Not happy with the voice of Luke Triton in the Professor Layton series, appalled at the cries found in Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, or even in awe of the range of voice acting found in epics such as Xenoblade Chronicles? No matter the game, everyone always has a strong opinion on the work of the actors and actresses that voice all sorts of characters. Sometimes they are shockingly poor, yet other times it is easy to marvel at the aural delights being delivered. Whatever the case, the question has to be just why you, the avid Cubed3 reader, cannot work your vocal chords and get your voice heard.
The simple answer is: anyone can do voice acting. However, doing it well is a completely different matter. What do you need to start off with? It certainly does not cost much to pick up a headset, and then it is a mere case of grabbing a piece of recording kit, such as the ever-reliable Audacity. Time for the millions to start rolling in then, yes? Not exactly. This is perfectly acceptable for swiftly building up a repertoire of low sound quality demos, but there are so many budding artists out there today that getting noticed from the crowd is becoming increasingly difficult.
What is required is something along the lines of a condenser microphone that can capture your voice at a much higher level of quality, as well as a pop killer or pop shield to help remove annoying over-pronounced letters such as p, and maybe even a decent sound card that can aid with toning down background noise. The kit may set you back 100-200 in total, yet if serious about giving this a shot it may well turn out to be a tiny investment in the long-run.
The next step is finding somewhere to spread the news of your new venture, and this is where online audition websites come in extremely useful. One primary example of a place where anyone can air their demos is Voice123, where there is a clever automated system in place to help anyone looking for a voice talent, as well as those wishing to get their voices heard, get the desired results. After all, both parties time is valuable, so attempting to create the ideal match up is certainly ideal. Signing up for free allows you to throw in a description of your voice, list what age groups you can sound like, which language you are able to record in, if there are any interesting accents that can be pulled off, and so on. There is even the possibility of uploading a whole host of demo recordings to Voice123s servers, meaning others can easily get a firm grasp of what you have to offer. Thankfully there is free promotion as well, with a dedicated website with your name in it being created to host all of your details and demos, meaning that basically you merely have to fill in the boxes and the team at Voice123 does the rest. This address then can be posted anywhere and everywhere you desire in order to gain the maximum exposure.
The automated service, Voice123 SmartCast, is classed as a system designed to help voice seekers posting voice over jobs find the best talent or voice producers for their project on time, and on budget as easy as 1, 2, 3. Basically, it is a tool to make the whole process smoother and hassle-free, with the voice seeker posting a project, SmartCast scanning all the voice talent members of Voice123 to select those that align with the requirements stipulated in the initial project, and then the system emailing audition invites out to those lucky bunch that met the criteria. With so many projects being posted on a daily basis, it certainly will not be a long time before opportunities start appearing en masse.
Standard free subscribers get all sorts of benefits, with project posters able to directly send invitation links to them for attending online auditions, access to the teams community blog that is filled with all sorts of useful advice, and much more. There is even a Resource Centre packed with useful articles to help people find their feet, learn what recording software is best to use, how to kick-start your voice acting career, and even how best to fill out your personal Voice123 profile. On top of that, there is a whole host of script samples, since after all, practice makes perfect!
Becoming a voice actor or actress may seem daunting, but with the right advice and support all the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. Companies such as Voice123 certainly help the process, letting subscribers track their stats and boosting their exposure across the Internet to a wide range of clients, including the likes of the BBC, Electronic Arts, and National Geographic. Be it a case of taking a chance as a Standard Subscriber, hoping to be noticed amongst the throngs of other budding artists, or stepping up your game and parting with some cash to become a Premium Subscriber with Voice123 and getting your demos some extra attention, the first step can be taken right nowGood luck.
