Category Archives: Commercials

Add Negative Emotions to Your Voice Over Performance

Posted on June 24, 2022 by William Williams

Here’s a quick voice over acting tip. When you’re performing a voice over project you are often instructed to be enthusiastic, or upbeat, or friendly, or, my favorite: have a smile in your voice. Well, I want you to sound … Continue reading →

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Reading in Voiceover: Improve Your Speed and Accuracy

Posted on July 28, 2019 by William Williams

If you want to turn in faster and better voiceover auditions and jobs then you need to improve your reading skills. If you find yourself halting, stumbling on words, or mis-reading the copy here’s why that happens–and how to fix … Continue reading →

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Pickups Hints for Voice Over Editing

Posted on August 5, 2018 by William Williams

You’ve just finished a 4000 word e-learning voice over project and you send it to the client. They love the interpretation but they tell you that the name that you read is not pronounced Smith but Smyth. Oh no, do … Continue reading →

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Conversational vs Announcer Voice Over Styles

Posted on August 27, 2017 by William Williams

You only need to read through a handful of audition descriptions before you run into the word “conversational”. Or you may find the direction more negative such as “no disc jockey or announcer”. As voice over styles evolve, there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Acting Skills, Auditioning, Commercials, Narration | 2 Comments

Fluent Reading For Better Voice Over

Posted on February 12, 2016 by William Williams

I’ve been teaching voice overs for twenty years and every student begins with the same declaration: “I can talk and I can read, so I can do this”. One of the first things we discover is that half of these … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Auditioning, Commercials, Narration, Professionalism | 1 Comment

Does Singing Help with Voiceover?

Posted on January 11, 2016 by William Williams

People come to voice over from a variety of different backgrounds. Some come from the broadcasting world. They bring clear enunciation and solid reading skills. Others come out of on-camera or stage acting. They have and edge when it comes … Continue reading →

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Create Winning Voice Overs with Your “Non-Verbal Toolkit”

Posted on August 16, 2015 by William Williams

There’s a myth about speech that has been around since the Egyptians invented hieroglyphics. And that myth is that somehow you can take all of speech and condense it down to written words on a piece of paper. Actually I … Continue reading →

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Are You Missing These 6 “Musts” for a Pro Voice Over Demo?

Posted on June 15, 2015 by William Williams

Your demo is your calling card in the voice over world. It is used by you, casting services, agents and clients to evaluate and market your skills. With the availability of high quality recording equipment there is a tendency to … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Animation Demos, Auditioning, Commercial Demo, Commercials, Marketing, Narration, Narration Demo, Professionalism, Voice Over Demos | 1 Comment

Think “I Can’t Afford a Voice Over Demo”? Well, Think Again!

Posted on September 8, 2014 by William Williams

I was talking to one of my students.  He had invested in taking my commercial class and showed good potential.  He had also purchased the bare equipment needed to record at home.  He sent me a MP3 of a test … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation Demos, Commercial Demo, Commercials, Marketing, Narration Demo, Professionalism, Voice Over Demos | 1 Comment

Is This Client Nuts? Watch That Word Count!

Posted on May 2, 2014 by William Williams

Ok, you’re signed up with voices.com or voice123.com and a new audition is posted with a budget of $1000.00.  Looks good to me… until you open the project description.  This is someone’s autobiography and it’s 110, 000 words.  Yikes!  That’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Auditioning, Commercials, Home Recording, Narration, Professionalism | 1 Comment