I don't want you to see me

And not because I'm distractingly beautiful*.

I probably have a handful of live-directed sessions every week.

And for roughly 75% of them, I run the session with my camera turned off.

That might seem like a surprise given I'm a performer - and one that has built a significant part of their business on a social media presence.

But when I'm recording most projects, I want the client to be focused on my VOICE, not what weird stuff I might be doing to make the sounds that I do.

This week, I had a fantastic recording session working on an audio drama in which I had to almost drown, climb and get various bones broken.

After introductions (conducted with the camera on), I explained my preference for 'camera off' for these reasons, because the contortions I might make to render such sounds believable while rigidly standing still might be distracting.

This isn't always the case.

Some directors - especially in video games - love to have a visual idea of what you'e doing so they can offer feedback and specific adjustments directly related to your physicality.

But when I started out, I felt that I 𝘏𝘈𝘋 to have the camera on to prove my commitment in some odd way.  And this sometimes resulted in less experienced clients getting distracted during recording... 'Wow, the faces you make', etc.

As ever, it's about providing the options that best suit a clients needs.

But if I voice talent suggests switching cameras off, please don't take it personally.

*I appreciate my beauty IS very distracting though.

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By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

Past the 30 games mark!

My progress in voicing games has been slow but steady.

I recorded my very first title back in 2013 with Dark Souls II, and since then I've had the pleasure of working on a huge variety of roles, from Lego Knights to Kraken Warlords to... nosey postmen.

But progress hasn't always been steady.  There have been casting rosters it's taken me years to get on, and in 2022 I hardly worked in games at all.

I've collaborated with huge publishers and one-person studios, and I've inevitably been involved in projects that ended up never seeing the light of day.  This included the lead in one AAA game that  I thought might totally change my career.

And my skillset isn't necessary cut out for every type of game.  While I can vocally transform to a degree and cover a range of accents and character types (an essential skill for helping developers populate the worlds they create with NPCs), there are people WAY MORE adept at that than me.

And so I continue to work on expanding skills, while at the same time consolidating where my strengths lie - in textual rigour and emotional depth.  This might mean I'm never a 'booking machine' like some of my peers, but when the right opportunities DO emerge, I make sure to do a bloody good job.

So here's my current gaming reel made of some of the projects recorded over the last decade.  I've got some more in the pipeline I'm looking forward to adding in due course (one or two of which may have been announced at Gamescom's launch last night), but I'm pretty proud of what I've achieved so far.

Any feedback on the showreel most welcome!

Want an authentic take on your next project? Then check out my gaming reel here

Contact me here and we can discuss your voiceover needs directly

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

Neuronet: Mendax Proxy

My biggest barrier...

Is typically my studio cat, Honey.

Sitting on my keyboard.

Thankfully, she's also worth her (4kg) weight in social media content and staff morale, so she can do pretty much whatever she likes.

Her typical purr level is also sub -60dB, which means I can normally still record in her presence.  I'd say about 25% of sound files that leave my studio have been vetted (sorry) by her ears.

Having a booth buddy can be extremely important when you're working remotely on most projects.

Aside from one 30 minute in-person studio visit and 2 hour long directed sessions via Zoom, everything else (about 8 hours of finished audio in total) has been recorded solo, which is a pretty typical week for me.

So here's to the assistants who remind us we're not alone!

And I apologise for Honey's absence the last few months.

She's been very busy...

Contact me here and we can discuss your voiceover needs directly

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

Why do we tell stories?

As writer Brandon Sanderson reminds us...

They are a universal, 𝘏𝘜𝘔𝘈𝘕 experience.

If you replace your messaging, whether that be a social media post or any other piece of content attempting to reflect your identity, values or services, with something that feels non human, then you risk severing that bond.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't use AI.

But it should serve as a reminder that it's implementation is nowhere near as straightforward as many of those trying to sell it would have you believe.

TBH I'm still recovering seeing my first completely AI generated ad on Tiktok that really was like nightmare fuel...

So if you might be looking for a human option, you know where I am.

(Welsh accent being practised in advance of an audiobook that requires it).

Need a compelling, award-winning voiceover?

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By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

The Emperor Protects

I'm honoured to have voiced my third book for Games Workshop Group PLC's Black Library.

It's always a 'pinch-me' moment to work within a universe you grew up with, and narrating 'Kingsblade' by Andy Clark was certainly no exception.

Planetary Annihilation... ✅
Demonic Possession... ✅
Giant War Machines... ✅

What's not to love?

