The sheer number of voice actors vying for jobs today can be a little overwhelming when you’re looking for the one perfect candidate to represent your project. Take your search online can be a great way to streamline the process of finding the right voice actor for the job.

Those working on multimedia would be wise to take advantage of the great online resources available. Need a script? There are plenty of script databases available on the web, and some of them are even free. In order to make the hiring process quicker and more efficient, you can peruse potential hires’ websites, which will often contain portfolios. This will help narrow your field of candidates, and give you an idea of what to expect from a candidate early on. In addition to checking out voice talent’s resumes and portfolios, some even use the Internet to conduct interviews.

Still, when you are trying to find the right match online, you’ll need a strategy and process that will maximize your efforts. You can waste countless hours searching and sourcing candidates, only to find out that they won’t follow through on a project or even submit a quality sample. Knowing what to look for and how to proceed online can make your interviews and auditions much more valuable. Here are the steps involved when hiring a voice over artist over the web:

1. Ask for web-based samples after initial contact. Professionals will be able to send over an .mpeg sample or direct you to samples they have available online; this can make it much easier to distinguish the professionals from the amateurs, and save you time in sending and receiving demo tapes, or setting up an audition. You can use this step as the first part of your screening process.

2. Request a formal resume. All potential candidates should be able to submit a professional resume that includes references and experience working with various clients. Don’t be afraid to contact previous clients for a testimonial or reference, and be sure to pick at least two different companies for a fair assessment of the talent’s ability to deliver on the project.

3. Request a preferred rate. Many voice over professionals have an expected rate for each project, and you’ll want to know about both hourly and per-project rates. Some professionals will request payment only after final delivery, while others will require a portion upfront with the remainder due at the end of the project.

4. Conduct a telephone interview. Telephone interviews are best for any talent you may not have the opportunity to meet with in person. Telephone interviews can touch upon previous work, a brief script reading, and to gauge the confidence level of your candidate.

5. Ask if your voice talent is equipped to provide services digitally. It is increasingly common for voice over artists to set up studios in their own homes. If your actor or actress is able to record his or her performance from home and send it to you over the Internet, this means that you will save on the costs associated with travel and the shipping of tapes.

About the Author: Terry Daniel is a Professional Voice Over Actor from Minneapolis, Minnesota and Has Been Providing the Voice Talent for Dozens of Projects and Advertisements Since 1991.

Hiring a voice over actor or actress means that you must go through a process that involves scheduling interviews, listening to demos of the various applicants, and having potential hires read from a sample script. The right sample script will help you to get more out of your interviews than you would otherwise; your applicants’ readings will serve as helpful examples of the kind of work they will produce if you ultimately choose to hire him or her.

You don’t need to give applicants too long to prepare for a sample script reading, as there is generally no line memorization involved. The applicants can make use of the script as they perform their reading, so they should only need an hour or so to get comfortable with the script before going into the studio.

The vocal style and tone of the actor or actress is an important consideration for companies looking to have voice work done. First, you must decide on the demographic at which your marketing is directed. Having a particular group in mind is the first step towards figuring out what you want in a voice actor, and this is doubly important in that it streamlines the hiring process by narrowing the pool of talent and reducing the number of applicants you must interview.

In order to decide what sample scripts you will use, you will need to think about several different factors; you will need to select scripts that will give you a good idea of the breadth and nature of your applicants’ talents. To make sure that you choose voice talent that is a tonal and stylistic match with what your business is trying to accomplish, you will also want to consider what type of marketing you’re trying to create. What are the general themes you’re looking to tackle? Will the tone be authoritative, or do you want to make listeners laugh? These decisions will guide you in the selection of your sample scripts.

To find a suitable script, all you really need to do is log on to the Internet. The databases available (often for free) online invaluable resources, and you can perform searches based on subject, theme, or keyword, to find exactly the script you need. With these resources at your fingertips, you’ll be able to find a sample script that matches the tone and style of your marketing, as well as selections that will challenge your potential hires. Don’t discount the helpfulness of online resources if you have elected to write your own, original script; you’ll still find plenty of useful scripts that you can reference as you write.

Last of all, you are going to want to obtain a demo script of each applicant. These demos should allow yourself to compare and contrast the performances of the applicants side by side. To this end, you shouldn’t just have your potential voice actors read one script; have them real several, with varying tone and subject matter, so that you can judge the versatility of your applicants, and the styles to which they are each uniquely suited. If you do not want to record these demos in your studio, you can request that applicants submit them with their initial applications.

Terry Daniel is a Professional Voice Over Artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota and Has Been Providing the Voice Talent for Hundreds of Projects and Advertisements Since 1991.

You’ve found your voiceover talent and are ready to start producing your script, and the next step will be to create a professional recording for advertising. It is possible that you have a videographer or production team helping you create a voiceover script, but did you realize that there are computer software programs and tools that can create the entire project for you from beginning to the end?

The environment in which you will record your Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE voiceover has to be prepared properly to assure the creation of a quality advertising and promotion piece. Here are some essential tips when preparing the room for your voice over recording:

1. Equipment check. Booking the voiceover talent for the project and then wasting several hours testing equipment will cost you. ”Producing Great Sound for Digital Video” author, Jay Rose, expertly suggests that you should get the right kind of equipment and test it the day before production schedule. If you can’t test the equipment the day before production, then conduct the test a few hours before production time to reduce the chance of any unforseen delays.

2. Make sure the room does not create echoes. The only way you’ll know if the room is creating an ‘echoing’ effect is when you turn on the microphone and shut all the doors and windows. Conduct some test recordings with all of the equipment so that the echo effect can effectively be reduced.

3. Adding background music. In a professional voiceovers, there should not be any noise between the narrator and the listener. You want to create an audio space that sounds as if the narrator is having a face-to-face conversation with the audience. If you have a lot of ‘white noise’, consider adding background music.

4. Find the best part of the room for recording. There are no rules about where the mic should be placed, so you can try to set up your mic in different areas of the room to see which part has the right sound. You don’t want to record when the sounds seem hollow or filtered in any way. Moving the mic around until you find the best fit.

5. Outside noise like traffic is not a major concern. Noise like outside traffic and the hum of fluorescent lighting can affect the quality of a  voiceover recording. However, most mics do not pick up these sounds. If you do feel like the script is being affected by these outside sounds, consider adding a high-pass filter to the microphone for a crisper recording.

6. Quiet vents, air conditioners and computer fans. If you’re working in a very small space, you may have left computers or an A/C on during the recording. Machine sounds can cause some turbulence in your recording, so try to turn these machines off while recording each segment.

You should also be able to monitor the voiceover recording throughout the production cycle using a pair of headphones. By using the playback function in a different room to check if production is going smoothly, you can reduce the need of having another ‘take’ and make any adjustments needed for audio quality of the voiceover recording immediately.