Edge Studio Is NOT A "cookie-cutter,
hit the street when you're done" Voice Over Studio.
INSTEAD
Build a Competitive Voice Over Career
...with
Tailored Training, Career Coaches, and On-Going Guidance.
Bob Bergen's Advanced Character and Animation Class is
filling fast!
Edge Studio again offers you the opportunity to work with this
industry great!
Learn the process of auditioning and recording an actual cartoon!
Space is limited and this class will SELL OUT
When: May 31 and June 1, 10am-5pm both days
Click
here to learn more!
WHY
OUR SUCCESS RATE IS HIGH
We
dissuade those without potential
from continuing.
Workshops
are small - unlike others, we do not squeeze people in.
Customized
learning plans - we do not believe in boilerplate training and
voice over demos.
Questions
during
voice training are always welcomed.
Our
training staff is
patient, straightforward, and are all
accomplished.
Voice
over demos represent you and your talent
You'll
learn
to sound competitive
on your own, without digital enhancement
Guidance
and voice over resources included with programs.
read
this
for career building testimonials
We
focus on individual vocal strengths and career aspirations.
Work
with experience: we cast and produce for Disney, Volvo, History
Channel, AOL, and more.
Voice
Over should come easily...if not, don't pursue.
We
have our own professional engineers mix and master your voice
over demo.
Our
studios are clean, comfortable, and spacious: photos.
As
a trusted resource within the voice over industry, we strive to
maintain our reputation.
Voice and Speech Trainers

Better
Business Bureau
READY
TO MOVE FORWARD?
We're glad to answer questions
- call weekdays 9-5 ET
New
York - 212-868-edge
Washington
DC - 202-398-edge
Connecticut
- 203-334-edge
Tele-Training
- 888-321-edge

WHO
DO WE COACH?
Voice over artists for Lifetime Network
· Discovery
· ESPN
· The Animal Planet
· NBC
· Dominos
Pizza
· Duracell
· History
Channel
· National
Public Radio
· Verizon
Wireless
· Special
Olympics
· Sears
· Mecury
· Pantene
· eSync
Networks
· yourGrocer.com
· Crest
Toothpaste
· Mercedes
Benz
· Discovery
Channel
· Pitney
Bowes
· United
Nations
· GE
· Lucent
Technologies
· IBM,
United States Postal Service, Sound & Vision Magazine
· Kentucky
Fried Chicken
· Gillette
· ABC
Sports
· Estee
Lauder
· Associated
Press
· Fox,
and countless others have used our voice over services.

VOICE
OVER TRAINING, DEMO, and MARKETING INFORMATION
all
excerpts from the Industry
GuideBook
definition
Originally from the phrase voice-over-picture, a voice over is
a spoken-word recording, also known as a narration. The voice
over artist is the person whose voice is heard. A voice over artist
is also known as a voice artist, voice over actor, voice actor,
voice over performer, voice performer, voice over talent, voice
talent, voice over narrator, voice narrator, narrator, announcer,
and simply a V.O.
styles
unaffected
(natural): The natural delivery is today’s most popular
style. It is generally used for most sectors of voice over, except
for promos & trailers, broadcast & announcer reads, and
character & animation scripts.
*
IMPORTANT * Many people mistakenly interpret “natural”
to mean “nonchalant.” That is incorrect. Natural simply
means unaffected, which means ANY voice used in real life, such
as nonchalant, energetic, funny, sad, compassionate, happy, sarcastic,
and so on.
affected
(unnatural): An affected delivery is generally used only for promos
& trailers, broadcast & announcer reads, and character
& animation scripts. This was not the case prior to the 1990s,
when many sectors of voice over used affected style delivery.
types
voice
over commercial market: 8% of voice over work is estimated to
be commercial work.