In all seriousness, the level of preparation offered to narrators by the Black Library makes it second to none.

One of the biggest challenges of any fantasy/sci-fi project is understanding the world, its rules and (often) its language in a limited window of time.  This team have got it down to a fine art.

A huge thank you to my director Tom Bayliss for navigating me through the recording sessions so assuredly.

The title is now available on the BL website and Audible.

Need a compelling, award-winning voiceover?

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By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

Getting There VS The Truthful Moment

Perhaps the biggest acting question.

In ANY medium of acting, there's someone or something trying to dictate what the final outcome will look like.

A director that needs a tear on cue.
A script that baldly states 'convulsive giggles'.

And so the actor's challenge becomes orientated around the final outcome.

You either tear up at the right moment - or you don't.
You either start cracking up when 'needed' - or you don't.

Precisely the sort of determinist approach that would be labelled as BAD acting in any acting class worth its salt.

Why?

Because the best acting isn't predictable or logical.
It defies expectations, living and breathing on its own terms.
It knows where it's going, but it doesn't rigidly adhere to a defined route.

The best actors can obviously marry these two things.
You find techniques and tools to fulfil a project's purpose, be a team player and give other creatives what they need.  That's why it's a craft.

But I feel the growing role of AI in my own industry is further drawing a dividing line between these approaches.

For those clients who already have a set 'final outcome' in mind, AI will always have some form of allure because it's utterly obedient - even if it still can't execute nuance due to it's lack of cognition and authentic emotion.

Sure, it might be a utter nightmare and timesink to 'prompt' into submission, but that's what some people call being creative in 2025 apparently... and you're welcome to block me, as we won't get on.

These are not the clients I'll be able to count on long term.

The one's I do want to attract are those that appreciate the value of the truthful moment. Fully experienced, you might not 'get there' - but end up somewhere far more interesting as a result.

The below is the same speech done different ways with absolutely no preparation other than a subtle adjustment in point of view.   THESE are the spaces that excite me as a creative, so I'm doing my damnedest to find more of them right now!

Want to inject some creativity into your project? Then check out my demos here

Contact me here and we can discuss your voiceover needs directly

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

It's clobbering time

Last week, I had the pleasure of recording a few sessions at OMUK, one of the UK's leading providers of voice and performance capture.

Working there on a few projects over the last 12 months has been a real personal achievement, as it was one of my first dreams when starting out in voice acting in 2017.

I'm not playing any major parts or leading any franchises.  But I'm getting the opportunity to do my stuff.

So to mark that, I thought I'd point out three things they do really well and how that's helpful to a performer.

𝟭) 𝗜𝗻-𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

The 'wonders' of the internet mean that anyone can submit an audition within the space if a few hours, allowing voice providers to offer clients a vast range of options.  But after an initial shortlisting process, being able to work in a room together for a recall audition has become a luxury rather than the norm.

There's still nothing like sharing a studio with the rest of the team, getting live feedback and being able to adjust and play to see if the fit is right.  You have far more room to show what you're capable of and there's less guessing in the dark.

I'd love it if more games casting even held remote live auditions to ensure the fit was perfect.

𝟮) 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀.

The studio have long been famed for their use of head-mounted mics.  This means that rather than having to be constantly mindful of mic proximity while performing, an actor is almost totally free to use their entire body in the space.  They can even use props readily available to help them embody the character.

This unquestionably helps get a better, more realistic end result and places the focus purely on play by removing a significant technical limitation.  It still boggles my mind other studios haven't pursued this more.

𝟯) 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀

An increasing number of studios are doing this, but it begs repeating just because of the difference it makes.  Getting directors who have first hand experience of performing (or directing in different mediums as well as games) is almost guaranteed to make a recording session run smoother.

There is an immediate shorthand that can be drawn upon, they're more likely to understand how an actor may be feeling prior to a session and what information they need quickly to give their best.

So yeah.  In short - more in person auditions, greater use of tech to facilitate rather than replace + more directors with a proper performance background would be lovely.

My wonderful director Thomas Mitchells half joked about me making a LinkedIn post during our session, so I didn't want to disappoint! 😉

Need a compelling, award-winning voiceover?

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By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

Train in stuff you don't do

Last month, I decided to sign-up for a five-session workshop in a genre of work that:

I don't watch regularly.
I don't audition for.
I don't aspire to.

The reason was simple.

I felt I needed to be pushed outside my comfort zone to shake up my character choices.

I'm no stranger to character work per se, having worked in video games for over a decade and performed over 30 audiobooks in the past 18 months.

