I first started doing voiceover work in early June 2020, and while I had some idea of what I was getting myself into, you never really know 100 percent. This is my third major career switch in my 45 years on this planet, and I already know from experience that while you can research for days on end about a new type of work, you don’t really know what’s waiting for you until you actually get there.
Getting into voice acting isn’t particularly difficult, or particularly expensive. However, there’s a pretty steep learning curve, and you’d be amazed at how many things you can learn in such a short period of time. I did take a brief voiceover class before my very first recording, which I would highly recommend to anyone. But there are just some things you absolutely won’t learn until after you submit that very first audition.
But everyone has to start somewhere! Here is my top 10 list of things that nobody tells you (and that I wish I had known) before you get into voice acting.
1. You don’t *need* a ton of money to get started. You will *spend* a ton of money amassing your new microphone collection.
2. You will learn enough about waveforms and sound editing to feel like you deserve at least an associates degree in audio engineering.
3. You will actually *want* to listen to commercials on the radio…then get all judgey.
4. Every business you patronize, you’ll wonder if you should ask the manager if they need VO for their commercials.
5. THE NOISE FLOOR IS NEVER LOW ENOUGH.
6. You had no idea how much clicking noise everyone makes with their mouths.
7. Shotgun is not a firearm, and cardiod and diaphragm have nothing to do with the human body.
8. Many audition script directions sound like they were written by someone who just smoked a joint.
9. Shortcut keys and RX7 plugins are LIFE.
10. If you have no idea what a Corgi window shopping in a mall sounds like, it’s okay to fake it ‘til you make it.
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