The old adage of voice actors working in their pajamas and making sacks of money must be propagating on the internet…lately, it seems new prospects have been comin’ out of the woodwork!
And word gets around. You know…”…call that Dave Courvoisier guy…I think he’s doing something with that…”
Now, far be it from me to discourage anyone’s dreams. Somewhere along the line in the last few years I also picked up the flag for voice acting, and many people helped me, so I’m happy to mentor too.
However, I have found no quick way to answer the question of what it’ll take to get into voice-overs. Meaning the answer itself is getting fairly involved AND time-consuming.
My latest tack is to just ask for the neophyte’s e-mail address and bury them in resources so deep it takes weeks to get through it all. Then, if they come back, I’ve got at least a qualified candidate to talk to.
Hence, the following list is my preferred set of links to voice-over nirvana for n00bs.
Got more? Puh-leeze, let me know, so I can add it to the list.
http://www.bobsouer.com/blog
https://courvo.com
VO, which is here:
And, another close friend of mine (Bobbin Beam) who also blogs, wrote
her own version of advice for starters which is excellent:
8/28/08 update: John Florian of VoiceOverXtra sends THIS link to his site esp. for beginners:
http://www.voiceoverxtra.com/newcomers.htm
Also, there’s a thread on this very topic RIGHT NOW on the VO-BB which is one of the resources noted above. But the specific link to the newbie thread is here:
http://www.vo-bb.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6908&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
Read ’em and weep folks! Heck, I’m not even finding the time these days to read VoiceOverUniverse alone!
[ADDED 1-9-09 FROM DAVID HOUSTON: EXCELLENT ARTICLE: http://davidhoustonvoice.com/blog1/2006/08/getting_started_my_take.html]
[ADDED 11-27-09 FROM WAYNE JUNE: Another top-notch resource in this area: http://www.waynejune.com/where_to_start.html]
[ADDED 4-15-10 FROM MARY MCKITRICK: Extensive article with many GREAT suggestions: http://www.marymckitrick.com/blog/?p=393]
[ADDED 8-6-11 FROM J. CHRISTOPHER DUNN: Wonderful suggestions for thinking ahead: http://jcdunnvox.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/who-wants-to-be-a-voice-talent/
[ADDED 8-9-11 FROM VOX GODDESS] Frank and honest feedback about what NOT to ask when you’re a Newbie: http://voxgoddess.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/vo-faqs/
[ADDED 2-15-12 FROM KYLE McCARLEY] Seven Reasons You Shouldn’t Be a Voice Actor http://kylemccarley.com/seven-reasons-you-shouldnt-be-a-voice-over-actor
[ADDED 7-9-13 Doug Turkel’s excellent compilation of wisdom from working voice-actors: “Learn from the Voices of Experience“]
CourVO
LMAO at the termite picture. And I’m just going to copy the url here and put it in a template for the next email that comes down the line. Great resources and even better that you’ve done the leg work ;). Thanks for taking the time and for sharing!
(CourVO note: Sure! ‘Glad it works for ya…no pest control needed!…thanks for dropping by!)
Great collection of links Dave.
I gotta say though, with all of the wealth of information out there right now, I find it more than just a little frustrating to keep running into people who are looking for some kind of inside track. Just like Rowell Gormon’s recent post about trying to teach someone who refuses to learn.
http://voices2go.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/i-want-you-to-teach-me-heres-what-i-wont-do/
(CourVO writes: Thanks, Juan…you’re so right, that was an unbelievable story…and also points to a diminishing attention span in the X (or is it Y) generation. Thanks for commenting!)
Not to say we should stop, but I’m starting to feel like a broken record, recommending these sites. Wondering if they’re even following up on any of it…