I've cultivated a variety of archetypes, drawn from my theatre training, which I can then use as starting points to flesh out whatever a project my demand.

In the last week I've played:

An ork
A cyborg
A gladiator
A Goth queen
AND an expert in baby milk formula

But I was finding myself getting stuck in a rut.  Of playing the same range of notes on my instrument (oo er) because I know they work - and I didn't want to risk something too extreme in an audition I was invested in or during a session with a paying client.

I needed to remove the stakes.

Donald Pirie did a wonderful job of creating a space to play with animation scripts.  And though we covered a lot of gaming material too (which I was much more comfortable with), being given the permission to try choices that will almost certainly not work, at the limits of my skillset was actually incredibly rewarding.

Having been a professional actor for over 17 years, most of my training choices now tend to focus on marginal gains and getting in front of the 'right' people.  Sure you're learning something new, but it's the quickest way of making yourself a known quantity to the people that matter.

Being able to shake that up and just play was immensely freeing.  And to do that in the company of another four extremely talented and generous performers was an added bonus.

So maybe look beyond the obvious choices when it comes to further training in your job.  It might just offer the inspiration you need.

Want to inject some originality into your project? Then check out my demos here

Contact me here and we can discuss your voiceover needs directly

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

The Most Important [Acting] Question To Ask a Voice Actor?

𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 - 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗢𝗧.

In the last decade, there has been a greater appreciation of the importance of context in a voice actors work.

If we know who we are, where we are and who we're talking to - 𝘚𝘜𝘙𝘗𝘙𝘐𝘚𝘌 - you tend to get better results.

The more detailed these questions are answered, the more an actor's imagination has to respond to, and the richer that response is more likely to be.  It provides the necessary boundaries to our creative response.

But a lot of games can sometimes involve pretty generic environments.

Where are you?

A battlefield.  Fighting. Again.

And this is when you can fall prey to churning out more generic reads rather than responding in the moment.

𝗜𝗙 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱.

In real life we do this all the time.

I'm typing at my computer right now, but my mind is constantly flitting to the various locations I've got to visit today.

With the Shakespeare speech below, I felt something unlock once I moved beyond the horror of the immediate circumstance.  Picturing the room I would kill Julius Caesar's killers in (and how I'd do it) activated something different for me.

This doesn't make it 'right'.  But it makes it more 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.

And so, if an actor is ever feeling a little flat in their response to a scenario, maybe try investigating where the characters 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 is rather than their physical body.

Rather than on a battlefield, maybe their thoughts are rooted in the family room they left behind, the lover's bed they're no longer lying in, the town hall that was once filled by their (now dead) comrades.

All of these 'internal' landscapes might trigger something different to the purely external one.

It might give a take something new and unexpected.

And while that's not what's always needed from a voice actor - it's a damn more interesting approach to a second of third take than just doing it louder or faster.

Need a Voice actor for an insightful take on your script?

Contact me here and we can discuss your voiceover needs directly

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

Approved by the God Emperor

I've been fortunate to receive some wonderful messages, gifts and fan art in the last few years...

But a cross-stitch of a pixel illustration of my character is definitely next level! 😍

So a huge shout out to Sofie (aka @thechibifie on Instagram) for this absolutely amazing work of ART...

Sent to me all the way from Sweden!

Recording Heinrix van Calox in Owlcat Games' Rogue Trader was my first experience of playing a companion character in a game.

I loved the challenge of having to inhabit multiple versions of him, dependent on the player's decisions and whether they decided to test his ideology or encourage his 'heretical' side.

While there can be immense satisfaction in following a linear character arc all the way to its conclusion, the fact that some games allow you multiple pathways, with almost limitless variations along the way, is what helps make these stories resonate differently.

Each relationship between character and player feels more personal as a result, which is why some people feel compelled to make really cool stuff to send to lucky voice actors like me!

But even though my performance in the game has got some recognition (including three award nominations), the real credit has to go to writer Olga Kellner and all my director's at 3Beep for helping me navigate such a fantastically nuanced character.

If I get to explore a character with half so much depth in the rest of the year, I'll be a happy camper.

I'm very much open to offers... just saying! 👀

Next stop... cos-play?!

Need a compelling, award-winning voiceover?

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By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

Is SUBMISSION better than EXTINCTION?

Great art continues to resonate throughout time.

That is exactly what this speech from Mass Effect does.

If you replace the word 'Reaper' with 'AI', you get a pretty accurate portrayal of some of the delightful opinions one encounters on social media today*.

