Vocal Range and Variety
Don’t let all your auditions sound the same.
If you sample recent auditions and hear the same pitch, energy, emotions, and style for all of them, this might be happening to you. Tailor your performance to fit the project’s tone, style, and character requirements. Research the project, understand the target audience, and adapt your delivery accordingly to showcase your versatility and range.
Showcasing your versatility and range is another important aspect of customizing your auditions. Demonstrate your ability to adapt to different styles, characters, and scenarios. Experiment with variations in pacing, intonation, and emotion to bring the script to life.
Showcase your flexibility by delivering auditions that reflect a wide range of vocal qualities, whether it be confident and authoritative, warm and friendly, or quirky and comedic.
Dedicate time to practice and refine your vocal range.
Explore different sweet spots in your voice and develop several distinctly different tonal archetypes that you can call upon for different audition requirements. Use variations of pitch, pace, emotional tone, amount of energy, amount of positivity, and other elements of performance to differentiate these.
As you continue to refine your skills and expand your vocal range, you’ll open doors to a wider range of opportunities in the voice over industry.
Decoupling Announcer from Voice Over
The announcer voice style has its roots in the early days of radio and television broadcasting when announcers were tasked with delivering information in a clear, authoritative, and attention-grabbing manner.
This style became synonymous with commercials, news presentations, and promotional announcements.
Over time, the announcer voice style became deeply ingrained in popular culture and continues to be associated with professionalism and authority.
It is often used in specific contexts where a commanding and direct approach is required. Clients now seek a more authentic and relatable approach. The demand for natural, conversational, and diverse voices has increased, with a focus on connecting with audiences on a more personal level.
While the announcer voice style still has its place, it is important for voice over artists to recognize that it should not be the default audition style. Casting directors and clients oftenrequest a more natural and conversational delivery that resonates with the target audience.
By submitting auditions solely in the announcer style, voice talent may limit their opportunities and appear less adaptable or versatile.
Baseline Energy and Positivity
In the world of commercial voice over, some voice actors forget (or never learned) to bring a baseline level of energy and positivity to every read.
Part of the foundation of great performance is a deep understanding that clients are looking to attract buyers and revenue, and create appeal for their products, their brand, or the information they are conveying. This means that most people will need to up the level of their energy and positivity for voice over reads.
It’s important to calibrate this in your own performance by using references such as TV commercials, listening to demos online, and listening back to your own material with a critical ear. If you’re not sure where you’re at, chances are that you’ll need to add more positivity, smile, and energy.
There are of course voice over spots that have serious or even tragic subject matter, but the appeal must remain, as brands want listeners to be engaged with the content and their brand.