VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

LucyE · Guest

I am a British female living in the USA. I get constant compliments on my accent and am considering trying to get into voiceover work. Is a "cool" accent enough? Any helpful comments welcome. Thanks

Bailey · Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:48 pm Post subject: Re: British accent....

Deirdre · Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:26 pm Post subject: Re: British accent....

billelder · Guest

Yup, Deirdre. How many Americans didn't know that Hue Laurie was British? (I'm a Blackadder Fan.) Even I have done a British voice for commercials.

True Story. I know a guy that came here from the UK (I'm thinking 10 or 15 years ago) and is a motivational speaker. You know, Dale Carnegie stuff. He opened his own business an it wasn't doing as well a he had hoped but still Ok. A couple of months ago he goes to work part time selling ads...um...I mean getting contributions for Public Radio. They heard his British accent and got him to do some liners. An "on staff announcer" introduced him to his agent who immediately got him a job doing a corporate narration for Coca Cola.

I don't know your location, you could probably go to a local radio station and get a job right now doing some adverts. Maybe try a local agency first to get your feet wet.

I know what you men about the accent. I always fly British Air to the UK because if my plane goes down, I want a pilot with a British Accent saying, "We're terrible sorry for this small inconvenience, but we seem to have a bit of a disagreement with the landing gear." As opposed to a Georgia pilot. "Yeeeee- Haaaaa! We's goin' down!!!!" Smile

Bailey · Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 9:22 am Post subject: Re: British accent....

Philip Banks · Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 9:31 am Post subject:

It's an urban myth that American voices feel they will be thought attractive options in the UK and Brit's think the same about the USA. If a voice is unable to make it on their home turf it unlikely they'll make it elsewhere. I fly against that by making myself unattractive on both continents.

I get used by producers in the USA for my range of American accents as much as for the Brit ones not because there is a shortage of the sounds they seek but because of (their claim, not mine) a dearth of performance skills. If they're using me it MUST be bad!

Lucy's sound is rung one of a very long ladder and there is no money to be made at rung one. My question to her and anyone else with a good voice would be "can you come up with another reason why a producer should use you?"

I did like Bill's implication that there are people in Georgia allowed to fly aeroplanes.

Deirdre · Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 10:30 am Post subject:

ConnieTerwilliger · Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 10:43 am Post subject:

I've had multiple roles in plays over the past few years with proper RP - Fiona Foster in "How the Othe Half Lives" and Maude Baudley in "Not Now Darling." Then came the New York Jewish roles in "Social Security" and "You Should Be So Lucky" and "45 Seconds From Broadway."

My last role was Kate in "Sylvia" and I was just me! Actually quite a nice role, 'cause you have to come across as someone the audience likes, rather than a whiny *itch - despite a whole lot of lines that would appear that way without the right subtext. Don't want the audience rooting for Greg to take Sylvia and run for the hills!
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PJHawke · Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:16 am Post subject:

Hart · Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:29 am Post subject:

as a true southerner, it drives me batty to hear a bad fake southern accent. Like fingernails on a chalkboard.
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dhouston67 · Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 12:22 pm Post subject:

Brian,

As a true Texan, what drives me batty is people who are asked to do a Texas accent --- and out of their mouths comes a half-baked Southern dialect that bounces around from Biloxi to Moblie to the Carolinas, never getting anywhere near the Lone Star State. A slight to Southerners as well as Southwesterners.

One case in point: The HBO film Path to War. I like the film, and Michael Gambon and Felicity Huffman are terrific actors, but their "Texas" accents are in the same vague "semi-Southern" range.
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Deirdre · Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 12:34 pm Post subject:

Nobody but NOBODY can do Boston unless they grew up there.
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PJHawke · Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 1:43 pm Post subject:

A well known national pizza chain did some regional commercials for the St Louis area that they thought would be a local hit, and their sales plummeted. They took one or two dialect peculiarities and exagerrated them so much the characters sounded insultingly uneducated. After awhile they pulled the ads and haven't tried their hand at impersonations since.

Bruce · Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 8:17 am Post subject:

Yes, incorrect pronunciation can kill your sales efforts. In Phoenix we have a large suburb called Tempe. Many an out-of-town announcer has read it like I believe the Greeks said the name of the original temple, TEM-peh. Wrong. Many take a flying leap and say tem-PAY, which also gets groans from us locals. The local pronunciation is tem-PEE.

With long distance rates at 3 cents a minute or less, I have no problem calling the city hall or offices of any strange named place and double checking.

Bruce

Deirdre · Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 8:21 am Post subject: