Casting voiceover is a very difficult job. You can learn about some of the relationships and a day in the life of a voiceover casting director here. In this article, we will look at the audition process and the relationship between the performer and the casting director. Before I begin, it is important to recognize that we are all human. That means we are all creatures of relationship. Relationships are different from person to person but there is one consistency that makes a relationship strong – and that is being genuine. Whoever you deal with in any walk of life, being genuine is fundamentally important to your success. It is all about building trust.
Casting Director and Voiceover Artist Relationship
Unfortunately, a lot of voice actors fall into two categories which are an entitlement mentality or a hard pitch behavior. The former presents itself in a manner where the performers think they are the next best thing. They believe that they deserve to work with the casting director of choice. However, this is just not true and is very unhealthy. Casting directors are not short of voice talent and if you behave like a big shot you are just going to come across as arrogant. Sadly this in turn will repel everyone you wanted to impress. Now when it comes to the hard pitch, this is just repetitive and kind of pushy. Have you ever had a sales representative stop you in the street, knock on your front door, or call your mobile? It is annoying, right? Don’t do that.
What a voiceover artist should do is try to build genuine relationships with EVERYONE. You do not know who the next casting professional will be so don’t look at people for their titles look at them for who they are. Honestly, it will be refreshing to all concerned to discuss something other than the industry. Art, Culture, Family, and so on, there are a dozen topics to build genuine relationships upon. To coin an old biblical phrase, do on to others as you would have them do to you.
Casting The Audition Process
Booking someone for the job is not just about talent. How these people conduct themselves is fundamentally important for the success of the project. Everyone wants to work with people they like and trust. Sessions just become awkward and difficult when you don’t have a good team player in the room. Casting directors can sometimes have more than 1,000 auditions in their inbox for a single role, which takes a lot of hard work to manage.
The challenge is, it is so fundamentally important to get this right as whoever is selected will be seen in perpetuity and in turn be the one to deliver the message to our children and grandchildren. It is a massive responsibility and one that needs delicacy, discernment, and a lot of grit. If you are thinking ‘Who would ever want to be a casting director’ you are in the right place mentally speaking. This is because it is a very challenging job and those who work in casting deserve recognition as it is not a job for the faint-hearted.
Casting Voiceover Summary
So how do you get noticed by a top casting director? Well, don’t pester them, pester the agents who work with them! Your job is not to be seen by the casting director, your job is to be genuine. If there is a particular person and company you want to work with, it is great for them to know you are. However, ultimately it comes down to who you are represented by. There is trust between agents and casting directors and if you have an agent that will vouch for you and put you forward, then this is excellent news. If not, keep at it! This industry is a marathon, not a sprint.
Casting Voiceover by Alan Shires
