Let’s counterfeit few myths about becoming a voice over OR dubbing artist
When i say 6 myths about becoming a voice actor means, we are in a world where myths spread like fire and the chances of truth is most likely to fail, and as i have personally observed after coming in this industry that there are so many myths about this industry due to which we lose some fantastic artist who could have made big in this industry.
All right, lets dive into the topic and begin with the first and probably the most annoying myth of becoming a voice artist which is :-
Myth 1 : Voice Actors are different from actors.
To be able to voice act. You must first be able to act, they are the exact same thing regardless, if you’re standing on stage wearing a fancy costume or you are behind the microphone, at the end of the day what you’re doing is ACTING and i can guarantee you that if you go to the studio and you see someone record behind the microphone, they will not be standing still, they will be very energetic
They’ll be moving their hands, make faces OR also modulate voice. You’ll see the difference in facial expressions between every single line and anything to help them get into the character and act in the studio. And the number one way to make a voice actor want to kill you instantly is to ask him if he/she ever considered doing real acting. Do you have anyone say this? You have my permission to slap them 🙂
Myth 2 : You have to be talented to become a voice actor.
This is just simply NOT TRUE. Surely you can be talented voice actor or an actor, but that might not take you far, you need to be able to consistently perform and that takes a lot of hard work and lot of time and dedication to your craft.
A very simplified example of this is sports. Let’s say there’s a very talented football player who has never played football before, but he has a natural talent for the game and he has to play against someone who was awful and they started but they’ve been playing the game for years and they understand the game. Who do you think is going to win? Most likely it will be the person who’s been playing the game for years, why is that?
It’s because they understand the game and they have trained themselves accordingly, but unlike Sports, you aren’t limited in voice acting as you can be talented in voice acting when you begin but voice acting and acting is all about hard work, dedication and practice, anyone can be a voice actor if you get the right training and you’re completely dedicated to the craft of voice acting and you absolutely love it. When you become a successful voice actor regardless of when you started or how talented you were. What matters is the effort you have put in and not just relied on talent.
Myth 3 : To be a good voice actor one must be able to do loads of cool voices and loads of accents.
No not true at all. By all means it’s a great thing, if you can do lot of voices and lot of accents, but it’s not a compulsory requirement. Rather there’s a requirement of being able to act as the name suggest. Voice acting which involves acting and if you can’t comfortably act in your own voice then there is no point trying any other voices before jumping in the real world of voicing and trying tons of different voices.
You first have to master your own voice; any professional voice actor will tell you that mastering your own voice is the most important thing. There are people in the industry who can do like 50 voices and that’s really cool and all you want to be exactly like them from the beginning, but they had to master acting in their own voice first.
I’m going to keep saying own voice until you guys get it because one of the most annoying things when you tell someone you’re a voice actor and in response people say O Waooo You are voice over actor, can you do some funny voices for me and then i might give them a little unpleasant look but then i tell them sure 🙂 it’s because they are absolutely not at their fault, this is how they understand the industry from a distance.
There are a lot of famous and recognizable voices out there, who use their own voice because that is what is needed, you can get into voice acting with just one voice. Obviously, the more voices you can do is amazing but always understand that it’s acting at the end of the day, if you can’t act in your own voice then all other voices are just going to sound odd.
Myth 4 : When people say my friend’s family member told me that I have a great voice hence, I should do voice acting.
This is the equivalent to telling someone they should be a professional dancer based on the fact, they got a good score when they danced during a Ganesh Chaturthi festival that too just one time.
Sure your voice could be great to listen to. But if you can’t express those words, then it doesn’t not matter and yes, everything requires acting/expressions, there is a reason why there are good dubbing artist and there are awful dubbing artist.
Ninad Kamat is a brilliant dubbing artist, I’m sure few might know him by his name and 100% sure that anyone who watches Indian movies, will recognize him when they see him, and he really loves what he’s doing. If you want to replicate the kind of fascination that Ninad has when he’s dubbing or narrating, you need to understand what acting is all about.
Ninad Kamat recently gave his voice to one of the most popular Hollywood movie Avengers End Game, he has given his voice to the character by the name Thanos, also to the character by the name Rocket Singh in Guardians of the Galaxy, he’s also given his voice in many ads. Click here to his talent and you will understand what am i taking about
Hence, there is a difference between a GOOD VOICE & TRAINED VOICE
Myth 5 : You have to be a stage actor to be a voice actor
Won’t say it’s a complete myth, but partially yes it is. Because if you’ve done stage acting before you do voice acting that will help you quite a lot. You will be at the very big advantage over people who have zero experience in voice acting or acting in general. The best name which is coming to my mind right now is Sanket Mhatre, he is one stage actor who have made his own place in the world of Voice Over and Dubbing, he has almost dubbed more than 100 movies till date and still going strong and he must be hardly somewhere between 25-30 years old. He is in this industry from last 15 years
People who have done stage acting previously will be at an advantage, because acting is voice acting and if I say lot of professional voice actors were originally actors, some voice actors were musicians, some were audio engineers and somewhere absolutely out of the industry with no clue at all about how to become a voice actor.
It’s not always so simple and yes, if you want to go straight into voice acting of course YOU CAN, you will have to get trained properly with lot of practice and consistently keep auditioning for things like you would for normal acting. So if you want to be a voice actor and you’ve never done any stage acting before, don’t be discouraged by what you see OR what you here from anyone. Just Go for it whole heartedly.
Myth 6 : That voice acting can’t be taken seriously if it’s a hobby
If you want to avoid then you don’t have to do it professionally. You don’t have to do it as a career. You can do it at your own pace and you can do it in the comfort of your home as long as you audition for things and you get in some cool project. And sometimes you get paid occasionally, and if you getting paid then yes you are a voice actor.
If you have no intention of making it as a career then who says it can’t be a hobby, who says you can’t give your voice in stupid videos on the internet as long as you know how to do it, it’s a hobby and you’re not deluding yourself thinking you are a professional and it’s completely fine. And if you want to give it a go and see if you like voice acting as a hobby then by all means JUST DO IT.
Conclusion
All the above mentioned points is an art and one can absolutely learn any ART if he/she is truly inclined towards it and dedicated. I suggest to begin if you love imagining doing voice over & dubbing and make sure you chose the right institute and a right trainer.
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