VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[meerkat15]

Hi all -
I currently do voice acting work on a radio show and I wanted to put together a demo and start to book other sorts of voice-over jobs. In my current job I've always worked with gear provided by sound technicians on site. I was wondering, to work in this industry, is it necessary to have the ability to record at home and deliver your work via the internet? In other words, for most commercial or narration jobs are you brought into a studio or are you expected to record the material yourself? Thanks (and sorry if this is a naive question)!

[bobsouer]

Hello Meerkat and weclome,

The short answer is that to pursue a serious voiceover career, having the ability to at least record auditions from home is necessary. Depending on where you live (large city vs. small town in the countryside) would also make a big difference; because in a large city you might be able to find work in the local studios much of the time and not need a full studio at home.

Try using the search function or just read through some of the archives here. You'll find a treasure trove of valuable information.
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[CWToo]

A home studio will probably be essential in a few years to do paying sessions. But a home studio is nearly essential now just to do the myriad of auditions that are part of the business today. I know of at least one production house that requires talent to have a home studio for auditions before they will add them to their roster.

Luckily, today a home studio is a lot more inexpensive and takes up less space than in the old days. My audio stuff fits in a computer backpack with room to spare and takes up less space on my desk than a toaster oven (although why a toaster oven would be on my desk is beyond me).

But above all, a home studio allows you to practice. The more you practice, the better you become and the more jobs you get.

Good luck, amigo.

[ConnieTerwilliger]

As mentioned previously - home recording capabilities to do auditions at the very minimum is a requirement.

But I am curious - where do you live? What is this radio show you are doing? What kind of show is it? Scripted. Improv?

If you live in a major market and you can land a good agent, or at least learn how to promote what you have to sell (there are lots of areas of voiceover, so you need to know what it is you have to sell and then find the people who want to buy it) you may be able to do some work in recording studios.

But to make your living doing voiceovers, you either need to have your own gear, own your own audio studio, or live in a market that produces lots of stuff and have that somewhat indescribable something that the producers MUST have on their pieces.

This means having a killer demo that showcases this unique quality (in spots, narrations, promos, imaging, whatever) and getting it into the hands of the people who are buying - either on your own, or through an agent.
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[Deirdre]

I certainly can't add anything to the great words already spoken here about reasons for a home studio, I can merely tell you that the only reason I'm doing any real work at all is because I have a home studio.
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[Bailey]

Is a home studio necessary? YES!
The degree of options between one studio and another can differ greatly. But I would say that some degree of a home studio IS very necessary.
I don't know of too many car repair shops that will offer to work on your car using your tools.
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[Joniv]

I'm with DB. The only work I get is because of my home studio, BUT I live in Windsor, CT (aka Hooterville).

It doesn't have to be expensive. I believe there was a thread on it just recently.

Joni
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[Philip Banks]

No it isn't essential but it does depend in which league you intend to play or are playing.

In the UK, one good network TV campaign will earn a Voice Over around $30,000. If you do 4 per year that will means you are earning $120,000 per year. You will have a reputable agent, a good demo and a degree of luck.

Voices without home studios can not only make a living but a good one too. The majority of big hitters have transformed the way the work from production studio work to home studio work and with apologies to all who believe it is 250 year old technology these studios have ISDN lines and a codec. I know some people mention they have access to ISDN but that is not the same as having it, nor is it perceived in the same way.

Do you need a home studio? Think of it as a jounrey. where are you going? Find out what you need to get there.

[meerkat15]

I just want to thank you all for such helpful, thorough responses. What a great resource this board is!

[dmgood]

Can we expand a little more on this topic?
Are you saying that the paradigm of the talent going to the studio being directed with client present is waning? and the home studio self-directed talent is on the rise?
Or are we talking ISDN? or phone patch with remote recording and Internet delivery?
If so, how does this affect marketing?
Are you no longer marketing to recording studios and production houses? Are you marketing to and getting work from end clients directly (e.g., not going to an agency, but going directly to the corporate client)?
Do you provide both fully produced and dry voice services?
For auditioning (beyond V123), do you have contact with an agent or CD that has set you up for an audition that you provide via Internet?
Thanks for any additional info!

[mcm]

I'm sure the answers to these last questions will be all over the map.

In my case, I don't often do the production, just dry voice. No ISDN; phone patch available and regularly offered but rarely used. Not sure how this affects my marketing if at all - I still market globally, but of course the ISDN-only clients aren't going to hire me. I rarely go to a studio (and when I do, it's usually just me and the recording engineer and nobody there to direct me). No agent or CD. Marketing to ad agencies and production companies primarily. Marketing to end users has not worked very well for me, although that may be for lack of effort. Seems like the biggest ROI comes from marketing to people who are responsible for producing work for a lot of different end clients. Tomorrow however I'm planning to attend a life sciences job fair with a bunch of pharmaceutical companies present so I may find out if face-to-face works better.

[Deirdre]

Mary will kick some serious pharmco ass.

One of my slug lines is "Available worldwide via ISDN".
I didn't always have ISDN; before it went in my home studio gave me the opportunity and tools to practice, practice, practice.

"Talent going to the studio" has waned completley to nil for me these days, with people sending me scripts and me sending back or uploading tracks, although my biggest sessions are via ISDN with creatives and clients.

In the biggest cities, they still want you there IN SITU until they get to know you so well they know they can trust you.
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[Bruce]

Are you saying that the paradigm of the talent going to the studio being directed with client present is waning? It's been waning for some time as home studios get cheaper and cheaper. and the home studio self-directed talent is on the rise? I'd say at least 70% of my work is done without "supervision". Either they trust me, or they don't care. I guess it's easier for the client to ask for a fix after the fact, if needed, than to listen in on the session.
Or are we talking ISDN? or phone patch with remote recording and Internet delivery? The 30% of my work with directors listening is roughly split between the two.
If so, how does this affect marketing? Just be sure to mention all of your capabilites in order to help them make a decision (such as ISDN, phone patch, FTP site, full production capabilites).
Are you no longer marketing to recording studios and production houses? I don't market to a lot of studios because most don't hire, but they can recommend. With a production house, if everyone's agreed, you're placed on their roster and they either promote you or let you sit there on their site. Once you're on there you don't need to actively market to them, but an occasional call to them if business from them has been slow couldn't hurt. Are you marketing to and getting work from end clients directly (e.g., not going to an agency, but going directly to the corporate client)? In only a few cases, but there's no reason you couldn't market direct to businesses.
Do you provide both fully produced and dry voice services? Both: 75/25 dry vs. produced.
For auditioning (beyond V123), do you have contact with an agent or CD that has set you up for an audition that you provide via Internet? Most of my agents provide audition opportunities. Most creative directors at ad agencies know my work and just hire me directly without an audtion. We'll sometimes do spec spots (paid) to show a client what we can do.

B
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I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[ConnieTerwilliger]

[CWToo]