How to Become Commercial Voice Over Actors [2024]

Do you know Don LaFontaine? You might not know what he looks like, but you've definitely heard his voice. He's voiced over 5,000 movie trailers, like Batman Returns. So, becoming a commercial voice over artist doesn't require you to be a star like Josh Lucas or Jon Hamm. In this article, we'll discuss the requirements for becoming commercial voice over actors, from finding commercial voice over jobs to auditioning, answering all your questions.

Part 1. What Exactly do Commercial Voice Over Actors Do?

Simply put, with the help of commercial voice over actors, businesses or brands utilize distinctive commercial voice overs in ads to promote their product or service ideas, serving the purpose of promotion and marketing. Therefore, an outstanding commercial voice over artist is one of the crucial factors contributing to the success of a brand.

Part 2. How to Get Commercial Voice Over Jobs?

• Take Voice Acting Classes
• Work with Voice Over Coach
• Write A Voice Over Resume
• Set Up A Home Voice Over Studio
• Make A Commercial Voice Over Demo Reel
• Voice Over Auditions

Becoming a commercial voice over artist doesn't have a unified approach, but the following steps, though traditional, are useful and might be helpful to you.

1. Take Voice Acting Classes

Voice acting isn't just about showcasing your voice, it also tests your acting abilities. Participating in voice over classes and training can greatly enhance your skills.

• Vocal Classes - Vocal classes will teach you basic vocal techniques and commercial voice over skills. Additionally, you'll learn how to care for your vocal cords and avoid vocal strain.

• Acting Classes - Acting classes teach people how to convey emotions and ideas of characters, establishing a connection with the audience and listeners. This helps you learn to embody the brand better and capture the audience's attention.

• Improvisation Classes - Whether it's auditions or formal recordings, voice over for commercials is often fast-paced and may require you to think on your feet. Learning improvisation will make your commercial voice acting more dynamic.

2. Work with Voice Over Coach

If you want to take a first step forward, then find a voice over coach, the one-on-one training will help you take a big step in the commercial voicover industry.

• Voice over coach can help you with any problems with a particular voice acting audition or recording。

• Voiceover coach can also teach you how to care for and develop your voice for your personal situation.

3. Write A Voice Over Resume

A complete Voice Over Resume consists of the following 9 parts

• Photo, Name, and Contact Information - Customers typically want to see who they will be working with, so make sure your resume starts with your photo, name, job title, company name (if applicable), address, email address, phone number, and website, making it easy for people to reach out to you.

• Your Genre - By clearly defining your voiceover genre, clients can have a clear understanding of your services. If you specialize in commercial voice overs, please highlight this area.

• Agent’s Contact Information - If you handle all your work through an agent, ensure that clients know how to directly contact them.

• Voiceover Work Overview - Categorize your voice over work in commercials, promos, video games, etc. And add the job titles, clients, and the types of roles you voiced.

• Your Voice Over Studio Equipment (if applicable) - Let your clients know about the professional voice over equipment you have, demonstrating your professionalism.

• Your Completed Training - You can categorize them into voiceover, acting, singing, musical theater, etc., along with any degrees or certifications you have earned.

• Special Honors and Achievements - This could include awards, nominations, and media coverage.

• Accents, Dialects, and Different Languages - If you have mastered different accents and dialects, it can help you stand out.

• Your Social Media Accounts or Podcasts - If your social media accounts can reflect your identity as a voice actor well, or if you have a great podcast, you can also highlight them in your resume.

4. Set Up A Home Voice Over Studio

If you want to work from home as a commercial voice over artist or make a voice over demo, it's best to have a home voice over studio. The price varies depending on the quality and professionalism of the equipment. However, before you eagerly purchase equipment for voice overs, make sure to do the following two things:

• Find a suitable room: This room should avoid sharing a wall with noisy rooms and should not have household appliances that generate noise. To ensure even distribution of low-frequency resonance, the professional design of a recording studio is a completely non-parallel, asymmetrical octagon, avoiding square profiles or shapes with concave walls or domed ceilings.



However, achieving this in a home voice over studio is challenging. You can also Google "voiceover studio near me" or find home studios in your area on Voiceover Resource Guide.

• Sound insulation: If the room door is hollow, try filling it with soundproof spray foam, or use a dense fire door instead, or add one or more soundproof materials.

Once prepared, here are the expected costs of the basic equipment for voice over you need (data from Backstage):

Expected Costs for Home Voice Over Studio

• If you find it too expensive for you to purchase all these voiceover equipment,

• Here's a more affordable way to enhance the quality of your voiceovers!

