This is PART 2 of the original “challenge” posed by Cadden, our admin and voice actor. Cadden said one of the biggest challenges he’s facing in his career is figuring out WHERE to find opportunities (in each genre), HOW to find them and WHO to search for or market to.
In our last post, we focused on E-Learning, Museum Tours, Radio Imaging and Toys.
Today we’re focusing on: AUDIOBOOKS, DUBBING, IN-SHOW NARRATION and VIDEO GAMES.
If you struggle to create a plan on contacting potential clients and agents, our Business, Branding and Marketing video course was created to help. We’re offering a 10% discount for the month of July!
AUDIOBOOKS
WHERE
Audiobook Production Companies (Penguin Random House – AHAB, ACX, John Marshall Media – local to Atlanta, ProAudioVoices.com – under “No contract, No work” order from SAG, AudiobookNetwork (word count)).
Every once and awhile you could receive an audiobook audition from an agent or an online casting site.
HOW
The best way to start auditioning for audiobook opportunities is to join the various production company platforms. Ahab Talent (https://www.ahabtalent.com/) for Penguin Random House, ACX.com for, you guessed it, ACX and John Marshall Media uses RoleCall.co. There are some other sites such as ProAudioVoices.com but it is under a “no contract, no work” order from SAG. AudiobookNetwork.com is another site, however, the rates aren’t that great. They pay by word count.
You can also find audiobook jobs on online casting sites. I’d suggest this only as you’re beginning. The rates aren’t always in line with industry standards. There have also been people who have booked narrator jobs due to their connections. They happened to know someone who wrote a book and asked them to narrate it.
Erin Spencer has led audiobook workshops with us in the past and she directs audiobook demos for us. She is not only a successful audiobook narrator herself but she also owns an audiobook production house. Taking workshops from people like Erin doesn’t guarantee work but it allows you a chance to show your skill and create a relationship.
I recently interviewed Julie Wilson, casting director for Penguin Random House, on the AVS blog. If you haven’t listened, she talks about what you need to do to optimize your profile.
Another great resource to find and connect with people who hire narrators is the APA or Audio Publishers Association (APA) . They have an annual conference called APAC and you can find all the major producers there. This tidbit is according to Julie Wilson (Sanya Simmons also backed this up) who also mentioned going to writers’ conferences to find self-published authors.
WHO
The main roles who hire talent are: AUDIOBOOK PRODUCERS, SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHORS and CASTING DIRECTORS for audiobook production houses.
Interested in pursuing audiobooks? Check out Curt Bonnem’s Audiobook class with us!
DUBBING
WHERE
In-House Casting Directors
HOW
Many dubbing studios have in-house casting directors and/or maintain their own talent roster. To find these studios, simply search “dubbing studios.”
WHO
The role/position you need to search for would be a “DUBBING DIRECTOR” or even “DUBBING PRODUCER.”
Connecting with them is a great way to network and get on their radar for more auditions and casting.
Another method to find out who those contacts are, is to look at the end credits on English dubs. For example, Netflix always includes credits for the production team that did each language dub after the main credits, so check out the English credits and you might see some familiar names of people and studios. – Jessica Blue.
Interested in learning more about Dubbing technique? Join Jessica Blue’s (Dubbing Director) next Dubbing Workshop
IN-SHOW NARRATION
WHERE
Agents
Every once and awhile opportunities in this genre will pop up on online casting sites OR through relationships. I worked on a show (in pitch phase) and got the opportunity through a studio I had done some other VO for.
HOW
See above under Commercials for more information on obtaining agents. However, if you wanted to self-market, you’d look up production companies. Many times, production companies create the shows and then sell them to networks/platforms. When you search production companies, look at what shows they’ve previously produced. That will tell you if they have shows that would need in-show narration.
WHO
A CREATIVE DIRECTOR would be in charge, most times, of choosing which voice to use. However, it’d be good to create a relationship with a PRODUCER as well. Sometimes they’re tasked with gathering VO options to present.
VIDEO GAMES
WHERE
Agents
HOW
Even though good video game auditions come from agents, there are certain agents that get video game auditions and certain ones that don’t. In Atlanta, the main VO agents will get video game auditions since Hi-Rez studios is local. There are a lot of video game companies in Texas and you’ll more than likely get a good amount of video game auditions from agents in LA and NY.
Were you at our Give & Learn 2023? Andrea Chang, Audio Director at Hi-Rez Studios, was one of our panelists. If you missed her, check out our interview with her on the podcast from a couple years ago.
WHO
While it’s best to just go through your agent, if you’re wanting to create a relationship with someone in video games that work with voice actors, you’d look for the AUDIO DIRECTOR.
It’s also great to stay up to date with what’s going on with the various video game companies. If you follow them on LinkedIn, click the little “bell” icon to be alerted of any news they post. There’s also an organization called the Georgia Game Developers Association. They put out a great newsletter to keep you up to date.
Want to learn more about Video Games? Check out our class that covers Video Games and animation, taught by Arianna Ratner HERE.
In PART 3, we’ll focus on ANIMATION, COMMERCIALS, IVR and PROMO/TRAILER genres. That will come out the second week of August or August 12th, so stay tuned!
