It was over a century ago that we discovered the ability to record voice and since then it has become a key part of the human experience. Today, voice recordings enhance everything from presentations to advertisements. However, that does not mean that the voiceover industry hasn’t experienced changes.
With all the technological evolution taking place, the voiceover industry has had to go through its own fair share. Today, we’re going to discuss how technology has completely revolutionized the way voiceover talents are hired.
How it was
With technology being mostly analog, the effort and resources needed to produce advertisements were extensive. The casting process alone would take almost weeks. First, the casting director would have to call agents, who would then send a notice about the auditions to voiceover artists. After the auditions, the director would shortlist the best options and present them before the ad agency/client.
Discussions would be held for several hours before the choice was made. Then, the director would call the talent’s agent to let him/her know that he/she has been selected. This would be followed by booking the studio, which would most likely be pre-booked. So, that would end up being another long wait. Now, add the possibility of the talent being caught up with other projects, the wait would just seem never ending.
Now, imagine the actual recording process, the number of takes using analog equipment, the number of times the talent would be unreachable simply because there were no mobile phones back then.
The point is, voiceover casting has come a long way since then.
How it is now
Today, the casting director simply needs to upload a casting call onto the website of a voiceover service platform. Creating an account and posting about the opportunity would take a total of maybe 15 to 20 minutes.
Then, voiceover artists respond by sending samples of their recording to the casting director. They do it from the comfort of their own home and personal studios. All the director has to do is listen to the recordings and make a decision.
Once the choice has been made, the selected voiceover artist is contacted through e-mail, mobile or social media. The voiceover artist can respond no matter where he/she is located. In fact, with the technology available today, they could send another recording right from where they’re standing.
Before you know it, a decision is made and the final transaction takes place without one of them having to move from their seats.
That’s how easy it is today.
ABOUT ROBERTA –
Roberta is a Professional AND award Winning International Voiceover Actor, as well as an accomplished on-camera actress and spokesperson. She lives in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area and is the owner of Roberta Kennedy Voice Talent and RK Productions, Inc.
She voices for companies around the world using her state of the art, broadcast quality studio. She’s hired for commercials, web demos and explainer videos, product infomercials, documentaries, promo/imaging, political ads, e-learning videos, podcasts, guided real estate tours, telephony/IVR projects, high profile corporate presentations, video games and character animation.
Her voice is described as: playful, contemporary, compelling, commanding, inviting, sultry and smooth. A hip edge with sophistication, bold, warm, interesting and engaging are also commonly used adjectives to describe her voice.
Her home studio is equipped with ipDTL, ISDN and phone patch capability with lightning fast turnaround times! A voiceover talent with over 20 years of voiceover acting experience, she offers a full range of voiceover services at highly competitive rates & will work with your budget to help you promote your business to new levels of excellence!
To request a personal quote or audition and/or to review more of her credits & demos, feel free to visit her website:www.robertakennedy.com – or mail her atroberta@robertakennedy.com. You can even give her a call on (408) 313-7202.