Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Enter: explainer videos

Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Enter: explainer videos

By Chris Tester - British Male Voiceover Artist

Are you ready to take your business to the next level?

Enter: explainer videos.

Let me explain explainer videos..

Not only do they increase website traffic by an average of 20%, but they also boost conversions by 30%.

And with the rise of video content all over social media, it's no surprise video marketing is becoming a must-have for businesses of all sizes.

Don't believe me? Check out these stats:

• 85% of businesses use video as a marketing tool (HubSpot)
• 90% of consumers say that product videos are helpful in the decision-making process (Animoto)
• 64% of consumers make a purchase after watching a branded social media video (Tubular Insights)

Investing in explainer videos can help set your business apart and give your audience a clear understanding of your products or services.

But guess what else you need? A convincing voice to narrate your video. Can you see where I’m going with this?

Answers in the comments 👇🏼

#ExplainerVideo #corporateVideo #voiceover

Feeling petrified about your upcoming podcast guest appearance?

Feeling petrified about your upcoming podcast guest appearance?

By Chris Tester - British Male Voiceover Artist

Feeling petrified about your upcoming podcast guest appearance?

These simple tips will help you sound confident and composed on air - even when you're not feeling it 👇🏼


1. Practice beforehand: familiarise yourself with the topic you will be discussing and practice speaking about it out loud. This will increase your confidence and reduce the chance of stumbling over your words.

2. Speak clearly: use a moderate pace and a strong, clear voice. Avoid speaking too quickly or too slowly, and pay attention to your volume and inflection.

3. Take deep breaths: breathing deeply can help you relax and calm your nerves, which can improve the sound of your confidence. Take a few deep breaths before you begin speaking to feel more composed.

4. Use good posture: Sitting up straight and keeping your head up can help you feel more confident.

5. Speak with conviction: believe in what you are saying and don't be afraid to show your passion and enthusiasm. This will help you sound more confident and engaging. The listeners will really buy into you...


And a bonus tip: use vocal variety. Varying your pitch, volume, and pace can help keep your audience engaged and make your words sound more convincing.

For example, you could use a softer, more thoughtful tone when you are presenting a nuanced argument, or a louder, more energetic tone when you want to convey excitement or enthusiasm.

Experiment with different vocal techniques to find what works best for you and the message you are trying to convey.


Are you planning to make a podcast guest appearance soon?

Are you planning to release an audio book in 2023?

Are you planning to release an audio book in 2023?

By Chris Tester - British Male Voiceover Artist

Are you planning to release an audio book in 2023?

Then, perhaps you're after the perfect voiceover artist for your project?

Here are a few tips to help you find the right fit:

1) Research and listen to demos: Listen to voiceover artists who have experience narrating audio books, then determine which one sounds the most appealing for your project.

2) Consider the genre:
When choosing a voiceover artist, select someone who is comfortable and skilled in narrating the type of book you have written.

3) Look for versatility:
A good voiceover artist can adopt a variety of vocal styles, from character voices to accents and emotions. Find an actor who has experience performing in different roles.

3) Consider availability and turnaround time:
It’s important to choose a voice artist who can complete your project on time.

4) Don't be afraid to ask for references: It's important to find a voiceover artist who is both reliable and professional. Ask for references from previous clients so that you can get an idea of the quality of their work.


Choosing the right voiceover artist for your audio book can be a daunting process. Make sure to research and consider all these factors when selecting an artist, so you'll have a successful experience from start to finish!


Can I help you with your audio book voiceover? Send me a message to find out how it works.

#audiobook #audible #voiceover

The Rise of AI Voiceover

The Rise of AI Voiceover -

by British Male Voice Actor Chris Tester

The rise of the AI voice has been the go-to anxiety topic for the voiceover industry for the last couple of years. The one before this was arguably the acceptance of home studios. They were more readily available and affordable technology, better remote connections, and more online casting portals allowing people to go directly to their clients. 

That meant that there was a greater acceptance of that as a valid way of doing voiceover work. So before we get into the whole AI thing, it's really important that we set out what exactly we're talking about and specifically that there's a distinction between the two main types of AI voice that are out there!

There's text to speech, and there's also speech to speech. Text to speech is what we most readily accept. AI voices to be so that you're inputting text, and as a result, a synthetic voice is turning that into spoken speech. But there's also speech to speech where there is actually a live performance giving the vocal inflections. But then a digital mask of another voice is being placed over the top of it, and we also need to remember that as most developing technologies AI voice stands on a moral spectrum.

There are better examples of it and worse examples on the one side. Some of this technology is literally giving voice to the voiceless, as demonstrated by the vocal id's work in the area. And then, on the opposite side, you have the model that we as voice actors might be more familiar with, which is something like a product like speechello, which advertises itself overtly as a solution to those costly and unnecessary voice actors.

So I'd say the key questions about AI voices are:

1. How good are they?

2. Will they replace voice actors?

3. What voiceover genres will it affect?

4. And how can voice actor’s best prepare for it?

Every few months, there seems to be another development in the mainstream media that provokes another spasm of anxiety for voiceover actors. Eighteen months ago, it was probably the release of a trailer of an AI voice that could cry called faith by the developer synaptic. 

Most recently, there was a controversy sparked by the troy baker, the voice actor. Now the baker is essentially as close to voice actor royalty as you can get; he starred in a whole variety of different franchises. Some of the biggest franchises in video games have been a running joke within the industry that he's in pretty much every game he tweeted about partnering with an AI voice company to allow everyone the chance to own and invest in the IPS that they create. 

Now part of the controversy was that it was a combination of AI voice and NFTS, which is another subject. And to itself that I don't really want to focus on in this video but what I do want to focus on in this video is that it shows that many voice actors out there already are exploring the different options of monetizing an AI version of their voice. When discussing his thinking and the subsequent backlash on the podcast play, watch listen baker explain a bit more thoroughly about his rationale: you never fire like the middle management. 

You fire the most expensive that's where the change happens; producers, by and large, are looking for how we can get away from hiring someone like a troy baker. Who's really expensive versus that guy doesn't cost that much. He's a negligible amount, or she's not going to be as expensive. So what I'm saying is they're trying to if they're trying to bring anybody's costs down; it's not that person. It's me! 

My job is not better than anything. My job is to solve the problem. Now I'd recommend that podcast, and I would also say that Alana Pierce - the video game writer and Mike Bithell - the video game developer made very good counterpoints in terms of obviously the very explicit risk that AI voices might have, especially for a new voice over talents coming into the industry who aren't as established as a baker. 

But what possibly interested me most about the baker's explanations towards his thinking was that it wasn't just about being as good as he could possibly be as an actor. Still, it was also about his focus on addressing the pain points of the clients that are out there, which rings true to a lot of the marketing that I do where on the marketing that recommends where it's not all about you. And what you can do but it's addressing you're the markets and your potential client's pain points first and foremost. 

