MODULE 3: FINDING YOUR NICHE
A job or position that is very suitable for someone, especially one that they like to do.
Your niche is where you're good at.
TYPES OF VOICE ARTISTS
- Voice-over
- Character Voice
- Radio and TV commercials
- Public Service Announcement (PSA)
- Movie trailer (Natural is in.)
- Announcement
- Audio-Visual Presentation (AVP)
- Educational Materials
- Telephony
- Interactive Gadgets
- Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR)
- Radio Drama
- Animation
OPEN MINDED KA BA?
As an aspiring voice artist it is best to audition in different kinds of projects first, to give yourself a wide range of experience. Just audition and audition. Volunteer and volunteer. This is a good practice to make your presence known to producers, clients, and directors. After this, you can now identify your NICHE.
WHY DO YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR NICHE?
- Simply put, a NICHE is your Target Market.
- You need to know your niche because:
- Need to focus on your Marketing efforts
- Need to know your particular SKILL that you need to focus on as a Voice Artist
- Need to establish your own BRAND in the voice acting industry
FINAL NOTE ON NICHE:
- The voice acting industry is huge.
- That's why you need to focus on a NICHE, instead of being "everything to everyone.
- Otherwise, you will just end up like everybody else.
HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR NICHE?
To find your niche, you need to consider the following:
- Type of project
- Quality of your voice
- Your specific skill & interest
Ask yourself of the following:
- What type of voice do you have?
- What kind of characters do you do?
- What type of projects have you already done?
- What kind of projects do you want to do?
BOTTOMLINE:
- JUST FOCUS on one part of the voice acting industry where you can see yourself thriving and succeeding.
- I am not saying you stay stuck in just one Niche forever.
- The point is just start in one Niche and then, after gaining enough experience and exposure, expand later on.
REMEMBER: You are not a convenience store to offer everything, nor an all-purpose cream that can be added to every dish. SO FOCUS!
"OUR VOICE IS NOT JUST A GIFT, IT IS A CHOICE".#pochology
MODULE 4: DEVELOP YOUR VOICE
Tips in developing your voice:
- Proper voice care
- Don't be monotonous
- Our voice is dynamic. It can always be change and improve.
"The voice that comes out of your mouth is who you are".
A word or a sentence is divided into two parts: SPEECH and VOICE. "It's not just WHAT you say, but HOW you say it".
Our purpose: To give life to words.
FORMULA IN CREATING CHARACTER VOICES
Pitch > pertains to level of the voice tone (high or low). Speaking voice is your Natural Voice. It can heighten emotion. Transform a sentence into question. such as "Umuulan", "Uwi na Tayo". Explore your pitch range (Sweep Method). Yawning - best exercise to relax.
Volume > pertains on how loud or soft your voice is. Helps in conveying your emotion. Your message is useless if it can't be heard clearly. You need to project your voice (not shout).
Tempo > refers to your rate of speech. This is probably the most important aspect that you will ever learn about voice acting. If you are good in CREATING voices, then you should be better at SUSTAINING it.
6 ELEMENTS IN CREATING CHARACTER VOICES
- Pitch - most basic element in creating voice character (low, middle, high, falsetto). What characters can you do if you change your pitch.
- Pitch Character - gravely, husky, breathy texture. This is the color or personality of your pitch (i.e. clear, crispy, etc.) Experiment with 2-3 elements and see what kind of character you can come up with (using the Formula).
- Tempo
- Rhythm - This is the "vocal thumbprint". You need to study the unique rhythm of the character.
- Placement - pertains where the voice is coming from. Head - thin, Chest - deep, Cheeks - cheerful & Throat - raspy.
- Mouth Work - the voice of your character could be determined by the shape & movement of your mouth or lips.
PROPER VOICE CARE
How many times have you "LOST" your voice? In 2013 Voice Care Philippines was established.Without a proper voice care, S' Pocholo shared that he lost his voice many times and lost a project with 1.5M deal. That's why he created a book, The VOICE CARE for Teachers. Everything would be useless if you lose your voice. So it's important for voice artists like you to know how to properly care for your voice.
Tips for proper Voice Care
Drink plenty of water. Dehydration is the number one enemy of your voice. Water should be at ROOM TEMPERATURE.
Avoid food & drinks that will be harmful to your voice.
- Sweets & Dairy - these make us produce more mucus, which affects the quality of our voice.
- Spicy Food - could induce acid reflux.
- Alcoholic drinksn- alcohol dries up our throats.
- Lozenges - these are just pain relievers, they don't fix the damage to your vocal folds.
Voice Rest. If our bodies need time to recharge & rest, the so does our voice. For every hour of voice work, have a voice rest for 15 minutes.
Proper posture. Our voices are strained if our bodies are not relaxed. Our vocal folds could then be easily strained & damaged if we don't practice proper posture. Do the WALL EXERCISE. With this practice, you will eventually get used to standing and sitting-up straight.
Proper Breathing. When breathing is shallow, our voice doesn't have enough power and this strains our vocal folds. It fills our lungs with air to its maximum capacity. Your abdomen should be expanding, not the shoulders.
Warm-up. Your vocal folds are also muscles that need to be warmed up before working.
Salt water gargle. Do this everyday to help maintain your voice. This also serves as a warm-up exercise to the vocal folds.
Avoid pollutants.
Consult your Doctor if a cough or sore-throat persists.
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH VOICE ACTING?
Believability/ Authenticity.
- Technology becomes REAL because of the human voice.
- Voice Acting is NOT REAL acting is the art of BECOMING. (Status to post on FB).
