When you are training a prospective voice over artist to work with you on television promo work, one of the best ways for them to get started is simply to listen and undertake a ‘personal training’ program. Ask them to turn on the television and start taking notes of commercials and promos of their favorite TV shows.
Ask them what they observe about the sound bites and what promotional materials are in line with the ones that they need.
As suggested by the “Voiceovers” author, Janet Wilcox – voice over artists can hone their craft by familiarizing themselves with several genres and acting techniques. A good way to do this is by exploring all the TV networks’ branding campaigns. The next step can be devoted to citing each campaign’s strengths as well as limitations.
All major television networks such as HBO, CBS, and ABC provide their viewers a picture of their network’s coming attractions via specialized campaigns and promotional materials. Voice over artists can record these promo pieces. Then they can initially enhance their style by applying the energy level, volume, tone, and intensity of the sound bites.
They will need to study a variety of networks to really understand their style and tone, as well as the rhythm of each piece so you understand what works for promo voice over work – and what doesn’t. Encourage prospective voice over professionals to review a variety of styles and genres and present you with samples of each.
Voice over artists can learn a lot and develop core skills simply by practicing; they can time themselves to make sure they are delivering the essence of the message in the tight 20-30 second promo spot, and stretch their skills and abilities. As a trainer, you can get them started by doing some online research for samples of TV promo transcripts.
Just use your favorite search engine to search for ‘TV promo transcript’ or ‘commercial transcript’ and you’ll find a wealth of free information and resources that they can print off and practice with. They may be familiar with the ads or commercials related to these scripts, but in some cases, the scripts will be entirely foreign to them. Whatever the case may be, the goal is to practice, record and time their session so that they can learn how to deliver the message as accurately as possible.
Voice over talent will also need to be trained in doing breathing exercises and monitoring their breathing throughout each session. Creating a breathing log, or a chart on how they breathe and when you tend to hold your breath can make them more aware of their habits and help break patterns that are not serving them well. Encourage them to take a deep breath before getting started and to practice in an area where there is enough space in front of them to project their voice comfortably.
Last but not the least, they can join a ‘personal training program’ and be assured that their TV voice over skills will improve at a faster pace. Other than collecting promo copy and scripts as reference, they need to allot at least 15 – 20 minutes per day to polish up their craft and eventually be an expert in the near future.