Voice acting
Overview
A voice actor is someone who creates voice overs (usually in a recording studio)that will later be played back in some form of media. They must be able to create believable characters using only their voice, and portray emotion through sound. With out voice actors the world of animation would be the equivalent of silent films
Voice actors can help voice:
- Movies
- Cartoons
- Audio Books
- Video games
- Radio commercials
Basic Skills
- Clear voice
- Good diction
- Ability to create multiple voices
- Acting skills
Multiple voices
Voice actors must be have the ability to create multiple voices.
Sword Art Online Anime
A popular anime
Voice actor
Voice actor in SAO
What activities are done on this job?
Voice actors must do quite a couple things. They need to be able to portray a wide variety of voices to be able to mach the character that needs to be played. They Generally work in a recording studio and just record scenes of their movie or show. Although this does not seem like a lot it is for them. Many shows have deadlines that these men and women have to help follow.
Work Hours & Demands/Conditions
Working hours are not generally specified. You can have a regular work week one week, but the next you may be up at two in the morning trying to finish an episode before a deadline. Unless of course you are on something easier such as a movie, then you may have easy hours. Voice actors must be either sitting down or standing up depending on what you need to project the character. You can work like this in a sound both for long periods of time.
Demands
- Long or inconsistent work hours
- Straining voice often
- Self advertising
- Sitting/standing
- Long hours
- Quite boring at times
Payment & Education
The salary really varies depending on what you are working on. If you are a top of the line actor on a big movie, the average is $300-$500 for the first hour and $200-$350 for each following hour. For smaller radio commercials you can be paid $75-$400. The average wage of the nation is approximately $50K yet in Texas it is $60K.
There is no specified education for voice acting but it helps if you have taken an acting class or have a voice coach of some sort. Many companies prefer to have voice actors with some form of education and it may affect if you are cast or not.
Future Outlook
This career has a great future ahead of itself. Animation is big and there is a constant need for different voices. Japanese anime are becoming more popular and there is also a fairly good pay if you do enough jobs that are big enough. It can sometimes be a gamble for the actors with constant auditions but if you land a part your voice goes down in history.