While
the smaller portion of voice over, few jobs pay as well as a national
television commercial. However most professional talent earn the
majority of their income from narration work, as there is simply
much more of it.
radio:
commercial
television:
commercial
PSA:
public service announcement
promo:
promotional advertisement for television show
trailer:
promotional advertisement for movie
voice
over narration market: 92% of voice over work is estimated to
be narration work.
Many
voice over artists (as well as voice over recording studios) specialize
in one or more types of narration voice over. For marketing purposes,
their demos demonstrate their specialty, e.g.: an audiobook demo.
And likewise, they market themselves to audiobook recording studios,
audiobook casting professionals, and audiobook producers.
As
you read through the technique portions of this guidebook, begin
thinking about the sectors of voice over that are the most marketable
for you.
announcement:
airports, stadiums, train stations, etc.
audiobook:
adult, children, self-help, best seller, classic, etc.
Audiobooks
are approximately a $1 billion per year industry, which is approximately
13% of the publishing industry. Amazingly, audiobooks reported
a 5% growth in the industry last year, with similar growth projected
for this year. Most bookstores now sell audiobooks, and most libraries
rent them. Today there are even narrated weekly magazines and
narrated daily newspapers.
Self-help,
teen, and non-fiction are some of the faster growing styles. Other
popular styles include fiction, science fiction, romance, contemporary
classic, children, and mystery.
biography:
celebrity, politician, etc.
When
most people think of biographies, they think only of the biography
channel on cable television. However biograpahy voice over narrations
are also popular for non-fiction audiobooks, educational films,
and self guided museum tours.
character
& animation: talking toys, cartoons, children’s books,
multimedia educational videos, video games, etc.
*
IMPORTANT * Many people mistakenly confuse the terms Character
and Animation. A Character voice is representative of someone
else, such as an accent, dialect, impersonation, and cliché
voice (such as a New York cab driver). An Animation voice is one
that is created to represent a being that does not naturally speak,
such as a cartoon character, an animated movie, a talking toy,
and so on.
corporate
(industrial): sales video, trade show exhibit, promotional material,
new hire video, training tutorial, compliance video, etc.
documentary:
wildlife, country and people, natural disaster, children’s,
etc.
education
& training: learning program, training film, CDroms, children’s
films, etc.
In
a society which promotes learning, self-help programs, on-line
tutorials, Internet college classes, narrated textbooks, children’s
education films, adult continuing education training programs,
are increasingly popular.
film
dubbing, ADR, looping: television, movie, international corporate
training material, etc.
Internet:
website presentation, museum self-guided tour, banner ad, interactive
tour, on-line tutorial, etc.
Internet
voice over appears to be the largest and fastest growing sector
of voice over. In fact, many voice over artists and production
companies estimate that Internet audio totals one-quarter to one-half
of their business.
Types
range from narrated banner ads, on-line tutorials, flash presentations,
‘Welcome To Our Company’ presentations, interactive
self-guided tours of college campuses, museums, and parks, etc.
inspiration
& exercise: self help, exercise video, meditation, etc.
medical:
training, procedural film, pharmaceutical, trade-show, display,
etc.
telephony:
menu prompt, IVR, information on hold, auto attendant, etc.
Telephony
is any type of recorded voice over used for telephones. It is
great because companies often re-hire the same voice over artist
to update their system on a regular basis. The most popular styles
or telephony are:
“Menu
Prompt” systems prompt the user through a menu of choices,
such as, “Please press 1 for sales, 2 for repair, 3 to…”
IVR
(Interactive Voice Response) systems allow the user to speak with
the pre-recorded voice. For example, an IVR recording may say,
“Please say operator, sales associate, or customer service.”
or, “Please speak the last four digits of your social security
number.” or, “Hmmmm… I’m sorry, I didn’t
understand. Please say…” IVR systems are replacing
many menu-prompt systems, and is quickly gaining widespread popularity.
Voice
Mail systems (also known as Auto Attendant systems) are used in
most businesses to act as an assistant for the employee when they
do not take the call, want a message recorded, or want a call
transferred.
