The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over (59 page)

Just a few days after I signed with my first Los Angeles voiceover agent I booked a set of radio spots for Mexicana Airlines. I was thrilled; my agent would finally see that she’d made the right decision by signing me, and I wouldn’t have to return to selling pens and toner over the telephone!

The gig was booked at SSI in Hollywood, right across Santa Monica Boulevard from the Formosa Bar and the old Samuel Goldwyn Studio lot. The writer/director for the session was a disarmingly lovely and intelligent woman from the ad agency in San Francisco. We chatted amiably, and then Gary the mixer beckoned us into the dark leather luxury of his room, Audio A. The AKG 414 gleamed in the moody pin-point-spot lighting of the voiceover booth. “Let’s have a level,” Gary said cheerily into the talkback.

The energy which on-camera actors often experience as stage-fright, voiceover performers feel as euphoria—they’re actually going to pay me to do what I love best: say words into a microphone. Gary slated it, “All right, let’s have a go at this… For Mexicana Air radio—Bill Ratner voiceover—call this take one.” My head swollen with pride to the size of Gibraltar, I purred into the microphone for twenty-nine-and-a-half seconds.

“H-m-m-m,” came the director’s voice into my headset. “O-k-a-y,” she said indecisively. My mood plummeted from celebratory to self-doubt. Why wasn’t she saying, “That was great,” or “I loved that?”

Sitting behind the dark California oak client’s desk she put her chin in her hand and stared at me through the glass. Was she disappointed? Had she made the wrong choice in hiring me? Had she drunk too much Merlot at lunch? She cradled the talkback switch in her hand, running her beautifully manicured fingers
absent-mindedly over the button. Finally she pressed it, sighed, and said, “You know how, a few minutes ago, you and I were talking together out in the lobby? You have such a beautiful voice when you just talk, but when you got in the booth and read just now you sounded… I don’t know…”

“Announcery,” I said.

“Exactly. Don’t do that.” And she smiled at me and said in a near-whisper, “Read this copy exactly the way you talked to me out there…
Do it like you talk.
”

I was being profoundly seduced by this woman, and not in an inappropriate way; I was getting the best voiceover direction I would ever receive in this business, delivered in the most elegant, diplomatic manner I could ever hope for. Now the real work would begin—to speak into the microphone to effectively sell a pleasant airplane ride to a far more pleasant vacation destination, and
not
sound like I am delivering time and temp on an FM radio station.

After a few false starts, requiring her to repeat her simple direction, the session went swimmingly; the client and the director were happy with the result, I was extremely happy with my work, and I had learned an invaluable lesson. Up to this point in my career I had been able to skate by on my pipes—that funny little pink flap of skin behind my Adam’s apple that allowed me to sound like The Real Don Steele at age 14. But neither the advertiser, nor the TV promo producer, nor the movie trailer business is interested in just a sonorous delivery of their copy. They want the
real
person—the one they hired because you actually had a hint in your audition of what the client is looking for—the silliness or the petulance or the seductiveness or the aloofness or the anger or the quiet authority they are hoping to hear in their spot.

Each one of us is saddled with our own unique set of emotions and personality, separate and distinct from our voice-print. And that’s who they want to hear—the
real person
—not the announcer. Shedding our habitual announcer skins and discovering that person behind the microphone is the most difficult and most rewarding part of our job.

As a professional voiceover talent in what is considered a “not-major” market (even though Phoenix is the fifth largest city in the country), I scour my local Business Journal, the Business Section in the local newspaper, trade magazines, etc., to find new clients.

And I have had great success obtaining new clients this way. However, one in particular became what I call my “Christmas miracle.” Even I am having a hard time comprehending it! Here’s what happened…

In the Business Section of the local newspaper, I noticed that a new grocery chain is expanding in the Valley. Grocery chains, especially new ones, do a LOT of radio and TV spots and, of course, need VO talents.

I Googled the company, found their website, and discovered that I already knew the marketing person mentioned in the newspaper article.

Because of the Christmas holiday, rather than call, I sent that person an email with a voice sample, with the intention of calling on the 28th.

No need to call!

The marketing person forwarded my sample to the ad agency, which emailed me to request a hard-copy CD since they loved the sample!

I sent the hard copy overnight (along with a couple of wooden Post-it note holders with my logo on it. Hey, it couldn’t hurt!)

Happy New Year! Here is the response I got:

“Thank you so much for sending me your packet. We listened to your demos and we really do love your voice. Your timing was great. We just finished scripts for the January campaign. We are, in fact, looking for a new voiceover talent!”

The ad agency continued: “Our primary demo is women. We think this would be a great fit for both of us. We are so excited! Scripts to follow!”

I received the scripts and have learned that this is an ongoing job for a minimum of six months in several regions, with a lovely monthly income.

Like the lady said in her email: “Your timing was great!”

In a little over a week, from one newspaper article, a repeat-customer was born!

As voiceover professionals, we can’t just sit and wait for the phone to ring. We’ve got to create opportunities. Once in a while, it really does pay off!

I teach a voiceover workshop about three times a year and one of the first questions I ask the aspiring actors is: “What is your primary motivation for taking this class?” And what is one of the most common answers I receive? “Well, I hear these people on TV and radio and say to myself, ‘Hey! I can do that! What’s the big deal?’”

Then, after a couple of weeks into the class they understand what the “big deal” is. They discover that it’s more than just reading copy into a microphone; it takes a lot of talent, skill, and preparation to do what we do. And like any profession, the better we are at our job, the more we work. And how do we get better at our job? By continuing to raise the bar and acquire, improve or add skills to our voiceover tool belt.

Which brings us to my area of focus: The skill of giving a fast-paced performance while maintaining the proper attitude, emotion, and intention. Or in voiceover language, the skill of fitting 40 seconds of copy into a 30-second spot.

Many of you know that copy time constraints are a common demand of clients and producers so it’s an important skill to master. A great place to start is with your preparation. As my old music teacher used to say, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail,” and it’s a philosophy that also works well in the field of voiceovers.

Preparation suggestion number one:
Forget about time
. Anyone can read the copy fast enough to fit into a time constraint.
To quote the aforementioned student, “What’s the big deal?” The big deal is maintaining your attitude and emotion while making the copy fit. But first you must approach the copy as if you had all the time in the world.

Now, with time limits out of the way, you’re ready to study the copy in some depth and work out the technical, academic details such as word pronunciation or where to take breaths, if that’s an issue.

After that part of your technique is worked out, you’re free to get creative and embrace the next level of focus: bringing the right attitude, emotion, and intent to the piece. Throughout your preparation it’s a good idea to remind yourself that your primary goal as a voiceover artist is to sell the attitude and emotion—not the product. Again, without any consideration of a time limit, practice the copy until you feel comfortable.

Now you’re ready to work on speed.

While maintaining the emotion and relaxed delivery, start increasing your speed—little by little, a second at a time. Keep applying this technique until the goal is reached. Be patient with yourself and you’ll be fitting 40 seconds of copy in a 30-second spot with your emotion, attitude, and intent wonderfully intact!

Having a rock solid technique in working within time parameters is an important skill to master because it comes up often on the job. And, as with all skills, the only way to master it is with disciplined practice and patience. This skill, is one among many tools in our professional belt that keeps us sharp and confident and consequently working.

One final thought. A great tool for every voiceover artist to have is a convenient way to record your practice sessions and play back for critical listening. And now, more than ever, there are a plethora of terrific handheld digital recorders on the market. They’re also handy for the particular focus of time constraints since most, if not all, automatically give the record time making it easy to determine your progress.

Well, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. Stay positive and fierce.