But I was meeting about this literally last week with a studio that was like. We don't want to use the robot voice, but it's not a good use of our time to have people in-house. Record all the dialogue what our options are. So I definitely, I get that, and I also. I also understand that smaller voice actors are concerned with it too. I imagine that for similar for the composing community like I would guess people are split on it. Some people like it and some people don't. So given all of this, what should voice actors do? Should we just give up? Should we pretend it? Isn't it existing or happening at all just living entirely in denial, or maybe we should just sell out as soon as possible. 

We still can't be sure what exact voiceover genres will be most affected, but we can take an educated guess on IVR phone messaging. Some e-learning will probably be the most obvious candidates because if an AI program can change the language of an entire course rapidly, that can have some added value. There's also an argument for some commercial content to be specifically catered towards AI programs. Maybe you receive an advert that addresses you by name, addresses the location where you are, and also address what it is that you're playing or watching that commercial experience which some marketers are going to want to engage with is only really going to be feasible using an AI voice rather than having a human talent recording. Potentially millions of different variations in games AI voices are used as a placeholder and in the development process. And there are actual AI voices programs that are being built into and trialed in platforms such as unity which is specifically to aid the game development process because it makes more financial sense sometimes as a placeholder than it would be to hire live talent for in-progress work. Also, the wide availability of decent AI voices generally speaking would obviously invite greater use of voices in indie games. 

Whereas before, they would simply be priced out entirely, and we can see how some of the online casting sites are already catering to this where you have voice 123 and voices.com trialing AI voices and freelancing websites such as Fiverr looking at teaming up with AI providers such as lovo so that people can first of all order samples of existing human voiceovers. But then that leading probably almost essentially to them also having an AI voice offering as well there is also the wider question of diversity that needs to certainly be born in the mind which is that if a whole area is suddenly flooded by AI voice versions of reputable video game voice actors that people are going to be using instead of early voice actors, then it means that there's going to be a narrower pool of actual talent there.

As a result, some of the newer and more diverse talent coming into voice acting might be stifled in their development, but still and I'm sorry this is a cop-out. It is still too soon to know for sure exactly how this will impact. All we know is that there is a greater tolerance now that we're using Alexa, Siri, and TTS in the social media that we imbibe every day. There is a greater tolerance. It will be part of our lives in some form to come; that's as much as we know, and we can't ignore it. So what can us as voice actors do? Well, I suggest five things! 

The first thing I'd recommend is that we focus on being voice actors, and this may seem obvious. But it still bears repeating the one thing that ai voices struggle with is spontaneous, realistic emotion, and even if you do teach an AI voice to cry with specific inputs, then if you give them those same specific inputs, they will cry in the same way, there's not going to be that level of spontaneity. Whereas an actor who lives in the moment has a seemingly limitless way of channeling those kinds of things, you also need to value yourself artistically as a collaborator. As well as just a gun for hire, as a voice actor, you can understand the rules of copy and how to interpret text and give feedback on that. Similarly, with character relationships, characters' background, and the decision-making process. The decision-making process behind that is all added value that you can readily market and sell to potential collaborators, which AI voices simply won't have. 

My second point would be to be as educated as possible about the subject. So I would say podcasts like the VO social podcast about AI voices are great Anne Ganguzza’s VO boss podcasts. She's created a series of interviews with different AI voice providers about their approaches to their ethical standpoints. All of that kind of thing, I would say Hugh Edwards - a gravy for the brain has worked a lot with TTS stuff and spoken to several number developers. And I'd say podcasts like play watch listen where you're seeing game developers, game writers, composers, and voice actors, all discussing this kind of thing. So that it's not isolated but as part of our whole conversation in itself are, invaluable. 

The third thing to do is be open to potential opportunities where AI voice could augment your workflow. Yes, you could have an AI avatar that you market yourself or have someone mark a market for you for a lower stream of paid work. But there's also the potential to use AI voice, maybe just to do pickups in your workflow so that an algorithm can auto-replace those 12 errors for you instead of you having to go back in and do those pickups again. It's just being open to all of the different offerings out there. So that you can then see what might serve you best do you want an AI avatar. Do you want it to be on a separate platform? Do you want someone to market for you again by familiarising yourself with what other people are offering? You can start making some informed decisions.

The fourth point going hand in hand with that is to value your voice usage rights, and I'll always be banging on about knowing what usage is as a voice actor. Anyway, it's essentially making sure that you steer clear of anything which asks for a potential complete buyout. A lot of voice actors will have seen a text-to-speech was programmed. Where you'll have to record anything from half an hour to three hours to ten hours of seemingly nonsensical sentences from which they'll create a text-to-speech program. And then they'll offer com a complete buyout fee of anywhere from between two and a half to three thousand up to ten to twenty thousand pounds or dollars. And all of this kind of stuff is really iffy because they're essentially offering a buyout on that. And therefore, you don't have any say on where that voice may end up, and obviously, we've got a recent example of Bev standing a voice actor whose voice was used on TikTok without her permission. Those usage rights are really going to be crucial because if you sign them away too early and very, very, very cheaply, that's going to be the slippery slope. 

And finally, the fifth thing is to return to a theme of mine, which is the crucial aspect of forging direct relationships with your clients rather than being beholden to freelancing sites or pay-to-plays or anything like this your value proposition. As a voice actor, there will be more and more this human connection and all of the additional benefits that you can add and if other things can get in the way of that. Then that will diminish your ability to maintain a career in this area. The sooner that you're independent and very clear about what value you're adding to every single project you lend yourself with, the more you're going to make yourself independent and more self-sustaining as a business to conclude. 

I'd encourage us to look back at what I was discussing with the advent of home studios beforehand. Those talents that thrived were those who weren't afraid of new technology and were appreciative that their customer's workflows were changing. And therefore, their skill sets needed to change to cater to those new needs; they embraced new technology and saw how that could be able to enhance their client offering. We need to be aware of something that we need to bear in mind in a customer-centric way as much as possible. 

I don't believe that AI voices are going to spell the end of voice actors in their careers, especially when we live in a world where emotional connection and authenticity is a key factors in everything that we do, whether that's particularly artistic projects or voice acting, whether it's e-learning whether or not it's commercial or narration. All of these things, the emotional connection will always be key, but still, we have to be aware of what is developing around us. I hope you found this video of some interest, and if you have, please do like subscribe and spread the word; I look forward to seeing you next time!

With thanks - your favourite British Male Voiceover - Naturally RP

How to set the BEST Voiceover Goals for 2022

By British Male Voiceover Artist Chris Tester

Essentially, what I want to do is bring together two of my previous videos, one of which was about goal setting and the other one which was about taking stock of your voiceover achievements for 2021, and then use myself as an example of how I'm going about setting my goals for this coming year. The trickiest aspect of this can be that you don't really know where to start!

Everybody has their own kind of competing goals. There are loads of posts on it at the moment on social media; various voiceover provider services are all about these things. And you can't really see the wood from the trees. So I recommend that you have to start with what your goal is. You also need to think about how you would go about achieving that goal.

But the thing that I believe is I really kind of missed out from last year in properly interrogating was the why, as well. I think this is of crucial importance to really determine whether or not a goal actually works for you personally, or whether or not you've just taken it from someone else's goal list and assumed it into your own business rather than really properly interrogating it. So it's about the what, it's about the how, but it's also crucially about the why, and this is what's going to be able to make you narrow down your options into something that is actually feeling possible to you in this coming year, as opposed to something that is overwhelming.

