Deliver your best voice over auditions!
In this segment, we speak with voice actors Courtney Greer (https://voice123.com/courtneygreer) and Gwendolyn Carter (https://voice123.com/gwendolyncarter) for their insights on how they prepare (physically and mentally) for their voice over auditions.
Read the full article here: https://voice123.com/thebooth/how-to-...
With the help of voice actors Courtney and Gwendolyn, we've made 10 super powerful tips for great auditions! Download our FREE voice over audition checklist here: https://voice123.com/thebooth/how-to-...
Transcript:
[00:00:00] Gwendolyn: [00:00:00] How do you personally prepare for a voice over audition?
[00:00:04]I try to get my head space right. So when I go in my booth, I try to take a few deep breaths. And then I just, I read the script and I read it a couple of times and I try to get a feel for who's talking in the script. Who's telling the story, or who's being talked to, so I try to get a feel for the background about the story.
[00:00:24]Courtney: [00:00:24] Well, I have my liquids, of course, that being a cup of coffee and a cup of water on standby as needed. I will run through the copy myself. And I will do a bit of humming. So a lot of times voice talents will say, you know, you never clear your throat, you know that because it makes your vocal chords a little bit more scratchy and prone to the vocal hiccups. So you just, *hums*. You know, up and down the scale. And it really, it really exercises and warms up my vocal chords in a way that I can't get with, you [00:01:00] know, other warm ups that I've tried in the past. So that's, that's kinda my favorite one.
[00:01:04]Gwendolyn: [00:01:04] So what about psychological preparation? Like, is there anything you mentally do to get yourself into the role? So what I do is, not only do I try to put myself like, okay, who's reading a story? Who's telling the story? I try to relate it to something that I know about or that I've experienced, if I can.
[00:01:23] So if I'm reading a story and they say, "Oh, this is a mother talking to their child." Well, I try to think about something maybe I've felt and, or how I would sound talking to a child. So I try to glean something from what they're saying. And apply it to my life. So then that way, I can actually feel what I'm saying.
[00:01:41]Is there anything you do now in your auditions that maybe you never used to do before?
[00:01:46] I give two reads, so I will give two reads and I'll slate my auditions in the beginning, saying two takes or two reads so that the client will know.
[00:01:55] And if I can, if I don't always get to read, it depends on what the script [00:02:00] is, but if I can, I do, and I try to give two different takes on it. Not to switch a word or, but I try to give two different emotions from it. And so I let the client know, two takes and I'll give that. So that's one of the things I've been doing.
[00:02:15]Courtney: [00:02:15] So last question, how do you think a voice actor can make their voice stand out in the audition? Oh, gosh. I mean, you hit the nail on the head. Every voice is so unique and I've always said that because somebody out there is looking for your voice, whether you think they are not.
[00:02:28] So I hear what I think other people are going to be sounding like, and I try to just switch that just ever so slightly to sound just a little bit different, put different emphasis on different words. And you know, obviously give it a couple of takes. We want to make sure that we are giving a little bit of versatility in our reads and showing what we are capable of, not just being, you know, the one trick pony, if you will, that you know, has one style and that's it. And certainly when you are writing and when you go to [00:03:00] submit the audition, when you're writing to the client, "Hey, thanks so much for listening. Here's my contact. If you ever want to reach out, blah, blah, blah." That, that part, I think, is like your cover letter. And that stands out big time, in my opinion.