Eight Games in My First Eight Months: How I Jump-Started my Career as a Voice Actor
/Since sharing my story of transitioning my career into voice acting, I’ve been inundated by messages asking me how I did it. If that’s why you’re here, thank-you for your patience. If you just stumbled onto this post, you can catch up on the prologue here: (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rhiannon-moushall-actor-singer-voice-actor_voiceacting-careermove-voiceoverartist-activity-6769473997731065856-PtGT)
It’s by no means essential reading – the internet is full of teacup pigs and calligraphy process videos, I wouldn’t blame you for spending your time on those things instead.
In fact, that post is already out of date – I’ve now booked eight games. Unfortunately, most of them are still unreleased and I’m not allowed to share my involvement, but holy cow am I loving my job these days.
Before we dive in, I want to preface this by saying that my journey is just that – mine – and it is by no means a definitive road map to whatever you want to define as success. I’m still learning and finding my footing, but hopefully that makes it easier for other newbies to relate to my story.
You may already know much of this (or you may know none of it) so I’ve divided my experience under key headings (in approximate chronological order), making it easier to skip to whatever information you’re looking for.
Finally, I’ve tried to keep it concise (no really, I tried). If you’d like me to expand on any section in detail just shoot me a message and I’ll share a more detailed post exploring that aspect.
Booth & Equipment: I Set Myself Up for Success
Know Your Budget and Your Space
Most indie games are recorded from home these days, so a home studio is essential. For those who have no idea what that is, here’s a basic rundown…
You will need:
XLR Microphone (some auditions stipulate they will not accept USB mics)
Audio Interface
Recording Software
Sound-Treated Space
Mic Stand
Pop Filter
Headphones
A set-up can cost you from a few hundred GBP through to thousands depending on how noisy your space is and how fancy you want to be.
I had a well-insulated office space, some savings, and a friend who already had an awesome set-up that I’d used and knew I liked. That made my life infinitely easier.
My Setup
All in all, I spent about £450 which paid for itself after my first job.
I have:
Rode NT1-A Microphone (included pop filter and shock cradle)
Focusrite Scarlett Solo Interface
Pro-Tools*
PVC Pipe Acoustic Blanket Booth (vocalboothtogo.com)
Samson Headphones (Amazon)
Mic Stand (Amazon)
Ring Light with Phone Holder (Amazon)
Tablet Holder (Amazon)
Huge shout out to Dylan Roth who provided free, adjustable schematics for building an awesome blanket booth! You can find it here: https://www.musicianonamission.com/diy-vocal-booth/
I was initially worried that my microphone wasn’t good enough and that my booth wasn’t professional, but I’ve since recorded broadcast quality commercials with my kit and received positive feedback from clients.
Lesson = you don’t need to break the bank to work.
*Pro-Tools is a subscription-based program and has a bunch of things you don’t really need unless you’re mixing multiple tracks (which you may want, as I’ll touch on later).
Don’t be afraid of the free programs like Dark Audacity and Reaper that will do the job beautifully.
Which Setup is Right for Me?
I don’t know you personally but I’m pretty sure you’re awesome and deserve the best possible setup you can get. Here’s some general advice:
Take your time researching booth setups
Be realistic about your budget
Check the dates on articles you’re reading – tech comes and goes, and you don’t want to be getting old info
Test programs and figure out which one works best for you
Different mics suit different voices – ask people on social media which mic they like for their voice type
Education: I Learned a Bunch of Stuff
Learning the Ropes with Gravy for the Brain
If you haven’t, you should check out GFTB (https://www.gravyforthebrain.com/). It’s a subscription VO training and business hub and they have classes on just about everything.
In a couple of months of full-time classes, I learned how to record, edit, and mix my audio, as well as how to market myself, draft contracts, invoicing, and what to charge clients.
It gave me the confidence to apply for work as a professional and know my worth – and anytime a client asked a question I couldn’t answer, I’d just jump on the forum.
An Actor Transitioning to Voice Acting
I’m an actor by trade so I already had a wealth of training, but I had to learn how to adapt my performance for audio.
I was able to practice this transference of skills as a regular member of ‘The Penny Peepshow Podcast’ (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-penny-peepshow/id1345041200), a series of scripted comedies where I had the space and freedom to practice characters, accents, and my voice technique.
The producer, Kieran Davey, is a talented scriptwriter who started it a few years ago as a regular practice for his own writing and acting skills, and it continues to function as a wonderful training ground for voice actors. I have since written two short series for it myself and edited one.
I found the challenge of writing, editing, and voicing whole series invaluable to my development as a voice actor. By editing other actor’s performances on a strict deadline, I quickly became aware of what I liked as an engineer and – more importantly – what I didn’t like.
