Voiceovers: Techniques and Tactics for Success [Paperback]

Janet Wilcox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Ever been told you have a great voice? Put it to use with a career as a voice-over actor! In Voice-Overs, a veteran voice-over actor, writer, producer, and voice-over teacher provides the inside scoop on the industry and gives all the tools needed for personal training. This one-of-a-kind resource includes a CD featuring vocal exercises and exclusive interviews with voice-over actors. A treasure trove of exercises, games, and improv and acting techniques helps readers build their skills. Sample scripts from real ads provide practice, and interviews with agents, casting directors, and producers provide insights that will help new voice-over actors get started and get hired. Tips on making a demo, auditioning, getting an agent, interpreting copy, developing a personal marketing plan, and much more mean that soon that great voice will be bringing in income as well as compliments.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Janet Wilcox is a voice-actor whose clients include E!, ABC, Lifetime, HBO, Lowe’s, Nickelodeon, Cinemax, Lancôme, the Discovery Channel, and others. She has worked as a writer, producer, and director on major promotion campaigns for HBO, A&E, and the History Channel. With Heyman Talent and the SAG Conservatory, she taught improv and voice-over workshops, and currently teaches studio voice-over classes at UCLA Extension. She lives in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581154755
• ISBN-13: 978-1581154757
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Such a Pretty Voice..., May 20, 2007

By 

Susan Shwartz (Forest Hills, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voiceovers: Techniques and Tactics for Success (Paperback)

If you've heard all your life "you have such a great voice, you should be doing voiceovers," but written off the idea because A. you don't live in California, B. you don't live in New York, C. you haven't got a clue how to get started, Janet Wilcox has written the book for you!

Expert, practical, and complete, Wilcox leads you through what it takes to go from cocktail-party compliment to working professionalism, including lessons, classes, coaches, renting facilities, setting up a studio, and creating not just a demo, but the best demo you can. She explains the always-fascinating problem of getting an agent and assures you that if you ARE good enough, professional enough, and persistent enough, you will find one.

Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of VOICEOVERS for this reviewer, who has been told she has a great voice and has actually had a lead in one TV commercial, is that its conversational writing is so appealing that you are convinced to embark on the process of becoming a "voice actor" despite how much work it entails. Exercises and contact numbers are provided, along with a CD, making the book a great workbook as well as an inspiration.

What distinguishes the "voice actor" from the "good voice"? According to Wilcox, the ability to create character and explain "who, what, when, where, and why?" in the matter of seconds.

A handbook for beginners and a guide along the way for working professionals by an extremely expert and experienced "voice actor," VOICEOVERS: TECHNIQUES AND TACTICS FOR SUCCESS is also a fascinating read for audiences who wonder how the people you hear got the jobs they did.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experience Counts as in Janet Wilcox's VOICEOVERS, May 25, 2007

By 

Allen Blumberg "Experience Counts" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voiceovers: Techniques and Tactics for Success (Paperback)

As an actor seeking work in the voice-over business, you have two choices. The first is to spend several years trying to figure it all out. The second is to accept the experience of someone who has been successfully working in the field for a long time.

There are just too many mistakes and misconceptions that can hold an actor back in an audition and later in a session. If you want to get work doing voice-overs, then read VOICEOVERS.

Ms. Wilcox knows the terrain and all the land mines and all the tricks. I highly recommend the book.

Allen Blumberg

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Work....., July 3, 2007

By 

Harlan Hogan "hhogan" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voiceovers: Techniques and Tactics for Success (Paperback)

Janet has managed to do the impossible - create a book that guides, informs and encourages newcomers and voice-over pro's alike.

With a witty, and conversational writing style and clever analogies to sports and games, Janet manages to make the pragmatic process of polishing your voice style and delivery - the real work - fun. Plus, she generously shares real-world career advice learned over many years as working voiceover professional. This is a wonderful - and practical - new book from an accomplished performer and teacher.