what exactly is a voiceover? dd has been called for a couple and we have always had to miss these auditions. also, what is the average pay for a voiceover? just wondering if these type of auditions are worth the time/effort?

A large percentage of the auds my son goes on are V.O. The pay differs just as in any job in the biz will. If you are signed with an agent or a manager your child will be sent out on many V.O. auds. One of the first jobs my ds booked was a V.O.

Voiceovers are when you just hear the voice in an ad such as in a radio advertisement or animated project. The pay can be similar to commercials with residuals if it is an Aftra job. I disagree with fanmom slightly even though I Love her. She said if you are signed with an agent or manager you will go on lots of them. Having a boy gives fanmom a different perspective because boys are much more in demand and she also happens to have a rep that gets a lot of VO work. The children who get the VO auditions are usually broadway kids or kids that can sing because so many of them require singing. Many people are also represented just for voice over. You are actually lucky if you get sent out for VO work because it is such a big part of the industry and can keep you busy when other areas are dead. Not all kids go out for VO work. You usually tend to see the same kids over and over auditioning for that segment similar to B'way where there are certain kids who audition for every B'way project while other signed kids will never get an audition for B'way. They even have a term for those kids and they are commonly called "broadway kids'. It is a select group and they often go in for their first auditions during the callback stages. They skip the first stage altogether because they are known and have usually already been in a show. They often go straight to callbacks.
More kids are given the opportunity to try their hand at VO work but by no means does being signed grant you entry into that market and the agents usually figure out pretty quickly who they will keep calling in for VO work. So again, if that market is open to you go for it because the can pay as much as commercials do. Many agencies do not even have VO departments but the big three for kids: Innovative, CESD and Abrams have in-house recording studios. FBI also records in their office. Most other VO auditions are at sound studios like Roger Becker's Just Voices studio etc. They have casting places that strictly deal with VO work and have the recording booths there. Go for it! It is a great segment to be in.

A great thing about VO work is that braces and height and teen bodies don't matter.

Actorsmommy,
Good explanation but I have to disagree that V/O work is done primarily by Broadway kids. My son has done quite a bit of V/O work and he is not a broadway kid nor a singer.

V/O work is great because it usually take very little time. There are not usually call backs after the initial audition. My son has even booked jobs without auditioning as he is listed in a voice bank. He is union so the pay is pretty good.

Primarily was probably a bad choice of word for me. Certainly many kids go out for VO work and you are right, it isnt only B'way kids. But there are far more who dont get sent out for VO work than who do. You are voice banked and also have a boy so you are speaking from a different vantage point. My DD is also Voice banked but I am sure if you asked the majority of kids in the business if they were in the bank, they would answer "no". Just look at the banks of CESD, Abrams or Innovative and that'll give you an idea of how many kids are banked compared to how many are in the business. It is a very small percentage.

I can give you an example. CESD's voice bank for boys ages 6-13 has a whopping 8 boys listed two of whom are recognizeable b'way names.

I have a very basic question: Are voice-over roles in shows like Wonderpets or Bubble Guppies in a Legit agent's domain (because it's tv) or in a Commercial agent's domain (because it's voice-over)?

quote:

Originally posted by kmom:
I have a very basic question: Are voice-over roles in shows like Wonderpets or Bubble Guppies in a Legit agent's domain (because it's tv) or in a Commercial agent's domain (because it's voice-over)?

commercial agent's domain

I totally agree with actorsmommy. I have 4 kids and only one of my daughters auditioned for v.o. just one time and that's because I asked about that particular project. I do want her to get opportunities for v.o. so I put her in a class and she now has a demo. Her manager has a copy so now she can submit her for projects. My dd does sing so that should help.

This thread really shed some light on VO work for me. My ds goes on tons of VO auds so I thought it was something any kid that was signed was sent on. I am glad it was started because it will make me feel better knowing that maybe hes acually lucky hes called so much for VO if not everyone is. Thank you Actorsmommy!

talk about shedding light...i thought that vo work was a "put down." almost like compensation because they don't realy feel you should be out on "real" auditions...boy was i wrong! you learn something new everyday. thanks all for the GREAT advice and info!

I know MOST of you are in the NY area, but I wanted to chime in, because apparently things in the VO world are a bit different on the Left Coast. Often, we would all be competing for the same jobs though, so you might find this interesting.

My daughter has been doing voiceover since she was 3, and it has always been the majority of her income.

1. We have dedictated VO agents...they are not within a commercial division, but are their own division, usually with a recording booth in the agent's office. In LA, the volume of kids' are at Abrams, CESD and Imperium 7. The VO agents handle feature films, tv shows, announcers (like the guy who says, "tonight, on Two and a Half Men"), radio spots and tv commercials. There is also something called ADR/Looping and it is the extra work of the voiceover world --although it pays ALOT better. ADR/Looping is usually not handled by top VO agents, and in LA is done in "groups"--so the goal is to get into a "Loop Group".

2. Voiceover is considered to be some of the the most prestigious work. Star names love it because it takes very little time, and the scheduling is often flexible. It is possible to be the star of several VO series at once, and you can do that even while working on live action stuff. It extremely competitive since adult women can often do children's voices. And since your appearance doesn't really matter, the good actors tend to do better...so it is a compliment to be a VO artist.