Let's talk in-depth without further ado!

#1. Brainstorming 

So to get onto the resolution aspect of this, the first thing that I really recommend is that you brainstorm everything. But you brainstorm everything with three major sectors in mind:

1. Technical Side

The first one is going to be the technical side. The technical side may be equipment, it may be an investment in your space, but it's to do with your recording environment, the process of recording from a technical side. So equipment, all of that kind of thing.

1. Performance Side

The second area to really focus on is the performance side. So that could be working with particular coaches in particular genres. But then that also goes towards the actual demo production you might be involved in if you actually want to showcase your work in that respect

1. Marketing/Employment side

There's the technical side, and there's the performance side, and then there's also the marketing/employment side.

• So this is to do with what are your inbound marketing streams?

• What are your outbound marketing streams?

• Inherently, that's social media and any direct marketing that you do. And then, on top of that, it's also what agents are you represented by?

• How often are you auditioning?

• Are you auditioning through production rosters?

• Are you using pay-to-plays?

• And if so, how regularly you are auditioning, all of that kind of thing.

So we've got those three rough areas from which to start with.

#2. Stock Consideration

The next stage is to make sure that you have taken stock of this year, 2021, to see what targets you've set and whether or not you managed to do so. And then also to interrogate why. So when I look back, I'm not going to try and repeat everything that's already in that pre-existing video. But when I look back, obviously, there are many things that I'm very proud to have been able to achieve.

So, for example, I didn't hit my income target, but I came very close to hitting in terms of working more in games or audiobooks. That was very successful. I managed to get this home studio built, which has made me have to worry a lot less about the technical side of things. And I've also managed to formalise my coaching offering. I've managed to work with a marketing company specifically on defining what my marketing strategies are. And I've also managed to create another skillshare course, which is very, very good and very well-regarded and completely free if you sign up for a trial, just saying.

But there was also something that I completely dropped, completely failed on. And again, this comes back to not having really interrogated the why enough. So, for example, I had this whole idea that I would create a kind of marketing pack for myself so that I could, I don't know, get more varieties of interviews or appear on podcasts or anything else like that. 

Because there wasn't a really clear why behind that, other than I'd heard a few other people do it, that never really kind of came together in any way, shape or form, or more specifically also with working on US general American accents, it's something that I'd set up as wanting to revisit because I'd done a lot of it as a trained actor before previously. 

Many people say it's a very, very good idea, but it never became a priority for me because I just didn't encounter that many castings where it was really an issue. And increasingly, as well, with people looking for really authentic accents, I kind of used it as a bit of an excuse because my why wasn't strong enough in the first place to not even begin touching that. So I'm not saying that's not something that I'm going to focus on in the new year, but I need to develop a strong enough why to justify that being on my goals list. 

So oriented around those three different areas, you brainstorm everything you think of, anything that pops into your mind that you possibly think of as a goal. Don't try and qualify it in any way, shape or form; just put it down there and attach it to one of those three spheres. And then from that, you need to focus on the why which will be a natural process of elimination before you get into the nitty-gritty of the how.

There's no point in wasting lots of time on the how if the why isn't strong enough. It's like any kind of acting objective exercise; if your want isn't strong enough, then the scene won't be successful because you won't really feel you'll need it. So there won't be that tension of drama. It's exactly identical in terms of your motivation. If these are going to be goals that you're going to be pursuing for an entire 12 months, if the why isn't strong enough, you won't do it. 

#3. Documentary Work

So if I look at some of the goals that I'm contemplating in 2022, one example is documentary work. So that's what it is. I want to work more in documentaries and long-form duration and that type of thing. Then why is because I've always had a real interest in that from David Attenborough and his nature narrations, having a particularly huge effect on me, and then more kind of historical narration as well. I've been really interested in it. 

And so, therefore, once I've got those two as established, that's a very positive thing, then I can go into the, how could I possibly do that? And that would be by working with a coach that I think is well-respected. So maybe doing some research on that and working with them to get a demo. And then when you have that demo, well, what can you do? Yes, you can put it on pay-to-play sites. Yes, you can give it to your agents. Still, it would then be working in terms of my marketing as well so that I could identify specific leads that I could reach out to directly and then incorporate into my overall kind of direct marketing strategy as a result.

#4. Consolidation of Income

Another what that I'm really contemplating is that I want to consolidate my income. Before I get into how I want to do that, I really need to think about the why. And obviously, it's because more money is always great, right? Maybe? But the why is actually because I want to take some time off from voiceover without massive feelings of guilt. So that's quite a strong activator for me in terms of a life goal, as opposed to a business goal, to take more time off without going; oh my God, my business will plummet as a result. And then that justifies very much more strongly the, how I want to go about that.

So that's making sure that I am actioning all of the marketing work that I explored with Knowlton Marketing when I hired them as a consultant for my business. In terms of inbound work and outbound work, it's about making sure that the workflow of my content creation is as streamlined as possible so that I can be consistent and do batch contenting. It's led to some outsourcing. It's why I've got a virtual assistant for my outreach to help with that. Now, throughout this process, I'm not saying that the why has always to be ridiculously strong. It's good to have some speculative ones in there that you can subsequently kind of quantify. 

#5. Whole Dubbing and ADR World 

So, for example, with me, one of the goals that I'm contemplating is looking into the whole dubbing and ADR world because it's something that I haven't experienced. I don't know whether I'd love it or hate it because I've never even done a workshop on it or tried it out myself. So I know that I want to go about doing that. What's the why? Because it seems to be such a booming industry at this moment. So do I know whether or not I'd like it? Do I know whether or not it's a genre that would work for me? I'm not going to know that until I explore it in some kind of way. 

And so, therefore, we go down to the how, and that's by seeing what workshops are available, seeing if there are any resources that I'm already paying for, from my memberships to the VoiceOver Network or Gravy For The Brain, or other organisations are available and whether or not they have some resources that I can use, whether or not the friends or people that I know who already work in those spheres, that I can potentially talk to to see what the whole process is like. 

Once you've gone through this entire process, you should have a bunch of ideas that you've brainstormed out, and then they will have automatically kind of funnelled down quite considerably as soon as you've analysed the why. 

#6. Different Colours

I recommend even using a kind of different colours. So maybe all of the ones you've brainstormed are in blue, but when they actually qualify to the next stage, you may put the why in red. And then if they're ones that you actually want to spend considerable time on thinking about the how, then you put them in another colour, like purple for example. And that means that they are definitely going to be priorities for you. And obviously, if they chime with you and you're more excited about them, then that's obviously a very good sign. 

In a Nutshell

One of the practical benefits of having those three areas kind of like mapped out is to make sure that there's some form of balance so that you're not focusing purely, always on the performance side and not at all on the marketing side, because yes, it's great that you focus on your skills, especially when you're starting out. 

But if you want actually to make it function as a business, you need to spend at least as much time on the marketing side, on getting auditions, on getting those relationships, and on the technical side. I know that the technical side, thanks to having invested in the studio and making it such a priority in 2021, is less of an issue for me.

