Entry-level positions for aspiring Voice Over Directors at Talkback Casting

There are several ways to get to know how different voice directors work with actors. One exciting option is to find a position as a note-taker or assistant to a sound team at a game developer like EA, Sony, or Activision. You could also assist the audio team or writers, which would give you face time in the actual booth and control room to absorb how the job is done.

Another route is to work for a sound company that handles the recording. The sound studios I go to every day sometimes have note-takers and assistants. They basically take notes, and I'll call out which takes of each line I like. They circle those takes, and ensure those are the ones edited and delivered to the client.

I've seen younger folks, and not even that young, get into this line of work this way. It's a chance not only to meet people but, more importantly, to absorb and see how different directors approach directing an actor. I do it one way, and other directors do it differently. I think it's a great way to find how you might want to do it and create your own special sauce.

A third way is to try and befriend or contact a voice director who might allow you to shadow them. This is the toughest angle, mainly because we're under so many NDAs. We can't even let family members into my Zoom sessions because everything is so top-secret. So, it's a rougher way of going about it, but it is possible.