When you're listening to the radio, what makes you stop flipping from channel to channel? Of course your favorite song will make you pause, or maybe you catch an important news broadcast. But do you sometimes find yourself stopping to listen to a commercial? If a commercial is read correctly by a voiceover talent then you should be drawn in to the story-line. If it's a topic that you're interested in, and if the voiceover actor is acting the script well, then it really comes to life!
Last year the voiceover industry increased 7% to a $11.7 billion industry! Voiceovers is a fun and exciting industry, and it can be very lucrative, too! What most people don't realize is that it takes a lot more than having a good voice to be a great voiceover talent. Voiceovers are voice acting. As a voiceover actor, you have to make the words on paper appear real, conversational and captivating at the same time. When you receive a script, the first thing you want to do is analyze it. Ask yourself these basic questions before jumping in and recording:
1) What demographic is the script geared toward? Who is the audience that you're speaking to?
2) What is your personal connection with the product? Remember that voiceovers are voice ACTING! So if you can't connect with the product from your personal experiences, how can you (as the actor in this situation) connect with the product?
3) What is the emotion that you want to convey while reading this script?
4) Who do you know who you can picture while reading this script? If you can't personally relate to it, then who (as the actor in this situation) are you picturing that you're talking to? Visualization is very important in voiceovers!
There is always a big-picture reason for reading the script, other than being hired by a client for the voice over job! You can have the best voice in the world, but if you sound like you're reading, you're probably not going to book the job.
In addition to analyzing the script, another important skill you want to master as a voiceover talent is breathing. Using proper breathing techniques as a voice actor is critical in helping you sound natural. When we talk, we take a breath when needed, and usually we never sound like we're running out of air. When a person is reading, if they don't breathe properly, they will sound that way. So the key is to always sound like you're SPEAKING, not reading. Remember to breathe naturally in the correct places within your script.
In order to breathe properly as a voice talent you need to intentionally engage your diaphragm. This will help you control your breath, help with your phrasing, and give you stamina for longer reads.
How to take a diaphragm breath:
1. Raise your arms up over your head and lower them gently while keeping your ribs raised. This isn't needed to take a diaphragm breath but helps pre-set your body when you're learning how to do it properly.
2. With your hands slightly above your waist position your finger tips so they're towards your belly button and your thumbs on your back. Also, not needed to take a diaphragm breath but it will be a good indicator if you're doing it correctly.
3. Now focus on taking a low, deep breath. When you take a breath your stomach should move OUT when you INHALE and IN when you EXHALE. Which is very similar to how a babies stomach moves when it's sleeping. This should feel more like a downward, filling up sensation versus feeling it fill in your lungs.
4. In addition to seeing your stomach move and feeling the motion on your finger tips, you should also feel a slight movement in the palms of your hands as your entire diaphragm is moving outward. If you were to study your body while you're taking a proper breath, the front, sides and back of your lower torso should be moving with each breath that you take.
5. Here are a some exercises that you can practice to help learn how to breathe with your diaphragm:
a) While sitting, place your legs together in front of you and bend over on top of yourself so that you're basically reaching down to touch the floor. Place your arms at your side so they're not really involved. When you take in a low, deep breath you should feel your stomach moving against your legs.
b) Using a floor or a bed, lie down flat on your back with your hands placed on your stomach. Take a low breath and focus on feeling your stomach move against your hands, upward when you breathe in, and downward when you breathe out.
c) A third exercise is to lie face down on a large ball and curl your body over it with your arms hanging around the ball, like you're hugging it. You should position yourself so that your stomach is primarily making contact with the ball, not your chest. Then take a low, deep breath and focus on feeling your stomach move outward against the ball when you inhale.
As discussed above, having a correct diaphragm breath is very important in voiceovers, but so is knowing where to breathe in the script so that you sound natural. You should mark up your script before you record to make sure you're breathing in appropriate places and not running out of air. A lot of things can be edited out in digital recording; however, running out of air isn't one of them! When you're notating the breaths in your script, don't forget about natural phrasing and conversational pauses.
You can use whatever notations work the best for you to show breath. Often times voiceover talent will mark a breath by using a mid-air comma (like a musical breath notation), or a line like this | or this / You can also draw a long, continuous line in an arch shape over the words you want to notate NOT to breathe in between.
