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May 26, 2004 Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's sidekick and later the guy who hosted early talent shows on TV, started out as a circus barker. Now, for those of you who haven't heard one, a "barker" was sort of a con man. Sometimes he was straight, but more often, he sold snake oil type stuff at carnivals by yelling, "Come one, come all, step right up ladies and gents and see the bearded lady." Later, Ed McMahon made millions from being a voiceover talent, an announcer guy. So did Burgess Meredith, actor, zillions of unknowns like me, and folks who only do it overseas like Richard Gere so no one will know he hawks merchandise, particularly in Japan. If people found out, it seems, it might tarnish his reputation as a "great actor." Yep. That's us-- voiceover folks. There's money in them there hills. We operate all over the globe. We read commercials for radio TV commercials. We narrate training films and videos. We are the voices of toys (on computer chips embedded in that darlin' Teddy Bear's tummy!). You hear us on telephone messages. We make you angry when we say, "Press 1 for sales, press 2 for service, blah blah blah --- So how do you get in on this crazy wacky game? Well, it helps to have a good voice, but in today's world of reality shows and real people being an 'actor' may be a liability, particularly if you're one of those 'actors' who lowers his voice when he says, "I'm an ACTOR." Real people are "in." Actors are "out." Rule one is this: If you want to investigate the world of being a voiceover talent, you will need to study with a voiceover coach to find out what the field is all about. You will have to have a voiceover demo CD to show people what you are capable of voicing. Only an experienced voiceover coach can help you with that. Don't spend money needlessly trying to do a demo by yourself. It can't be done. Get guidance. Next, you'll need a voiceover agent. An agent won't sign you without a voiceover demo. It's a vicious circle--see? Plus, this is a workfield for entrepreneurs. It requires self-promotion. Get that demo to people who use voiceover talents. Oops. I can see your eyes glazing over . . . suffice it to say that you do not have to live in a big city to do voiceover work. Because we live in the digital age, anyone with recording capabilities on a PC can do voiceovers. And you can work for producers and clients worldwide from home without taking off that awful torn nightgown or those horrible beer stained T-shirts! Why, you can do voiceovers and not take a bath for months!! Of course, everybody else will probably vacate the house by then, but that's ok--it will just make it quieter and that's better for recording! So follow your dream and be a voiceover talent if you've got what it takes. It's a dream job. I've done it for over a quarter-century and as a voiceover coach I've helped hundreds do the same. Good luck and follow your heart! ------------ About the author: Bettye Pierce Zoller is the Audie award-winning author of Commercial$peak, Simon and Schuster's audiobook, Speaking Effective English, a voiceover pro for more than a quarter-century, one of the leading voiceover coaches in the US. Visit her site, Voicesvoices.com. She presents workshops in voiceovers regularly. Email: btzol@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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