Fishpond founder and casting director Ali Coffey knows the world of voiceover from both sides of the microphone. Alongside her work in casting and developing Fishpond, Ali has had a voiceover career since her late teens.
“It’s been fun and varied and I’ve absolutely loved it,” Ali says.
Though technology has advanced quickly over the last couple of years, voiceover can still open up a whole new area of work for actors. From commercials and animation to documentaries, audiobooks, radio and online content, there are countless opportunities to put your voice and performance skills to work.
If voiceover is something you would like to explore, you don’t need to wait until you have a long list of professional credits. Here are some of Ali’s tips for getting started, creating your first voicereel and gradually building a career. You can also listen to Ali’s advice below.
1. Start with a voicereel that shows what you can do
Your voicereel is an opportunity to show off your unique skill set and give casting directors and potential clients a quick sense of what you can bring to a project.
If you don’t yet have professional voiceover work to include, that doesn’t mean you can’t create a reel.
For a commercial reel, Ali suggests listening to advertisements aimed at your demographic and identifying the kinds of reads you feel you could genuinely bring something to. You can use existing copy as inspiration for material to record for a private demo, rather than waiting for your first professional job before putting a reel together.
Think about variety, but don’t feel you have to demonstrate everything. Your reel should showcase what you do particularly well.
2. Only include accents and voices that are genuine strengths
An impressive accent or character voice can add another dimension to your reel, but only if it is something you can perform confidently and consistently.
Ali’s rule is simple: if you’re in any doubt, leave it out.
There’s no need to fill a reel with accents simply because you think they are expected. A strong, natural read that demonstrates your own voice can be much more useful than an accent you can’t reliably sustain.
And if commercial reads alone don’t demonstrate your full range, consider including something different. An introduction to a documentary or a page from a book, for example, can help round out your reel and show another side of your voice.
3. Make the recording sound professional
The performance matters, but so does the quality of the recording.
Ali recommends recording your reel on a professional microphone and having the finished audio mastered. That doesn’t necessarily mean spending a huge amount of money.
You might learn the editing skills yourself or swap skills with a friend who knows their way around audio. Cleaning up a recording, removing unnecessary breaths and carefully adding music where appropriate can make a big difference to the finished result.
Ali invested in her first professional demo when she was just 17.
“I borrowed a few quid to make my first demo at 17, and I paid it back with my first job.”
You don’t have to follow the same route, but the lesson is a useful one: treat your voiceover materials as professional tools and make them as strong as you reasonably can.
4. Keep track of every potential lead
Finding voiceover work isn’t only about waiting for a casting call to appear.
As you move through the industry, you’ll hear about production companies, voiceover opportunities, potential contacts and recommendations from other people. Ali has a very simple system for making sure those pieces of information don’t disappear.
Whenever she hears about a possible voiceover lead, she emails it to herself with the subject line “V Lead.”
Then, when she sits down to spend some time promoting herself, she already has a bank of potential places to start.
You could create your own version using an email folder, spreadsheet or notes app. The important thing is to capture opportunities when you hear about them.
A company producing radio ads? Save it.
Someone mentions a producer who regularly hires voices? Save it.
You hear about an upcoming project that might need voice talent? Save it.
Over time, those small pieces of information can become a useful network of potential leads.
5. A home studio doesn’t have to be glamorous
Remote recording has become an important part of voiceover work, and having a reliable home recording set-up can make it easier to respond to opportunities.
Ali’s own home studio includes a Scarlett interface, RØDE microphone and Halo reflection filter for sound isolation and absorption. One voiceover job paid for the equipment, and she has been using the same kit for around ten years.
But creating a suitable recording environment doesn’t necessarily require a purpose-built studio.
If you have a walk-in wardrobe, Ali suggests trying it as a recording booth. Clothes and other soft furnishings can help absorb sound. A wardrobe lined with acoustic foam can also work.
And when travelling, improvisation sometimes wins.
Ali has even angled a mattress against a wall, sat underneath it and covered the gap with a duvet to create a makeshift recording space.
As she puts it, “No one said it was glamorous.”
What matters is finding a quiet, controlled environment where you can produce clean, usable audio.
6. Build as you go
You don’t need to have everything in place before you start exploring voiceover.
Your first reel can lead to your first job. Your first job can help pay for better equipment. Each job gives you more experience and potentially stronger material for your next reel. Each contact can lead to another introduction or opportunity.
Like any area of an acting career, voiceover takes time to develop.
Listen to professional voice work and pay attention to the different styles of delivery you hear. Practise regularly. Learn what your voice does particularly well. Keep improving your recording skills and update your materials as your experience grows.
Most importantly, don’t wait until you feel like an established voiceover artist before you begin.
Start with what you have
If voiceover is an area you would like to explore, give yourself one manageable first step.
Listen to some current commercials and identify the styles of read that suit you. Find a piece of documentary or audiobook-style copy and experiment with it. Record yourself and listen back critically. Start a list of companies and contacts you might approach.
And take a look at your Fishpond profile. Make sure your 30-second introduction voice clip gives casters a clear sense of your natural voice, and if you have a voicereel, add it to your profile so that casting directors looking for voice talent can hear what you can do.
You don’t need to build a voiceover career overnight. Start developing the skills, materials and contacts now, and keep building from there.
As Ali’s experience shows, it might not always be glamorous, but it can certainly be creative, challenging and great craic.