Thinking of becoming an audiobook narrator or hiring one from Matinee.co.uk? If so, you might be interested to know how acting is factored into this kind of job, and how it could impact your career path, or voice actor choice.
In this article we take a closer look at acting and audiobook narration and how the two are connected. Read on to discover more about this interesting aspect of storytelling:
Becoming An Audiobook Narrator Requires A Lot Of Different Skills
If you want to become an audiobook narrator you might assume that you can do so easily, as long as you can speak clearly. Any well seasoned narrator will tell you that this is not the case at all.
There is a lot to becoming an audiobook narrator, including a huge range of technical skills. You need to master microphone control, breath control, eye, mouth and brain coordination that allows you to scan words ahead, and the ability to work for hours at a time across several days.
This not only enables you to do a great job when you’re recording, but it also means you learn how to earn more money. The quicker you get your job done efficiently and the less mistakes you make, the more able you are to get the reading completed well without taking more hours. This is important because you’re likely to be paid a full amount for the work and not an hourly rate, so the longer you take, the less you’re making per hour overall.
Is Acting An Essential Skill For Audiobook Narrators?
General acting is a fantastic help when it comes to audiobook narration. It helps you with voice control, diaphragmatic breathing and creativity in how you read a script. If you don’t have any acting ability or experience at all you do need to get some before becoming a narrator. Even a basic starter course at your local college will be a huge help to you.
However, even if you do have acting experience it is important to understand that you need specific audiobook acting training if you’re going to truly hone your talent and apply it to this kind of job. You’ll be able to apply your acting skills to narration in a way that lifts the story you are reading off the page, allowing the listener to go on a journey and experience the book in all its glory. You’ll also learn how to separate your own creative interpretation and expression from narrating, instead understanding how to interpret the subtle and functional cues provided by the author so that you can put their intentions across in your recording.
Lastly, it is also really important that you learn how to simultaneously read different characters from the same story, sometimes when they are engaging with each other, and whilst also narrating in a different tone. They may have different accents, be different genders or ages. Some could have certain vocal aspects like lisps or a marked nasal way of speaking. It can get quite complicated and taxing.
You may have done something similar when acting, but in a real recording studio with a book to read and a story to tell, it takes some serious acting and narration skills to pull this off well.
What’s The Next Step In Your Audiobook Narration Journey?
If you’re looking for the best voice actors for audiobook narration, choose a professional voice over talent company who have lots of fully trained and experienced talent on their books. If you want to get into the industry as an audiobook narrator, your dedication to learning and acquiring skills will be a big help. The audiobook industry is set to grow 25% by 2027, so it’s a great time to move into this kind of job role.