Frequently Asked Questions

“Voice over” is a catchall term for any form of acting that requires the spoken word. It includes commercials, animation, video games, ADR (Automatic Dialogue Replacement), audio books, corporate narration among others.

While having a great speaking voice is an asset, successful VO artists have invested in acting training and have worked hard to develop and explore their instrument. VO is just a different kind of acting that has its own technique. Taking a group class or working privately with one of our coaches is the place to start.

You can’t go wrong either way. While a group class is more comprehensive and combines individualized instruction and observation, one-on-one coaching is much more intensive and personalized. The main advantage of one-on-one coaching is that students tend to progress more rapidly because of the individualized attention.

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Yes. You want to be on it? Email us.

We miss you, too, but everyone seems to love working from home in their pajamas. The business has changed which is why you need a home setup. We currently don’t have any plans to begin hosting classes at the studio, but join our mailing list and you’ll be the first to know if we change our minds.

Ahora no, pero esperamos agregar clases en español en un futuro muy pronto.

Maybe, but everyone develops at a different pace. Your instructor will give you feedback so you know how you are progressing.

Your coach will let you know if you’re ready. If you are new to Shut Up & Talk, a coaching session is required to confirm that you are indeed ready to make a demo. This will give your coach a chance to get to know your voice and help select the best scripts for you. Unlike other studios, we won’t make your demo until you are ready to audition professionally.

At least one private coaching is required before a demo session in order to prepare copy. Beginners often need many coachings before they're ready. Your coach will be able to give you a more accurate estimate once they’ve evaluated you.

We can help you, but there might be some technical limitations. Share your demo with a coach and they’ll weigh in on what Hyperbolic Audio can do.

You can if you do them incredibly well but we think they belong on a separate demo.

Your personal VO website should be the first place you post it (if you don’t have one, get one ASAP). Voices 123 comes to mind but you’ll mostly be emailing it to agents and production companies in hopes of joining their roster.

No, but it certainly helps. Think about it this way: you’re a freelancer and having as many people hustling to get you auditions is a good thing. The job of being a voice over actor is recording auditions. The booking is the icing on the cake.

If you work hard and make a positive impression on your coach, they might go the extra mile for you. They will certainly suggest reputable agencies.

We believe it’s a personal choice. If you have an agent, you should ask them since picking a side will limit the auditions they share with you. The truth is, non union auditions have definitely caught up in volume to union auditions. It’s complicated so make sure you do your research and talk to other voice over actors.

Yes, you need to have a professional-sounding home setup, but it needn’t require a huge financial investment. A blanket fort and USB mic are a great place to start. Our instructors can help you with this and we hope to add this topic to our class offerings very soon.

Sky’s the limit but a decent USB mic might start around $250 and a Neumann U87 is nearly $4,000. Maybe book a few jobs before jumping on the Neumann bandwagon. Just sayin’...

These days, 99.9% of the time you will be recording all your auditions from home.

First, don’t be so hard on yourself. Voice over is very competitive. Sometimes casting decisions are arbitrary but it might be time to check in with one of our coaches to boost your confidence and fine tune your audition submissions.