When you make stuff, you understand it better.
No Acting Experience Necessary
Not an actor? No problem! Anyone can learn – it’s not rocket science.
Checkout online classes in your time zone or research teachers near you (if it’s safe to meet in person). Once again, reach out for recommendations on socials, and reach out to performers you admire and politely ask who they trained with.
If you’re UK based, W1 Workshops are great (https://www.w1workshops.com/).
I’m available for one-to-one sessions focusing on script work, audition technique, and character building. Shoot me a message if you’re interested! (rhiannon.moushall@gmail.com)
Reels & Samples: I Made Myself Sound Good
Gravy for the Brain to the Rescue – Again!
Professionally produced demos are incredibly expensive (and rightfully so), and I wasn’t in the position to afford them, so I took the reels courses on GFTB and made my own.
I dedicated two months to the process and constantly sought feedback. In the end I was pleased with what I produced and confident that it was good enough to get me started.*
Bonus points: when people ask me about my studio setup, I can point to my reels and say ‘I made them with my current setup’ and clients appreciate that.
*Note: I’ve learned a lot since I produced them eight months ago, so I’ll be looking at redoing a few of them soon. When we stop learning, we stop working.
When to Outsource
I had to understand each demo field well in order to produce an authentic script.
Fortunately, I’ve played a lot of games so I knew how a game cut scene would sound; I’ve watched a lot of animation, so I knew how I wanted that to sound; and I’ve suffered through many commercials, so I knew how those sounded, too.
If you don’t feel confident about your knowledge, it’s best to outsource to a script writer. Similarly, if you don’t feel confident editing or if you’re using a destructive audio editor (eg. Audacity) as opposed to a non-destructive digital audio workstation (eg. Pro Tools), you may want to hire someone to edit them.
If you’re an inexperienced actor I highly recommend you have someone direct the session. I had self-directed previously as an actor and had access to a network of reliable outside sources to share my work with (friends and family don’t count).
Additional Samples
Thanks to my work with ‘The Penny Peepshow’ (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-penny-peepshow/id1345041200) I had a range of high-quality character samples ready to go. I also wrote and recorded a couple more for voices I wanted to show off.
This is another reason why I prefer to use a DAW like Pro Tools – you can make your own multi-track samples whenever you come up with a character, rather than waiting to do another demo recording.
Why Have Samples When You Have Reels?
They’re handy. I offer them to clients when they’re looking for a specific voice or accent that isn’t on my demo. It’s landed me a few jobs – west country pirate, anyone?
Website, Socials & P2P’s: I Got Connected
Where is everyone finding these auditions?!
I used to scream this into my computer screen in frustration. So, I just asked people. My audition opportunities come from:
Twitter
Mandy Voices
Voice123
Linked In
Recommendations
I highly recommend following VA Casting Call Retweet on Twitter (https://www.squarespace.com/) for regular indie casting calls. It’s run by the incredibly talented Risa Mei (https://twitter.com/LoveRisaMei) so be sure to thank her when you get there!
Don’t Network, Meet People
I’ve always hated the term network – it sounds insincere and reduces people to commodities – so I aim to meet people instead. Okay, so that’s just semantics but let me explain…
I don’t like social media and I initially found it hard to connect with the established voice acting communities and clients. I’d done research and posted the recommended content at the recommended time and got a whole lot of recommended nothing.
Turns out, you can’t calculate these things; once I stopped trying to post the right thing and just spoke honestly about my work and life, things started to click!
Having said that, I engage differently with Twitter than I do with Linked In. That’s a whole other post though…
Who Should I Meet?
I contact indie game devs and ask about their work, and then I PLAY their work. This shows I’m committed to understanding their style and bringing their vision to life.
I reach out to commercial and corporate clients after engaging with their posts regularly. That way they tend to comment ‘oh yes, I’ve seen you around’ and it’s less weird when I offer my reels.
The most powerful connections I’ve made are with fellow voice actors on twitter. This flies in the face of a lot of advice: ‘don’t connect with other VA’s, you’re not selling to them’, ‘they aren’t potential clients’ blah blah blah…
Well, I support and engage with the VA community who then in turn reach out when they find an audition that suits me. That’s how I landed two games!
Most importantly, the sense of camaraderie on VA Twitter keeps my spirits up in an industry where I’m constantly going it alone. There are truly inspiring and supportive voice actors on there, who spend their days tweeting invaluable advice – so get on it!
Put Yourself Out There
I made myself a nice website with Squarespace (https://www.squarespace.com/). Take your time designing and refining it, as it’s what people will associate with your name.
