Voice acting is a distinct form of acting where the emphasis is on the actor’s voice, not their appearance, facial expressions, or movements.
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Voice-Over Artists for Hire: Hire Professional Voice Actors
With voice-over acting, an actor portrays a character using only their voice. Tone, style of speech, the color of their voice, and other audio elements serve to shape and portray a character.
There are different names used for voice actors, like animated voice talent, commercial voice-over artists, narration voice artists, and others.
Voice acting is present in podcasts but also used with narration, cartoon characters, and other forms of creative work.
What is a Voice-Over Artist?
Audio acting is used to portray non-visible characters either off-screen, off-stage, or with animations. There are different art forms that use this type of acting, like anime, animated films, dubbed films, feature films, theater productions, audiobooks, puppet shows, radio stations, and others.
You’ll also find audio acting in pre-recorded automated notifications and announcements played in waiting rooms, elevators, public transportation such as buses and trains, and shops.
Sometimes, voice actors sing as a part of their performance, but that’s not a rule. If the actor can’t sing, another performer can be hired for the role’s singing portions.
Choose the Right Type of Talent Before you Hire Voice Actor
There are multiple types of voice performance:
Animated Characters or Character Voice Actor
Voice actors give their voices to animated characters. Voice act is the type of voice talent that's also used in live-action creative works, where radio dispatchers, computer programs, and other important elements to the program that aren’t visible on-screen are narrated to the clients.
Within this industry, producers look for different voice styles that will appeal to the intended listeners of the program. There’s a variety of voices that are popular within the industry, from cute, friendly, and warm voices used for animated cartoon characters, to intense, strong voices used for dispatchers.
Voice actors may specialize in one or more types of performance, but some kind of specialization is necessary for an actor to increase their chances of getting projects.
Hire Professional Commercial Video Voice Actor to Pass Your Message
Similarly to character voices, commercials also use voice actors to send a message to the intended world audience.
Here, the actor is selected for more than their ability to narrate a compelling commercial. Since commercials are a well-researched area, producers often know the exact type, tone, and other elements of the voice to choose that will appeal best to their customers, which can be from anywhere in the world.
To voice act in commercials, as with all other aspects of a commercial, it needs to be geared toward the customer demographic and shaped around things they like and accept the most.
Pay Prime Voice Talent: A Narration Voice Actor
Narration is often used to bring written information closer to its audience. Any type of written text can be narrated either by a real, "human" or an automated voice. This voice then delivers intended information to the audience.
Unlike commercials, the narration doesn’t particularly rely on voice appeal. The narrator is selected for their voice talent features to the greatest degree, but since the information that the narrator conveys is central to the entire project, speech mannerisms and clarity, as well as other elements important for understanding the information become more crucial.
English Language Dialogue Replacement Voice Actor Job Post
It’s sometimes necessary to replace some parts of a dialogue with another. This technique is used on film or other recordings (e.g. business or commercial) where the original content no longer serves the cause. When this happens, creators hire voice talent to carry out the change properly.
Voice-overs are also used to sharpen audio quality in movies and TV series, so producers sometimes use voice-overs to get a sharper dialogue or change the script. It is also used to clarify dialogue context when needed or to introduce other elements that enhance the quality of performance.
Perfect Voice for Your Translation Post
Why film several audio projects, or commercials, in multiple languages when you can film one and simply do voice-overs for the rest? With translation voice-over, an actor adds a different language to existing footage, which is then recorded over the original track.
This form of voice acting is also used in documentaries when translations of the interviewees are recorded over their voices.
Sometimes, you can hear the original people’s voices in the background, which can occur accidentally but is often done intentionally as to maintain the authenticity of the person speaking.
Professional Voice-Over Artists
Now that you know how important it is to find a good voice actor, it’s time to reflect on some important considerations before you begin hiring.
First, don’t spare time in pursuit of talent. Not all talented voice-over actor professionals can be found in one place. Look beyond your network and access other communities, like groups and networks that showcase and promote voiceover talent.
Does One Need Talent For Voice Acting?
There are thousands of talented voice actors available online, so rushing to make your choice could be a mistake.
Second, have a good plan for what you’re trying to achieve with your project. Define goals, think about how you wish the project to affect your business, and the terms you would agree on (or not).
Getting good voice-over could improve your business’ audio quality and make your ads, as well as video and audio presentations, a lot more compelling and professional. For that, it’s worth being patient and finding the right person to take up the project.
What to Think About Before You Hire Voice-Over Actors
The quality of your voice-overs will give more authenticity to your promo materials.
Hiring professional voice-over actors should result from a thorough screening and checking of dozens of different samples. That way, you’ll be better able to assess the quality of different applicants for your post.
Budget When You Hire Voice-Over Talent
Controlling your budget is an important thing to consider when working with voice-over actors. Think about your budget ahead of time, and pay attention to clarify what the cost will be, plus whether you’re working on a fixed budget, an hourly rate, or on a project-by-project base.
