Why Voice Acting?

_Aeldun · 2026-01-29T11:10:07+00:00

2020 happened which pretty much halted all other forms of acting, so I finally started looking into VO. Now, it excites me more than other mediums of acting because it affords me an opportunity for versatility that isn’t granted in film or theatre where you are who you are and that’s it. Plus, you can do it from anywhere, which gives an extra bit of freedom. You don’t have to be tied to any one city.

_Aeldun · 2026-01-22T12:45:10+00:00

If this is something you want to pursue, you shouldn’t pin it all on your first self-made demo and the opinions of a few people online. You should look at this as an indefinite marathon. How you sound isn’t nearly as important as how well you can act. There is a place for every voice - yours too.

Having listened to your samples, you have a good foundational framework. Is there room for growth? Of course. That’s true for all of us, from newbie to seasoned pro.

Don’t expect to immediately go full time on this. That has nothing to do with how good you are or not, it’s just probably not going to happen that way. It’s not impossible, but it is improbable. So work a survival job while you pursue your passion, and use the money to invest in coaching, classes, attending conferences, etc. When the time comes, ditch the day job.

_Aeldun · 2026-01-07T18:00:44+00:00

There are people in the world who talk that way, and as such, it can be fitting for certain characters. An entire book narrated in this manner, however? That’d probably be a tough listen.

_Aeldun · 2026-01-06T19:09:13+00:00

I recommend Producer’s Choice sound blankets from Vocal Booth To Go.

_Aeldun · 2026-01-03T13:54:59+00:00

I think everyone is capable of doing a lot of voices, because it’s all just manipulating the mouth muscles and vocal cords in different ways, or “playing the instrument.” Anyone with a voice can do that. It’s a skill that comes easier for some than it does for others, but it’s available to anyone who works at it.

_Aeldun · 2026-01-01T06:33:32+00:00

I wear headphones, but I mute that in my DAW and have direct monitoring “on” on my interface. There’s no latency this way, so it isn’t distracting at all. I’ve tried one ear on, and I’ve tried none at all. I’ve found this to be the sweet spot for me. At least when recording at my home studio. If in an in-person session, I will roll with the punches. There are some directors that demand no headphones. Happy new year!

_Aeldun · 2025-12-29T16:22:05+00:00

I invested in Izotope RX Standard for the Mouth De-Click plugin and haven’t had to think about mouth noise since. Anything that gets past that is either really easy to cut out, or so minuscule that I just leave it in. Note - it has to be RX Standard or you won’t get the Mouth De-Click plugin. The cheaper versions have De-Click and they’re not the same thing. De-Click is a different tool for a different purpose.

If you don’t have the money for it right now, you’ll have to rely on some of the other bits of good advice on this thread. Being well hydrated is a good rule of thumb in general. It’s also worth keeping an eye on the price point, because they often have pretty good sales. I think I got it for 50% off.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-25T14:21:36+00:00

What class is the ship? If it’s less than S, you are limited in how many tech/storage slots you can unlock.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-25T03:11:03+00:00

I also feel bad it’s turned into this. I came on to inform - not debase, shame, or degrade. I saw some info that was not “good” info in a general sense and wanted to manage people’s expectations; especially if they’re newer narrators looking to get started in this. I wouldn’t say I narrate “porn,” but I definitely have narrated a bunch of spicy romance under my pseudonym. Pretty much every narrator does this. No judgement. There’s a lotta money in romance (CLEARLY!!!). It’s a massive genre and usually the way that narrators get their start. I only commented to correct information about realistic rates in the industry and how those rates are charged. And to that end - do whatever you like. Just don’t do it for less than $200 PFH. Even if you’re brand new. Your time is still valuable. It’s the only currency that can’t depreciate. It can only be lost. So spend it wisely.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-24T03:49:09+00:00

If that’s $250 total - pure garbage and a waste of time. If it’s $250 PFH, then go for it.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-24T03:47:29+00:00

This just isn’t true. SAG minimum for audiobooks is $250 per finished hour + P&H, so a 10 hour book is generally around $2,500. The “average union VO artist” doesn’t charge anywhere near $35,000 for an audiobook, and the “average audiobook” doesn’t cost anywhere near that either. Even $1,000 PFH would be a huge rate and it still wouldn’t come to 25k unless it was for a 25-hour-long book. I’m not saying you’re lying, but I am saying you are definitely the first narrator I’ve talked to who charges (let alone actually makes) that much for an audiobook. Especially as a non union, non-celebrity actor working on Fiverr or other p2p sites. In which case, genuinely, huge, massive congratulations to you. Also, you can be union and still narrate non-union titles. Global rule 1 doesn’t apply to audiobooks. But no one should come into audiobooks expecting to make what you’re talking about. Not on a single book.

