Becoming a first-rate voiceover talent is challenging. It involves a real commitment to the learning process, a willingness to acknowledge the faults in one’s approaches, and one which often involves a great deal of patience, particularly with the early stages of training.
There are several voice over training programs available that feature two or three-day workshops. As an Orlando voice over coach, I have resisted these all-inclusive seminar offerings because I believe the best way to make steady progress in a practical timeframe is through personalized one-on-one instruction.
In-depth seminars and workshops certainly have value. However, conventional wisdom shows that students usually walk away from weekend seminars with useful notes and a few key takeaways. They serve best as tools to refine skills you already perform well. For a beginner, expecting a short weekend course to be your primary source of technique-building instruction is rarely effective.
Other programs offer packages that involve a small fixed amount of lessons with demo production thrown in. This is often recommended as a follow-on to an introductory workshop, where the instructor has heard each person perform one or two readings of short scripts, and based on this brief performance, uses it as the basis for recommending one of the packages he or she offers. I can’t imagine how an assumption can be made that a voiceover career is in the cards for someone who has not been given a chance to read a wide variety of material that is characteristic of the production marketplace, as well as to have the time and opportunity to observe proficiency in skills such as pace, timing, breathing, inflection, comprehension, and the like.
What I offer instead, is a hard look at your potential through a two-hour evaluation, a candid, in-depth critique of your ability and potential, and if the results are positive, a program of one-on-one instruction. Then, as you progress, we will determine the proper time to produce your demo.
I invite you to look at the demo section on this website to see what goes into the preparation for and production of our demos. I can only remind you that you get what you pay for.
Performing voiceovers is a great way to make a living. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that you can learn to do it overnight. It is a process, and it is different for everyone. In this business, there are no short cuts.
