When I left my longtime radio career in 2019, I learned that I had a lot to learn about the voice over business...and I'm always learning more! Here are some of the many people, books, events, websites, apps and social media that have made me a better voice actor, and continue to do so. I'm thankful to have found them. If you're looking for more VO resources to help further your career, I hope something here can help you!
These are books I've read and found to be filled with great information for pursuing a career in voice over, and as an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurial Takeaways from An Industry Insider
Available in hardcover, paperback and audiobook
5 Strategies to Increase Your Visibility, Credibility and Positive Word of Mouth in the Community and Online
Available in paperback and kindle
Imagery and Art in the Practice of Voice and Language
Available in paperback and kindle
(I just started this one.)
SOVAS is a non-profit organization led by Joan Baker and Rudy Gaskins. Its mission is "to provide education, training, scholarships, job creation, and award acknowledgment in support of working voice actors and those people seeking to establish rewarding careers as voice actors." You really should check them out and sign-up for the newsletter, among other offerings.
This is renowned vocal coach Denise Woods' website. On it, you'll find the Speak It Clearly vocal warm-up for purchase. I bought this guided warm-up a few years ago and use it all the time.
With Chuck Duran and Stacey J. Aswad - VO Buzz Weekly has hundreds of entertaining and educational voice over videos. You'll learn a lot from them!
*Chuck is the industry's leading demo producer (Demos That Rock).
Gravy for the Brain has free and paid information for beginning and experienced voice actors.
The GVAA Rate Guide is very helpful.
Lotas Productions is led by Jim Kennelly, one of the nicest people you'll meet in voice over, as well as someone with great knowledge about the latest in voice acting technology, voice over AI, and the future of voice over. He guests on a lot of podcasts and Clubhouses.
CastVoices is a newer and trustworthy voice over casting platform.
I live in Georgia, a state nicknamed the "Hollywood of the South". We have a film commission for the state, and even for some of the cities here. I discovered that you can list your services on these websites. (Savannah Film Commission)
PCB Productions "is a Performance Capture and Dialog Production Studio for Interactive and New Media". It's owned by Keith and Valerie Arem, two people who want to help voice actors in pursuit of gaming VO careers. Not only have they produced some of the top games in the industry, such as Call of Duty (various), but they also offer workshops for voice actors. The workshops are called Are-U-Game?
Backstage. is a wonderful resource. It offers free articles about acting and voice acting, as well as a paid subscription for casting notices.
Mobile Vocal Booth - "The Kaotica Eyeball is a patented mobile studio booth that fits over your microphone, sets up in seconds, and transforms any space into a professional vocal recording studio."
I have an Eyeball and love it!
Sweetwater sells audio equipment for voice actors and musicians. They have some great deals, too. I bought my Neumann TLM-103 from them as an open box item. I saved money and it sounds fabulous!
(I also have a Rode NT1-A, which is another awesome mic and less expensive. I got mine from Facebook Marketplace and luckily haven't have any problems with it.)
VoiceZam is a paid audio player for your website. It's a great player designed just for voice actors and it offers a lot of options for marketing, including the addition of a contact info link on your audio player.
Elfsight is another audio player widget for your website. Elfsight has a lot of other web widgets too.
I recently switched to Elfsight because I'm on a budget and it's less per month than VoiceZam, but VoiceZam is my preferred player for voice over.
One thing I like about Elfsight, though, is that it allows you to customize your player with background photos and pics for each track.
Voice Acting 101 is voice actor Jason McCoy's website for fellow voice actors. It offers free information to assist you in your VO career goals. Sign-up for the emails. You'll learn a lot.
SourceConnect from Source Elements is a paid software/service you'll eventually need when you start booking remote sessions with studios. It can be tricky to set-up, so I recommend getting them to help you once the software is downloaded.
These are the apps and social media I've found most helpful so far in my VO journey.
If you're not on Clubhouse, you should be. Clubhouse is basically host to audio chat rooms. You can pick your topics when you join so that when a Clubhouse event related to voice over (and the other topics you choose) pops up, you'll get alerted and can tune-in and participate.
I also favor Clubhouse events that have Liz Atherton and Jim Kennelly as guests.
LinkedIn is the most important social media for voice actors.
BONUS! Wednesday nights at 8:30, Voice over representation wizard Marc Guss hosts a free, LinkedIn Live event to share his "Instincts of a Talent Agent", featuring guests and your questions.
