-
- Distant
Star's Voice Overs 101
-
- We've created this page to help
educate, as several people come to this site and inquire on "how to" be a voice
talent. In no way are we affiliated with or are a voice over school and cannot
furnish you with additional information other than what is on this page. We are
a professional voice casting service and production company and only work with
seasoned professional voice over talent who we help place in productions that
are contracted through us.
Learning Voiceover
Skills
Before getting into the business of voiceovers you have to
determine what you are good at. Is it commercials, narrations, imaging or
characterizations? These are the four main categories of voiceovers. Each of
these categories, branch off into almost an infinite amount of sub categories.
For example, tv spots, documentaries, animation and on hold messaging
just to name a few.
Find the one category you are good at and work at it
first. On a daily basis, listen to that particular category of voiceovers
whether it's on tv, radio or some other form of media. Also read books on the
subject and work with a coach. This takes time, so be patient. For individuals
already in the media (radio and tv personnel) wanting to make that transition
into the wonderful world of voiceovers, you've got a jump on the others, but
your work is definitely not done. Read on through and we're sure you've missed
some steps.
Building Your Own Studio
Once you've educated
yourself on your particular category, it's time to set aside a location and
collect the gear necessary for your studio. Your studio can be in a closet, or a
small spare bedroom. The smaller the better. We've even heard of people putting
sheds in the middle of their living room and yes it works! At the very least,
you will need a mic, a preamp (if your mic doesn't have it's own power), a
computer, a simple audio editing program, an exceptional quality sound card, a
CD burner, and an mp3 conversion program. Now remember this is just a start.
Getting Your Business Organized
No business
is "a business" unless you organize some of the traditional elements needed to
make a business run efficiently and professionally. These elements include
contracts, order forms, software for book keeping, getting your fictitious name
under a proprietorship or creating a corporation. Business cards are also a
must.
Making Your Demo Rock
Your demo is "the" most
important piece of your business. It not only is a sample of your work, it's
your calling card. Do not take your demo for granted. If you can't produce an
excellent demo yourself, make sure you hire someone to give you the best. Plus,
make sure that someone has done voiceover demos before. First test the waters,
record some pieces of copy and send them to a coach or someone heavily
entrenched in the industry. If they don't have a rate for this, offer them $25,
so they take you seriously when you send them stuff.
Closing the Deal/Representation
If you are not a very good business person or you only want to
concentrate on your talents rather than the business aspect, you will need an
agent or a manager. Most of the big talent agencies will not take your phone
call until you are well established. That means you are already grossing
$50-$100,000 worth of talent fees a year from your voiceover work. Some smaller
professional talent agencies and production companies look for sheer talent and
how available you are. It's important to note that the unprofessional
agencies and companies are even less demanding but they don't pay very well and
they will take advantage of you if you let them.
Demos
of our Voice Talent
-
- For recommendations on voice over talent, feel free to ask
us! Our goal is to make your job easier!
We look forward to working with
you!
- Need
Professionally Recorded & Printed CD's??
- Distant
Star's Disc Duplication Is
- Fast,
Professional & Easy!
- 100
CD's ONLY $ 249.99 *
- 100 Music CD copies &
full printing on CD-R discs.
- Email songs online or mail master disc.
- Thermal color disc printing.
- 2-sided color front inserts, laser printing.
- 1-sided color tray cards (back of jewel cases), laser printing.
- Email insert and tray card artwork online or mail files.
- Jewel cases included.
- 10 to 14 business days production.*
- 48 hour rush production available.*
- Shrink-wrap option ($30 for 100
CDs)
- * does not include time to ship or material evaluation,
shipping/handling fees
-
- Upgrade
package available - same as above but add
4 panel color front inserts & shrink wrap
is included for $100 more!!
- 50
CD run's for only 79.99!
- 100
CD runs's - bundle packaged with black text
printing only
- 1000
CD run's available - Click
Here for more info!
- Narrators
or Voices for documentaries, tutorials, training, audio books,
corporate presentations, multi-media, flash presentations, or
e-learning software
- Radio
and television commercial announcers and voice actors
- TV
Voices - television promos and id's for station imaging and
branding
- Character
voices and impersonations for spots, voicemail, animation or actual
live or produced radio/tv shows
- Radio
Voices - radio liners, sweepers and promos for station imaging
- Telephony
voice services for on hold narration, IVR, voice prompts, auto
attendants, and portals
- Foreign
language voice over talent and accents or dialects
- Children and
Teen Voices
From staffing
your special events, acting as your booking
agent, offering you professional
models, voice-over talents and personalities
to recording, editing then to final
production, Distant Star Talent has everything you need to get your job
accomplished. We are a full service special event staffing and model/personality
talent service, production studio with producers, a music
composer, copywriters and limitless talent to choose from. Plus, we've produced
it all from demos for voice over talent to jingles for car dealerships, produce
and write new music for events, on hold
narrations to radio imaging and television commercials. Our strength is in our
service and understanding of your needs.
We look forward to working with
you!
Do
you need help putting together a layout for your
headshot or comp card? We can help and virtually
put together almost any kind of layout for you.
Just ask how!
Do you need professional
photography for anything? Click
Here to view our photographic and/or graphic
design services.
Do
you need professional video services for anything? Click
Here to view our film and/or video production services.
|
