Have you ever flipped through radio stations looking for music and a commercial catches your attention? Maybe it was a product that you're interested in, or perhaps it sounded so conversational that you feel the person was talking directly to you? Whatever the reason, you probably wouldn't have stopped in the first place if the voiceover talent wasn't doing a good job reading copy and acting the script!
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 audience is the script intended for?
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) Visualize the person who would be interested in listening to the script. Imagine you're having a conversation with this person as you read the script. Make the words sound like they are coming out of your head, not off the page.
The key to voiceovers is to sound like the script you're reading is coming out of your head, not off a sheet of paper. There always needs to be a bigger reason for reading the script, and not just because the client has hired you to do so. If fifty people audition for the same job and they all have great voices, how do you stand out above the rest? Bring the script to life!
Analyzing copy, which is another name for a voiceover script, is very important in voiceovers. Another important skill to master is breathing! Using proper breathing techniques as a voice actor is critical in helping you sound natural and conversational. When you're reading a script, you should never sound like you're running out of air. When we start running out of air while we're talking, we just take a breath before the lack of air is even noticeable. Therefore, when you're doing voiceovers, breathing properly and breathing in the correct places within your script are essential skills to hone.
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. Place your hands above your waist with your finger tips touching your belly button and your thumbs on your back. Again, not needed, but a great indicator to feel if you're moving 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. When you take a proper diaphragm breath not only will you feel your finger tips and thumbs move, but you should also notice movement in the palms of your hands. Your entire lower torso should "fill up" when you take a diaphragm breath.
5. Here are a few exercises you can practice to learn how to breathe with your diaphragm:
a) Sit down on a chair with your legs together in front of you. Then bend over so that your chest is touching the top of your legs. Let your arms hang down towards your feet and take a low deep breath. Focus on feeling your stomach moving against your legs.
b) Lie down on your back, flat on a floor or bed with your arms at your sides. Take a low breath and then focus on your stomach moving upward when you inhale, downward when you exhale.
c) You can also try lying face down on a large yoga ball (or something similar) with your body curled over it and your arms hanging outward over the ball as well. Focus on feeling your stomach pushing against the ball as you breathe in.
In addition to having a proper diaphragm breath, it is also important to decide WHERE in the script you're going to breathe so that it sounds natural. You should mark up your script ahead of time so that you're breathing in appropriate places to avoid sounding like you're running out of air. Make sure you keep in mind natural phrasing, conversational pauses, etc.
To mark your script in notating a breath, you can use a mid-air comma (like a musical breath notation), a dash like this | between the words you want to breathe or a / mark, or you can even draw phrase marks over the words you want to make sure NOT to break the flow with so that you don't accidentally breathe in between them. As far as notations go, do whatever works best for you!
So grab some copy, a pencil and remember to breathe.
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 audience is the script intended for?
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) Visualize the person who would be interested in listening to the script. Imagine you're having a conversation with this person as you read the script. Make the words sound like they are coming out of your head, not off the page.
The key to voiceovers is to sound like the script you're reading is coming out of your head, not off a sheet of paper. There always needs to be a bigger reason for reading the script, and not just because the client has hired you to do so. If fifty people audition for the same job and they all have great voices, how do you stand out above the rest? Bring the script to life!
Analyzing copy, which is another name for a voiceover script, is very important in voiceovers. Another important skill to master is breathing! Using proper breathing techniques as a voice actor is critical in helping you sound natural and conversational. When you're reading a script, you should never sound like you're running out of air. When we start running out of air while we're talking, we just take a breath before the lack of air is even noticeable. Therefore, when you're doing voiceovers, breathing properly and breathing in the correct places within your script are essential skills to hone.
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. Place your hands above your waist with your finger tips touching your belly button and your thumbs on your back. Again, not needed, but a great indicator to feel if you're moving 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. When you take a proper diaphragm breath not only will you feel your finger tips and thumbs move, but you should also notice movement in the palms of your hands. Your entire lower torso should "fill up" when you take a diaphragm breath.
5. Here are a few exercises you can practice to learn how to breathe with your diaphragm:
a) Sit down on a chair with your legs together in front of you. Then bend over so that your chest is touching the top of your legs. Let your arms hang down towards your feet and take a low deep breath. Focus on feeling your stomach moving against your legs.
b) Lie down on your back, flat on a floor or bed with your arms at your sides. Take a low breath and then focus on your stomach moving upward when you inhale, downward when you exhale.
c) You can also try lying face down on a large yoga ball (or something similar) with your body curled over it and your arms hanging outward over the ball as well. Focus on feeling your stomach pushing against the ball as you breathe in.
In addition to having a proper diaphragm breath, it is also important to decide WHERE in the script you're going to breathe so that it sounds natural. You should mark up your script ahead of time so that you're breathing in appropriate places to avoid sounding like you're running out of air. Make sure you keep in mind natural phrasing, conversational pauses, etc.
To mark your script in notating a breath, you can use a mid-air comma (like a musical breath notation), a dash like this | between the words you want to breathe or a / mark, or you can even draw phrase marks over the words you want to make sure NOT to break the flow with so that you don't accidentally breathe in between them. As far as notations go, do whatever works best for you!
So grab some copy, a pencil and remember to breathe.
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