Abbe Holmes - Voice Over Coach

Abbe Holmes - Voice Over Coach Welcome to my VoiceOverCoach page. To be a success in a field like voiceover, it helps to What others have to say:

AUDIO BOOK NARRATION TIPS..Okay, let’s breathe! Easy isn’t it?The air just sweeps in and out. So simple!However, those I...
29/08/2022

AUDIO BOOK NARRATION TIPS..

Okay, let’s breathe! Easy isn’t it?

The air just sweeps in and out. So simple!
However, those I coach often worry about breath in relation to anything that they need to read off the page. “Where and how do I breathe?”

The thing is, where and how to breathe is one of the most important techniques you can master.

First up, you need a good lung-full of air to get through the work, but you aregoing to run out, so here’s a tips that’ll help.

When you’re prepping for audiobook narration, one of the most useful things you can do, is read it aloud and work out where you’re going to take a breath.

Mark it on your scripts with a forward slash in pencil. Practice, pausing long enough to take in that air that you need.

It may feel like a big gap, but don’t forget, you’re taking someone on a visual and emotional journey, so taking you time between each piece of story or new information is essential.

Also, in narration we don’t necessarily look to punctuation as a guide to when and where we need to pause. Punctuation is placed in written word because of the formality of sentence structure.

However, in spoken word, you need to work out where to pause in terms.

That’s where an understanding of how to look at language in terms of the value of the sentence, clause or phrase, as being distinctly different from each other.

When you can understand simply ‘that’ they differ, you can use the moment between each different thought, idea or visual to pause, and simply and silently (just as we do when we talk with a friend) take in enough air to get us to the next pause.

This technique does take some practice, but as you can imagine, audio book narration takes time. If you’re doing it in a studio, the engineer then needs to edit it. If you are making a lot of mistakes and breathing noisily at every pause, these breaths need to removed manually. It’s a bit tedious to do and costs the studio time and money.

Becoming successful at audio book narration depends on your excellent voice over skills, not just as a reader, but as a narrator who can truly inhabit the work, in whichever way serves it best

So, I hope those techniques will help answer questions you may have had, or solve problems you may not have know how to get around.
Happy book narrating!

Creating Personas for Characterful VoiceoversIn voiceover, ‘personas’ are simply extensions of you. They can represent d...
26/08/2022

Creating Personas for Characterful Voiceovers

In voiceover, ‘personas’ are simply extensions of you. They can represent different parts of your personality, the curious one, the all-knowing one, the one who’s concerned, or the excited one who’s just discovered the best place to buy great workout gear.

Perhaps the messenger in the script is that of a caring health professional, perhaps a young man searching for the right car, a woman who has found the best University to study at, or the retired couple, just about to take off on a journey.

Good voice actors know how to create characterful reads. That is, they look at the script, determine who the message is intended for, and whose shoes they need to jump into to
make this read really work.

When you first look at your script, these are the things in order that you need to know:
- What is the product or idea that you’re talking about?
- Where are the key words and phrases that are about what it’s about?
- What problem does this product or idea solve?
- Who are you talking to?
- What are you trying to convince them of?
- What you need to do now is to make a study of how different your voice can sound given different sets of circumstances.

PRACTICE TECHNIQUES...
Test it by trying this.
Find a simple script with a simple message. Then apply some different personas to the read. Be specific.

Without changing your voice as you would for a cartoon voice, you’ll need to adjust your natural speaking voice in one, or all, of these three ways. Pitch. Tone. Age.

You can then look at pace, energy and volume, to help round out the authenticity of the read.
Make firm decisions and make sure you’re consistent with that persona across the whole read.

Increasing your repertoire of characterful voices will help your versatility.

It will also be an aid to decision-making when your either in the studio, or working remotely with a producer.

When you’ve successfully worked to build your understanding of characterful reads, it’ll be time to create some great samples that you can send to those you’ve worked with, or include on your voice demos.

When you do this well, you’ll grow relationships in the industry and increase your work. And we all want that.

Happy voiceovering!

Retail Script Tips...If you love working with retail scripts, you'll know they require different techniques.I call this ...
25/08/2022

Retail Script Tips...

If you love working with retail scripts, you'll know they require different techniques.
I call this technique 'de-breathing'.

Retail scripts are heavily stylised with often just the product and price included.

This script style is what I call, ‘punch’ retail, where the read is jam-packed and you’re required to deliver with high energy and travel pretty fast through the copy.

It’s often not very ‘creative’ work but ‘punch’ retail is everywhere and can mean the difference between an average income and a sensational one for a voiceover artist.

Now, technique wise, you might be thinking: How do I do that?
How do I breathe if they’re all going to be taken out?

Good question, because unless you do it really well, that read is going to sound really disjointed.

Because the thing about a retail read – that will have all the breaths removed – is that you need to make it sound seamless.

In order to do that, you first need to mark the script in the places that you will take a breath…and of course because the breath is going to be removed, you can draw in a huge lung-full of air, which will be enough to get you through the next paragraph.