So it's going to be focusing more on the performance side and much more on the kind of marketing side, marketing to new areas. But again, it's about kind of forming a natural process, not by trying to get it right, right from the get-go, but by literally copying everybody else's ideas first and foremost, having them all out in front of you, and then seeing what speaks to you.

Last Words

I hope this video has been of some use to you. And I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, regardless of what the COVID restrictions may or may not be by the time that we get there. Thank you so much for your support for the channel, as ever. Please do like, subscribe. Please do tell other people that you think might enjoy this content about this content, as it would mean a great deal. 

And thank you, as ever, for your time and support and lovely comments. I will be taking a break for a week just to kind of revise where I want to take this channel next. And I hope that I'll be able to bring you all along with me. Thank you so much, and I look forward to seeing you next year!

Using Physicality in Voiceover

Whether performing or directing, it is essential to know how physicality informs delivery in voiceover - and how you can make dramatic changes through small adjustments.

By British Male Voiceover Artist Chris Tester

How to Negotiate Voiceover Rates

By British Male Voiceover Artist Chris Tester

Not all voiceover budgets are created equal, and neither are all voiceover actors. There are plenty of opportunities with Blue Yeti mics and pillow for[not clear, 00:17] who will be willing to record your product for absolutely nothing. But is that what you really want? Assuming that it isn't, where do you really start with professional rates? If you know that your budget is low, then how do you negotiate with a VO? And are there any other essential elements that you should discuss as winners price? 

Tip one, knowledge is power. Your first point of call should be the Gravy For The Brain rate card. It represents industry, standard fair market rates and breaks them down into different sections and regions, so you will have all the information you need to know what constitutes par for the industry. Obviously, certain details may still need to be confirmed by your project, but they'll still be able to give you a ballpark figure. For the majority of voiceovers, a quote will break down into two sections. There's the session fee and then there's the usage fee. The session fee is essentially the voiceover artists fee for pressing record and stepping into the booth, whether their recording is actually used or not. The usage fee might not actually apply to every project but it basically covers where and how long it's going to be used for. The biggest factor in price is going to be the size of the actual audience, the more eyes that you have on your content than the more you're probably going to be paying a voiceover artist. 

The same thirty second animation will have completely different usage cost if it's being used internally for staff training, if it's just being posted on a company website that hardly gets any visitors. If it's being used on social media with thousands of followers, or if it's being used on YouTube, but as a pre roll ad, in which case it could potentially be reaching millions or tens  of millions of people. This is one of the many reasons why a lot of voiceovers don't actually publish their rate cards on their website because there are so many multiple different facets that you need to judge. It's difficult to give an exact quote. To name check Gravy For The Brain again, I recommend you check out the voiceover licensing and usage video they did, which explains it very clearly in just a couple of minutes. Tip two appreciate that in perpetuity usage is problematic, increasingly with quite a few projects, clients are starting to ask for usage in perpetuity rather than for a limited time. Essentially, so that they can use the recording for as long as they want. 

Now this can be less problematic in one sector as opposed to another, it can still be a very difficult request actually answer. Essentially granting usage rights in perpetuity leaves voiceover artists open to conflicts of interest. For example, I recorded a radio campaign for a pharmacy that was going to last for three months. When the client decided to extend that campaign for another three months, they paid me in additional usage payment as a result, which was great, because I'd actually booked another job with one of their rivals. Obviously I couldn’t voice both at the same time as it would have been a conflict of interest. So I was recompensed as a result with the usage fee but if the original usage had been in perpetuity, then I would have simply lost out. This type of situation is much less prevalent in the corporate sector where buyouts are typically more often requested but it still can be an issue. 

So have some sensitivity before requesting it. Is a company really going to be using the same voice for two three or four years? Or are they actually likely to use it for just a year, in which case they should pay the usage for that. Tip three, be very clear about the perimeters of negotiation. A voiceovers rates are a voice overs rate and it's completely their discretion whether they accept or pass on a project as a result. But if you're super clear about the variables that you can offer in a deal, then you can make the process of any negotiation much more straightforward. Ask yourself, can you offer a variable time on delivery? Most projects tend to be recorded within 24 to 48 hours. Would you be in a position to offer some form of retainer? The cliche of a client who justifies a very low rate by the promise of future work that never materializes is a cliche for a reason. But if there is a consistent stream of work that you can offer, then maybe there is a group discount that can be agreed. 

For e-Learning and long form projects, can you do the editing in house? Typically for any voiceover project, for every one minute that we're recording, we spend about two to three minutes actually editing. If you take that out of the equation, then the fees might be much lower as a result. In areas such as e-learning especially where the quote is often per word as opposed to per minute, then you might actually get a completely different rate if this is factored in. For video games with no budget, why not offer a percentage of the final profits of the game if it turns one. This would need to be made incredibly clear in any contract, but it's much better than just asking for free work. Tip four be very clear about the process of revisions and rerecord. And just to clarify what those two things are. A revision is a re-recording that is necessitated because the script has been changed after an original recording. So no fault to the voiceover. 

Whereas a retake is when there's something in the delivery that wasn't quite right or we’ve mispronounced a word. Communication and information is key. So make sure that you always start with something like the Gravy For The Brain rate card in order to build your budget. And of course if you're looking for a quote for your voiceover project, anything that my voice my Fit, then please just drop me an email at chris@naturallyrp.co.uk. 

Thanks as ever for checking out this video. Please do subscribe if you enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing you next week.

What Gender Should Your Voiceover Be

By British Male Voice Actor Chris Tester

Voiceover used to be male dominated, but if trends continue as they have been in the last few years, it's predicted that female voice over jobs will actually overtake male voice over jobs by around 2025. The received wisdom has always been to go with someone who sounds like the audience. Voice over typically uses the rule of PLU. We most readily listen to people like us. And then we have quite stereotypical notions of what a male or female voice may offer. A deep male voice has power, aggression and authority and that's the reason why Mark Strong, the man who normally tells you to turn your phone off in the cinema in the UK, is also the man who fronts the UK COVID announcements. 

Voice over: This is a message from the government's Chief Medical Officer about Coronavirus. 

By contrast, female voices are typically considered more reassuring and soothing. A poll conducted by Harris international found that 46% of people found female voices more soothing than male voices. Soothing voices make people more comfortable. And when people feel more comfortable, then they're more likely to trust the person that they're listening to. That's one of the very good reasons why many Satnavs, computer systems and travel directions are delivered by female voices. Now this is partly scientific study by the Journal of advertising found that products that were aimed at neutral audiences or once towards men, the gender of the voice didn't really matter. But the same certainly wasn't true for female oriented products. Psychologist Phil Maclear at the University of Glasgow found that male voices with a lower pitch were usually perceived as least trustworthy, while higher pitched female voices were perceived as most trustworthy. Female voices and not just perceived as more melodic, but also clearer to by where they're processed in the brain. A study conducted at the University of Sheffield found that female voices were processed in the auditory part of the brain where music is processed, while male voices were processed at the back of the brain in what's called the mind's eye. So how does this all relate to the voiceover that you should choose? Well, Nancy Wilson, one of the foremost voiceover coaches in the world in commercial copy, talks about how copy is generally structured in terms of align, escalate and solve. 

