Voice Over Acting FAQ Videos
The Most Frequently Asked Questions on Voice Over
The first step in the
“Voice Over Success Formula”
(Forgive the repetitive intro on many of the videos. They were produced as stand-alone videos.
For the videos with the intro, feel free to fast forward video
to the :50 second mark to bypass the video intro)
Meet Mike And Ted
What Exactly Is Voice Over Acting?
I’ve Been Told I Have A Great Voice.
Will That Make It Easier To
Get Into Voice Over Acting?
Do I Need To Be An Actor
To Get Into Voice Over Acting?
Do I Need To Work In Radio To
Get Into Voice Over Acting?
What Do I Need To
Start My Voice Over Acting Career?
What’s The Difference Between An
Agent, A Manager And A Casting Director?
(insert punchline here…)
Do I Need An Agent?
Do I Have To Pay To Get An Agent?
How Can I Get An Agent?
Can I Work From A Home Studio?
Can I Do Voice Over Acting Part Time?
What Area Of The Industry Has The Most Work?
Do I Need To Go To School Or Get Training?
Do I Need A Demo?
Do I Need To Go To A Producer Or
Profesional Studio For Demo?
Do I Need To Promote Myself
Even If I Already Have An Agent?
Do I Need An 8 x 10 Or Headshot?
How Often Do I Need To Update Demo?
Do I Have To Live In New York Or Los Angeles?
Do I Need To Join A Union?
Hi, I was wondering if I posted demos on youtube or facebook and other social websites, would that really help me to get noticed or help me to get a job in voice over because I was thinking about doing cartoons and maybe some commercials and documentaries.
I don’t think getting your demo out there in those ways is necessarily wrong or a bad thing (if the demo is good), but if the demo is not great, it can actually hurt.
Playing on the conservative side, since I don’t know what it sounds like, I’d stick with a more conventional approach and post all your demos on your own website and submit demos to the agents and agencies that specialize in the area of voice acting that you’re interested in. You can always post links to your website and demos on all the social websites whenever you update or post something new.
But the problem is I’ve been trying to find agents online and I can’t find any and not only but since I live in Kentucky it’s pretty hard to find any local agents.
Hey Josh….I’m not sure where you are in your Voice Acting career, and I don’t know exactly where you are in Kentucky, so I can’t give any specific info. But, if you want to email me directly with a few more details, maybe I can help and actually steer you in the right directions. You can write directly to: mike@mx2solutions.com
I look forward to talking! MM
I couldn’t e-mail you so I’m gonna have to use this instead. I live in Lexington and I’m still working on my voice demos. I am trying to practice a lot so that my voices will be better. I want to make 2 demos, one for cartoons, and one for documentaries and commercials. One more thing, if I tried to do commercials for radio stations will that actually hurt me because I was watching that one video of yours where the guy talks about how radio can actually hurt you.
Well Josh…The good news is that even if you can’t find agents or work in Lexington, you’re still within 1 to 3 hours of three decent sized cities in Cincinnati, Dayton and Indianpolis. I would definitely open my searches to those areas as well.
That being said, I’m not sure what your experience level is, but it sounds like you may be in the beginning stages and are looking to get those demos put together so you can start shopping them around. Well…You’re in luck. I’m posting a new video on the blog that goes over the basics of putting a demo together, and a process that makes it a bit less overwhelming. Check back a little later and let me know if it helps at all.
As far as what demos to put together…just remember to only do what you really do well. For the majority of work out there, you really only need 3 or 4 different types of demo: 1- Commercial/Promo demo, 2- Narration, 3- Audiobook and 4- Animation and Character. There are some other specialty niches out there, but to start with, this could be a main focus. (But, don’t do a demo unless you’re really good at that style…remember, you only get one chance at a first impression. If you screw that up, it may hurt you down the road.)
As for working in radio… In the introductory videos I mentioned that working in radio could actually hurt your chances of voice acting success. And what I meant by that is hat if you actually spent years working as an On-Air Personality/DJ. Some DJ’s can get in the habit of speaking in an exaggerated style which doesn’t work in Voice Acting.
I hope this helped a little….And don’t forget to lok for the video on Demo prep…Let me know what you think.
Mike Mortensen
Do you do any sort of breathing or vocal range exercises(maybe the sort of stuff they do in classic opera), in your experience, do they help you develop a diverse vocal range/tone and stuff?
As a matter of fact…Yes. Vocal and breathing exercises are a huge element to Voice Over Acting Success. I devote an entire section to Vocal, Breathing and Mind exercises in my course, Voice Over Success Formula (which is already sold out for now…I will be releasing another, updated version shortly and will keep you informed. If you haven’t already signed up for the newsletter, do so and you’ll get all the latest info.)
Also, now that you mention it, I may actually post that video on vocal and breathing exercises, here on the blog for everyone to watch. Keep checking back and sign up for the newsletter and I’ll get that inof out soon.
Thanks!
Mike Mortensen
I am resarching voice acting and Im just here to say your videos really helped my questions about angents, in fact I have memorized what and what not to do.
(I am 11 years of age currently)I have been on the internet and watched a series of 4 episodes called “Adventures in Voice Acting”,it’s more specific though. It’s mainly for cartoons & anime(Which is how I got into the idea of voice acting.)
If you would like, on Youtube my account it Temarigirl160 and my recent Uploads (they are not impressions like some people do,I honestly acted in these parts) theres my “Rukia fandub auditions”. If you could just check to see if I have a good head start at my age by looking at my video I’d be much more than happy.