** Update – February Course is now full again **
If you were hoping to get into the February 16/17 Introduction to Voice Over Course but missed out here’s a great opportunity.

One of our participants is no longer able to attend on that weekend so we now have 1 place available. We’ve had a number of emails and calls about the February course since it was booked out a week ago so if you’d still like to slip into the Feb 16/17 weekend you may need to act fast!

Bookings for the April 12/13 course are also open on the normal course bookings page.

We look forward to seeing you there!

If you’re a singer, public speaker or voice over artist one of the worst things that can happen is to lose your voice.
Just like a bricklayer who loses the use of their hands or a truck driver with a broken foot, a voice over artist who can’t speak is pretty much useless on the job.

This was me (Andy) just a couple of weeks ago coming into Christmas, luckily just after my busiest time of the year for voice over jobs.

Now it’s not unusual to have your voice affected by the odd seasonal cold as there is usually a clear pathway to recovery and a few things you can do to mask symptoms so you can continue to work, however a hoarse or lost voice that’s not attached to a cold is something completely different.

Naturally I turned to my GP who felt it was a minor throat infection and put me on some medication, but in the event it was something more serious what else could I do? There was a chance it could be some sort of growth such as nodules, polyps, and cysts – not life threatening but a pain to deal with.

Anyway, this situation aside you may have found yourself in a similar situation (or you may in the future) where you simply ‘run out of voice’. So what can you can do to help recovery?

Drink Water. Yes it sounds simple but staying hydrated is a key factor in the health of your vocal cords. If you’re a bit croaky, drink much more water than you usually would and avoid alcohol because it only serves to dry you out.

Cecelia also has some great breathing exercises that involve a straw and a glass of water that can help get your vocal folds moving again. We demonstrate these and other great exercises during out 2-day Introduction to Voice Over Course.

The course running on February 16/17 is now half full so be sure to book in now!

Our popular Introduction to Voice Over weekend course is coming up again with the next running over the weekend of February 16/17 – less than 4 weeks from now and we have just 1 place available.

Once again we’ll be back at the amazing Bang Bang Studios in Southbank and places are still limited to just 10 participants per weekend. We’ve already taken a few bookings for this course so we encourage you to book in now to secure you place.

If you’ve only just heard about our course and are not sure if it’s for you then please read some of the great reviews we’ve been getting over the past year. You can also get in contact with us at any time if you have any questions about the course – use the phone number at the top right of the screen or visit the contact us page to reach out via email.

This course is for anyone…no experience needed!
You don’t need any experience recording voice overs, acting or radio presenting to come and do this 2-day course. So if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to read a radio or TV commercial or even record narration for a YouTube video, we’ll give you a feel of what it’s like and how the industry works.

Have a great new year and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Andy & Cecelia

It’s quite common for someone to get in touch with us saying “My friends / work colleagues say I have a great radio voice”.   Now any time someone implies that they like the sound of your voice shouldn’t be overlooked, what a great compliment, however when it comes to being a voice over artists there’s not an actual type of voice that you’re required to have.

One of our former voice over course students, a film maker, decided to ask Andy about this…and turn it into a series of videos on YouTube.   Here’s one that deals with the “Radio Voice” idea.

If you’d like to explore your voice, come to our next 2-day Introduction to Voice Over Course on February 16/17.   Feel free to email or call if you have any questions.

As the end of 2018 closes in (just 6 weeks until Christmas) you may already be thinking about your goals for 2019.   If you’re reading this then chances are you’re already thinking about discovering what you can do with your voice, so now is the time to start planning.

Our first Introduction to Voice over 2-day course will be held on the weekend of February 16 & 17 next year and we’ve already filled 3 of the 10 places available.

Hopefully we’ve already shared plenty of information here to help you decide if this course is for you, however if you’d like to ask questions about the course or anything else we do we’re happy to chat with you on the phone (because we love to talk – use the number at the top of the screen) or you can use the email form on the contact page.

You may also like to check out the reviews we’ve been getting, both from those who have done the 2-day weekend course and from 1 on 1 coaching sessions.  Read the reviews HERE.

Don’t forget you can take up the option to pay for your course over 3 monthly instalments, plus if you know someone else who would love to take up this course, perhaps it will make for a great Christmas gift 😉

It’s almost November and before you know it the year will be over, so we have now locked in the dates for our first Introduction to Voice Over course in 2019.

The weekend of February 16 & 17 is the one you’ll need to keep clear if your new year resolution will be to finally do something with your voice or simply find out what it’s like to record a voice over.

Now while Feb 16 & 17 is still a few months away it’s worth noting that the course we ran in October was fully booked 7 weeks ahead of the weekend.  There are only 10 places available so don’t leave it to the last minute.

If you’re keen to secure your place now, you can take advantage of the option to pay over 3 months or simply pay the full amount up front.   

Finally if you have any questions about the group course in February or our 1:1 coaching sessions feel free to contact us any time.

It’s funny to think that at the start of 2018 Voices of Tomorrow didn’t even exist!

Andy and Cecelia were teaching voice over and audio production to students at the now closed Radio Training Institute in Melbourne, but it was an experiment to offer a new Introduction to Voice-over class to a broader audience. 

But, after an amazing weekend course at Bang Bang studios in South Melbourne,  it was an experiment that worked and the future looks bright! 

