Find the Best Voice-Over Jobs

What does a voice-over actor do?

Voice-over actors create audio clips that drive your favorite TV and video game characters. VOAs include stars such as Mel Blanc, the “man of a thousand voices,” who voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and many more, as well as Nancy Cartwright, the VOA who gave life to Homer Simpson.

Voice-over artists essentially create the spoken tracks used in jingles, movies, video games, and more. They sit in the studio and read into a microphone until they drop the perfect tones, then they are done. For some roles, this capture process can take days to weeks, if not months. Their other tasks may include regular vocal exercises and script rehearsal.

What skills do I need to become a voice-over actor?

There’s no formal education requirement to become a voice-over actor, but some skills can separate experts from their competition. Vocal consistency is among the most desired traits for a voice-over actor. Directors know that consistent VOAs can produce sound bites they need regularly and with less effort than less consistent voice-over actors.

Some skills to become a voice-over actor include:

• Comfort speaking and singing into a microphone
• Ability to handle constructive criticism and work with other voice actors, casting directors, announcers, potential clients, and talent agencies
• Ability to communicate clearly with clients and clarify their needs
• Minimal extraneous mouth noise
• Clarity of speech
• Ability to maintain a connection to the content
• Ability to flawlessly cold-read content
• Ability to change reading speed to suit the content and generate the desired emotional effect on listeners

Should I get a voice-over actor certification?

There are numerous third-party VOA certifications, but there’s no central body that oversees voice-over acting. As a result, there’s no recommended certification. Some certifications might help you land clients, but there’s no guarantee that any certification will win you a job or serve to fulfill job requirements at this time.

Voice acting jobs may require different prerequisites or requirements for different positions. Some may search for voice actors who have basic acting skills along with a few acting classes, whereas other voice-over jobs may ask for a degree in voice acting or previous acting experience.

What are the job responsibilities of a voice-over actor?

Voice-over actors may need to:

• Carry out great voice readings—on-site or off
• Record a segment until it is perfected
• Develop systems to manage long-form cold reading (if this is an offered service)
• Manage recording deliveries to audio engineers, directors, or other personnel who will either work directly with the recordings or will deliver them personally