I'm told I have a wonderful voice, how do I do this?
Well my friend, yes, that is where the dream generally begins. Another beginning is the pure infatuation and admiration of successful VO talents driven by the sheer desire to get into the business....no matter what it takes. Well here is the short answer secret to making the decision to dive in or not. I get asked this question on a regular basis and the answer is always the same. Like any large or long term investment one should do the R&D or due diligence necessary before investing. But, of course, keep the costs to a bare minimum while anticipating professional know-how.

Here in Canada we have a very popular chain of Bookstores called Chapters and another called Indigo Books. They both sell books and..... coffee (Starbucks) and have big comfy leather chairs and sofas to relax on while you browse the pages of your choice. As well, each store has a nice selection of VO books, some big, some small, some pricey and some under $15. You may or may not recognize the authors but you can digest a little info while gleaning the various publications enjoying your caffeine blast while you make your very first decision in the VO business which is whether to buy the book or not.

If you do decide to purchase you will be in for a real eye opening experience and your behind the scenes knowledge gained will either attract you or discourage you. But, Hey, where can you make a career launching decision for $15+ and a coffee?

You will learn that selling your voice is far from easy and that yes, you do have a really nice voice, but few people will actually give you money to record it. In addition, you will learn that clients and producers are looking for a certain, how can I say, flavor? Even though you do sound great they know your style will not fit their production.

Here is your second lesson. If you do not understand "tone" or hear what they hear....don't get in the business. Rarely is this a talent you can learn or be taught. It is more in your make up, in your genes but, the good news is that if you have a smidgen of this talent it can be developed. You may be tone deaf, but don't feel sad, millions are and yes many producers are too although their life span and success rate is quite short. If when listening to a number of male or female VO talents you do not hear any differences in their read style then chances are you can't hear and define the "tone". This my friend is not good.

I recently had a client request demos from a short list of 6 male talents and they were all very good. If you listen to some of our talents demos I am sure you will agree. Well, in this case the script was only 55 words and it was going to be used on a temporary basis for a one time application over a weekend to an invited audience, not for public or broadcast exposure. The client heard all the voices, was not give any names nor given any prices. At CV we insist that our clients make their VO selections based on talent alone because we will always be within their budget. The talent made his choice and was given the price. He was not surprised but did ask what the price range was for this project. I told him it ranged from $100 to $750. Guess which one he had chosen? Remember this was based on talent alone, no names, no prices. Yup, you got it, the $750. recording. Why? Here again one of my favorite answers and the dirtiest 4 letter word in the VO business...TONE. I called it flavor earlier...same thing only different.

Was the client crazy? No, not at all. He knew this was the sound he wanted and obviously he was very experienced because he had chosen to hear only 6 of our male talents and, no I was not one of them. But was there that much of a difference in the "tones" of the others? In a few cases yes, but in 3 of them, no not very much at all.

Four more dirty words which should be part of your VO vocabulary are: Depth, resonance, warmth, sincerity.

So to wrap it up, dive into a book, have a coffee and maybe buy the book. Then the adventure starts.

Rick Gordon