Roy G. Lunel's Lounge Discussions

Fantastic, congrats Roy!

Thanks Bruce!

A pleasure to have you onboard, Nancy :)

Thanks CJ! Appreciate the kind words! :-)

Hi Nancy. That's it. Just Hi. :-)

Hey Roy!! Thanks again for your email earlier today! Have a great weekend & hope to catch with you up with you next week!! :-)

God, I hope not!

Interesting in how this article relates to the film Her...

Morgan Freeman

I can't tell you how many times in the job description for an audition the client wants a voice like Scarlett Johannson in "Her" or a "Siri-like voice."I try to imitate them but I'm not them. I have my own unique voice!

I was the first human voice used for GPS Navigation waaaay back in 1997. It was a VO gig that lasted 10 years, but it was my own voice. It was processed and compressed, but it was a human voice that was used with a very sophisticated voice recognition system. I recorded millions and millions of street names, points of interest, parks, museums, restaurants, freeway exits and entrances for the entire United States. At times it felt like the voice over from hell. But it was my voice, a human voice, not a synthesized voice. As we all know now, Siri is also a human voice. Susan Bennet is the voice behind Siri in the US and there must be a reason why Apple did not use a synthesized voice. Although there is a certain robotic flavor behind hearing Siri, you know that Ms. Bennet actually sat in a studio and recorded everyone of those phrases and words. Yeah, try getting a synthesized voice to do Morgan Freeman or Mike Rowe. Not gonna happen.

Hi Ngozi! Welcome to the wonderful world of voiceover! It's an incredible way to make a living, and can be quite rewarding! What everyone has said so far has been spot on. Taking classes with a voiceover coach is absolutely a great way to go. If you're not doing it already, I would also recommend acting classes, and even seeking out opportunities to perform in local theater. My stage acting background has served me very well in my voiceover career, as so much of the work calls for natural and conversational reads. While you're at it, I would also recommend checking out edgestudio.com. You can join their site for free and have access to thousands of voiceover scripts to start practicing with! I'm in no way affiliated with them, but they do have some wonderful resources for subtribe just starting out. You could also join voices.com with a free membership and have access to the audition pages. While you can't submit an audition with a free membership, you can get a great start reading live copy and see what is being put out there right now. Good luck!

Ngozi - Do take VO classes. Your classmates will give you feedback which is very helpful.

Ngozi - Get to YouTube and watch the BillDeWees videos. He is a treasure trove of free information!

Start with group workshops and then get private coaching, before having your demo produced and acquiring an agent. And, most importantly, DO STUFF - join in the film-making and other production activities at your local university, radio and TV stations, and theater groups to gain as much experience as you can.

Hi Ngozi - I agree with Stephen and forgot to tell you - one way to get voice experience is to volunteer as a voice actor for your local Guild for Blind or equivalent. many cities have organizations for the sight impaired and need people to read news articles, act out plays or even read homework assignments to blind students. In Chicago I was a regular reader for Chicago Radio Information Service (CRIS) and it was a an amazing experience. In addition, you will become familiar with the broadcasting biz and will make contacts. Good luck top you and don't give up!

Heidi Angell,Yes I am very interested in this type of project.Thank you for putting this out there for all of us!

Mark Clason, Congrats on the work.I hope it brings great financial relief for you & your family.

Still very interested!

Audible does NOT give readers 50%. Those days are long gone. It stinks.

Bettye - It just means more books per month, right?