Voice Over (VO) Lessons Teach Versatility

So you’ve already taken acting classes. Why do you need to learn voice over? Doesn’t acting already teach the proper way to deliver a line? Technically yes, but professional voice over requires a lot more technique than just an authentic sounding line. Taking a VO Class in New York teaches additional skills beyond traditional acting to properly deliver the pitch and cadence required by voice overs. You learn control over your voice so you can be directed for whatever the commercial requires. Detail is everything. Certain tones need to be hit on a specific cadence, pitches need to come down at the end of the sentence, and certain words will need highlighted, depending on the message to be conveyed.

Taking a VO class gives you more versatile skills in which to land a job. Professional acting is a demanding career. You might be auditioning for Broadway while doing voice over gigs to pay the rent. Voice over can also improve actors’ cold reading skills for auditions, which just might land you that big gig.

Learn Spontaneous Response

Voice over lessons really teach an actor to think on his feet. Most voice overs are read directly from the script, so you learn the skills of quick response and rapid interpretation. You learn to work with a creative director and deliver a specific sound, the key to acting. Voice over teaches more than just acting, but it can dramatically improve your skills as an actor.

THE IMPORTANCE OF VO CLASSES FOR YOUR ACTING CAREER

People don’t actually see those who do voice overs, but that doesn’t mean you’re invisible. “Whether the general public chooses to acknowledge it or not, voice-over matters,” Geena Davis once said in an interview. “Everyone watches movie trailers, everyone sees commercials on television or they hear them on the radio and that is power.” A voice over class can connect you to that power, and more importantly, land a real acting job that pays the bills as you look for your big break.

MANY STARS HAVE DONE VOICE OVER

Leslie Nielsen, the star of the Naked Gun movies, first started out in voice over, narrating commercials and several science documentaries long before his famous role in the Airplane movies. He had a distinctive voice that was perfect for voice overs, one that added credibility and fun to the rote science documentary. Peter Coyote continues to do voice over for the Ken Burns films with a voice that adds authenticity and drama to the history portrayed. Even Morgan Freeman has supplied voice over to the recent Conan the Barbarian movie. Good voice over is far from generic. It’s real acting, and in many ways requires a particular skill most actors overlook.

VO CLASSES ESSENTIAL TO AN ACTOR’S TRAINING

Taking a VO class is critical to an actors training. A class can teach you how to use your voice and vastly improve your auditioning capabilities. You’ll be able to just read a script and provide the right voice. It helps you think on your feet, an essential skill for any actor.

Check out the list of VO Classes we have available in New York, as well as an occasional VO Class Los Angeles!