The voiceover aligns themselves with the listeners problem, then they escalate it so the listener is compelled to act and then you offer the solution with the product. Taking the listener on an emotional journey throughout from crisis to resolution. The female voice seen as softer and chattier most readily fits the aligned part of that equation. Women now drive between 70 and 80% of consumer spending, and the greater perceived emotional intent in their voices helps with that alignment. Demographics are also changing. We're seeing women make inroads, pardon the pun, in a traditionally male sphere like cars with Mercedes. 

Voice over: The new A-class range with Mercedes me. 

And Alfa Romeo
Voice over: NaVi is no longer blind, Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio. 

With 80% of car purchases now being directly influenced by women. Similarly, in entertainment, we're seeing the rise of female protagonists to mirror the fact that more women are getting involved in games as players and as developers as well. But the taste in male voices is also expanding and diversifying too. Often a male voice will simply suit a certain product best. And sometimes you need a Mark Strong to tell you to turn off your phone and wash your hands. But we're starting to explore a more three dimensional concept of masculinity beyond the alpha male. One which possibly even started with the marketing towards stay at home dads. As copy texts in many genres have moved from telling the audience to aligning with them, there are greater opportunities to explore emotional availability, vulnerability, and nurturing tones rather than just being strong and stoic. We're seeing advertisers take a voice which may be considered alpha, like, for example, Tom Hardy, and then disrupting that by making the delivery more ponderous and introspective than you would normally expect. 

Voice over: Greatness is no more unique to us than breathing. We're all capable of it. All of us. 

You can't even say that makeup is still the preserve of female voices when there's a whole new industry marketing makeup to young men. So as media consumption continues to develop and change and diversify, it's more and more difficult to make any kind of blanket statements about the importance of the gender. The content we consume is becoming more targeted, more personalized, and less binary. 

Voice over: This is about more than just keeping a card safe. It's about keeping us safe. True name by MasterCard. 

There are more and more brands looking to use non binary voices because it associates them with a more considerate and thoughtful approach to living and workplace culture. So in conclusion, surprise, there's no simple answer. Think about your product in terms of the wider industry and the target audience. Make the emotion that you want the listener to feel be of central importance. Always be aware of gender stereotypes so you can then play to them or convert them. And remember that tone, pace and inflection are going to have the most influence over your voiceovers effectiveness, which is why you should hire a professional. Why not try demoing a variety of talent not just going with what you think it should be, and then seeing what the results are like. I hope this video has been of interest to you. 

And thanks so much for joining me. Please do like subscribe and turn on notifications and I look forward to seeing you next time.

Goal Setting

Hi, in this video, I'm going to talk about goal setting. It's the beginning of a new year and so somewhat inevitably people are talking about goals. How important is setting goals to your progress? Or another way of thinking about it is, how much should you be focusing on the day to day process, and how much on the end target? Now in the book, Atomic Habits by James Clear says that you should focus on your systems rather than on your goals. And this reasoning is quite simple. If you focus just on the destination, then it doesn't actually clarify what you have to do every day in order to get there. And it also puts your mind in a state where it's just a binary of failure or success, which can quite often demotivate you. Now, I would argue that though those are very valid points, you still have to know what kind of direction that you want to be heading in. So you need to have a goal or objective of some kind. And these could be smart goals, which are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound. So for example, if my aim is to convert this third bedroom into an acoustically treated and soundproof studio that I can work in, is it specific? Yes. Is it measurable? Yes, I'll know from my environment when it's being changed into that. Is it achievable? Yes. I've got a quote from a supplier. And then I've been saving for the last year specifically to fund this. Is it realistic? Yes, I've contacted that supplier and booked a time for them to do it. And is it time bound? Yes, it's going to be happening in the spring, hopefully. 

Now, like I said before, not all goals have to be this specific. And they don't need to observe that smart criteria. It may be something quite vague, like, you just want to sleep better. And that's absolutely fine as well. But it's still going in a specific direction. And you know what the result would be in some kind of way. The essential points are, firstly, be very clear and honest about what your goals actually are for the year. Don't look at goal achievement purely in terms of success and failure. Look at where you are now compared to where you were a year ago, a month ago, or even yesterday, not compare yourself to some imaginary ideal version of what you should be. And of course, and this is easier said than done, try and find the balance between self-motivation, and self-acceptance, being a little bit more Zen. Now, of course, all these things are easier said than done. But in terms of how I approach my goal setting, specifically for 2021, well, firstly, I started by making a mood board. This is a whole collection of all the things that I would like to achieve in voiceover by the end of the year. And then my intention is to reverse engineer aspects of it to find my actionable, what I can do every day in order to achieve them. So if we take my target of a six figure income, one way of going towards achieving that is to get more commercial auditions, because that's where the best paid work is. And one of the ways to do that would be to update my commercial demo. So in order to update my commercial demo, I would research and select demo providers. I would find other people's demos that I like as a reference, and then I would book a recording session. Or an additional way towards that overarching goal will be a marketing campaign aimed at estate agents in the UK. So one step would be to find out who the estate agents are, in other words, lead generation, maybe I could hire a virtual assistant to do that for me so that I'm more time effective. 

Then I would do some research on what makes great real estate promotions. How does the sector feel about video tours, especially during the time of COVID. Then bearing all of that in mind, I could create an actual video showcasing my voice doing different styles of that kind of real estate narration. And then I can work out and compose an email chain. So I can directly market and follow up effectively and systematically. This approach helps me to find the balance between being ambitious, wanting to daydream and find out what I really want, but also kind of focus in on the little practical things that I can do, so that I don't have that perennial anxiety of what should I be doing and am I doing it? I know because I've worked it out. I hope you found this video about goals of some use. If so, please do comment, like and subscribe to check out future content as well. 

Wishing you a great start to the new year and look forward to seeing you next time.

How to Hire a Voice Actor

In this video, I provide an overview of all the different ways voiceover talent can be hired - and what’s the BEST way… SPOILER - you’re already on the right website, and there’s a step by step process detailed here.

In this video, I'm going to show you the best way to hire a voice actor. If you've never worked with voiceover talent before, it can be a bit overwhelming to know where to start looking. A lot will depend on your budget, your timeframe and exactly what you need. So it's important to keep these three things in mind when you make a decision. In the next few minutes, I'm going to go over the four main ways of hiring voice over talent and the advantages and disadvantages to each option. Throughout them all, I think it's useful to keep in mind this diagram. Any service land at some point in the spectrum, and the same is definitely true for voiceovers. Option number one, voiceover agents. If you go into Google and type in voiceover agents, then you'll get a list of the most high profile agencies in your area. Are all voiceover agencies created equal? No, but they are typically the first stop for the best high profile talent, because the agencies themselves would have already cherry pick the best in the field. An agent's job is essentially to curate the best talent from a diverse range of the industry. 

