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- Role & Function: They provide off-camera or off-stage narration, commentary, or character dialogue for TV, film, radio, and digital media.
- Common Applications:
- Advertising: Radio and TV commercials.
- Character Work: Cartoons, anime, and video games.
- Narration: Documentaries, audiobooks, and corporate/explainer videos.
- Telephony: Automated phone systems (IVR).
- Key Skills: Ability to act, read scripts with correct emotion and tone, and sometimes perform different accents or voices.
- Industry Terms: Often interchangeable with "voice actor" or "voice talent," with some artists specializing in specific areas like narration or animation.
- Tools: They often work in studios, using professional microphones and editing software to produce high-quality audio.
Types Of Voice Over Artist Jobs
Voice over is a production technique where an individual works behind the camera to narrate a scene or read out information. The individuals who perform voice-over work are voice-over artists who can find opportunities to work in television, movies, radio or music industries. Learning more about these positions can help you find out which career path can be rewarding for you. In this article, we explore the different types of voice over artist jobs, discover their average salary and find out their many skills.Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.
Types Of Voice Over Artist Jobs
Different types of voice over artist jobs can include working in radio, television commercials, animated films or video games. Given the nature of their work, a voice-over artist can work from a studio or from their home. Here are some popular voice over artist jobs:
Animation voice artist
Animation voice artists use their voices to make the animated characters sound real in an animated feature film or a short video. In animation voice-over jobs, a production house can ask you to read from a script and give voices depending on many emotions of the characters. The core responsibility of this job is to portray different aspects of the characters using unique voices that can make the audience enjoy the personas. If you intend to pursue this opportunity from home, you can consider developing your acting skills, which can help you present different attitudes and sentiments.
Video game voice artist
A video game voice artist can either work as the voice of a character or give their voice to narrate the game. Video games have several genres, whereas certain types of games like role play games (RPG), may demand several lines of dialogue. Depending on the situation of the game character, the game developers can ask you to provide depth and range to it. The developers can use the video game narrator to define the rules of the game or give their voice for the in-game cinematic or the in-game movie sequences.
Audiobook voice artist
Several books have their dedicated audiobook versions where often the author narrates the book. When the authors choose not to give their voices, other voice artists can give their voices to act as different characters in the book. One of the most important elements in audiobook voiceovers is the artist's elocution and how they pronounce words, punctuate the sentences and make the communication symbolic. Different genres can require different styles. For example, if you are giving voice to a children's book, you may make sounds of various animals for the kids to enjoy the stories.
Maps and virtual assistant voice artist
Activating voice assistants on different computing devices can help the user give voice commands and perform a task without using hands. These digital assistants can perform tasks like greeting the user, telling them about the weather, sharing sports reports with them and reading news for them. The voice artists behind these virtual voices are articulate and extremely clear in their dissemination of information. The voice of the assistive technology can interact with the users daily and is a participative voice to effectively engage with the users.
Podcast voice artist
A voice-over actor may find an opportunity to work on a podcast episode or an entire series. Many podcasters choose to use their own voice to create podcasts, while others may find freelancers or hire full-time artists who can perform on their shows. Their duties can include recording the introduction, reading informational or entertainment texts and presenting audio advertisements.To be a successful podcast voice, you can consider working on your talking speed for coherent communication, be more conversational for better engagement and be mindful of your breathing and pauses.
Commercials
For product or service commercials, actors usually present the video advertisement. These performers can be great with their facial expressions and may require a compelling voice to share the vision of the brand with the viewers. For that, the advertisers can hire eloquent voice artists who can amplify the expressions of the actors and be their voice. Companies can also hire voice-over artists to give voices for different training and promotional videos.
Information voice artist
An information voice artist records audio that aims to provide information to the listeners. For example, museums have speakers that repeatedly relay information on various artefacts and other items of artistic, cultural, historical or scientific significance. Another example can be the instructional voice in the metro trains, which guides commuters to get off at the right station or announce the estimated time of a train's arrival at the station. These voices focus on reading aloud information in an engaging manner and announcements in a clear tone.
Documentary voice artist
Documentary movies or videos may not have professional actors and the characters featured in them are usually real-life people. Since this type of media involves actual events, its characters may not have dialogues. A voice over in documentaries can play a pivotal role in setting the tone of the topic. For example, if the documentary is on the world war, then a voice-over artist could be sensitive towards the topic and at the same time could be engaging to connect with the viewers who are consuming history, which involves several dates and historic events.
Business voice artist
Organisations may hire voice actors for a variety of roles that aim to enhance their business. These professionals can record business messages related to branding, products or services. For example, a marketing team might hire a voice-over actor to create an audio greeting on the business website. Companies may also hire these artists to read the information in an engaging way for employee training purposes. For instance, they can hire a voice artist for the role of reading information for a human resource team.
Average Salary Of Voice Over Artists
The average salary of a voice-over artist is ₹17,326 per month. This opportunity can be part-time or full-time and can offer the artists a chance to work with several clients in the entertainment industry. Most of the voice-over artists may enjoy flexible work hours and have an option to work from home.
How To Become A Voice Over Artist?
One of the most important things to become a voice-over artist is to have an interesting voice. With that, you can take the below steps to work as a voice-over artist:
1. Pursue a certificate course
You can pursue a certificate course online or offline. These courses may offer lessons on how to use your voice when recording scripts, how to use technical equipment to deliver the best audio results and list ways in which you can record your voice for various purposes like radio and television programmes. These courses can also offer classes on recording software to give a holistic learning experience.
2. Start your podcast channel
Starting your own podcast channel can give you an opportunity to experiment with various types of voice overs. For instance, you could try creating a podcast episode on entertainment and next you can offer your audience an episode on history. These variations can help you develop a wide variety of voice modulation skills that, over a period, can help you develop unique styles. A podcast channel can also allow you to gain first-hand voice-over experience and build your audience.
3. Take freelance projects and do internships
Another way of gaining experience in the field is to take up freelance projects. This exercise can offer you professional experience and a chance to make contacts that can later get you a job. Doing internships can also help you since you may get to work with different teams and directors from whom you can learn many important skills. These projects can also offer you work in different departments like production and post-production.
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