Voice acting as a full/part-time paying job; over the internet

vertigoaddict · Wed 30/04/2008 02:00:05

I'm sure it has been done before, I just don't know the procedures, the requirements, the 'stuff'.

What am I trying to say here?...

Can I be a voice actor, for pay?

How can I be a voice actor, for pay?

What do I need to get started?

How do I sell myself ~~to the devil~~?

Anything else that I should know about doing voice acting for pay, over the internet; for games, movies, mobile(?) etc?

I know that doing it over the internet isn't a very good idea, but it does happen, right? (eg. Dave Gilbert's Blackwell Unbound- Grundislav)

Living in Brunei, a person like me can't do much.

I also don't mind phone sex, I've been told I have a sexy voice quite a few times (seriously).

BTW I have improved much, MUCH better in my voice acting since 'LC:3' and 'Jacob: VA cut'; I also have a no noise microphone.

Questionable · Wed 30/04/2008 04:15:14

Maybe make a name for your self as an actor, get a body of work together, then actively seek open voice acting calls and submit samples and a resume.

I don't think there's a company or agency that does it for you, at least not yet, so you're pretty much on your own as far as I know.

Most producers prefer to do the voice acting in person, so they can give suggestions or comments in real time, they can work with an actor to get a feel for a character and thus influence the characters developmnt and also develop further dialogue. Additionally, animators like to use the voice actors body language and facial expressions to influence the characters movements. Also, in person, they can control the quality of the recording and master it on hand. It's just a better, more professional, smarter production method for commercial projects. Sticking with indie and low budget projects is going to be the smartest thing, and then you're going to be freelancing, which means a lot of searching for work until you're a well know commodity.

Nikolas · Wed 30/04/2008 07:37:36

Quote from: vertigoaddict on Wed 30/04/2008 02:00:05
I know that doing it over the internet isn't a very good idea, but it does happen, right? (eg. Dave Gilbert's Blackwell Unbound- Grundislav)

Why not? Why isn't it a good idea? I'm writting music for computer games through the Internet with absolutely no trouble. It's indie situations, so the expectations of me being there are nill, but even if a higher company appears, the arguement is quite simple: My studio is what I need and my studio does not travel with me. I can, of course, meet with the developers weekly or something, but ....

Voice acting is even easier I reckon. Alkis (from DiTR) had plenty of voice actors, some of them with A LOT of lines, and it worked out fine I think! But what questionabl says is true, indeed.

Now, on the how to.

Apart from making a game, etc, make your portfolio. Make your website (although I'm not sure about voice actors, to be honest). You have 2 games under your belt. Make them 8, 9, 10, whatever! Pick the best lines and create an mp3 with you in dialogue with your self, or punch lines, or whatever. Then start placing ads, start asking for work, contact companies, and see how it goes.
As it usually

Makeout Patrol · Wed 30/04/2008 08:31:53

Quote from: Nikolas on Wed 30/04/2008 07:37:36
Quote from: vertigoaddict on Wed 30/04/2008 02:00:05
I know that doing it over the internet isn't a very good idea, but it does happen, right? (eg. Dave Gilbert's Blackwell Unbound- Grundislav)
Why not? Why isn't it a good idea? I'm writting music for computer games through the Internet with absolutely no trouble. It's indie situations, so the expectations of me being there are nill, but even if a higher company appears, the arguement is quite simple: My studio is what I need and my studio does not travel with me. I can, of course, meet with the developers weekly or something, but ....

It's a bad idea if you ever want to be paid to do voice acting ever again. There is a voice actors' union, they are VERY strong, and they won't let you join if they find out you've ever done any paid voice acting work while not a member. If have any hopes of doing voiceovers for professional video games, commercials, TV, movies, radio, or anything else, step one is to join the voice actors' union.

Nikolas · Wed 30/04/2008 09:16:43

I had absolutely no idea about that. Never mind that the unions, etc are local...

EDIT: Google didn't help THAT much: http://www.google.com/search?q=voice+actors+union&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a

But there is this: http://www.aftra.org/aftra/aftra.htm .

Which is American federation of Television and Radio artists.

I'm Greek! Now what?

Questionable · Wed 30/04/2008 10:57:17

Maybe we should bring back the voice over competition, that way you could have some material to flex your vocal talents... hell that's be fun

vertigoaddict · Wed 30/04/2008 11:50:56

Okay...from what I can make out is that...

I can do voice acting via the internet.

But I have to be in a union or have an alias.

but the union, if they found out about me doing non-union approved jobs under an alias will take down any health privileges and other things from me (like give me a fine) and the people who hired me, therefore it becomes harder to get a job?

...what a-holes...

Does this go even if I'm NOT from the union? That just sounds so immature.

Emerald · Wed 30/04/2008 22:50:49

I always thought voice-actors were part of the Screen Actors Guild...

vertigoaddict · Thu 01/05/2008 04:16:04

Is this international? Because that would be uber-rediculous! I live in a country that does not encourage artistic carreers/jobs almost completely.

Kinoko · Thu 01/05/2008 05:21:33

Check out http://www.billywest.com/

I haven't been there in ages but I'm pretty sure he has lots of tips on getting into voice acting around the place.

vertigoaddict · Thu 01/05/2008 14:39:34

I'm sorry Kinoko, but that link doesn't seem to be working for me. It might just be my computer though...

ThreeOhFour · Thu 01/05/2008 15:13:02

Works fine for me.

Emerald · Thu 01/05/2008 22:21:14

Quote from: vertigoaddict on Thu 01/05/2008 04:16:04
Is this international? Because that would be uber-rediculous! I live in a country that does not encourage artistic carreers/jobs almost completely.

You should move to Ireland. Artists get tax exemption. It's sweet... (although they've amended it now so that if you make over â,¬200,000 annually you can't be exempt -- so Bono and Geldoff don't get off as easy)

vertigoaddict · Thu 01/05/2008 23:25:23

Sorry, but the fact that I want to do it via the internet is because I see no hope for me of moving out of the country (yet) farther than Singapore (I can visit them, but only for a short period of time) it would be too expensive to actually live there.

I want to work hard and get money to do so. Tell you the truth, I wanted to be a voice actor ever since I was...10? I don't really remember, but it was quite a young age; I sang on my dad's karaoke set when I was 4... So I'm not going to give up this ambition so easily.

By the way, I asked my drama teacher about this, he says (although he doesn't know much about news in the voice-acting field) only some countries have unions. I have to research it myself, but I'd be greatfull if anyone out there who knows about non-union countries would inform me of it.

EDIT: The link works for me now, I just needed to upgrade my flash.