With 10 participants from various backgrounds including, teaching, acting, call-centre marketing, retail and more, we got the chance to explore what each and everyone’s voice could do and to listen and learn from each other. 

With such a great space to work the group spent was plenty of time in the studio getting used to the sound of their voices through headphones and practising the tips and tricks they had learnt.

There will be more group classes to give you the chance to try voice over in 2019.

Stay tuned for dates, and if you’re interested in more 1:1 training, contact us via the contact page, facebook or on the number at the top right of the page.

I recently turned up to a Voice Over job at a studio that I’d never worked in before, with an agency and client that I’d never worked with before.  Now that’s quite normal, however as we settled in to start the recording session I quickly realised that something was missing.

There was no pen or pencil…nothing to write with in the recording booth.

What do you need a pen for?

That’s a reasonable question if you’re new to voice over work.   Initially you may not need a pen, however there’s a good chance that once you read thought the script a few times you’ll start getting feedback from the client or producer on how they’d like to you read it.  This may include which words to emphasise, if they want an up/down/neutral inflection on a word or end of a sentence ,if some words need to be grouped together a certain way or perhaps a word needs to be deleted.

It’s possible that you may remember some of these directions, however if you can mark up your script to reflect the instructions given then you can spend less time thinking about it and more time actually doing it.

Additionally you may like to add in your own reminders on the script like finding the right place to take a breath in a long sentence.

My story ended well.  I got my hands on a pen and marked-up my script so I had quick reminders to ensure was always following the feedback given.

If you’re interested in learning more about voice over, working on how to mark up scripts is just one of the things we cover during our group courses and 1 on 1 coaching sessions.

Andy

There’s still six weeks before our next Introduction to Voice Over Course runs on the weekend of October 2 & 3, however we now have just ONE place remaining.

If you’ve been thinking of doing a Voice Over Course this year, the October 20/21 course is the last one we’ll be running in 2018 with the next likely to be in February 2019 depending on demand.

If you don’t feel that the group course is for you, we do also have 1 on 1 Voice Over Coaching sessions available.   These can be run at a time that suits you and structured for your level of ability, from just starting out of those who simply need more experience in a studio to fine tune their abilities.

If you have any questions about the October course feel free to get in touch via the contact pact or call the number at the tip right of the screen.

See you in October – Remember we have just one place left in this course.

It’s one of the most commonly asked questions and topics of much debate…just how much do Voice Over Artists get paid?  (or how much SHOULD they be getting?)

The answer to this is actually quite straight forward as there’s an industry recognised rate card for commercial voice overs developed by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance in consultation with the communications council of Australia.

This rate card sets the minimum Voice Over rates for Australian voice over artists for commercial uses across all mediums such as radio, television, online and even phone on hold.
If you’re serious about getting into voice over work, these are the rates you would be aiming to work for as a professional voice over artist.

In recent years we’ve seen much confusion and discussion around these rates with an increase in the number of voice over service providers prepared to work for much lower rates in order to secure the work.
This aside, here are some examples of common voice over jobs and the industry pay rate.

Radio Commercial

You get booked for a voice over at a commercial radio station.  The job is 3 x 30 second scripts promoting various products on special for a large supermarket chain.   The ads will run for 2 weeks and only on radio in Melbourne.

Voice Over talent fee = $330

If you did the exactly same job but the radio commercials were going to air on radio stations in Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin…and be on air for up to 12 months the fee would be $470.

For radio you would be paid the same rate to read up to 5 scripts, as long as they were for the same client / product.

Television / Internet Commercial 

You’re booked to read a single 30 second script for a Television commercial. The ad will also run online on Facebook or a website as paid advertising and will run for 2 weeks.

Voice Over talent fee = $715

If the commercial was just on free to air and/or pay tv, broadcast in more than one state of Australia, the rate would be $530.

Unlike Radio, for Television the voice over fee is per script.

Phone-on-hold message

Sound boring?  If you’re booked to record a basic on-hold message the runs less than 60 seconds for a small business the fee would be $190 for a recording session of up to 30 minutes.

Where do I sign up for that!?

Ok.  It’s important to set some realistic expectations for anyone who is new to the Voice Over industry.

If you put the time and energy into your skills as a voice over artist and live in a city like Melbourne or Sydney then the types of jobs listed above could be in your future, however there’s a path to be travelled to get there.

If you listen to some of the earlier blogcast interviews we’ve done with voice over artists you’ll understand that the pathway to success in voice overs is different for everyone…and so is the level of success.

So perhaps the question is where do I start, rather than where do I sign up?

Learn…
More about the industry
How to read scripts
How to use your voice

Get experience…
You’re going to need lots of experience to gain the confidence and skills needed to work as a voice over artist.   This could mean doing some voluntary / unpaid / low paid work that’s suitable for those who are starting out.

It’s important to know that no voice over course or coach can guarantee you work in the industry.   However you may find that this is a good place to start.

Keen to start your Voice Over journey?

Join us for the Introduction to Voice Over Course held over the weekend of October 20/21 (2 places available) or consider booking a 1 on 1 in-studio coaching session.

You’ll get much more out of our weekend course however the 1 on 1 sessions are great if you just want to get a taste of the practical side of voice over work (for those who are new) or want to get more in-studio experience.

If you have any questions we’d love to hear from you.