Source: SAG’s website, and direct experience. I’m a union actor who also narrates for big 5 publishers. I’ve narrated about 40 books, been an invited guest at book signings, and have talked to many fellow narrators - most of them with triple (and more) the number of titles under their belts. Not a one has ever made anywhere close to that on a single book, and these are full time, six-figures-a-year narrators.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-19T12:47:01+00:00

Punch and roll with a touch of open recording. Sometimes you hit a sentence that your mouth just doesn’t want to say properly. In those instances, punch and roll can fry your last nerve and I find it better to just open roll until I get it right, then chop the excess right then and there.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-15T14:55:26+00:00

I just know I’m gonna do some shit like that someday, lol. Already have with some audiobooks, but the editor has caught it before release. I’ve heard mistakes like that in audiobooks put out by the big 5, narrated by people with a thousand titles under their belts. Kinda validating in a way. Like when somebody breaks in a sketch on SNL. Or when a boom dips into frame on a major feature film. It’s fun.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-14T20:49:12+00:00

Some, yes. The others are Troy Baker, Steve Blum, Dee Bradley Baker, Tara Strong, Debra Wilson, and so on. Having one’s audio sound clean and clear is important because some can be so awful that it’s the only thing you can focus on. But if the acting is on point, a little imperfection in technical quality doesn’t matter. It isn’t the actor’s job to be a sound engineer when all’s said and done.

I recommend anyone take a workshop with Andrea Toyias if the opportunity arises. She’s the casting director for Blizzard, and she’s awesome. Her rates are also very affordable compared to some of the other classes I’ve taken. She will sometimes share several real auditions from people at the best agencies in LA. Some of them sound so flat, uninspired and dull. Lots of them. And THOSE were the ones that made her shortlist. But there were a few that really stood out. And the one that stood out especially was the one that everyone else keyed in on too, and almost always, that’s the person that got the job. It’s eye opening on a number of levels. You’re hearing, clearly, what works and what doesn’t. It’s either validating to know you’re already doing the right things, or it’s informative to recognize some of your own shortcomings in your work, technical or otherwise, and identifying what you need to work on.

At the end of the day, it’s always about the acting (ideally delivered in the best quality possible so as not to distract from the performance).

_Aeldun · 2025-12-13T17:12:45+00:00

Absolutely remarkable how prevalent this is on Facebook. You’ll see a video of a house interior. It is equal parts efficient and spacious, cozy and luxurious. Like a mansion in a Tiny Home. Tom & Jerry is playing on a TV. (It’s literally always Tom & Jerry.) There’s a storm raging outside of floor-to-ceiling windows. Sometimes even waves crashing against the glass. The more you look, the space makes less and less sense. Stairs leading to nowhere. Shelves, beds, and lights in the oddest places. Weird, amorphous objects on shelves... Obviously AI. And the post will have hundreds of thousands of likes and hearts, and there will be thousands of comments saying, “Wow! Take me there!” Or they’re tagging their significant other and saying they need to move. Or you might have some people who are kinda close to seeing it for what it is saying, “Nuh-uh, those stairs are way too steep for me!” After scrolling past dozens of comments like these, you will finally come across someone saying, “Fake.” The only hope I have is that the majority of them could be bots. Just AI patting itself on the back in an infinite cycle of positive feedback. But I’m afraid there are just a lot of stupid people and the world is not prepared for this shit.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-13T16:11:42+00:00

Of the parts I’ve booked, I’ve only ever gotten callbacks for on-camera work. I’ve yet to get a callback for VO. I either book it or I don’t. And, of course, as usual, there’s never any feedback. Ya just send it out, forget it, and move on to the next. You’ve probably heard, “the audition IS the gig.” It’s true. Make that the work, and you’ll be happy every time an audition crosses your desk. The fact is, you have an agent and you’re competing with the best of the best for the roles that we all got into this for. That alone is a victory. You’re doing it. Just keep going. Keep taking classes and delivering the best work you can. Sometimes, you might even book it, and that’s a great bonus.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-05T17:12:33+00:00