This morning, I awoke to another client asking me about the possibility of building an AI model of my voice.

Not something I'm adverse to in principle.

I implement AI every day and have trailed collaborations with various AI voice providers to see what might be viable. I'm not 𝘑𝘜𝘚𝘛 anti-AI.

But I then had to spend 10 minutes telling them why the tools they proposed to use weren't fit for purpose for creating an AI model for a professional voice actor. 

Because lots of people are trying to implement this tech quickly, without doing their due diligence.

It's the same reason part of me dies inside every time I see an obviously AI-generated image on my feed posted by someone I'm connected with.

I'm not saying you're a bad person.

But there's a fundamental lack of interrogation at the heart of all this, and it's so tiring to deal with.

I'm not naive enough to claim that there's any such thing as an ethically perfect tool - not as I type this on a device created by a brand well known for it's questionable production practices and rapid embracement of AI.

But a little self-awareness (and research) would go a long way!

*(the fact that the Reapers are in-fact a highly evolved machine race isn't lost on me, Mass Effect fans. I'm, talking to those who have missed out on this amazing franchise)

Need an assured, award-winning voiceover?
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By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

It's not about having a 𝙎𝙀𝙓𝙔 voice.

Even if you're voicing a romance.

Of course, having a distinctive sounding voice can massively help, whether it's stereotypically 'masculine' or not.  I'm not going to deny the appeal of Teddy Hamilton's pipes (if you know, you know).

But in order to sustain a listener's 'attention'....
it's the job of the voice actor to dig deeper.

The focus in most romance stories is not the act, but the emotional need that underpins it.

The climax - both metaphorically and literally - comes in the sense of completion, the unity that can only be achieved through finding a soul mate.

Both lovers are damaged in some way.
Both are seeking resolution for a perceived lack.
And it's the dangling of that possibility, the hope of redemption, that compels the characters to action.

The strongest writing in the romance genre embraces this, and it's been a pleasure working with Podium Entertainment on Victoria K Taylor's 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴  that does precisely that.

Delighted to share A THRONE OF FORST AND FLAME is out now on Audible narrated by myself and the wonderful Nina Yndis.  Thanks as ever to Khai Dattoli for thinking of me a year ago.

Check out my audiobook demos here

Contact me here and we can discuss your voiceover needs directly

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

'I am just a copy of a copy of a copy' - Nine Inch Nails

That's the fear, right?

That you're giving the same messages you always did.
Creating the same work you always did.

Because how the hell is that going to make you stand out?

Watching NIN take the 02 stage last week was a masterclass in drawing on your past work to make something that still lives in the NOW.

Their Peel It Back tour returns to a lot of their greatest hits over the last three decades, but almost every track had been reinvented in some way.

This was never a band just sticking to what worked before.

Neither was it immaculately slick.  Trent Reznor went through half a dozen mics over the course of the gig and the band frequently had to improvise to cover the technical glitches.

It was messy.
But my God, it felt ALIVE.

Because if you're not excited by your work...
Why on earth would anyone else be?

Here's to bringing some of that energy into the final week of June 💪

Need a compelling, award-winning voiceover?

Contact me here or add me to your supplier list for future reference

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

Have YOU worked with the 'big five'? 👀

(and do you have the selfies to back it up?)

Yesterday marked a milestone in my career.

My first audiobook title for Penguin Random House Audio was released - King of Thieves by Karina Halle.

It wasn't a massive role - I literally voiced the last chapter.

But it was a great project to be involved in, and huge credit must go to the AUDIO PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION for helping to get me in front of the right people.

So what's the 'big five'?

In the audiobook world, these are the most established, reputable publishers in the business:

Penguin
Hachette
Macmillan
Harper Collins
Simon & Schuster

That doesn't mean they do all the best books.  But for 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 narrators, getting on their rosters is a clear target to aim for.  I'm currently working on a project with my second 'big five' client this week 💪

But perhaps most interestingly, until I'd started working in the genre, I'd never once heard of this 'top five' concept despite being a full-time voice actor for seven years.

In video games there is a similar parallel when it comes to production houses (for the UK market at least).  Audio for a LOT of the big titles are produced at:

Side
OMUK
Molinare
Liquid Violet
Bigmouth Audio
Pitstop Productions

Do you need to have worked with them to make a sustainable career?

Absolutely not.

And most of the general public wouldn't know their significance at all.

But if you're aiming to consistently be involved in the biggest projects of the gaming world, you're likely crossing paths with them at some point.

