Getting Started in VO, Part 5: Where to Find Help

OK then. So by now you should have all the equipment that you will need to begin with and a basic understanding of what’s involved in editing. What’s left?

Ask yourself this: “Are there still things I need to know to feel comfortable pursuing work as a voice actor?” If the answer is yes, then now would be a good time to look at some of the places that offer VO training.

One of the first things to pin down is what kind of work do you want to do? As I’ve mentioned before there are any number of areas that you could choose to focus on. If you want to know a bit more about them, let me suggest a book that I found both entertaining and informative. It’s called SECRETS OF VOICEOVER SUCCESS, and it’s by Joan Baker. Ms. Baker has interviewed a couple of dozen different voice actors and asked them to talk about their experiences in the profession. Whether it’s audiobooks or commercials, news and sports announcing or games or animation, there’s a little bit of everything here. Some of the names will probably be familiar to you like Jim Dale, Richard Thomas and Keith David. Others may be new to you but are every bit as proficient at their work, are highly regarded, very successful, and have much good advice to offer (as always, check first to see if the book is in your public library. If not, clicking on the title above will take you to the book on Amazon).

Whether you’re looking for training in a specific area of work or want something more comprehensive, there are any number of sites you may find interesting. What follows are just a few.

David H. Lawrence XVII has a site called VO Heroes that’s well worth exploring. The site offers you “36 core voiceover courses covering VO categories, building your VO practice, and the tech you need to master, plus the mindset you need to succeed.” David also offers workouts and private coaching. Besides David, instructors include a roster of working professionals. If you’re interested in audiobooks, David, along with Dan O’Day also offers the ACX Masterclass, an extremely comprehensive course on the subject.

A similar site to VO Heroes is Edge Studio. Edge is headed by David Goldberg, its CEO and a leading trainer on speaking effectively & voice recording, and offers a voice acting school with classes, training, and demo recording. Edge has a faculty of working professionals that includes Art Bruner and Jennifer Sims, who are uniquely qualified to teach you what you need to know to work in VO. They also offer various levels of training based on your experience.

There’s also Gravy for the Brain. The British founders of this site, Hugh Edwards and Peter Dixon, started training voice artists in 2007 in London with the world‘s first ever “Voiceover for Gaming” course. They moved on from there to offer more courses for both beginners and advanced performers. Like the other sites, this one offers plenty of training and allows you access to a number of free courses to get your feet wet. Once you’re ready, you can pay for a membership, which gives you access to courses, webinars, mentoring, forums, live mentoring, VO tools, and various social events.

And look at The Voice Actors Studio. This one is new to me but was highly recommended by a very good friend who has spent the past year and a half training with the instructors here. The Voice Actors Studio, founded by Melissa Moats and her husband, Troy, is located in Las Vegas and offers both in person and online training. Melissa, after two decades of an extremely successful voiceover performing career, began mentoring beginners out of her home and within five years the Studio had blossomed into a thriving institution. Her long list of instructors all have extensive professional credits and the Studio, in addition to training VO actors, offers casting opportunities as well.

A little looking around will also lead you to a number of individual voice artists who also teach. Folks like J. Michael Collins, Tom Dheere, Gabby Nistico, Marc Cashman, Pat Fraley and Anna Ganguzza offer general information as well as specialized instruction. And many of them can be found on VoiceOverXtra.com.

If I had to recommend just one site to visit it would very likely be this one. On the FAQ page, the site explains: “Here you'll find marketing and job news, calendars of industry events and training opportunities, directories of resources, how-to articles on voice acting, marketing, business and more. Plus: online voice-over stores (home studio, books, CDs, DVDs), classified ads, and links to a treasury of industry web sites - including Talent Demos, forums, blogs and more. Subscriptions are recommended, in order to receive FREE newsletters and other items, including subscriber-only reports.” I think it is the perfect starting point for beginners and a terrific place for veterans who are looking for brush-up instruction.

The more skills you master, the more confident you'll become in your ability to thrive in a highly competitive profession.

Next time, websites and demos—do you need them? And a few thoughts about agents.