Information
On Hold is the ubiquitous type of telephony where the user hears
information while they wait for the party to answer their call.
For example, “Thanks for your patience. While you’re
on hold, we’d like to tell you about exciting offers. Be
sure to ask your representative for more details. Thanks again
for holding, we’ll be right with you.”
growth
The
voice over industry is growing quickly. Very quickly.
Commercial
voice over work grows as quickly as new television and radio stations
are developed.
Narration
work continues to grow as businesses continue finding new ways
for voice over to strengthen their brand, enhance their image,
promote their products, and increase revenue, such as automated
services, self-guided tours, recorded manuals, talking toys, self-help
educational guides, audiobooks, online training films, narrated
banner ads, talking birthday cards, and many, many more.
In
fact, just about every sector of the industry is growing rapidly.
Following are four of the fastest growing sectors of voice over:
audiobook
Internet
audio
IVR
(Interactive Voice Response)
educational
major
changes
While its roots go back to the early days of radio (early 1900s),
voice over has only been a mainstream profession since the 1980s,
and it’s only been a common household name since approximately
the year 2000.
During
its short life, there have been many transitions. And not everyone
who speaks about voice over is up-to-date. Therefore many people
speak about the voice over industry “the way it was”
as opposed to “the way it really is.”
Which
makes it important to verify that any coach/voice over school
that helps you is up-to-date. If they are not, any coaching, advice,
and resources they offer, such as marketing questions and voice
delivery technique, may not be beneficial. If trained by them,
you may obtain less work and eventually require seeking additional
guidance and training from someone who is up-to-date.
As
with anything, feel comfortable to whom you look for advice. Confirm
they are immersed in the industry; understand current trends,
styles, and resources; and can offer useful guidance.
During
its short life, there have been many transitions. Here are some
major changes:
vocal
style: has gone from dominantly announcer style to natural style
details:
In the early days of voice over, microphones were not as sophisticated
as they are today, and did not pick up high frequencies, such
as low volumes and female voices. Therefore male voices —
especially deep, strong ones — were preferred.
This
strong announcer style delivery was also appropriate because groups
of people would gather around a single radio to listen to a radio
program together. Therefore, from the voice over artist’s
perspective, a stronger tone was appropriate since he was projecting
to a large group of people.
Then
between the 1960s and 1980s, three things changed that caused
the voice over producer to typically request a conversational
vocal delivery. First, as technology advanced, microphones were
developed that could pick up natural voices. Second, more people
listened to radio and television programs by themselves, making
a natural, more intimate delivery preferred. In other words, the
public generally prefers to be ‘spoken to’, as opposed
to ‘announced at’. Third, narration work became more
and more popular, and since this was not “selling,”
a natural style vocal delivery was used.
type
of work: has gone from dominantly commercial work to narration
work
details:
Originally, radio commercials were the brunt of the work. Then
came along television commercials. Then came along a new type
of voice over: narration. This style included educational and
informational narrations. While the number of voice over commercials
continue to increase every year, narrations now total approximately
92% of the industry.
recording
medium: has gone from analog recording to digital recording
details:
Practically every engineering function has changed with the advent
of digital technology. Productions are now completed significantly
faster while simultaneously significantly more precise. With digital
editing, voice talent can simply re-record a sentence, phrase,
or even single word when they make a mistake, and the engineer
can digitally ‘edit’ it into the recording in place
of the mistake. (This eliminates the necessity to re-record an
entire passage.) Clients can request that engineers give them
options, as engineers can easily offer multiple versions of a
production, each with different music, sound effects, and/or mix.
Recording studios are now inexpensive, portable, and higher in
quality. Yet by far, most engineers will confirm that the greatest
benefit of digital technology is the ‘undo’ button.
gender:
has gone from dominantly male work to half female/half male work.
details:
As mentioned above, since early microphones did not pick up high
frequencies, female voices were not used much. Plus since the
feminist movement had not yet occurred in the early days of voice
over, female voices were not used much.
