Where Does Voice Talent Fit In Today's Business World?

By Author: Terry Daniel
Total Articles: 46
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There are lots and lots of voice overs that everyone hears each and every day. They are saturate the media with the messages that make our modern world go around.

A voice-over artist is an actor or actress who lends his or her voice in order to give personality to a cartoon character or to be featured in a commercial, to name a few. The voice over can be presented live and in person, or by a specialist voice actor, someone who the audience will not see. There are many different ways to use a voice over. These can be used in character building, creative influences in movies, education, or in advertising and marketing.

One of the most common ways to use vocalization is in animated films and television. For instance, cartoon characters (such as the children from the show ‘South Park') are animated. They need voice-over artists in order to give them personalities and bring the show to life. There are times where well movie stars are used as the voice artists, such as Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz, who lent their voices for the ‘Shrek' movies, or, it is a specialized voice actor, not a screen-actor who portrays ...
... the characters. Obviously, using an actor's voice is critical to building the animated character and bringing them to life.

In other instances, there are no cartoon characters, but the need for off screen narration is still there. A voice-over can be used to create an ironic counterpoint, or to make a statement in the film. This is the creative device. It can be a member of the cast narrating, or miss-matched voices narrating and the speaking does not match the actors on screen. This creates a sense of imbalance and lends to the films' originality, such as the film ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', where this technique is applied.

Moving away from use in films, voice-overs can also be used for educational or descriptive purposes. Our television news is presented with video clips and commentary by the reporters, who are describing and explaining the significance of the images being shown. Sportscasts also have spoken observations, particularly when played over the radio. There are also voice-overs that are used as commentary by a historian or critic, possibly even production personnel about when a new movie or DVD will be released.

Sometimes, instead of just commentary or news programs, voices are also used for advertising and marketing applications. We do not see the actor that is narrating the advertisement, but we hear it on TV, radio, in stores and shopping malls, to name a few places. Voice-overs were primarily used on radio, but since the advent of the TV, this practice has crossed over into television as well.

Some prominent and iconic voice-over artists are Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Hal Douglas, & James Earl Jones. These artists and the utilization of their voice over talents are ubiquitous in many different facets of our daily lives. It is not just for showbiz. It can be used creatively and commercially, and almost all people come into contact with it on a regular basis.