Depending on the agency, a lot of the talent represented might actually be actors who also do Voice over on the side, so they might not have access to recording facilities themselves. But they'll either be able to use the agency's own studio or an external one. Especially since COVID, a lot of agency talent have also moved to get home studios as well. And these will have all been vetted by the agents in advance. Essentially working with an agent to result in a high quality product with a cost that reflects that as well as paying the talent. The agent will also be taking a commission of between 15 and 20%. So rates will be on the higher end. Thanks to an agent's knowledge and expertise, you'll be given a number of very credible options and the turnover time will be relatively quick. But there is inherently an extra layer of correspondence within the transaction, which means it's not necessarily the fastest. And it also means that you're often not talking to the talent until the session itself. Option two, pay to play sites. Pay to play sites are essentially voiceover casting sites, where talent pay a subscription fee, in order to play, essentially audition for your project, or someone posting a job. The fee for actually using the platform is often conflated into the overall voiceover fee. But there's often quite a difference from site to site on how ethically that this is done. Some are very ethical, and some really aren't. Pay to plays are extensively fast because you can set the deadline, you can also set the budget which could be well below industry standards, the barrier of entry to the site is very variable. 

Essentially, if you can pay then you can play, which means that you will be inundated with auditions that you'll have to go through which will take a lot of time, listening to countless readings of the same script can get very tiring very fast, especially when the performance levels are very variable, but also the actual quality of the recording itself. It adds an unwelcome degree of technical uncertainty into the mix. But if you do have the time to trawl through everything, then it can be a more budget friendly option, if time doesn't necessarily equate to money for you. Option three, freelancing sites are something that I'm just going to touch on very briefly. Imagine all of the complications and potential issues of a pay to play site but with no barrier to entry. Pay to plays at least have the barrier of entry of a subscription fee that the talent must pay. Whereas on a freelancing site, anyone can have a go. So while turnaround times may be quick and rates often extremely low, finding anything that's actually usable is like finding a needle in a haystack and will require a lot of patience on your behalf. 

And finally option four, hiring freelance voiceovers directly. Returning to Google again, if you search for the type of voice you're looking for, and the word voiceover, you'll be presented with a huge range of talent to choose from. Any voiceover artists who has spent time building up their online presence, recording a range of demos, done their SEO and constructed a clear brand has to be dedicated to their job. If they've managed to get on the first or second page of Google, then they likely know what they're doing. They'll have invested in their own professional studio, which means that they'll be able to turn over recordings quickly, that you won't have to deal with a third party in order to speak to them. And that you won't have to wade through lots of auditions in order to get what you want. You'll be able to immediately check out their work, find out where they're based and make contact with them. And thus the whole process will be conducted directly. There'll be no commission involved, rates will be more competitive, while still respectful of the industry. And just as a side note to that, if you don't know what the proper going rates are for a voiceover, then I recommend you check out the Gravy For The Brain rate card. If you've already got a pretty clear idea of the voice that you want, then you can find a few different talents, ask them for a demo. And they'll usually turn over it in a couple of hours. If you've got much vaguer ideas about the talent that you actually want to use, then probably having somebody like an agent to bounce ideas off would be more useful. But another huge benefit of working with voiceovers directly is that we're a community, which is partly the result of us talking to ourselves all day. The best voiceovers will be very clear about what they can do and also what they can't and be happy to recommend you if someone's more suitable. 

I make personal recommendations to my clients pretty much on a regular basis because it's part of me building a relationship with them. The best voiceovers want to be a resource to you, not just book a job and are in it for the long haul. So don't be afraid to ask them. So there you have it. Each job is a balancing act and no budget or timeline is going to be created equal. But I've hopefully given you a clear idea of the options available to you and what their various pros and cons are. If you enjoyed this video, please do take the time to like, subscribe and turn notifications on so that you don't miss any of the future videos. Thanks so much for watching, and see you next time.

How to Sound Conversational in Voiceover

In this video, I provide an overview of ten things that can be adjusted to make a voiceover sound more conversational.

My name is Chris and today I'm going to look at why so many people are asking for voiceovers to be conversational. And how this can best be achieved. It's probably easiest to start by what isn't meant by conversational voiceover. And that's typically known as the announcer voiceover. This is when someone is talking at you, as opposed to, to you. Like this. 

Voice over: And claim free notice this week in an American fight over thousands truckloads of living room furniture, seven piece living room groups that include a sofa, loveseat, coffee table to end tables and two designer lamps. 

Over the last decade especially, there's been a clear shift from talking at someone from a place of authority to talking to them from a place of authenticity. Essentially, it's about being a real person, about sharing your personal testimony. And this is why the analogy of talking to a best friend is often given when trying to direct a voiceover to be more conversational. Because those friend conversations that we have with our friends are most trustworthy, most authentic and most credible. It is a personal offering of experience and advice, not a transaction. Check out this advert for right move. 

Voice over 1: This is the place we are happy. This is where we, and you..

Voice over 2: This is where we bring home. 

Voice over 1: And where we bring home. 

Voice over 2: This is where we grow up. 

Voice over 1: And where we go. 

Voice over 2: This is where she.. and where we are at. 

Voice over 1: This is where we are at.

Now I'm currently in the process of actually searching for a house myself. So this probably did strike a particular chord for me. But essentially what I'm talking about is completely borne out by this advert. There is no authorial voice telling you how great the platform is, instead, it's understated, it's almost confessional, it’s heartfelt and it's real. If you think of voiceover as a spectrum, with the hard sell being on one side then the other extreme isn't conversational. The other extreme is completely flat without any intonation or emotion whatsoever. So it's a balancing act, but you have to navigate from project to project. So rather than asking a question is a script conversational or not, you've got to place it somewhere on that spectrum to some degree. So let's start by ten tips on how to get a more conversational delivery. Tip one, don't get too loud. If you're talking to loads of people, then obviously you're going to be projecting to a certain degree. But if you're actually having a conversation with a friend in a pub, or any kind of similar scenario, then you're rarely going to get too loud unless you're particularly angry with them. 

So if you find yourself getting loud or projecting too much during a conversational read, you know that it's something that you'll need to adjust. The essence of a conversational read is sharing information with someone, engaging their reaction and responding organically. Then if you're being very loud, then you're not really monitoring their response to what you're saying in the first place. So if you find yourself getting loud and you're not supposed to be angry, then it probably means that you're pushing too much. Tip two make a clear choice about who you're actually speaking to and I don't just mean a friend. Quite often a voiceover will be told to imagine they're talking to their best friend about a particular subject. But the problem with that is that the voiceover’s best friend might not actually be interested in the subject of the project. Instead, it is much more useful to imagine that the person that you're speaking to has a vested interest in the subject that you're talking about. Tip three, have an emotional state. And I don't mean a heightened emotion, but have an opinion about what you're talking about and how that makes you feel. The vast majority of scripts, set up a problem, and then introduce the product or service or brand as the solution. And you need to have a very clear idea about how each one of those stages makes you feel, you might start frustrated, and then feel relief, you might start angry, and then feel ecstatic. The important thing is to be clear about those emotional stakes and invest in them. 