Once I had a base to direct people to, I started setting up P2P (pay to play) accounts. These are websites where you compete with fellow voice actors for contracts, primarily corporate and commercial gigs.
Some P2P’s allow you to list for free but you have to pay to apply for jobs. I suggest setting up an unpaid profile even if you can’t afford the subscription.
I’ve landed two commercial jobs from clients finding my samples on a P2P site who then contacted me directly.
Another great creative training ground is Casting Call Club (https://www.castingcall.club/). I’ve never auditioned for any work there, but I know a lot of people who do!
Practice & Accountability: I Made Some Friends
Get Yourself a Training Buddy or Two
One day, a lovely voice actor contacted me on Twitter and invited me to join a small workout group on Discord. It was one of the best things that happened to my career.
We have weekly workout and accountability sessions that help keep me on track. We read auditions, direct one another, and support each other when we’re struggling to stay motivated.
I cannot overstate the value of getting yourself a group of like-minded professionals to train with.
Similarly, I jump on a weekly marketing call with GFTB which is constantly pushing me to think about the business side of things (my least favourite part).
Track Your Progress
It’s important to keep track of things so you know how your business is going. I have an Excel document with a sheet for:
Audition conversions – how many jobs I’m applying for, where I found them, and how many I land
Contacts – people I’ve connected with, what platform we talk on, whether they offered me work, and whether I need to follow up
Invoices – who’s paid me, how much, and when
Pay rates and links – remembering what rate I’ve set for different types of work, and links to reels on different platforms so I don’t have to search for them when someone asks
If you’re not tracking progress, how will you know if you’re making any?
Game VA: I Researched (and Played so Many Awesome Games)
Get Your Game On
Gaming is my hobby. I play a wide variety of genres which means I understand the styles of those games, and I’m able to bring that understanding to my auditions.
If you’re not a gamer but still want to voice them, I recommend watching playthroughs of games on twitch to familiarize yourself with different genres.
Some genres I’ve voiced are:
Point and Click Adventure
Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG)
Third Person Shooter
First Person Shooter
Visual Novel
RPG Thriller
Educational
I’ve used a range of accents, registers, and affectations for these jobs, and it makes my life easier when I can look at an audition and immediately know what kind of vibe they’re after.
If you’re not sure, ask! They may say ‘it’s a racing game’, but do they mean ‘Mario Kart’ or ‘F1 Racing Simulator’ – big difference between those deliveries…
Auditions: I Auditioned… A LOT
Quantity
Auditioning is a skill – the more you do it, the better you get at it.
I’ve honed my technique so that I can record and edit an audition I’m proud of in twenty minutes or less. I send one take (unless I have a wildly different option or a separate requested accent), and once it’s off I don’t look back.
I’ve auditioned for about fifty jobs since I started, of which I’ve landed fourteen jobs (some of which then led to follow on work).
Honestly, it’s not as many as I’d like – and I’m working to up my audition rate – but I never audition for just one role per job…. (unless there’s only one role. That would be weird if I just made up extra roles and sent them in. Don’t do that…)
Don’t Limit Yourself
One of those jobs listed twelve female roles; I auditioned for every single character and landed one of them. However, the role I got was not the one I felt I suited.
If I’d only auditioned for the parts I thought I’d get, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the job.
Another job listed eight female roles; I auditioned for the seven that I felt I could confidently handle the accents for. The role I got in that game was the audition I was most frustrated with – I almost didn’t send it!
My advice here is: if you’re within the appropriate casting bracket and the only thing holding you back is what you think you suit, go for it.
Rejection: I Got Rejected… A LOT
It’s Part of the Job
Getting rejected is just part of the job and I learned to separate my sense of self from my audition conversion rate.
Regular meditation, journaling, and practicing hobbies can help build rejection resilience, as can talking about it with your friends.
If you find you’re being rejected more than you think is fair – keeping in mind that even a conversion rate of 10% or less is completely normal – you may want to assess your process.
Check:
How’s my audio quality? Record a sample and share with your accountability group for feedback.
How’s my acting? Ask your peers to review your work, and regularly practice self-critique.
Do I understand the genre? Watch trailers for games you’re auditioning for and check that you’re aligning with the style.
Am I auditioning enough? Check in with connections and see if you’re missing audition sources.
Am I limiting myself? Review your auditions and make sure you’re open to a variety of roles.
That’s It!
And that’s how I got where I am right now. As a I said at the start, this is just my journey and I’ve had crazy amounts of help along the way. Heck, I’m only just getting started!
Remember to reach out if you have any questions or there’s something you would like me to expand on — us self-employed types have gotta help each other out!
That said, I hope this has helped you on your way to working as a voice actor in games.