you’re confronted with an unfamiliar script, too. So might a class on public speaking. Hey, whatever you can do in front of the room you can certainly do in a confined space (as my old scout master used to say…)

It’s worth remembering that if they’re not offering voiceover classes per se, then it’s worth talking to the tutor about what you’re after, to make sure that they know your ambition is in the area of voiceovers rather than playing the lead in the next production of Romeo and Juliet. They may, or may not, be comfortable in this area of teaching or, better still, might be able to point you in the direction of someone better qualified to help.

One of the few people here in the UK who was offering specific voiceover training was a guy called Bernard Graham Shaw. Sad to say, Bernard passed away just before Christmas last year. His book, however, is still available (you’ll find it here), so if you’re looking for some tips on approaching copy and getting your skills up to snuff, why not order a copy of it – I bet his family would really appreciate that! It comes with a CD which personally I don’t rate as the best voiceover training CD ever made, but the advice in the book on approaches to copy is as safe as houses and goes from first principles.

Talking of books, there are plenty of self study guides around, especially in the American market. They’re available from Amazon on both sides of the pond, so if you can’t get to a class, or can’t find (or afford) a tutor, then books might be your best friend. Many of them contain a CD on technique, too. The range of books goes across the spectrum, from how to read scripts, to getting work in animation, to how to market yourself and so on. Again, a quick trawl through Amazon will give you a flavour. Ordering two or three of these could be a good investment. If you do, why not submit a review to Amazon when you’re done, to let others know what you thought the books’ strong and weak points were? Pay it forward, and all that.

Of course, whereas you can leave feedback about a book, a book can’t give you feedback. Fortunately, all of the main voiceover forums online have areas where you can submit examples and demos of your work for other members to critique. This can be a useful way of getting input on your progress, and on what you may or may not be getting right. But beware: there are a small number of “knockers” out there too, whose alleged “helpful advice” may actually disguise a desire to knock you down and keep you off their patch. It’s a competitive business, after all, and not everyone in the playground plays nice. Nonetheless, if you don your protective armour and are prepared to sort out the useful comments from the not-so-useful, the forums too can be a great resource while you’re honing your craft.

Next time, we’ll cast an eye over what you might need to set up shop, as we turn our attention to building your first home studio.