The most important thing to know, or to practice about this kind of breathing, is that before you take the big breath, you’ll need to literally stop!

You’ll then take the breath and…continue, but in order to make the breath edit work and the read sound seamless, you need to remember where you were rhythmically before you took that breath.

You need to remember what inflections you used on which words. You need to remember whether you finished a previous sentence with a downward, an upward or a neutral inflection, so that subsequent choices will ‘sound’ right.

Yes, this is a real skill - not everyone can pull-off retail successfully.

As part of your approach to any script, you need to be conscious that you will need to breathe, but you’ll need to ask yourself this,

‘When am I going to breathe and how am I going to breathe…?'

So, this week, listen to radio and TV with a new ear for breath and breathing. When do you hear them, when don’t you hear them?

Practice reading along with some ads and try to pick where the breaths were taken out.

Developing an ear for voiceover and what’s out there is a real key to voiceover success.

Happy listening!

24/08/2022

Time to close this page...
Hi everyone!
I've decided to close my social media pages effective immediately.
If you need to contact me regarding coaching or want to read my blogs, head to https://voiceovercoach.com.au/

Ever wondered how to get into the amazing Voice Over industry?Come along to my 1-day "Discover Voice Over" workshop on S...
24/08/2022

Ever wondered how to get into the amazing Voice Over industry?
Come along to my 1-day "Discover Voice Over" workshop on Saturday 26 November at Malthouse Theatre 10am-5pm $320+GST.
In the One Day Intensive you’ll be given a workbook with broadcast quality scripts and narrative text samples from every area of voiceover.
Commercials for radio, TV and online.
The very broad category of Non-Commercial, e-learning and Business Narration.
Animation and character voicing, and
Audiobook Narration.
The work book includes style notes and other relevant information.
I’ll teach you the techniques, skills and tricks the professionals use to create great reads.
Get skilled up with this foundation voiceover course in Melbourne.
You’ll discover:
Who’s who in the landscape of voiceover
What kind of work is done and how to find it
Your unique voice style and what type of work would suit you
What’s required to set up an affordable home studio and work from home, and
What you need to do to establish yourself; training, research, voice demos and marketing
Minimum 8, Maximum 15 participant. Register at link below.
https://voiceovercoach.com.au/coaching/discover-voiceover-technique-one-day-course/

HOW TO APPROACH DIFFERENT SCRIPT STYLESAs a Voice Actor, you'll be presented with different script styles that require y...
22/08/2022

HOW TO APPROACH DIFFERENT SCRIPT STYLES
As a Voice Actor, you'll be presented with different script styles that require you to approach them differently.
The following tips will help you...
First, let’s look at script styles in the area where there’s still the most work.
Commercials: That is, TV (including online commercials) and radio
Announcer style: The voice artist is speaking on behalf of the company. The message is often written in a very stylised way.
The skill: You need to sound like an expert, so you need to be confident with the material you’re reading.
These scripts will often begin with the name of the company, such as ‘At The Marriott, we don’t just make sure…’(etc, etc) and will almost always include the possessive ‘we’ or ‘our’.
You need to look at the language in the script and find all the words that are ‘about’ the produce or the message.
They’re your keywords, and however you finally choose to deliver the script, those words must stand out.
All you do to give them emphasis is to slow down a little when you read those phrases, just as we do in real life when we’re relating a story to someone and we get to the important bit. Yes, we slow down.
Conversational style: You are someone who’s discovered some information and are now sharing it with a friend.
The skill: You need to sound completely authentic. These scripts are written to sound more like a conversation (even though you’re not really having one).
Voice actors who do this really well use their ‘language’ skills, rather than their ‘reading’ skills to get into the head of the half-listening audience.
Imagine that you’re actually having a conversation and that the other person is responding to something you say. Here’s an example of what I mean. The script reads, “Did you know that 80% of men prefer manual cars? That’s right….”
Okay, so I just made that up. But the thing is, even though it’s an ad, it sounds more like something we would say in conversation.
If we were really in conversation, the other person might even interject after the word ‘cars’ with a response, “Really”.
So, if you were reading this commercial and you imagined someone responding with a ‘really’, then your phrase, ‘that’s right’ would probably sound more natural, more conversational.
And that’s what you need to achieve in these reads.
So practice putting another person in your script with you and make these words sound as though they are your own.
It’s also this script style that you’ll often be asked to find a character voice or character performance.
In this case it’s rarely about ‘cartoon’ voices. It’s more likely to be about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and telling the story.
Don’t forget, it’s not ‘about’ your voice. It’s about sounding authentic.
Promo, Cinema, Trailers and Narration
Of course all networks, radio and television have both male and female voice actors doing their promos.
With the increase in reality television shows globally, there’s work for voice actors to present/narrate the shows.
If you listen to any reality TV show, you’ll hear that the disembodied voice has become a major component.
If you’re a person who’s been told, “you have a great voice for radio”, you’re more likely to be a male, with a big voice. ‘Voice of God’ it’s sometimes referred to.
That’s all good, but sometimes a voice that’s right for radio announcing might not be right for most voiceover.
However, it might be right for this area. It just loves the big voiced male.
This is definitely a very stylized area of voiceover. It’s about creating something unique and standing out. If this is you, search for and listen to what those voices are doing.
The Skill: If you can match what you hear in strength, dynamism and overall presence, then I would say, make a demo that reflects your skills and get it to the *right people.
Get the skills for the styles that are produced most and it stands to reason…you’ll book more work.
Happy Voiceovering!