As
microphone technology advanced, and as women began doing more
professions that were considered “male work,” women
began narrating more voice over work.
Today,
women narrate about half of the voice over jobs. Female voices
are considered to be more believable than male voices. Male voices
are considered more authoritative than female voices.
what’s
‘in’
1. natural is ‘in’
As
stated earlier, today’s voice over producers generally prefer
voice talent to use a “natural” and “conversational”
vocal delivery.
Therefore
when a producer directs you to be ‘natural’ and ‘conversational’,
they want you to be you. Keep in mind, however, that we have many
natural deliveries. We can be sad, happy, funny, sarcastic, and
so on, in natural conversation. Usually, it is one of your natural
voices that the producer desires.
*
IMPORTANT * If the producer does not tell you which tone of voice
to use, ask them. They will not be surprised that you ask, and
may likely say, “Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you what tone
of voice we want.”
2.
what if you can create unnatural sounds?
Can
you do accents? Dialects? Sound like the “other guy”?
In most cases, these will not get you work. This is because producers
generally prefer to hire voice-talent who naturally have the voice
type they require, as artificial dialects and accents rarely sound
real. For example, if a producer needs to hire an elderly, British,
female voice, they will hire an elderly, British, female woman.
If the elderly, British, female voice over artist is not available,
often, the script will be emailed to England where she is available,
and the recording will be completed via phone-patch/ISDN.
The
exception to this would be a casting director who lives in a remote
area (where there is not a large population of voice-talent) and
needs to hire a specific voice-talent that is not local for a
lower budget job. In this case, the producer will request a voice-talent
to affect their voice.
*
IMPORTANT * Showcase your natural voice(s) on your demo, as opposed
to ‘wasting demo space’ showcasing dialects, accents,
and other voices that rarely will get you work (unless you are
extraordinary at them).
3. why is natural ‘in’?
Producers
desire natural deliveries because they are credible, and therefore
the public responds better to them than they do affected ones.
This
is why we estimate that 95% of voice overs use a natural delivery.
Just 20 years ago, this was not the case. This is because the
ubiquitous announcer style, which saw its demise in the late 1980s,
was an affected, pushed, and projected style delivery.
4.
if natural is 95% of the industry, why don’t people notice
it?
Since
natural voice overs are natural, they blend in and go by unnoticed.
For example, most people never notice the voice over on a documentary
(even though they hear the words). Nor do most people notice the
voice over on national television commercials, training films
at work, educational videos at school, and so forth.
5.
why do people think of voice over as hard-sell style?
Most
people only notice the 5% of voice overs which are affected, as
these ‘stand out’. Therefore when people think of
voice over, they only recall hearing the affected hard-sell style
and they assume that is what voice over is.
6.
why do people think of voice over as commercial even though 92%
is narration?
Most
affected voice overs occur in the commercial sector. And since
people generally only notice the affected style deliveries, commercial
is what they think of when they think of voice over. Conversely,
people rarely notice the naturally delivered voice overs which
occur in commercial AND narration sectors of voice over.
To
confirm this, ask someone to mimic a voice over. Chances are that
they’ll do a hard-sell style radio commercial even though
this style is one of the least popular styles.
7.
why is affected still heard?
The
affected, unnatural style delivery is still heard, albeit not
too often, for a number of reasons. This style works well for
promos, hard-sell commercials, and character/animation work.
Sometimes
affected voices are also heard because untrained voice-talent
are used, such as the owner of a company narrating a commercial,
a secretary narrating a company’s telephone system, a local
actor narrating a friend’s documentary, and so on.
*
IMPORTANT * Unless trained, most aspiring voice talent tend to
use an affected style delivery…even though it is not the
type of voice-talent that most casting professionals hire.
advancement:
obstacles, obtaining skills, time involved
1. can anyone do voice over?
No.
As
previously mentioned, voice over is about speaking naturally.
