Animation voiceover is one of the most common forms of voice acting. From SpongeBob to Family Guy, there is a voiceover actor behind these lovable and colorful characters. Voiceover is an essential part of animated videos where the job of a voice actor is to bring all the character’s physical attributes to life.
Many people think that animation voice acting is just about making squeaky voices, having crazy accents, and mimicking famous cartoons. However, in reality, it takes much more in creating a successful animation voiceover project. Here are some tips that can assist you to master the job of an animation voice artist.
1. Develop your skills
You can spend months practicing the voice of a character. But, if you don’t have the required skills and knowledge, you cannot become a successful animation voice artist.
One of the essential skills is to create unique voices. Voice actors for animation must have a wide range of voices to create multiple characters. Allowing yourself to practice different voices is necessary to discover how limitless your options really are.
Another important skill is creativity. Having a creative mind is essential to discover the voice that is perfectly suited to the character. Also, a voice actor must have enough stamina to maintain the same voice for long hours.
2. Set the recording studio
The room where you are recording plays a critical role in the overall success of the voiceover project. A professional recording studio has soundproof walls and a fancy microphone. But, if it does not fit in your budget, you can build a home studio at a very affordable price. Get your fan, AC, and computer out of the room as your microphone can easily pick up the noises from these devices. Moreover, you can cover the doors and windows with blankets to prevent the sound from coming inside.
The next important thing is the equipment. Your laptop’s built-in mic is fine for Skype meetings. But, if you are serious about your voiceover career, you need to invest in a high-quality microphone. Also, consider the placement of your microphone. Ideally, it should not be too close or too far away from the voice actor’s mouth. Place it about 6-8 inches from your mouth, and slightly below your chin.
To check whether the equipment works correctly, you should also do a test recording. This is essential to ensure that the audio levels are clear and loud enough and does not include any ambient noises.
3. Recording the audio
Now that you have satisfied the above requirements, it is time to record the audio. Here are some tips:
• Read and understand the script thoroughly to be able to express all sides of the character.
• Do proper research about the character or cartoon you are portraying.
• To add more flavor to the voiceover, include your unique sound effects and bring your personality to the character.
• Pronounce each word correctly and avoid mumbling and over-shouting. Just speak naturally and clearly, and everything else will follow in time.
• Follow the directions of the director properly. Sometimes, the director may not like the first version. So, it is a good idea to be prepared to do something different if he requests.
• Be bold and vibrant, and make sure that your voice absolutely fits the visual.
Once you have got everything done, take a small break and listen to the recorded audio with a fresh mind. This is extremely valuable as it enables you to identify any background noise or lack of audio clarity in the recording.
DUBnSUB’s voice over services covers a wide variety of industries such as Entertainment (Movies, TV-series and Animations), E-learning, Gaming, Advertising, and many more.
We are a post-production company with offices in Germany, the USA, France, Myanmar and Head Office in India (Gurgaon) offering high-quality dubbing/voiceover services at competitive costs in more than 70 languages.