No. 1 - Warm up
Warm-ups should be on the top of every Voice Actors list! Before every recording, warm-ups are integral to keeping your voice safe from straining, over-exertion and to keep your voice in good health. Much like an athlete warms up by stretching before they compete, a voice actor must stretch and get their voice ready for recording.
Here are some warm-ups you can do:
Stretching the neck
Shoulder rolls
Face Massage
Tongue twisters
My favourite tongue twister is this:
Betty Botter bought some butter,
But she said this butters bitter,
If it put it in my batter,
It will make my batter bitter.
So she bought some better butter,
Put it in her bitter batter
And it made her bitter batter better.
Note: Try to really over exaggerate every word in a tongue twister so you are using every part of the face.
Some useful sites to find more tongue twisters:
No. 2 - Read and Analyse the Script
Do not, I repeat, DO NOT ever read your script cold as your first take!
Before recording anything, you must read the script thoroughly out loud. This is what we call a ‘Cold Read’ in the industry.
You then want to read it again and work out the meaning of the script, ask yourself…
"What message am I/the script writer/the business trying to convey here?”
Once you have a clear understanding of the script, you then must work out who you are speaking to (the audience) and who you are to the audience.
Some extras to include are working out the emotion/s you need to convey, the appropriate pacing for the read and the keywords to highlight with your voice.
No.3 - Hydrate
Hydration is a MUST for every voice artist!
However…
Do not fall into the trap of chugging a load of water before you start recording, this will not properly hydrate you and most likely end up in you just needing to stop your recording to pop to the toilet.
You need to be consistently drinking water throughout the day to keep your vocal chords properly hydrated. This will help with unwanted mouth noises in your recording and keeping your vocal chords healthy and free from strain.
I hope you found these tips helpful! Remember be bold, be prepared and most of all have FUN!
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