Such list building can be incredibly useful for providing structure to your goals. If you have a target to aim at, then you're aware of whether you're taking steps toward it.

The flip side is when you're on the outside looking in...

Taking the obligatory actor-selfie outside one of the above studios is a great way of logging your achievement and  sharing that you're operating at a high level without breaking NDAs.

I do them for precisely that reason - it's the low hanging fruit of the social-proof variety.

But if you've never worked at such a studio and see lots of your peers there... that's when such concepts become less conducive to one's mental health.

So I'd be intrigued if other industries have a 'top x' equivalent in them.  And if so, do you find such thinking useful or a hindrance?

Feel free to contact me here and we can discuss your voiceover needs directly

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

Audiobook Month

Celebrating the power of the spoken word & the joy of listening to stories it’s fitting that I’m narrating a range of Audiobooks this month.

A huge thanks to those who have entrusted me with their wonderful projects for Audiobook month!

TJ London

Podium Entertainment

Harper Audio

Graphic Audio

SA Oliver

Check out my audiobook demos here

Listen here for my work on audible

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

A little photoshoot behind the scenes

It's been three months since I updated my branding with the images shot by Musselwhite Photography Ltd.

Every week I get positive feedback about it.

A creative choice which seemed pretty bold and risky in the moment, has helped make me that bit more memorable to existing clients, prospects and new leads.

As voice actors, it's essential that we let our 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘 do the talking.

But that means the battle is all about stopping the scroll and getting people to press play in the first place.

To do that, you need to be fearless.
And you need to trust creatives who know their sh*t.

The value of good photos ins't just on your website.  It's in the social media pic that makes people doubletake, or that email footer that recipients don't just glaze over.

So a huge thanks again to James and Fliss for their brilliant work.

And I'm sorry to confirm that this suit has been officially recycled... Then replaced with an identical version.

Want to see if the paint constricts my performance?

Check out my demos here

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

How I got to 100k on YouTube by accident

Tales of the unexpected...

Or how I got to 100k subscribers on YouTube by accident.

Even writing the phrase 'YouTube journey' makes me want to cringe and laugh simultaneously.

But after receiving this Silver Creator Award for reaching 100,000 subscribers, I guess I have one?

My channel came out of Covid - surprise surprise.  Stuck at home, I started playing around with some ideas for educational content for clients, and made a series of videos about how to work, direct and negotiate with voice actors.

After that, I felt myself beginning to enjoy the challenge at getting competent at something new.  So I decided to make more educational content about voice acting for a year, posting once a week.

✔️ I learnt how to film myself better.
✔️ I learnt how to structure a video.
✔️ I learnt how to work with an editor.

And the process helped consolidate a lot of my learning and ideas up to that point in my career.  I made videos for 52 consecutive weeks, and even got my subscriber count past the 1,000 mark!

But then... I ran out of things to say.

I faced a choice - try to keep going just because I felt I owed it to my audience, or admit that it was a good run, but something drastic needed to change.

Not being excited by the prospect of repeating myself - and having no real interest in becoming a coach to other voice actors - I chose the latter.

Taking a step back, my biggest concern was that I was addressing my peers and not my potential clients.

But my OTHER biggest fear, was that even I was bored retreading what my clients should be (hypothetically) interested in.  I wanted to be truly excited by the content.

So I just began repurposing my Tiktok content instead - recordings of me performing material that it excites me.

I didn't post natively.
I didn't optimise video SEO.
I just set up a workflow and was consistent.

And after a few months, the channel started to really snowball.

Received wisdom is that you should focus on ONE social platform and make getting really good at it your focus.  A sentiment I broadly agree with.

But if you believe in your stuff, it's already getting some traction and you can find a way to repurpose it easily, then it's definitely work a try.

Through the act of 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 repurposing (using repurpose.io - no advertisement involved), I managed to grow my YT to 100k and my Instagram to 91k without much real effort.

And those new platforms?

They had 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 audiences to my Tiktok - including a LOT of clients.

So yeah.  I'm not saying do what I do.
Just sharing my own roundabout journey and marking a milestone!

But where do I put this????

𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿?

Feel free to contact me here

If you’d like to check out my You Tube Channel click here

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

Don't waste my cat's time

Honey the studio cat can be demanding when it comes to her 'attention quota'.

And the quickest way to jeopardise it?

Client's sending me a script without an effective brief, which leads to either:

1 - Lots of unnecessary back and forth

OR

2 - A sample that doesn't serve the client's purpose.