3. Most auditions are in our agent's office. Occasionally, we will have a theatrical VO audition elsewhere, such as the Disney lot for a callback. But most times, we are taping in our own agent's office, with the agent's staff acting as engineers.

4. Consider the competition for each job: all the kids across the country (because they don't care where you are physically located), adults that can do kids' voices too. It's tough. Boys are in more demand than girls because it is tougher to find adults who can do a little boys' voice (aside of Bart Simpson of course!), and there are just less boys in the biz in general.

5. Voicebank. It kinda cracks me up that someone used the term "banked". I've never heard that before, but I like it. :-) Anywho, Voicebank is like the Breakdown Services of the voiceover world...it is your agent's "reel" of their clients. The system is different though...agents don't submit client reels, hoping for an audition for jobs like we submit headshots. The good agents are called, they give you an audition in their office and submit the actual voiced audition on an MP3 via email.

Agents who just do VO on the side, usually don't hassle with Voicebank. They just wait for the occasional VO to come out on regular breakdowns, but that is just a small percentage of the whole. VO also has their own set of breakdowns every day--a completely different system from Breakdown Services. There are a few VO jobs on the on-camera commercial and theatrical systems that regular agents might see...that's when a kid might get called by their regular commercial on camera agent to go somewhere--but those are kind of the "open calls" of the voiceover world--they are casting a wide net. In general though, VO is exclusive and it has it's own insider system. You can't really self-submit.

6. Pay: as someone said, it varies like everything else. However, in general...Nickelodeon doesn't pay well (AFTRA or non-union). Radio doesn't pay well (AFTRA). SAG TV, Films, and commercials are paid pretty much the same as if you were on camera, including the big residuals. Since it takes so little time, can be done inbetween other projects, and it still pays the same as their regular work, big name actors LOVE voiceover.

7. Jobs: often are done in voice studios that are kinda hole-in-the-wall deals. My daughter was a series regular on a Disney show for years, and she never did her work on the Disney lot. :-) It takes just an hour or so to voice a whole half hour show. Feature films can take up to 3 years of work, coming in to do a session every few weeks. Radio commercials are often less than an hour of work.

Often the jobs are directed by a patched-in feed. In other words, your child is the ONLY one at the studio and the director is across the country. They must take direction well by listening ONLY.

8. Skills needed: we haven't had much need for singing, but I'm guessing they find those singing kids in NY where the Broadway kids are so that makes sense. I think we did two singing VOs in the last 8 years, one was a song in a Disney movie that we had already booked the character voice in.

Skills needed: the ability to listen and follow directions carefully as if they were just on the phone (because the director is often out of state, just giving verbal instructions). Hyperactive kids are usually not great at VO because they can't stand very still in a silent room, and listen to verbal directions. Cold reading skills are a must. Improv a must. The ability to give 3 different takes on the material (they call them A,B,C versions) in quick succession. A class is a nice thing to have, but make sure it has a booth component.

9. A demo reel for kids is nice, but not necessary. For a child, it may be that by the time you get it "out there" your child's voice has aged. It can cost $1000 or more for a good quality demo, so for us, it has never been worth the money. We get the auditions via our agent anyway.

10. There are not usually callbacks for voiceover jobs (unless it is a series regular or big movie), so it is hard to get a gauge on whether you are doing well.

11. Be aware that there is no real glory for voiceover actors. Even if you are the "star" of an animated show, the studios usually want to preserve the magic by NOT talking about who the voice artists are. There are no big crews at the shoot, no trailers with your name on them. You have to love ACTING to be a long term voiceoever person...as opposed to loving the FAME of it all.

HTH,
A

A,
Thanks for explaining the VO world so concisely. I think the only big difference between the coasts is that, for NY actors (kids) even the really big VO jobs, like major animated FF, would likely be handled by one's commercial agent. I know for certain that the agents in the commercials divisions of Innovative, Abrams and CESD are submitting kids for the bigger FF projects. These agencies also happen to have booths right in their offices. Now, perhaps all commercial and legit agents are submitting kids for these VOs on FF projects but our experience is that DD is submitted by her commercial agent for these projects as well as for VO on animated TV projects, radio and TV commercials.

And actorsmommy is right...in NY, the kids who are known to be singers do tend to get more VO opportunities. I'm sure there are other variables playing into it, but this is based on personal experience. Might be different for others.

Everything else you've posted is pretty much how it works here in NY.

This is, by far, my eleven year-old's favorite kind of work!

He just did another one yesterday (we're in Austin). This is for an animated "Don't Mess with Texas" anti-litter campaign. He did the same character last year and the agency specifically requested him.

That's the beauty of VO work; especially in a smaller market. My son gets booked directly without even having to audition. He's done several and loves the ratio of pay rate versus time spent... and it's FUN for him!

For those really into VO work it ends up with a home studio and ISDN lines. Auditions at this point are a thing of the past. By request only, email scripts and usually only about 3 takes.
I wish I had this available 35 years ago. Now my DS is stepping into my shoes and I am amazed.