Radio, podcasts, audiobooks. You might not think of these things as acting but they are!
Any voice you hear where you cannot see the person speaking is a voice-over. According to Studiobinder.com, “Voice over is a production technique where a voice is recorded for off-screen use.”
The most recognizable form of a voice-over is radio. Radio dramas were incredibly popular as a form of entertainment. Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on the radio. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music, and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story.
Then voice-over started to slowly make its way to movies with narration over the physical action of the characters. And soon, voice-over made its way into animation. Disney’s animated short, Steamboat Willie, was among the first to use voice over in animation.
Today, we use voice-over in movie trailers, podcasts, e-learning, video games, instructions in theme parks, audiobooks, and so much more.
So How is Voice Over a Form of Acting?
According to Sovas.org, The art of voice acting in voice over starts with a script. The voice actor’s job is to faithfully interpret the script and render a vocal performance, usually under the visionary guidance of a director. If the voice-over performance is not genuine, authentic, and organic (all skills that are used in acting), then the voice-over sounds like a sales pitch and people do not like having things sold to them. It can be very easy to sound like you are reading a script when the audience cannot physically see you.
If we use video games or audiobooks as an example, listeners want to be fully immersed in the story and relate to the characters just as if they are watching a movie. If the voice artist is not using acting skills to create emotions, relationships, and authenticity, then the immersion is broken.
While you do not need acting training to start a career or even a hobby in voice-over, the skills you can be taught, especially how to project, articulate, and emphasize, can ensure that you are taking care of your vocal health and giving a unique and genuine performance.
Drama Kids classes offer children and teens the opportunity to build and explore the power of voice. To get more information on classes near you, please contact us!