So for the sake of clarity AND my cat's time, here's a checklist of stuff to do when reaching out to a voice actor.

1️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁.

(And this goes DOUBLE if the script needs to be delivered within a specific timeframe).

Reading aloud is the quickest way of noticing whether the language flows, if there's unnecessary repetition, whether or not anything is missing etc.

2️⃣ 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀.

Specificity is crucial in ALL communication.

Saying 'I'm speaking to the team' or 'I'm speaking to a pirate' isn't sufficient direction if I don't know what THE SPEAKER'S RELATIONSHIP to that team or pirate is.

Do I love pirates?
Do I hate pirates?
AM I a pirate (or a recovering one)?

All will profoundly change how I speak to other pirates.

3️⃣. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗖𝗧𝗔) 𝗶𝘀.

Whether it's a character piece, an audiobook or a corporate explainer - we're communicating to provoke a response.  What is it?

Avoid general phrases like 'to be inspired' or 'excited'.
What is the 𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 that you want the listener to undertake.

4️⃣. 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀.

You have a rough cut of the video or character?  Share it.
You know what genre music is being used?  Share it.
You have a picture of the speaker?  Share it.

All these things immediately help us to key in on what you're searching for.  And if you don't know, then anything that helps evoke the MOOD is still great.

5️⃣. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀.

Do I need to know the company's decades-long history?
Do I need to know the original name of the wizard realm before it was destroyed by the forces of chaos 10,000 years prior to the events of the story?

If it doesn't impact the delivery of the text, then leave it out.

6️⃣. 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲.

To avoid the dreaded 'what's your quote' VS 'what's your budget' standoff, be as clear as possible about where the voice recording is going to be used and for how long.

Any professional voice actor will be able to explain their subsequent rationally.

This may seem a lot to ask, but once you have this stuff down it doesn't have to be long, and will save you a TON of time in the long run.

And let me know if I've missed anything!

Feel free to contact me and and we can discuss your needs directly.

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

21 voiceover nominations... but we got there in the end.

To My First One Voice Award!

I was honoured to have won the One Voice Award for Best Promo at this years awards. This was for my work on Megan Thee Stallion’s album release trailer, which you can view here.

I was proud to be up for six awards in total, including Best Male Voice Actor for the seventh consecutive year. So to finally win for a genre that I hardly ever work in felt... entirely fitting, to be honest!  Just shows you how unpredictable freelance life can be.

Huge thanks to Citizen Skull Productions for the opportunity and Gravy For The Brain for hosting such an amazing One Voice Conference and Awards.

It was an honour to lead a workshop and participate in a panel as part of the one Voice Conference as well.

A MASSIVE thanks to Voicefox for the continued opportunities, many of which have led to previous nominations. And my biggest love to my wife Sophie, my mum… and Honey the Studio Cat for their support.

Congratulations to ALL the winners and nominees this year. And that goes for all those who even dared submit too.   By choosing to be in the arena in the first place, you’re daring to dream big. And that’s half the battle.

𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿?

Feel free to contact me here

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor

The kick-start to my voice acting career.

Seven years in the making.

The man who got me to share my voice.

Back in 2018, I received a DM on Instagram from a writer asking me if I was interested in collaborating with him on an original project.

I barely had 1000 followers at that point and apart from the odd poem, hadn't really shared much creative work online.  But he took a punt in reaching out to me and we decided to work together and see what might happen.

The project was called Accursed Adam - a series of diary entries by a protagonist who was definitely NOT... a vampire - who was choosing to document his life in the shadows using an old tape recorder.

The writing was heightened, poetic and visceral.  As an actor who at that point, was mainly forging my VO career in the corporate space, it provided a rich contrast to the explainer videos and elearning that I was paying the mortgage with.

And it proved integral in shaping me as an artist.  As all great writing does.

Shariff Butler is that writer, and on my first full day in Atlanta, I was able to finally meet up with the man who I'd been lucky enough to collaborate with -purely online - for years.

We shared drinks, talked life, love, art and Shakespeare.
And it felt like I was catching up with a dear friend that I hadn't seen in years.

Shariff put his faith in me with his words without a single caveat.

He encouraged me to experiment and play with his work rather than dictate the delivery.

He gave me the confidence to own my space as an artist in a way that I had only found previously in theatre.

Relationships like that don't come around often.  So it was an honour to finally meet him, share laughs... and plot what might come next.

If I don't make a single further connection on this trip, it's already been worth it for this.

Here's to the value of finding the true collaborators we're MEANT to find.

By Christopher Tester, British Male Voice Actor