When you think back to Halloween as a child, what was your favorite part of the festive season? Of course, there’s the massive amount of candy, the late night followed by a sugar hangover in the early morning, and the community camaraderie of school carnivals and neighborhood trick-or-treating.
For me, the best part of all was definitely the costumes! The weeks leading up to Halloween were spent excitedly asking friends and classmates, “What are you gonna be for Halloween?” while dedicating effort to perfectly accessorizing costumes.
What if we use the same imaginative energy we used as a child conjuring up their Halloween costume when we create characters in our voice-over work?
This doesn’t only apply to animated or video game work but to all genres of voice-over. Most of my voice-over work comes from commercial and explainer clients and I am still creating characters all day long.
However, there can be mixed feedback when it comes to creating commercial characters. Do clients, casting directors, and agents, want more of an authentic approach? I’ve seen specs with the reads described as “natural”, “non-announcer”, and “genuine”. None of these descriptions are saying, “No” to personality or character, but it is saying, “Yes” to making it believable. I struggle with finding the balance between being too much with my performance and holding myself back. Creating a nuanced character can help.
Hopefully this article is a BOOn to your VO characters.
Let’s say we get a basic commercial with specs of: non-announcer, genuine, friendly, adult 30-50 years old.
Not much info, so we look to the script. The script is a 30-second commercial for a healthcare company telling its listeners to use this local hospital because it has the best doctors and nurses. It’s from the perspective of a staff member.
Bounce back with me to the Halloween theme for a minute. Most of Halloween is about the visual representation: pumpkin patches, spider webs, and costumes – the scenery undoubtedly helps enhance the experience of Halloween.
So let’s visualize the script to help us feel authentic in our character: you are the healthcare professional representing the company talking to the listener about your personal experience.
- Where are you in the hospital? Let’s say you are in a patient’s room.
- Who are you talking to? I’m imagining a patient who needs treatment and is getting a second opinion from your hospital.
Now for the fun part: what does your costume look like? Seriously! It may seem a bit strange but immersing yourself fully will help your authentic delivery. If I were the healthcare professional, I would wear blue scrubs with generic black tennis shoes. I have an operating cap on my head covered in a black labrador retriever print fabric with my hair in a tight braid. My white doctor’s coat is clean and I have personalized pins on it with my various alma mater’s logos, along with a punny pin that says, “Why are doctors always calm? (Answer: they have a lot of patients!)”
My costume says you can trust me with your life, but I also have a relatable human side. What else do you know about this character just by the “costume” they wear?
These are character specifics that will give you a nuanced believable delivery – and it’s fun!
That example is just for a simple healthcare commercial, but you can see how visualizing all aspects of any character you are creating not only allows you to enjoy some child-like joy but also gives you very specific energy and direction for your delivery. After all, acting is playing make-believe.
Let us allow ourselves to play like we did when we were children by creating a specific, vivid character. This Halloween season, notice the costumes you encounter. Practice putting them into the context of a script. Who are they talking to? What is the scenery like? What can you tell about them just from the accessories they are wearing?
Happy Halloween! May you eat all the candy, enjoy your community, and find the joy (and nuances) in the costumes!
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