Taking a proper diaphragm breath, knowing where to breathe in the script and analyzing what you're talking about and who you're talking to before recording are all key elements in voiceovers. If you keep all three of those things in mind, you're sure to get a natural, conversational recording.
Last year the voiceover industry increased 7% to a $11.7 billion industry! Voiceovers is a fun and exciting industry, and it can be very lucrative, too! What most people don't realize is that it takes a lot more than having a good voice to be a great voiceover talent. Voiceovers are voice acting. As a voiceover actor, you have to make the words on paper appear real, conversational and captivating at the same time. When you receive a script, the first thing you want to do is analyze it. Ask yourself these basic questions before jumping in and recording:
1) What demographic is the script geared toward? Who is the audience that you're speaking to?
2) What is your personal connection with the product? Remember that voiceovers are voice ACTING! So if you can't connect with the product from your personal experiences, how can you (as the actor in this situation) connect with the product?
3) What is the emotion that you want to convey while reading this script?
4) Who do you know who you can picture while reading this script? If you can't personally relate to it, then who (as the actor in this situation) are you picturing that you're talking to? Visualization is very important in voiceovers!
There is always a big-picture reason for reading the script, other than being hired by a client for the voice over job! You can have the best voice in the world, but if you sound like you're reading, you're probably not going to book the job.
In addition to analyzing the script, another important skill you want to master as a voiceover talent is breathing. Using proper breathing techniques as a voice actor is critical in helping you sound natural. When we talk, we take a breath when needed, and usually we never sound like we're running out of air. When a person is reading, if they don't breathe properly, they will sound that way. So the key is to always sound like you're SPEAKING, not reading. Remember to breathe naturally in the correct places within your script.
In order to breathe properly as a voice talent you need to intentionally engage your diaphragm. This will help you control your breath, help with your phrasing, and give you stamina for longer reads.
How to take a diaphragm breath:
1. Raise your arms up over your head and lower them gently while keeping your ribs raised. This isn't needed to take a diaphragm breath but helps pre-set your body when you're learning how to do it properly.
2. With your hands slightly above your waist position your finger tips so they're towards your belly button and your thumbs on your back. Also, not needed to take a diaphragm breath but it will be a good indicator if you're doing it correctly.
3. Now focus on taking a low, deep breath. When you take a breath your stomach should move OUT when you INHALE and IN when you EXHALE. Which is very similar to how a babies stomach moves when it's sleeping. This should feel more like a downward, filling up sensation versus feeling it fill in your lungs.
4. In addition to seeing your stomach move and feeling the motion on your finger tips, you should also feel a slight movement in the palms of your hands as your entire diaphragm is moving outward. If you were to study your body while you're taking a proper breath, the front, sides and back of your lower torso should be moving with each breath that you take.
5. Here are a some exercises that you can practice to help learn how to breathe with your diaphragm:
a) While sitting, place your legs together in front of you and bend over on top of yourself so that you're basically reaching down to touch the floor. Place your arms at your side so they're not really involved. When you take in a low, deep breath you should feel your stomach moving against your legs.
b) Using a floor or a bed, lie down flat on your back with your hands placed on your stomach. Take a low breath and focus on feeling your stomach move against your hands, upward when you breathe in, and downward when you breathe out.
c) A third exercise is to lie face down on a large ball and curl your body over it with your arms hanging around the ball, like you're hugging it. You should position yourself so that your stomach is primarily making contact with the ball, not your chest. Then take a low, deep breath and focus on feeling your stomach move outward against the ball when you inhale.
As discussed above, having a correct diaphragm breath is very important in voiceovers, but so is knowing where to breathe in the script so that you sound natural. You should mark up your script before you record to make sure you're breathing in appropriate places and not running out of air. A lot of things can be edited out in digital recording; however, running out of air isn't one of them! When you're notating the breaths in your script, don't forget about natural phrasing and conversational pauses.
You can use whatever notations work the best for you to show breath. Often times voiceover talent will mark a breath by using a mid-air comma (like a musical breath notation), or a line like this | or this / You can also draw a long, continuous line in an arch shape over the words you want to notate NOT to breathe in between.
Taking a proper diaphragm breath, knowing where to breathe in the script and analyzing what you're talking about and who you're talking to before recording are all key elements in voiceovers. If you keep all three of those things in mind, you're sure to get a natural, conversational recording.
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