If the advertising executives at Leo Burnett Worldwide in 1953 knew how to do one thing well, it was how to hire voice actors. Tasked with finding a voice for Frosted Flakes spokesman Tony the Tiger, they selected actor and singer Thurl Ravenscroft for his famous deep bass. Ravenscroft came up with the iconic slogan, “They’re grrreat!” and a pop culture legend was born. Even today, seventy years after the fact, Frosted Flakes cereal as a brand owes much of its success to the performance of that one actor.
There are similar examples to be found throughout the annals of pop culture. Without James Earl Jones providing the menacing gravitas to its iconic villain, Darth Vader, would Star Wars be what it is today? Would The Simpsons have become the cultural juggernaut it is without its perfectly cast voice actors bringing Springfield’s quirky characters to life?
Whether your project is an ad campaign, a video game, an animated series, a documentary, a corporate training video or anything else, your success depends on having the right cast of voices for the job. At InnoVision Talent Agency, we specialize in helping you find those voices.
Start With a Vision
Every great media venture starts with an idea, and you will probably spend a lot of time imagining what your project should look and sound like before you even begin pre-production. That’s a good thing because if you have a clear idea of what you imagine the final product should be, it will help you realize your ultimate goal. It will also help you in the casting process because if you can effectively communicate what you have in mind to your prospective actors, you will better understand whether they are suited to the project.
Don’t Be Afraid to Change the Vision
Of course, working with actors on a project means it is collaborative, so if you are too married to your own ideas, you may miss out on brilliant ones offered by others. As we mentioned, Thurl Ravenscroft created the famous Frosted Flakes slogan. Imagine if the people he was working for were so stuck on their own concepts that they didn’t allow him to improvise and try things his way.
For this reason, you should allow the actors to read the text their own way first before offering any direction. You never know if they might come up with something you would never have thought of on your own.
Find the Right Talent Agency
In the animated film, Ratatouille, food critic Anton Ego is portrayed by Peter O’Toole in another example of perfect voice casting. His character states, “Not everyone can be a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” At InnoVision Talent Agency, we believe the search for talent should begin by casting a wide net because the next great vocal performance can truly come from anywhere.
Unfortunately, many talent agencies significantly limit who can be part of their talent pool. Finding great artists is a matter of celebrating diversity, which means auditioning artists from frequently underrepresented segments of the population. Many talent agencies also limit their talent pools by forcing their talent to pay exorbitant fees. If you can’t pay their fees, you can’t be in the agency, no matter how good you are.
At InnoVision, we don’t think that makes sense, so we only charge our talent a commission after they have booked a project and negotiated a fee. As a result, our potential casting pool and the amount of raw talent we have to offer for a project is much larger. Our voice actor list is incredibly long and diverse, as they can often record from home or anywhere with an internet connection.
Starting Your Search
Of course, before hiring voice actors or any other talent for your project, you will need to go through a pre-production process where you create a script and determine what your needs will be. How many actors do you need? Do you need a specific-sounding voice, such as female, male, old or young? Are there any special skills necessary for the role, such as singing, dialects or impersonations? You should include these needs when you post an ad looking for actors.
Once you have posted your ad, actors can respond by submitting demo reels they have recorded with talent agencies like ours. Listening to an actor’s reel should give you a good idea of what the actor sounds like and what they can do. If you like what you hear from any of the actors who have put themselves up for a role in your project, you can contact them and ask them to audition for your project.
Auditioning Your Actors
Once you’ve selected a pool of actors to choose from for your project, the next step is to hold the audition itself. For a voiceover part, the easiest method for actors and producers is to ask for a recorded audition. The actor can record this in advance and send it in at an agreed-upon time.
You can also hold live auditions over Zoom or another video conferencing service, allowing you to give the actors feedback and suggestions in real-time to see how they adjust in the moment. While it’s exceedingly rare nowadays due to the added effort involved, you can also schedule a live, in-person audition.
After the initial audition, it’s time to narrow your potential talent pool to a smaller list of candidates. You can offer callbacks to these actors, during which you can offer more detailed notes about the needs of the project to help you hone in on the right fit. Finally, you can hire voice actors who best help you to realize your vision. Then all that’s left is to negotiate with the talent agency to draft a contract with fees and other terms.
No matter what your project might be, casting and hiring voice actors for your project is a vital process that will get you precisely the talent you need to make your project the best. Work with the right talent agency, and you could make the process even easier. Talk to the casting pros at InnoVision Talent Agency today to get started.