Before you begin your search, it’s beneficial taking some time to clearly work out what it is you are looking for! Define what type of voice would best serve your project. Who will be listening to the final voice recording – who is the end client? What will they be expecting to hear?
What’s Your Ideal Voice?
Narrow down your search by defining whether your ideal voice will be:
- male or female
- speak in a particular language or perhaps should be bi-lingual
- Have a particular accent. For example, you may require an English speaking narrator, but should this be American English, British English etc. And even more granular – should there be a regional sound to the accent?
- Locality of voice artist – if you need the VO to attend the recording in person, it may make sense to find one within a certain radius of your studio.
Seek and ye shall find?
So once you’ve narrowed down your spec, it’s now time to commence the search.
These are your options:
Personal Recommendation:
- Knock on your next-door neighbour’s door and ask them if they’re a voiceover talent. Not as crazy as it might sound! Recently there has been an explosion in the ‘Voice Talent’ community. Technology and general increased awareness of the industry have encouraged many people to explore the area of voiceover as an employment opportunity. This, of course, brings its own set of issues – quality being the foremost. Just because someone labels themselves as a voice talent doesn’t necessarily mean they are able to produce clean, clear audio and have the talent to bring a script to life.
But, personal recommendation is always an excellent starting point. Even if you don’t personally know any voiceover artists, you may have heard a great voiceover on a company phone system, on an online video, or a company website. Why not ask the organisation who the voiceover is? They will be flattered by your appreciation of their choice and I’m sure they would happily pass on the voiceover details.
Casting Agencies:
Casting Agents : This may be a necessary route if you are wishing to cast a well-known name or celebrity. Often these Voice Actors will have representation with a particular agent and you will need to go through their agency to make the booking. Casting agencies are a great resource to tap into – they will be able to identify the type of sound that would work well for your project. They will take the time to understand you and your project and offer up a range of options. Casting agents may be more useful for very large projects or those that have a larger budget.
For a straightforward phone system voiceover, for example, its probably not necessary to go through a casting agent. For projects like this, you could save yourself an agency fee by finding & contacting a voice talent directly through their own website.
Pay to Play:
These are the online casting sites. Often these sites are free to use for the voice seeker, but the voice talent pays to be listed on the site and pays to have access to potential auditions. Voice seekers post their jobs/projects and the voice artists submit their auditions for consideration. Many of these casting sites have a very bad reputation in the voiceover community. Although this one-stop-shop may appear to be the ideal solution to your search, remember that many experienced voice artists have removed their listings from these sites so you may not be hearing the very best talent that’s out there. Also, it’s very difficult to control the quality and the number of auditions you will receive. Do you have time wading through hundreds and hundreds of low-quality submissions? Your time may be better spent focusing on your own research and casting efforts.
Google search:
The key here is to really define your keywords. Try and be a specific as possible. Not just ‘female voiceover’, what about ‘British Female Voiceover Explainer Video’ for example. Or you could include a location specification, a vocal style adjective or something else that could refine your search. There are thousands of pages presented in a voiceover google search – save yourself time at the outset, by being clear what type of voice talent you feel would fit you best. I don’t know any voice artists who do not have their own web presence. Their websites give you the opportunity to browse their demos and find out about the projects they’ve worked on and the clients they’ve worked for. Once you’ve identified a few that fit your brief, get in touch with each to discuss your project. Many voice artists are happy to record a quick sample for your script if this will help with your casting decision.
If you would like to skip the search and book me direct for your voiceover project – get in touch: alison@thephonevoice.com