Tip four, speak from your throat rather than from your diaphragm. Especially if you're a trained actor, you quite often want to get on voice and start projecting. And that's fine if you're actually acting on stage. But generally, and this combined with what I was originally saying about volume, it'll end up being too much on a microphone. Instead, you really need to imagine that you're speaking very, very close to the other person next to you, like you're in a pub, for example, in real life heartfelt conversations, we tend to speak from our throat, because otherwise really resonating from the diaphragm becomes a bit too forceful. It essentially goes back to projecting at someone rather than talking to them. Tip five, if you're listening through headphones, then take them off, or at least take one of them off so that you can actually hear your own voice. Listening to our own voice through our headphones, as we're speaking makes us even more conscious of the sounds that we're making. 

So conversely, if you take the headphones off, you'll have more energy and focus to spend on the person that you're actually talking to, rather than how you sound. Obviously, during directed live sessions, you can't completely take your headphones off because you're going to be getting feedback live from the person on the other end of the line. So rather than being dependent on taking the headphones completely off, just try taking the one headphone off during your day to day recording. Tip six play with Elisions and contractions. Sometimes the script really does need to be incredibly clear and specific and that's absolutely fine. But sometimes that runs the risk of sounding a bit robotic. And that's not how we sound in real life. That's not how we sound in real life. So it's always worth checking with a client in advance if you can make little adjustments like changing as you are into you’re to make it all flow a little bit better. 

Tip seven, play with rhythm. If the authoritative voice the announcer a voice is generally quite consistent in tone and rhythm because it knows exactly where it wants to go. Conversational voice has a lot more ebb and flow to it, generally. Sometimes we know exactly where we want to go to make a point but often we're searching so you have all of these suspensions and stumbles. I wouldn't recommend just inserting lots of uhms, and aah to try and represent a form of authenticity. But I would say be aware of the ebbs and flows of normal speech and try and replicate that rather than just being consistent and definite. Tip eight, think in terms of thoughts rather than words. Quite often, especially in announcer reads, we're thinking about the how rather than about the why. In other words, how we're sounding rather than why specifically, we're speaking. In more conversational reads, the focus is really on the why, why we're sharing this with our friend? It's not about the exact words that we choose the how.

So having a clear understanding about the actual ideas that you're trying to communicate is much more important for a conversational read. Tip nine, try a lead in. Sometimes you can be so concerned about sounding right from the very first word that you can barely even speak when you get to the microphone. So try improvising a bit of the conversation that you might actually be having with the person that you're speaking to, so that the copy comes organically from that exchange, rather than just starting. And Tip ten, physicality. When we're talking to our friends, then we gesture we express ourselves through our hands and our physicality, as well as with our words. Essentially, you're sharing your emotional state, and therefore you need to be expressive both physically and vocally, rather than instructive or objective. Going back to Tip three about having an emotional state, this must be reflected in how you are whilst actually delivering the text. Even if it's a very simple imagined activity, like the frustration of putting on a watch that doesn't quite fasten, or the relaxation of lying back and having a cigarette. These will all subtly change the way you actually engage with the listener without you having to focus on how you're sounding. Even thinking in terms of the different clothes that you might be wearing could influence your physicality in a useful way. For example, if you're wearing something quite formal and restrictive, then that could give you a certain sense of status and authority as opposed to just sitting in a T shirt. All of these things might adjust your performance only fractionally, but they're useful to be aware of. Just to give us an example, I'd like to share two different readings of the same script, one which has a bit more weight to it, and one which is closer to a more conversational tone. First, let's try a quite standard corporate read.

Chris Voice over: Work. Life. Balance. Three tiny words. An impossible a question that humankind is trying to solve for centuries. What would it mean to your life if you could achieve all of your goals? If family, fitness and personal finance could come together with career progression and big promotions? introducing Wequilibrium, a productivity app that seamlessly brings together your personal and professional goals into a streamlined schedule that puts your dreams within reach. Download it for free at wequilibrium.com today. 

So physically, I'm going to think about being less on voice, taking one of my headphones off speaking from the throat rather than going down into my chest resonance. Rather than speaking to a generalized audience, I'm going to imagine that I'm speaking to someone who shares exactly the same problems as me, that they're struggling to get the work life balance, right. As a result, maybe the physicality is going to be a little bit more fidgety to begin with. 

I'll try and play with the rhythm a little bit more as if I'm discovering these thoughts as I'm actually having them. And I might also try a couple of lead ins, which can then be cut out in editing. 

Chris Voice over: I’ll tell you. Work. Life. Balance. My God, they're just three tiny words. An impossible equation that humankind has tried to solve for centuries. What would it mean to your life, if you could achieve all of your goals? If family fitness and personal finance to come together with career progression and big promotions? Well, there is something that work for me. Introducing Wequilibrium, a productivity app that seamlessly brings together your personal and professional goals into a streamlined schedule that puts your dreams within reach. You can even download it for free at wequilibrium.com today. 

Okay, so I'm not saying that one right is better than the other. But I am saying that there are some very clear variables that we can adjust, depending on how conversational we actually want the script to sound. Thanks so much for watching. If you did find this video useful, then please do like and subscribe, and I'll bring you something new next week. 

How To Direct A Voice Actor

How to Direct a Voice Actor

When you take the time to organise a directed session, either remotely or in person in a studio with a voiceover, then it's important that you use that time as effectively as possible. So in this video, I'm going to give you Twelve tips to ensure that the voiceover and yourself are best prepared to get the most out of the session that you possibly can. And by the way, this video will be mainly dealing with corporate narration and commercial direction. But a lot of it also applies to video games. But I will be doing a separate video about directing a video game session as well. So look out for that. So let's get started with my 12 tips on how to best direct a voiceover in a live session. 

Tip Number One, read the script yourself. Read it out loud most importantly. Make sure that it sounds as if it makes sense. That the grammar is all absolutely correct. And obviously that it fits the timings of whatever spot, it's supposed to. Be sure to have a clear idea about how certain words might be pronounced. For example, if you say, our company as opposed to our company, then it's a lot more formal as a result. And these are decisions that really should be made prior to a session rather than during it. Or at least you're aware and then you can record an alternate. 

Tip Two, clarify pronunciations. Whether or not that's a person's name, whether it's a company name, which is always very, very important, or whether or not it's an abbreviation of some sort. A voice actor might need to practice these pronunciations again and again in their own time prior to a session. So the sooner that they get all of that information, the better.

Tip Three, think about how you're going to divide the session before you actually get to it. You're going to spend 10 to 15 minutes chatting about the approach that you want to take with the script before you actually record. How many takes do you ideally want? And other alternate takes that you have in mind. Thinking about these things in advance, we'll ensure that there's a good balance between productivity and creativity in terms of different alternate takes you can make. And if you've never directed a voice session before, then why not ask the voice actor themselves how they would normally conduct a session and take their lead. 

Tip Four, have an agreed way of marking takes. Either verbally or technically in some way. In commercial sessions, especially, where you've got a lot more time to do a small amount of takes, that usually means that you do a lot more takes as a result. And you need to have a system in place to ensure that you don't get lost. So if it's marking takes verbally, before you do each take, or whether it's actually putting it down on a piece of paper, make sure that something is in place so that you don't get lost in the Edit. 

