Getting Started With VO
Find a few scripts/monologues from your favorite shows, movies, or games to practice reading out-loud. Check out: www.topherkeene.com/monologues
Every day, “Cold Read” at least 1-5 scripts. This means you take a script you’ve never seen before, give yourself 1-2 minutes to read it over and think about the character, and then perform it. Ideally record these performances and listen back to critique your performance and your audio quality.
A laptop or a phone/tablet with built-in camera/microphone are completely fine for get started. If you have a quality microphone already that’s great, if not, an inexpensive beginner mic I recommend is the Blue Yeti: [Amazon Link]
Once you’re ready to move on from the Blue Yeti, you’ll be looking at XLR Microphones and an Audio Interface, somewhere in the $300 (used) to $500 (new) range is a reasonable upgrade cost when you’re ready to make that move.
If you already have professional audio software (referred to as a ‘DAW’) that’s great, if not, Download Audacity, a free, basic audio editing software: [Link]
When you’re ready to upgrade, look into Logic Pro, Reaper, Studio One, and other professional DAW options to find the one that’s right for you.
Record your practice scripts into Audacity or another DAW.
learn to use the Noise Reduction feature: [Audacity Noise Reduction Video]
Find a quiet space to record. Many beginners use a closet. Soft Surfaces are your friend, so surrounding yourself in clothes, or even draping a blanket over your head while you record can improve the quality of your background sound. Building a Home Studio is a complex (and expensive) process, but it can be simple and cheap at the beginning. Don’t get ahead of yourself and worry too much about this at the start, take your time and eventually you’ll be able to have a beautiful-sounding space in your home.
Create an account on CastingCallClubs and start looking around at auditions and listening to other people’s performances, you can learn a lot here! [Link]