The Journey of a Female Voice Over Artist

I have been doing voice overs for over 16 years now. Boy, how time flies!

I have to admit that I kind of ‘fell’ into the industry. I wanted to be an actress but anyone who has ever had that dream will know that it’s a seriously tough gig with lots of knock backs and long stints without any paid work.

So, I became a ‘professional’ waitress, which was fine, but apart from the tips, the pay was pretty lousy.

How Did it All Start?

One day I was a waitress on a boat cruise and I got chatting to one of the customers.

It turned out he was a producer at a key radio station in Melbourne.

He asked if I’d ever thought about doing voice overs.

I had to admit the idea had crossed my mind, but I had no clue where to begin! He very kindly offered to make me a demo.

I’ll never forget the thrill of standing in the sound booth at the radio station for the first time.

I miss the days when the majority of voiceovers were recorded onsite!

Radio Made it Easy for a While

It’s funny because voiceovers actually gave me the idea to pursue a job in radio.

I was fortunate to score a job at a station in Wangaratta. After a year, I moved to a bigger station in Shepparton.

I spent six great years working as a copywriter, announcer, journalist, and eventually a breakfast announcer.

At the time, home studios were still virtually unheard of, so doing voiceovers was really easy because I had full access to the studio!

I Almost Gave it Up Altogether

After I left radio for a much higher paid job in Communications, I decided I didn’t want to give up my voice over work, so I set up my very first, rather dodgy studio at home.

VOICEMASTERACADEMYTwenty modules, one at a time.Breath controlHome studioCommercial techniqueAuditionsStart module oneNo experience needed.

I had also returned to Melbourne and was fortunate to be invited to come back to the radio stations I had previously worked for, to do in-house recordings.

Fast forward to the beginning of this year and I admit my voiceover work had sadly, almost completely dried up. Full-time work had got in the way and I had stopped actively marketing myself.

I’d also lost a bit of confidence and thought perhaps it was time to give it all away… until some unfortunate events pushed me back into the world of voiceovers.

I bought myself a new mic, improved the soundproofing in my studio, cut a new demo and revisited all my old contacts, and found many new ones, and I’m so glad to be back!!

Keep pushing, keep working on your craft, and don’t give up. All the hard work really is worth it!

 

Inga was a radio announcer for 6 years and has been a voiceover artist for over 16 years. She worked at various radio stations and was a breakfast announcer at Shepparton’s 3SR FM. Prior to that, she was at Edge FM in Wangaratta, Victoria. She is currently based in Melbourne where she has a professional home studio.

You can listen to more of Inga’s radio demo on this link: https://www.thevoicerealm.com/view-profile-artist.php?artist_id=1206