5. Make A Commercial Voice Over Demo Reel

A good voice over demo is an important key to getting a commercial voice acting audition. There are several key points about your voice over demo reel:

• Record 3 or 4 commercial voice overs to show off your vocal range, while also showing that your voice has many possibilities.

• Record a dedicated reel for the commercial voiceover. You may have voiced for video games, anime characters, etc., but that doesn't really convince clients that you can sell their products or services.

• A voice over demo reel contains 4 to 6 clips of 10 to 20 seconds each. The total time span is about 60 seconds. About 60 seconds in total.

6. Voice Over Auditions

You don't have to have everything ready for a voice actor audition. Maybe you can get a voice over job on your first audition. However, before you start auditioning, please take a look at the general process:

• Voice over demo submission - The director or producer needs a demo to make a preliminary judgment about whether you're right for their role. This means you need to submit a high quality voice demo reel.

• Online audition - Most voiceover auditions are online, so you'll need a professional home voice over studio or know where to find one.

• Live interview - This can be more stressful and challenging than online auditions, since there are people in front of you listening and watching. So before the live audition, you can record a dozen times to practice.

Part 3. How to Find Commercial Voice Over Auditions & Make Outstanding Voice Over Performance?

1. Find Voice Over Auditions

The most direct way is to pay attention to the voiceover auditions posted by agents, which are usually the more prominent casting auditions for voice work. In addition to this, there are many other ways to help you find Voice Over Auditions.

• Create a profile and submit requests on online voiceover marketplaces: On platforms like Fiverr, Upwork for freelancers, as well as specialized voice over marketplaces like Voices.com, you can build a detailed profile showcasing your voice acting abilities. On Voices.com, you can also apply for auditions posted by project creators.

• Research production companies: Some production companies have their own pool of voice actors. Make a list of these companies, reach out to them, and submit your voice over resume. They might quickly consider you for their next voiceover project.

• Network with agents or other voice actors: Do not overlook the importance of this step. When other industry professionals need suitable voice talent for projects, they might think of someone they know, such as you.

  Tips

  You may wonder how to make the network: Part 5. Networking for Voice Acting Work

• Stay active on social media: Join online communities related to voiceover and try to align your social image with commercial voice over actor. Follow other voice actors and use hashtags like #voiceover, #voice, etc., when posting. After a while, you'll establish an image as a commercial voice over artist in the eyes of others.

2. Make A Outstanding Voice Over Performance

• Prepare specifically for each audition. Learn about the company's products and advertising and even their voice acting casting preferences.

• Practice with your voice over coach. He/she can judge if your voice over is suitable for casting and help you constantly adjust it.

• When auditioning, read up on the voice over script. Think about which words should be weakened or emphasized, or where to add modal words.

• Follow the instructions to complete the voice over. Try not to improvise, follow the director's instructions and give him the voice acting he wants.

Part 4. Knowledge about Voiceover for Commercials

1. Some Famous Commercial Voice Over Actors

If you want to become a famous commercial voice actor, you can learn about some well-known commercial voice over artists, learn about their voice work and voice acting experience. Here are some famous voiceover actors:

• Josh Lucas for Home Depot

• Fred Savage for Honda

• John Goodman for Dunkin' Donuts

• Jon Hamm for Mercedes-Benz

• Chris Pine for BMW

• Morgan Freeman for Visa

• George Clooney for Budweiser

• Bill Hader for Planters Peanuts

• Elwood Edwards - “You’ve got mail.”

• Don LaFontaine

2. Categories of Commercial Voiceover

Generally speaking, voiceovers for commercials can be categorized into 6 types:

• Television Commercial Voiceover - This type of voiceover combines rich visual effects to make ads more appealing. A good voice over artist can effectively convey product information to the audience.

• Radio Commercial Voiceover - Radio commercials need to create clear imagery for the listeners through voice, so a charming or interesting voice is essential.

• Internet Commercial Voiceover - YouTube pre-roll ads and popular explainer videos fall into this category. A voice that sounds fitting for the product and appears professional is well-suited for these ads.

• Live Read Commercial Voiceover - This requires hosts or voice artists to directly read ads live on air, so having coordinated body language and excellent expression management skills will help you stand out.

• Sponsorship Commercial Voiceover - These are typically endorsements of products by hosts within a program to the audience.

• In-Store Commercial Voiceover - Ads played in stores, usually to guide or inform customers about promotional information on products. A lively and pleasant voice is well-suited for voicing these commercials.

Conclusion

In this article, we look at what it takes to become a commercial voice over actor and how to find commercial voice over jobs. At the same time, we also introduce the best voice over software that greatly reduces your voice over costs - VoxBox. If you think setting up a home studio or buying equipment is too expensive, try this AI Voice Over Generator!