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?

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

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?
Contact me here and we can discuss your voiceover needs directly

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

Kill them with k̶i̶n̶d̶n̶e̶s̶s̶ customer service

The value of customer service in voice acting

Kill them with k̶i̶n̶d̶n̶e̶s̶s̶ customer service

It's a big worry for most service providers.

How do I stand out?

Sure, we all offer subtly different skills.

But you tend to be offering the same broad solutions as your peers.

For example, any competitive voice actor needs to be:

✅ A great actor.
✅ Offer fast turnaround.
✅ Provide broadcast quality audio.

These are non negotiable.

But offering exceptional customer service is probably the next best 'hack' to make yourself memorable and become a client's go to provider.

Do you want two examples for one?

Last month, I was experimenting with my mobile recording set-up.

I wanted to see if I could get a truly portable but affordable solution that would allow me to offer a consistent, professional sound while travelling.

When I enquired about the portable VOXBOX to Richard Holmes, he was kind enough to offer me a free trial so I could test his invention firsthand.

He even delivered it to my house as we happen to live in the same area of London!

At the same time, audio wizz Henry Willard offered to lend me two of his own mics so I could compare and contrast them.

What resulted was a 'VO on the go' crash course which took in South London, Somerset and Nottingham.  In each new space I tested both mics with the VOXBOX in a variety of configurations.

At every new location, I'd record samples and send them to Henry and he'd take time out to feedback on the quality of sound.

The result?

I purchased the VOXBOX and am taking delivery of a Sennheiser 416 as my travel mic this morning.

There might be comparable solutions to the VOXBOX.
Or engineers who have similar knowledge to Henry.
But because of their exceptional customer service...

I'm never going anywhere else.

We all THINK we know what good customer service looks like.

But it's only when you experience it at a high level that you appreciate just what an impact it can have.

By Chris Tester - British Male Voice Actor

Conjuring Demons 😈

A voice acting checklist

That's what I spent last week doing...

But all within the sound-proofed warmth of Games Workshop's Black Library, working on my fourth Warhammer audiobook.

It's lovely to mix things up by working in person in a new studio, but what I most admire the directors I work with here are their consideration.

🔷 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬 🔷

They're clients who know what they want.
Because they know the material inside out.

Every project has been prepped twice so there's absolute alignment about what the end product should be.


🔷 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 🔷

The Black Library supply the most material in advance of any producer I know.

✅ Thorough pronunciation guides.
✅ Character breakdowns.
✅ Chapter guides.

You name it - all bases are covered in advance.
And that potentially stupid question you want to pose just to be safe?

It's dealt with 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺.

🔷 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗦𝗧 🔷

They let me do my job.

Even when I keep getting the same pronunciation wrong.
They still always allow me space to play creatively.

And because of that, I'm encouraged to try things, be playful and offer my best work.

These are ALL fundamental qualities I look for when working with any client.

If you can have a clear brief, provide the supporting materials necessary and are willing to provide space for the voice talent to do their thing, then the job is 99% done.

Do you provide your clients with a checklist of requirements?

By Chris Tester - British Male Voice Actor

To take the work with you?

Guaranteeing a fast voiceover turnover

Holidays are for holidaying.
Not for taking your work to a different location.

But this week, I've been experimenting with portable recording set ups.

Assisted by Honey the studio cat, obviously 🐈

Why?

Because I've promised myself to embrace more in person work events (such as conferences and out of town opportunities), leaving the comfort of my beloved and meticulously constructed home studio.

Leaving town doesn't stop the enquiries coming in.
(𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 😅)

So a huge thanks to Richard Holmes for allowing me to trail his ingenious foldout VOXBOX.

And to the wonderful Henry Willard for lending me two different mics to experiment with.

Every day, I've been setting up this travel set-up in a different room of my home.

Each room has a different level of outside noise and it's own acoustic to be navigated.

And so I record text audio with both mics, varying positioning and set up to see how it effects the sound recorded.

So far, I've been really impressed with the results I've been managed to capture with this set up.

The whole process has taken my back to the first four years of my fulltime voice acting career, where I created a temporary set-up using acoustic blankets every morning which had to be deconstructed every night!

The acid test with this will be taking everything on the road next week, when I'll be visiting Somerset for my mum's birthday followed by a few days in Nottingham recording an audiobook.

