If you are a voiceover artist who offers live directed sessions across zoom, skype, teams or other video platforms, do you keep your video on during your performance?
You shouldn’t! Here’s why:
1. It affects your performance
Voice acting is different to acting for stage or screen. Anyone who has received voiceover coaching knows that you have to move your face and/or body to achieve a good performance, and these movements will be entirely different to any other type of acting. No matter how confident and experienced an actor you are, knowing that we are being watched affects the way we move our body and face, even if you are not aware of it. You also need a few moments of privacy to focus and tap into the right level of emotion for the script.
2. It influences the client’s judgement
If a client watches you deliver a voiceover performance, they receive additional visual clues: tiny, subtle movements or expressions that add context to the words being delivered. These messages will not be part of the finished product. It is vital that they listen to the voice alone in order to assess how the message comes across and give further direction – otherwise when they receive the finished file it may not sound as good as they thought, they won’t know why and you won’t get re-hired.
3. It makes you look like a newbie
Seasoned artists who were voicing regularly before the Covid lockdowns are well used to hooking up with studios via audio links. Experienced artists and producers know that a video link is not customary in the industry. If you feel awkward suggesting an audio only link then don’t – it is normal. Of course it can be nice to chat face to face to introduce yourself – we are not trying to hide or create unnecessary mystery – so feel free to link up via zoom to say hello but TURN THE CAMERA OFF before you start performing.
British Female Voiceover Artist 