Voiceover coaching versus VO Audio Tech Services
It is, arguably, more important to get quality sound advice when you are first starting voiceover than it is to get performance coaching.
Ok, clickbait sentence aside, they are both extremely important because if your acting is bad then you’re not getting hired. The problem that I see way too often is that there are people who have decent acting but lack the experience or know-how regarding their audio to provide a quality file to a client or rights holder.
The best acting in the world can be ruined by bad audio.
The best audio setup in the world can only enhance what’s being put into it.
As the acting gets better, so will the production quality of your voiceovers.
Think of it like a rock and roll guitarist. If you were to hand Van Halen, Hendrix or any legendary guitar maestro a plastic stringed toy guitar from your local big box store, is there any doubt that they could play it? Of course they could. Their talent and ability would allow them to craft something musical from it. Would it sound ‘good’ or mainstream? Probably not. Have you ever seen the skits on the Tonight Show where they have bands like Metallica playing their songs with kazoos and toy instruments? They make it happen and it is a nice little joke or skit but that’s as far as it goes. And these folks are masters at their craft.
Same can be said for little Johnny down at the music shop taking his third guitar lesson ever. Will he sound like Metallica? Nope. But with some extra effort, would it be possible to put a microphone in front of a good, tube amplifier while he wacks away at some power chords after a couple lessons? Yep.
The point is that there is not really one without the other but I see way too many newer VO’s getting stuck in their head that they need acting coaching, a thousand dollar mic, and demos that cost thousands of dollars to get started on a pay to play site when this is the farthest thing from the truth.
You need a good space, solid equipment and coaching.
Which one is the best one to do first? Well…that’s really up to you and your tolerance for risk when starting your business.
Many coaches are virtual and coach through Zoom or some other video medium. You could start coaching or taking classes to see if VO is indeed what you thought it would be but those sessions are not refundable once you’ve taken them. If you buy solid equipment first, you have something tangible that you can either resell, often at a loss, or make a solid setup for home/remote work and streaming if you decide to keep it. You could parlay the stuff from voiceover into some form of content creation or other options if you decide VO is not for you. You have options.
The point is, VO is very much a sum of it’s parts. You have to act your part. Your studio has to do it’s part. Your equipment has to do it’s part. Your software has to be functional for its part. Etc etc.
Coaching for acting is supremely important and something you will likely experience as an ongoing requirement. Do not neglect getting coached on your sound from the beginning because you could literally be losing jobs that you may have been a good fit for simply because your audio is not up to snuff.