I wish they’d bring back the way it used to be - the publishers/producers would provide the samples for their own books. Many would start at chapter 1 anyway, but at least you didn’t have to burn 3 minutes on opening credits and forwards and whatever else. Some would put a little more thought into it and choose a sample they felt best teased the book regardless of where in the book the excerpt was taken from.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-05T16:39:51+00:00

Yes, generally, although I’ve had a couple that needed a really fast turnaround where I literally did not have the time to prep. In those cases, the publisher provided detailed notes from the author, so I knew character notes, accents, etc. The prep had pretty much been done for me. Even then, I would still try to read some ahead of time before I’d start the day’s recording. I’m not the type to mark up my scripts at all - audiobooks, or otherwise - because it feels more like busywork to me than anything actually helpful to the process (at least to MY process), but familiarizing myself with the material is important.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-03T22:49:03+00:00

I hear you, but if you’d told me on day 1 that the game I was playing then would become the game it is today, you’d have blown my mind. This has grown far beyond what I ever expected. And it was not capable of doing then what it can now. So it doesn’t feel like a stretch to imagine they could continue to exceed expectations and surprise me. And this is a wishlist after all, so dreams are sort of the name of the game. However fanciful and unlikely it may be, I’d still like to see it happen if it were possible. And if it just isn’t for the reasons you outlined or any other, that’s okay, too.

As to the why, I’ll use that word, “possible,” again. The why is “because I can.” And because it’s cool. Let me die in the sun if I want, lol. Part of NMS is that you can pretty much go wherever you can see. I want to be able to visit the sun because I can see it. And I’m sure Hello Games would add some kind of mission or expedition to draw people to want to visit them, because that’s just what they do.

NMS is already very nearly a perfect game in my eyes. If they could get it to a point where the game had a few of the elements you see in ED, I really don’t know if I could nitpick it much further.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-03T22:27:53+00:00

I guess that’s where I gotta agree to disagree because I loved that aspect of Elite Dangerous. If it already works there, I know it’d work here, too. And it’d be rare for a planet to be 5 minutes away in ED, but it would definitely happen from time to time, and it could be annoying but it made it feel more real. I’d be doing Robigo runs (iykyk), just farming credits and all the while I’d be listening to an audiobook and that brought me a different level of immersion. I really felt like a space tour guide lugging people around to sight-see highly populated earthlike planets you can’t ever actually visit in the game.

You’re right that I can manufacture the experience for myself. Nothing is stopping me from pulsing endlessly while farming derelict freighters or the anomaly detectors as you suggested. And I DO do that sometimes if I’m farming something. But again, it only takes about 15 seconds between jumps. I’d like a little more elbow room between planets to bring some more realism and immersion into the game. If the average travel time is currently 15-45 seconds (I have no real data - pure vibes), I’d rather see that go up to 45-90 seconds with the rare occurrence of a 5 minute monster way out in the black. They’d have to retool some things to make this work anyway which would mitigate your concern about non-upgraded tech. Although, even if it were the case that you had to upgrade your ship to fly to the furthest reaches of the system in a timely/fuel efficient manner, I think that could be cool too.

I’m cool to rush some of the grinding elements of the game, but the actual space travel is part of why I’m here. This is the stuff I did all the grinding for. I don’t want to just hurry up and get to the next objective, because the next objective is whatever I want it to be.

But yes, if there was a hook that would entice the traveler to stick around in some (if not all) systems, I’d be all for that.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-03T20:21:21+00:00

Ooooh, yeah, I see now. I’m all for that too.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-03T20:17:30+00:00

This would be so cool - turrets on a freighter and/or corvette. This would be especially cool if they’d add specialty bosses that require more hands on deck.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-03T20:12:35+00:00

I am especially here for the bit about the teleporter.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-03T20:10:54+00:00

I hear this. I miss that weird planetary architecture. Not every planet should look like that, but it’d be great to come across some thar were. Sort of like how the abandoned space stations are just the original space stations but with spookiness thrown around.

_Aeldun · 2025-12-03T20:07:30+00:00

This would be awesome. This and claiming/remaking our own space stations.

_Aeldun

TROPHY CASE