Many voiceover students are quite attracted to the idea of doing audiobooks. There are many genres of voiceover out there, including: commercial, narration, corporate, promos, trailers, video games . . . and the list goes on. But books – we all read them, or have at least in the past (tsk tsk), so it only seems natural to feel less intimidated by reading one out loud. Well, not so fast. First, hear what award-winning voiceover actress Tara Sands has to say about what it entails:
“It’s really more of an acting job than a voice over job and the amount if time it takes really depends on how you are recording (straight record vs punch and roll), how many mistakes you make, and how much research you have to do on the book (pronunciations of names, towns, scientific or medical words, etc).”
And she’s right, with a few small exceptions like perhaps non-fiction. Classic novels are going to require the dynamic actor to easily and seamlessly transition from a neutral voice to a character, and back and forth as such for the entire book. The acting chops as well as the endurance level of the performer are crucial here. Breathing technique needs to be mastered as well. (Try counting the beats on your inhalation, and doubling that when you exhale. The “technique” part comes with controlling those seconds you exhale and release your storage of oxygen. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Do 5 minutes every day)
And to further underscore the level of emotion and acting involved in doing many audio books, this review on one of Tara’s many works:
“She excels at portraying the world-weariness and suspicion, not to mention the heartache and longing, that is Victoria. She was able to capture the contradictions in Victoria’s character, the fragility under her crusty veneer. . .”
That takes chops.
For those of you attracted to this type of voiceover work, I encourage you to find a local acting class in your area as your first level of training. Really quiz those instructors before committing to see if they put some of their attention towards understanding the text, as opposed to just focusing on all the “method” work and emoting You need all parts to make it whole.
And keep reading.
Hi! I’m Lesley Bailey. I’m an award-winning Casting Director, Voiceover Coach, Demo Producer, and Consultant with over 30 years “in the trenches”. I love helping voice actors bring scripts to life with authenticity and confidence.