Your creative projects benefit from expert voice-over narration, but your actor also must be a professional. Lay out deadlines clearly so that the actor knows how often to send samples for you to review and for them to have enough time to complete the project.
Get Timely Voice-Over Talent
With that in mind, your actor’s ability to deliver timely work will depend on the overall organization of your project. Similar to payment, define how often you expect to receive finished work. Some clients prefer to have their samples at the end of each day, while others prefer to work on a project-by-project basis.
How to Hire Voice-Over Online FAQs
As with any other freelancer hiring, the trick with getting the right professional voice actors is in finding a perfect voice for your needs and audio production technique, as well as the right skill level for your needs.
Voice actors are tasked with much more than just narrating words. When your client. or a customer, plays your broadcast, they have certain expectations. One of your major tasks is to create the kind of voice samples that your audience will want to listen to over and over again.
However, there might still be questions bugging your mind about finding pro talent for your next project:
How Much Should I Pay Freelance Voice Actors?
Professional voice actors represent the kind of experienced voice talent that you want on your team.
As such, they deserve to be paid fairly for their services. Voice actor, whether a professional voice actor or a beginner, charges either hourly or by the project. The best voice actors have long waiting lists, so they often pick and choose the type of project description that they'll respond to.
Are There Free Voice Actor Services?
Generally, no. You might get a free sample, but good quality voice talent will come at a cost.
If you're wondering: "How Much Will a Voice Artist Cost?" It would be a good idea to first look into what the right voice can do for your brand. Although voice actors might give you some free samples, using a professional voice-over's skills won't come free or cheap.
In fact, if you wish to hire professional voice actors, their services on your projects will likely cost between several hundred to dozens of thousands of dollars.
There are different types of professional voice artists, and they all charge different rates.
How to be a Voice Over Artist
If you're looking for an opportunity to become a professional voice actor, there are a couple of basic steps to nurture your professional voice talent can gain more clients for your business. The more voice skills you gain, the greater number of job post applications and auditions will come back with a job offer.
Take the following steps on your journey to nurture your professional voice talent and become a professional voice actor:
1: Get Professional Voice-Overs Talent With E-Learning and Life Experience
Take every opportunity to learn how to be a voice actor, from online classes to portraying your favorite characters.
2: Record Professional Voice-Over Talent Samples
Professional voice-over talent can pitch samples to job platforms, or the biggest brands in your selected industry. You don't have to focus solely on audio production samples. You can also simulate corporate presentations, customer support, and even make video samples for your auditions to get ahead in the audio production industry.
Can You Make Money With Audio Voice-Overs?
Absolutely! You can make a career out of your audio skills and capabilities. If you wish to get more jobs in the voice actor industry, send out free samples of your voice to as many auditions as you can.
How Much to Charge for Audio Voice-Overs?
Listen to samples of other actors with voice features and audio skills similar to yours, and you'll have a good idea of how much to charge for your work.
Voice-Over Artist Hourly Rate: To Take or Not To Take Hourly Audio Projects?
There are many advantages and disadvantages to hourly projects. They might require auditions since they're typically more budget-heavy than other audio post auditions and job opportunities.
How Many Auditions to Get?
Get as many audio job post applications as possible! To increase your chances of successful auditions, send free samples for your prospective employer to listen to.
Should I Follow the Script?
A voice actor is expected to follow their script to the tee. However, with support from your team, any changes made to the script won't be hard to work around.
Need Narration Voice Talent?
Whether you want to turn your ebook into an audiobook, or you want narrated samples of your website content, we have your back!
The Urban Writers provides professional voice talent. Access our experienced voice talent within our freelancers pool, and sit back and watch the magic happen as we turn your writing into compelling narration!
Check Out The Urban Writers Narration Packages!
With the support of our team and a free quote, you'll be fully in control of your project.
Choose Your Narration Package:
Get your free quote by signing up to our platform and choosing one of the two available packages:
Narration Service Per Hour
The hourly narration gives you the flexibility and freedom to pay for the amount of time our team spends working on your manuscript.
This is a great option if you wish your website content to be narrated or you don't have a definite project size in mind.
With the support of our freelancers, getting your content narrated will be a breeze!
Narration Bundle Package
Have several ebooks that you wish to have narrated? Choose our Narration Bundle Package. Get a free quote now, and contact our customer support for more information!
How to Start With The Urban Writers' Narration?
Getting your online content narrated couldn't be easier! Here are the basic steps:
1: Check Out Our Platform and Sign Up
Create an account on our platform and start inviting our freelancers to your team!
2: Choose Your Package
If you can't make up your mind between per hour and our narration bundle package, contact our customer support, which will provide further assistance.
3: Upload Your Project Files
Upload the content that you wish to be narrated to our platform.
4: Choose Your Narrator
Browse professional narrator profiles and choose your favorite!
5: Sit Back and Enjoy!
Watch as our narrators work and listen section-by-section as they upload pieces of your finished content!