I won't NEED to use this travel set-up.  But it's as good a time as any to test it out and see how viable it truly is.

Do you ever take work on the road with you?

By Chris Tester - British Male Voice Actor

Daring to trust the process.

This week, I ticked something off my bucket list.

I got to record a video game at OMUK.

For those who might not know, they are one of the foremost providers of voice casting and production in London.

Amongst the countless titles they've worked on, I'd pick 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝟯, 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝗭𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗗𝗮𝘄𝗻 and 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗲 as three personal favourites.

I first did a workshop with OMUK's director Mark Estdale back in 2017,  so to be finally in the studio for an actual job rather an audition was a huge relief 😅

The session itself was fantastic too:

✅ A wonderful project.
✅ We finished an hour early.
✅ Enabled by OMUK's fantastic set up.

And I even got to share a scene with VO royalty Stephane Cornicard 👑.

And yet...

It would feel disingenuous to leave it there.

Because I've been on the other side, 'looking in' too.

Whenever I see one of my VO friends (and they almost always ARE friends) taking a selfie at a studio I'd love to work with, a little part of me questions what I'm doing wrong.

Not that that 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 don't deserve.
Not that 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 should't celebrate their work.

But the inevitable shadow of comparison looms.

Now this isn't new to acting life.
And we all know what comparison is the thief of.

𝗡𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼.

You train with the right people.
You trust the process you've built.
You audition to share your interpretation, not second guess.

And if other people's content triggers you (however unwittingly), you remove it from your life.

This post is just my way of sharing the struggle.

I'm incredibly grateful for every opportunity that comes my way (including this courtesy of Voicefox).  And I'm currently on a pretty good run with a number of great projects on the boil, my first VO award win etc etc.

But I still get knocked back on a daily basis. Indeed, I've spent the last decade fighting for the opportunity to be knocked back in the first place.

And while I'd love to say 'it's nothing personal', when it's your voice and personal creative response that's being rejected on a consistent basis, that just sounds a bit mad to me!

So, we learn to adjust and cope best we can.
For me, it's sharing these thoughts here.

If that makes you think me unprofessional,  then I'd call that 'lead qualification in action'.

By Chris Tester - British Male Voice Actor

Returning to the 𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗧.

After 22 consecutive winless award nominations...

I was named 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 at VOX, the longest running voiceover awards in the UK.

Now if you've been following me for any length of time,
you'll know that I embraced my winless streak as a perverse form of anti-marketing.

In fact, for myself and fellow winless-multi-nominee Anthony Hewson - it's been a consistent source of black comedy.

(Which is why I started my acceptance speech with a shout out to him).

But that interaction reveals a wider point about the voice acting community as a whole.

It really is overwhelmingly supportive.

I cannot put a number on the number of hugs and messages I've received - from people I've known for years and people I've known for days.

Maybe it's because we work solo most of the time.
Maybe it's because we're all freelancers.
Maybe it's because of the free wine.

But without that support, it would have been impossible to build the career I have so far.

That support has meant such an incredible amount to me, I'm scared of attempting to start naming names in the knowledge I'd inevitably leave people out.

So rather than attempt something clever, I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to the community as a whole for everything.

Second to the sound of my mum shrieking down the phone when I told her I'd finally won, it means the world.

By Chris Tester - British Male Voice Actor

This weekend, I destroyed my brand.

After 22 consecutive winless award nominations...

I was named 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 at VOX, the longest running voiceover awards in the UK.

Now if you've been following me for any length of time,
you'll know that I embraced my winless streak as a perverse form of anti-marketing.

In fact, for myself and fellow winless-multi-nominee Anthony Hewson - it's been a consistent source of black comedy.

(Which is why I started my acceptance speech with a shout out to him).

But that interaction reveals a wider point about the voice acting community as a whole.

It really is overwhelmingly supportive.

I cannot put a number on the number of hugs and messages I've received - from people I've known for years and people I've known for days.

Maybe it's because we work solo most of the time.
Maybe it's because we're all freelancers.
Maybe it's because of the free wine.

But without that support, it would have been impossible to build the career I have so far.

That support has meant such an incredible amount to me, I'm scared of attempting to start naming names in the knowledge I'd inevitably leave people out.

So rather than attempt something clever, I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to the community as a whole for everything.

Second to the sound of my mum shrieking down the phone when I told her I'd finally won, it means the world.

By Chris Tester - British Male Voice Actor