Most careers having stepping stones. That is, certain jobs that lead smoothly into other jobs. A lot of radio DJs think they are one step away from being full-blown voice over artists. But I’m afraid that’s not exactly true. I see these as being nearly unrelated professions. Certainly the DJs and voice over artists cross paths in the business, but one doesn’t necessarily lead to another. If having a voice and a mic were the primary qualifiers, then Bingo callers would also be a shoo-in.
Full disclosure: I’m not a former DJ or radio guy, but I do have multiple degrees in broadcasting. So while I haven’t walked a mile in DJs’ shoes, I also don’t come to this opinion without some knowledge.
Now, I will admit that a lot of successful voice over people came from radio. But that doesn’t mean that radio people will always make good voice over talents. That simply means that radio people gravitate toward this profession in droves because it’s believed to be a close cousin. If you throw 500 red rocks and 5 blue rocks at a target, guess which color rock is going to hit the target most?
Voice acting is just that: acting. Taking a character and making it your own, breathing life into someone who is not you and at the same time, melding your own experiences into that character to make it real and believable and accessible. I don’t think anyone would say that being on the radio is the same thing, or anywhere close.
Not only do a lot of jocks who attempt a career in voice acting realize they need to un-learn a lot of habits they acquired in radio, they also realize that they have to exercise a whole new set of muscles like marketing, advertising, and customer relationships. These are things that are far more critical than sitting behind the mic. And they are not a part of their previous jobs as on-air personalities.
“So why are you saying all this, Jeff? Who are you to crush the hopes and dreams of people who may want to make a go of it?” I can hear some of you saying that. And that’s not my point. This comic and blog isn’t directed toward them. This is directed at those who market to them. A few months ago, a voice coach offered a free training CD to those jocks who just got laid off. Obviously, this was an attempt to get those jocks to become paying students. If you ask me, this was incredibly tacky: playing off the plight of the recently laid off and encouraging them to pursue a dream with a huge failure rate that they aren’t necessarily qualified to do.
I would emplore coaches to stop shopping for new clients in the trenches of radio-land, especially those trenches inhabited by folks who are laid-off and struggling to figure out how they’re going to feed their families. Recruit students from theaters, from improv groups. Recruit from places where people already have the acting bug. Because no matter the type of voice acting, from imaging to audiobooks to commercials, that’s what this craft is all about.
But I will throw the ex-radio hopefuls a bone. Radio jocks learn about mic placement and some of the technicals like mixer use and the ins-and-outs of audio software. Being an on-air personality is a stepping stone toward a career in voice-over. But there are so many more steps ahead, that this one is incidental.
Sound off in the comments!