Here are some points to consider when creating a voice over character.

Know Thyself. Become aware of how you actually speak with regards to pitch, placement, attitude, gate, dialect etc. Do not criticize or look for validation about it, just notice. Not only will this help you to see what roles you are most castable in, but also how you can make specific adjustments to play a greater variety of characters. This is voice over, so it doesn’t matter how tall, old, ugly or cute you are!

Who are you talking to? Notice how differently you might speak to your best friend than you would to a child, a stranger or a police officer. Find the points in the copy that could mean something to you.

Experience each moment. Don’t convey. While voice over is theatre of the mind and nobody will actually see you, your job as an actor is to live in the moment. Use your body and facial movement to create the moment-to-moment reality for yourself and the microphone will pick it up.

Make your choices few, personal, and specific. If you’ve ever heard “You can’t be everything to everyone”, that is almost completely untrue in voice over. Nevertheless, does your character have specific likes and dislikes about food, clothes, their town, jobs or hair color? If you’ve already made those choices, your lines will have more reality in them. Example - SCENE PARTNER: Would you like some tea? YOU: No, thank you. That line will come out very differently if you are thinking “You know I hate tea,” or maybe you’re thinking “ Who cares about tea when you look so beautiful!”

Let the director direct. You’ve got a scene partner or a director that has “no idea what they are doing!” How exhausting. Yes, I know you could solve it all if they would just listen to you for a minute. Remember -You only have control over your choices. Most directors love actors that want to contribute their point of view. But hopefully, you’ve already practiced making on-the-spot choices before stepping into the booth. A studio session is an expensive time to hold everything and talk about why your character sounds that way. Even if the director tells you to play it completely different from the brilliant detailed way you’ve created your character, just say, “No problem!” If you’ve already made personal, specific choices for your character, you can do it again. Maybe the director sees things that you don’t see. If worse comes to worse and the director really is that terrible, call your agent and find a way to get out of the gig. Do it nicely. It’s a small world.

Features of a Voice by Christopher Miller
Here are a few points of focus for creating character voices.

Gate A structure that can block an entrance or a passageway. A means of access: the gate to riches.

Pitch Acoustics. The distinctive quality of a sound, dependent primarily on the frequency of the sound waves produced by its source.

Placement The spatial property of the way in which something is placed. The act of putting something in a certain place or location [syn: location, locating, position, positioning

Dialect A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a variety of speech differing from the standard literary language or speech pattern of the culture in which it exists: Cockney is a dialect of English.

Attitude A position of the body or manner of carrying oneself. A complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways.

Application of Physicality by Christopher Miller
Some practical ways to experiment with & use your instrument.

Gate Say your name while applying each of the following choices one at a time.

1. Tighten your lips against your teeth.
2. Now loosen the lips in a kissing shape.
3. Smile widely.
4. Now frown.
5. Open your mouth wide.
6. Now keep your teeth together.


Pitch Say “Why don

Here are some points to consider when approaching a film-acting role.


Know Thyself. Become aware of how you actually move, speak, and respond. Do not criticize or look for validation about it, just notice. Not only will this help you to see what roles you are most castable in, but also how you can make specific adjustments to play a greater variety of characters.

Choose to be interested. Don’t try to be interesting. Now that you are rehearsing or performing in your scene, focus on other people and things in the scene. Listen. While a play audience will focus on the character with lines, a film audience watches the listener more.

Experience each moment. Don’t convey. While film is more show and less tell, your job as an actor is to live in the moment. The camera will show it. The camera will even pick up your unspoken thoughts in a close up if your eyes are in the shot.

Make your choices few, personal, and specific. If you’ve ever heard “You can’t be everything to everyone”, that is especially true in film acting. Does your character have specific likes and dislikes about food, clothes, their town, jobs or hair color? If you’ve already made those choices, your lines will have more reality in them. Example - SCENE PARTNER: Would you like some tea? YOU: No, thank you. That line will come out very differently if you are thinking “You know I hate tea,” or maybe you’re thinking “ Who cares about tea when you look so beautiful!”

Let the director direct. You’ve got a scene partner or a director that has “no idea what they are doing!” How exhausting. Yes, I know you could solve it all if they would just listen to you for a minute. Remember -You only have control over your choices. Most directors love actors who contribute their point of view. But hopefully, you’ve already had those discussions before you’re on the set. That’s an expensive time to hold everything and talk about why your character comes in that way. Even if the director tells you to play it completely different from the brilliant detailed way you rehearsed and created your character. Just say, “No problem!” If you’ve already made personal, specific choices for your character you can do it again. Maybe the director sees things that you don’t see. If worse comes to worse and the director really is that terrible, call your agent and find a way to get out of the picture. Do it nicely. It’s a small world.

Do you, Rebecca, take David to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, through mid-life crisis, stock losses, bankruptcy and lay-offs, through medical conditions not covered by your health insurance, property damage, kids that wreck your car sending your premiums sky-rocketing, weight gain that just won’t let go of your midsection making it impossible to wear attractive clothing?

Do YOU, David take Rebecca to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, through hormonal rages, loss of private time, time with friends or time to watch television, through sleepless nights of worry about your future and lectures about your diet, your grooming, your spending habits that make you wonder how she found you attractive enough to marry in the first place unless she was always planning to change you like a manipulative harpy?!

Then I now pronounce you, committed to a life that can only increase your patience, ability to forgive, laugh and chill, unless, of course, it kills you.