Tip Five, what is the status? By that I mean, whether it's B2B or B2C, what is the actual status of the person speaking and the audience that they're speaking to? It's really good to have some very clear variables which you can play through throughout different takes. So if you give the speaker a status of one to ten, and the audience has status of one to ten, then you've got some clear things to play with. 

Tip Six, give the voiceover a clear role. Are they the educator? Are they the parent? Are they the best friend or the next door neighbour. If you talk to a voiceover in terms of their role, as opposed to how they should sound, then they've got something a lot more tangible to be able to creatively respond to. 

Tip Seven, share reference materials. Whether it's a soundtrack, whether or not it's a particular read from another commercial or corporate project. These are a fantastic shorthand to make sure that you and the voiceover are on the same page. 

Tip Eight, be clear about who is giving the direction. In a directing session, it might be one on one, you might have an audio engineer, or you might have an end client or multiple end clients on the line as well. If this is the case, though multiple inputs are always welcome. Ensure that you operate as the filter to the voiceover otherwise, they might get conflicting direction and become confused. Obviously, people in the creative team might have very different takes on how a particular word or sentence is said, but you need to be the arbitrator in the process. So the voiceover isn't put on the spot having to choose between one or another direction to do next. 

Tip Nine, be specific as possible in your direction. Terms, like conversational are both incredibly popular, but also extremely vague. If you can talk in terms of the voiceovers perspective and their emotional state and the audience's emotional state, then that gives us a lot more stimulus to be able to work from. 

Tip Ten, Avoid line reading, unless it's absolutely necessary. Your time is money. So if you need to make a line reading, then ultimately that's absolutely fine. But preface it by saying I want to try some line readings if that's okay, rather than subtly inferring that they're getting it wrong. 

Tip Eleven, Ask the voiceover to do one take for them. At the end of a session hopefully you have everything that you need. But if you do have the time, then it's useful to invite the voiceover to just read the whole script straight through from start to finish. The benefit of this approach is that the notes that they got at the start of a session will have had time to bed down in their subconscious. And now they'll be invited to just give it a natural flair. It's essentially a free hit, but you might be pleasantly surprised by the result. 

And finally, Tip Twelve, Be very clear about the delivered format. By that, I mean, do you want the whole session? Or do you want editing takes? Do you want it raw? Or do you want the audio processed in some kind of way? How do you want the different files labeled? And what kind of file do you actually need? 

If you have an audio engineer present, then they may already be able to supply all the answers. But if not, make sure that the voiceover knows exactly what it is that you need, so that there's no confusion further down the line. 

Okay, so that's my twelve tips to get the most out of a directed session with a voiceover. If you found this video useful and you're interested in more content like this, then by all means, please subscribe. I'll be able to upload every week or two. 

Thank you for taking the time to check out this video which I'm sure it's very rough around the edges and also to honey my cat who has been asleep all this time. 

Have a great day and see you soon.

Voice Over Network - Game Jam

Wearing my actor hat, I've increasingly become sceptical about organisations that offer workshops.  They seem to roughly divide into two categories - ones which are basically an opportunity to introduce yourself to a director or casting director, but are billed as tuition (usually in something like camera, audition or cold reading technique which you really should have learnt already if you trained), or exploratory workshops on a given text or technique (in which the learning is primarily incidental, the barrier for entry is non-existent, and therefore the quality is variable).  This is a gross generalisation (some of the stuff offered to actors via the Actors Guild and directors such as Bruce Guthrie are definitely worth checking out) - but the exceptions tend to prove the rule.

And so it was with some hesitation that I originally signed up to the Voice Over Network about nine months ago.  I knew I had a lot to learn, but having felt, after countless actor workshops, that the transaction had really only been for a certain casting director's email address, I was wary.  Or basically, cynical.

Gradually, the balance shifted as I started to imbibe the considerable amount of content that VON produces for its members.  The weekly webinars it holds gave me a lot of valuable information on a number of topics, spread across the 'core' skills of performance, technical expertise and marketing.  But I still held out on booking for any of the workshops, having been somewhat chastened by my actor experiences.

VON's second 'Get Your Game On' event was a way of easing that transition.    A day of talks and workshops which offered the opportunity for some networking, but was as much if not more about educating all of the participants and fostering an environment of mutual support.  This was neatly combined with VON's first 'Voice Over Jam' event - where teams of VO's would devise a one minute game trailer in response to a breakdown over a 48 hour period the week before.  And then there was an opportunity to spend a weekend learning from Dave Fennoy - one of the standout leading VO's in interactive entertainment today.

The experience as a whole - from my first Skype meeting with my other Game Jam comrades all the way through to wrapping a recording session at Coda Studios - was an absolute joy.  The talks - from Yvonne Morley, Adele Cutting, Mark Estdale, Steve Brown and Dave Fennoy - covered a myriad of subjects much more articulately summed up by Sam Hughes (aka The Sound Architect) .  The workshops (I chose Stephane Cornicard’s character workshop and a talk with Mark because I'm a huge Horizon Zero Dawn fanboy), offered valuable insights into character work and marketing yourself to game devs respectively.  The results of the Game Jam (which fellow teammate Katie Flamman brilliantly reports on here) saw the victory of my team Gataroto despite an exceptionally high standard from all the teams involved.  And then I spent two days properly learning from Mr Fennoy.  What was great about that weekend was the shear amount of subjects he covered, from the history of video game performance to where it is now, what makes a good gaming reel, seeing other members of the group tackle a huge variety of genres and characters, and then actually working in a proper studio on pieces where every take you did was professionally recorded.

Fundamentally, what struck me most was the atmosphere of support and encouragement that infused the three days.  People were never in competition, and were full and frank in their opinions almost immediately.  There was rarely a sense of anyone 'playing the game', partly because of the aforesaid atmosphere and also because the hierarchy that seems to overshadow so many acting workshops I've done was almost non-existent.  

Perversely, this may come down to the nature of the work.  Whereas actors generally need other actors in order to work, the career itself is fundamentally nomadic.  You spring from temporary surrogate family to temporary surrogate family, with indeterminate periods of unemployment in-between.  People you've never met become best friends, and then (if your as poor at socialising as I am), can disappear for years.  Conversely, voiceover is (on a day to day basis), quite a lonely profession.  Having spent the majority of the day talking to yourself, there seems a greater pull to counterbalance this by fostering the feelings of a true community whenever there's an opportunity to be in the same room.  Any feelings of competition are dispelled by the principle that what 'sells best' in voiceover is simply your unique authenticity, while with acting that same principle can only be held up to a point (how your look, your agent, your connections and your number of Twitter followers start properly coming into play).  Maybe as a comparatively fledgling growth area, this feeling is bolstered by some naivety - but I doubt it.  VON gave me the most wonderful experience a few weeks ago, and emboldened me to do better like no other event - for which I must give special thanks to Rachael Naylor and Leisa Fisicaro, who made it all possible.