And even though we use our natural voices all day, there is much
more to voice over work than just talking. Some obstacles follow.
2.
obstacles, remedies
When
one reads, several factors can make it difficult to sound natural.
For example:
Since
we grew up noticing affected deliveries (and not noticing natural
deliveries), we gravitate towards using it. To prevent this from
happening, begin by listening carefully to natural voice overs,
such as most national commercials, documentaries, telephone systems,
training videos, and so on. Take note of how natural the voice
is.
In
natural conversation, we produce complete thoughts before speaking
them, and therefore our words flow together naturally. However
when reading scripts, we tend to read words one at a time, and
that lends itself to sounding stilted, choppy, and unnatural.
To fix this, ‘look ahead’ when reading – in
other words, always know what’s coming up next. This way
you are prepared for it.
When
we’re in the spotlight (in front of the microphone), it
is instinctive to be over-dramatic and theatrical. This is simple
to remedy: pretend you are talking to one person.
Since
the voice over artist knows that millions of people may hear the
recording, there is a tendency to project. To sound natural, remember
that you are talking to one person… as if they are right
near you. (Remember that listening to voice over is generally
a solitary activity - i.e.: you listen to radio commercials, documentaries,
audiobooks, etc. by yourself.)
The
fear of the microphone not ‘picking up’ our voice
makes us speak louder. Yet like when you make a telephone call
across the world, there is no reason to yell. Let the electronics
do their job.
The
unnatural environment of wearing headphones in a soundproof room
promotes the use of a projected voice. This simply takes time
to get used to.
Scripts
are typically written differently than we speak. They are written
in someone else’s words and in the ‘third person.’
Yet in natural conversation, we speak in our own words in the
‘first person.’ Becoming a better reader compensates
for this.
A
recording session can create nervousness, which creates an unnatural
sound. Practice and confidence will correct this.
3.
required skills
Being
a capable reader is just the beginning. To succeed, the following
skills are necessary:
One
needs a marketable voice. A marketable voice is one that is suitable
for voice over work — it does not necessarily mean that
the voice is beautiful, sexy, or powerful. Today, most voices
are marketable. Interestingly, the more mainstream the voice is,
the more work there is available.
Being
adaptable and directable allows you to follow the producer’s
directions accurately.
Listening
carefully allows efficient and effective communication with the
producer.
Being
creative helps the production come to life.
An
ability to remain calm during recording sessions, even when numerous
confused producers give contradictory commands, is essential for
getting the job done.
Appearing
professional signals experience and confidence.
Patience
and dedication is a must, as your voice is not ‘right’
for every part and it takes a while to gain numerous clientele.
Success does not usually happen overnight.
And
finally, being diligent and professional is key — from marketing
to work.
4. obtaining the skills
Professional
skills are generally best acquired with professional tools, including:
professional
guidebooks and workshops: it’s practically impossible to
train yourself
private
coaching sessions: the best way to harness your personal strengths
listening
to and learning from professionals: both good or bad
experience
*
TIP * Every recording studio has a microphone and therefore has
the potential to teach voice over and produce voice over demos.
But unless they have a producer who truly understands the voice
over industry, it’s unlikely that they can train you to
sound like your professional competitors.
5.
time required to reach your goals
Face
it: A voice over career doesn’t happen overnight. (If it
were that easy, everyone would do it.) Instead, one must practice,
market, and be patient. Remember that the professionals, who make
it sound simple, do exactly this. Learn from them.
Numerous
variables will dictate the time involved in reaching your goals:
experience:
Unnatural voice experience, such as radio broadcasting, stage
acting, and some public speaking, etc., may require one to need
additional time training. This is because skills will need to
be unlearned before learning voice over.
Conversely,
some experience may make it easier to break in, such as reading
for the blind, reading for children, counseling, singing, and
on-camera acting.
inhibition:
One needs to be loose and carefree in front of the microphone.
Inhibitions can be detrimental, as they can produce a stiff and
unnatural sound.
natural
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