What’s Involved in Audiobook NarrationWho narrates what?THE AUTHORIf you’re the author, sometimes the publisher may want...
19/08/2022

What’s Involved in Audiobook Narration
Who narrates what?
THE AUTHOR
If you’re the author, sometimes the publisher may want you to narrate your own book.
If this is a memoir, it makes perfect sense that you narrate your own book.
That’s also often the case with a non-fiction book where you, the author, are also the expert.
Here are a few tips for narrating your own book...
You need to sound like you are ‘telling’ your own story.
Inhabit your words. Don’t read
You know the words. You wrote them.
So, use the words only as a guide, and when you’re reading, imagine that you have someone right in front of you, who wants and needs to hear your story or your information.
This should feel as though you are delivering the words straight from your memory.
Take your time and let the different parts of your information and/or your story sink in…before you move on.
Reading too fast is impossible to listen to.
Watch becoming too precious with the language.
Pronunciation especially can get in the way. Make it natural and if that means using a contraction, such as ‘I’ll’, in your narration, where it reads ‘I will’ in the book, then do that.
Don’t forget, it’s much more about connection than it is about ‘elocution’.
Avoid speaking too loudly. You are talking into an ear. Audio book narration is an intimate engagement. Drop your volume. But don’t drop your energy.
THE NARRATOR
Casting the right narrator, whether you’re selected to do 1st, 2nd or 3rd person narration, has everything to do with skill and ability.
Some narrators are not good at jumping into character. They may suit a non- fiction book.
If the book is fiction, there are many more considerations and requirements for achieving a narration that makes a truly great ‘audio book’.
Are you able to create a ‘voice’ for the narrator that honours the author's intentions?
Are you someone who has the ability to jump into other characters and present believable dialogue? In audiobook narration we do this ‘on the fly’. That is, we do it in real time, as we go.
To do this successfully, you need to know that there is a difference between your narrator voice and any character who may speak, be quoted, or be in dialogue with another.
Think of it like this.
A Narrator is telling the story, speaking directly to the listening audience.
Dialogue requires you to create a believable visual or scene in which the characters speak, to move the story forward.
How Do You Get A Book?
There are several different ways you can be cast to narrate an audio book. In Australia, and I’m sure in many other countries, there are sound recording studios that work directly with publishers to record the books.
Or there are audio book publishers, who both commission work to be recorded in, or, like sound studios work directly with the books original publisher to cast and record the book.
There are audiobook producers and publishers in the US mostly, who work with people recording from their own home studios. This can be quite a task. You need to be able to create spotlessly clean and clear audio.
You also need to be your own producer. That is, you need to judge and be consistent with your pace, volume, voice styles and characters. This can be where you might need some training.
To be considered, you first need to alert those studios to your desire and talents by sending them a short (3-5 minutes) of a title that you feel you would be cast for. Find good titles that are well written, preferably contemporary.
And it’s absolutely fine that you record this audition on your phone. They’re not interested in recording quality, just the quality of your storytelling.
Happy Narration!

Tips to research the Voice Over market:To get Voice Over work, you need to know a whole lot about the landscape of voice...
17/08/2022

Tips to research the Voice Over market:
To get Voice Over work, you need to know a whole lot about the landscape of voiceover in the area you live.
You also need to know where the opportunities to get work are, for someone with your voice type and voice over skills.
Listen mindfully to what’s out there in the world of the disembodied voice. You’ll hear it everywhere, radio TV, online, on apps, in store and at events.
This is what I call the free training because it’s this kind of research you need to be doing all the time if you’re working in voiceover.
I’m often amazed at people I coach who don’t ever listen to commercial radio or television and always skip the ad after 3 seconds online.
Listening to what’s out there mindfully is a great way to absorb knowledge.
A tip for ‘watching’ an online or TV ad that has a voiceover on it.
The first time you see it, watch and work out how the three elements, sound bed, visuals and voiceover work together.
Then next time you see it, look away and just listen.
You’re listening for a style that the voice artist may have created to work with those two elements. Remember the voice is always applied last on a TV ad.
Listen for how the voiceover may not have to work as hard as someone who’s doing an ad for radio. In radio you’re appealing to a half-listening audience and are responsible for creating all the right visuals for the read.
Listen to other voice demos. Look at voice agent websites and listen to what other voice artists are doing. This will help you understand what got them representation and also the acceptable industry standard for professional voice demos.
Then listen to what works with their performances and how they understand how to convey the right meaning in the script.
Happy Voiceover-ing!

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