In the expanding world of voice-over, creating captivating and memorable characters is important in helping you stand out. Whether voicing characters is your main interest in voice-over or you’re looking to get better at voicing them when they come up in a commercial or narration script, honing in on character voice development can help you breathe life into your character’s dialogue.
Here are some character voice techniques to explore and practice when you’re working on elevating your character performances.
- Work on your vocal range and flexibility: Start by finding your vocal range. What are the highest or lowest sounds that you can hit in your voice pretty comfortably? Practice speaking in these tones. You can explore different pitch variations – like going from high to low pitches for each character’s tone ranges and resonances. Practice talking back and forth between higher and lower pitch characters to stretch your vocal flexibility.
- EXAGGERATE: In animation voice acting especially, you can really tap into using exaggerated vocal expressions to bring out the larger-than-life nature of animated characters. This can include emphasizing emotions, stretching the highs and lows of your cadences, and going over-the-top with your delivery. Animated characters can also go from emotion to emotion quickly, so practice being expressive while mixing up the delivery of various emotions.
- Physicality: Incorporate physicality into your voice-over work. Imagine the character’s body language and how it affects their vocal delivery. On screen, animated characters are just that, animated. Try standing how they would stand, moving your arms to portray higher emotions, and if the character would be doing something physical on screen, try to mimic that physicality while you’re reading. This can help you bring more authenticity and believability to your performance.
- Practice versatility: Practice different accents, tones, or styles coupled with various emotions like angry, sad, or excited. Versatility is important in voice acting because it allows you to take on multiple roles, even within the same project. Casting directors are looking for voice actors that can take direction and bring in fresh and unique takes to each role. The more flexible, creative and versatile you are, the easier it will be to create distinct nuances for new and expanding characters.
- Study the context of the script. Hone in on the character and what they are feeling or doing as well as what is happening around them in the scene. Think about what is leading up to the scene as well as the current situation. This will help you make sure that the emotions and expressions you portray fit what is going on in the scene.
- Work on projection and breath control. Breath control helps you create various vocal effects for animated characters. You can adjust the speed and force of your breath or make sounds that are character specific such as whispers, sighs, laughs, wheezes, or other vocal quirks. Clear projection helps ensure that your words are being heard clearly even when talking in various voices or tones. Once you are clear on your character choice, make sure you project strongly behind it. It will be trickier the further you get from your natural voice tones. Projection can also help you create a sense of distance or help you distinguish between two characters.
- Make impulsive decisions and embrace some improvisational reads. Use the script and expand a little more. Try getting into character and just embracing what comes out in the moment whether it be the way you read, a certain inflection or quirk, see what spontaneously comes out. Sometimes what comes out impulsively while playing around with a character is what enhances the character’s personality and makes it more memorable.
Remember to have fun. The more you practice and work to get creative with your character reads, the easier it will be to start creating them quickly when they come up in your scripts. Whether you’re working in animation, video games, or audiobooks, these techniques will help you stand out and leave a lasting impression in the world of voice-over.
Check out our free PDF with pro-tips from real working voice-over actors here!
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