Voice Over Self-Direction is an app created by Voices Voicecasting/Mary Lynn Wissner.
Twitter is great for voice over connections, connecting to businesses you like, and you can even find some voice over job postings on Twitter.
While I've only been on Tik Tok for a few months, I've found that it gets me in touch with trends. It also allows me to share some of my voice over work and tag the advertiser and/or hiring agency in a way that makes me seem more hip. There have even been some voice over job contests on Tik Tok.
These are some voice over coaches I've used, or ones I've been introduced to through various voice over events and found to be very helpful.
VP/Head of Casting at Sound & Fury
Simply put, Tina (tinamorasco.com) is amazing! I've coached with her. Tina will help you with the super relatable read.
***2023 UPDATE! Tina just came out with a super helpful, affordable and portable "Library" of her VO coaching. I was happily one of the first to get it and it's oh, so good! https://www.tinamorascocoaching.com/voiceoverlibrary
Tom Antonellis with Thick Skin Creations (his coaching website) is a master of voice over dialects! From Bostonian, to Texan, to General American, to British, to Italian - you name it - he's the man if you want to learn a new dialect. Tom can also guide you in branding and messaging. And, Tom's coaching is surprisingly affordable.
Joan is a co-founder of SOVAS & a VO dynamo. She was recently hired as an adjunct professor at the University of Hartford's Theatre Division, so it may be hard to book her. Joan is well worth the wait. Throughout the pandemic, Joan, her husband Rudy Gaskins & Marc Guss led a regular zoom called The State of VO that was filled with priceless VO info. During one of them, she said that she assigns her students to watch the Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson) MasterClass. (Hint-hint)
Marc is easy to learn from and a pro in the field.
Terry Berland was a very impressive guest on The State of VO. I hope to train with her one day.
JMC is a top-notch coach and demo producer. He's the guy if you want to add a little humor to your demo.
Eric is another leading Demo Producer.
I love the commercial demo he produced for voice actor Emma O'Neill.
Mary Lynn Wissner owns Voices Voicecasting and is another coach with whom I hope to train. She was recommended to me by Marc Guss and was also a guest on one of his Clubhouses. Mary Lynn is very knowledgeable and easy to learn from. She also has a helpful app (listed above).
VO Life Coach - Rider recently dove into the sea of voice over coaching and many people are grateful that he did. That's because Rider is a very successful voice actor, having become a premier move trailer talent. He also has a fun and informative Tik Tok account - @RiderVOs
Powered by Bang Zoom! Studios - They offer a lot of great virtual classes, including in Anime, ADR and character voice acting.
Terry Berland is a casting director and very good voice acting teacher.
Corey Dissin is a voiceover marketing and business coach. I frequently see rave reviews on LinkedIn about his services.
Marc Scott is the host of VOPreneur. He's another business and marketing coach with proven results. Marc sends out helpful emails, too!
Yes, this is THE Second City. They offer some online classes. I took an improv class and loved it.
Stella Adler offers online acting classes and workshops.
You likely know Dave Fennoy's voice, you just didn't know the man behind it. There are too many credits to list, but you can find them on his website. There, you'll also find out about Dave's coaching.
He also does a weekly youtube chat called Ask Dave Anything. It's on Wednesday nights. You can watch previous videos of it here.
These are the top people who can help you with studio setup and design, as well as audio equipment and software.
George The Tech Whittam is the first person you'll hear about if you ask a voice over colleague who you should call for help.
VO Tech Guru Tim Tippets is great and he's back!
There are many voice over conferences, awards and contests. These are ones I know about and about which I have heard positive things.
Sponsored by SOVAS
Check out the That's Voiceover! web page to find out more about the career expo, as well as contests associated with it. Some do not require a purchase to register, including the CBS Audition Spotlight Contest. That's VO! is worth the money!
The Voice Arts Awards is like the Oscars for voice acting. Click the link to nominate some of your work!
VO Atlanta provides industry-leading voiceover training and discussions. This is another conference with great voice over info and connections.
*It's now run by J. Michael Collins, a leading coach and demo producer.
OneVoice Conference is hosted in the US and the UK. It's sponsored by Gravy For The Brain. You can buy replay tickets if you missed it this year.
Edge hosts these contests each quarter.
V.O. North takes place in Toronto, Canada.
Copyright © 2019 Laura Anderson Picone - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy