Voice acting for animated films and TV shows requires character development and a demo tape with a variety of unique voices and active situations. Aspiring voice actors should study acting, develop their own animated voices, and gain voice experience through volunteering or interning. Most voice actors in North America work in Los Angeles and require an agent for casting companies.
Dubbing is the art of interpreting character voices for animated films and television shows. Rather than just providing a voice, a voice actor must develop his character in the same way as other actors in the field of performing arts. Voice acting coaches recommend that anyone wanting a career as a voice actor start out by studying acting and taking regular acting classes to build basic skills before gradually making a transition from role-playing to voice-only role-playing.
Most voice actors in North America must live in Los Angeles, California to get work in the field of voice acting. Agents must represent voice actors for casting companies, and in order to land an agent, an aspiring voice actor must have a demo tape. A demo tape is a recorded demonstration of what a performing artist can do in terms of creative performance. After taking acting and voice acting classes and learning how to become a good actor, aspiring voice actors should study cartoons and develop their own animated voices. Once the voices are perfected, the demo tape can be prepared.
It is important that a dubbing demo tape contain a wide variety of unique voices. Characters must be involved in active situations, as animated films and programs mostly revolve around physical rather than psychological actions. Casting agents and companies are looking for actors who understand how to convey different emotions and attitudes in animated characters to give cartoons personality. The more different types of animated voices and action scenes a demo tape has, the more likely an aspiring actor is to be seen as having useful talent and insight for the industry. Of course, quantity is no substitute for quality – especially when the purpose of the demo tape is to demonstrate voice acting ability.
The unique talent and ability to be versatile in creating voices for each different character often results in more work available to voice actors. Still, voice acting can be a tough field to break into. The Art of Voice Acting by James Alburger is a popular book that covers the profession of voice acting, from acting techniques to creating demo tapes to becoming a voice actor.
In addition to studying acting and working with voices, in order to prepare a demo tape, aspiring voice actors should have any voice experience possible. Volunteering to advertise to customers in retail stores is a possibility to get some initial experience. Interning at a local radio station to do voiceover work on commercials is another possibility, but polite perseverance to gain experience is necessary as competition for voice-over opportunities can be competitive.
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