28.5.14

Doing Voice Over Commercials Professionally

By Marci Glover


Advertising entails many aspects that are never considered by the majority of the audience. People's attention may be easily captured by great visuals and catchy jingles but it is often the speaking parts that sticks with them. Working in voice over commercials is an exciting career choice, though it is one that requires one to utilize both persistence and patience.

Contrary to a popular belief, it takes more than just sounding good when speaking in normal circumstances to make it in this business. In addition to appealing conversational tones, one must enunciate clearly and possess a certain amount of acting capabilities. The bulk of the job is reading a script in such a way that it comes out sounding flawlessly natural with all the necessary emotions.

These skills are used quite often in works such as cartoons, video games, multimedia, audio books, documentaries and movies. They are also the key factor in many advertisements and announcements heard on the internet, radio and television. The average person is exposed to one of these spots nearly a hundred times a day just following their normal routine.

Advertising of this sort is generally placed into one of three primary categories. Local is the first tier and it mainly involves spots for businesses that serve a very confined area and announcements for hometown organizations. The next step up is regional, meaning those heard in a somewhat larger zone, and at the top is the national ads such as those for major consumer brands.

It is quite common for celebrities to fill the majority of national level spots, mainly because their voices are easily identified by the general public. There are literally thousands of jobs available in each of the three categories. One should never diminish the benefits of performing at the regional and local levels as those ads are more frequent and offer a lot of versatility.

Simply having an appealing sound is rarely enough to take one instantly to the top of the field. This is a talent that needs to be honed through a process designed to increase one's marketability and make it easier to gain the desired success. The journey begins by pairing with a vocal coach that can help improve both acting and speaking skills, honing individual techniques for optimum results.

The next step is taking what has been learned and using it to have a demo tape professionally produced to serve as an audio audition. Copies should be sent to multiple advertising agencies, talent brokers and production companies within one's target working area. As with most job applications, following up on a mailed resume' with a phone call or two may be necessary.

Building success in this field requires one to exercise patience with a fair amount of persistence. Though many of the ads on the national level are reserved for seasoned performers and celebrities, there are still plenty of opportunities available. Working at either the local or regional tiers can be a great way for the novice to gain valuable experience while learning the tricks of the trade, and could become quite lucrative as skills are honed.




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