Voiceover is acting, just like regular acting, except it leaves out the part where the body is seen, thereby exclusively utilizing words to convey a message. That message can be for entertainment purposes such as in animation or gaming. It can be for branding and advertising purposes as in the cases of radio imaging or commercials. Or it can be used to convey important info like it is in e-learning. Regardless of what it’s used for, voiceover is all around us. I noticed when I started doing voiceover that people seemed so fascinated with voiceover, wanting to know more about it and often asking how they could launch their own voiceover career.
Recently a friend of mine, who is the counselor at Sequoyah Middle School in Clayton County Georgia asked me to talk about voiceover for career day. What is voiceover? How do you start a voiceover career? How did I get started in voiceover? Do you need to have a great voice to get started in voiceover? These are all the questions I was prepared to answer for the students interested in a voiceover career. But we could have never predicted what might happen next.
No one could have predicted that within days, the entire world would change. Social distancing due to Covid 19 has changed the way we do everything, from the way we work to the way we communicate and interact and yes, even the way we do Career Day. With all of the changes, my planned appearance day at Sequoyah Middle School had to be changed to a virtual one.
I am no stranger to video. I produce at least one vlog a month so I figured that this month’s video blog would address whatever a middle schooler could throw at me. I am also no stranger to school-aged kids, having worked in public schools for 5 years. But this would be easier. It is not live. It’s from the comforts of my own home and it’s scripted and produced. This is certainly much easier. Still, I wanted to address the curiosity and concerns of the students. So I thought of past career days that I have spoken at and answered several of the questions that other students have asked.
It’s important that the students (or anyone) understand the goods, bads, and ugly of being a voiceover talent. I highlight the super great aspects of having a voiceover career like the flexibility to work from anywhere that has internet connection. I also talk about the negatives, like the fact that you have to invest a lot of money into training and equipment.
Ultimately Covid 19 will pass. The longterm effects of it on job prospects are not known. What we do know is that the curiosity for a voiceover career will remain for students such as those in Sequoyah Middle School and beyond. Within this short 8 minute video, I hope to give them something that makes their career choice a little bit easier.
If you know any student from any school, feel free to share this video with them. Having knowledge of a wide array of career choices helps students make informed decisions. If you have any questions, please leave them here or on the youtube page.
And talent are better off for it. In my time speaking to Everett, he explained to me about an entire world that goes beyond what most talent could even imagine. It’s a fast-paced, backroom world where the end result is what matters. Everett knows that world, having been in Hollywood for many years and being a part of it. It’s a world where talent is replaceable and feelings can be a liability.