The Voiceover Social

And now on The Voiceover Social… Some of Britain’s most recognisable continuity voices (including the ultimate reassurance-delivery-system Zeb Soanes) tell their tales of high drama and general catastrophe. Also, in the Panic Room - Nic lays out how to use breath control to organise your shattered nerves. Infinite thanks to Philip Banks, Amanda Carlton, Trish Bertram, Sara Starling and Pete Nottag...

Here it is! The breakdown of the Mid-Atlantic accent we've been promising you for MONTHS. We have nailed down exactly what the term used to mean versus what it means now, as well as how to do it - and why it might be time to consider adding it to your repertoire. Huge thanks to the ear bogglingly informed accent coach's accent coach Erik Singer for his contribution, as well as super-pros J...

Leah made an appearance on the very funny podcast Drunk Women Solving Crime earlier this year, so we've nicked the clip of four comedians solving the mystery of her missing car to play to you. Other mysteries dealt with in this bonus episode; the curious disappearance of Leah's Manchester accent, and Nic on the difference between an "a" and an "a". Get your free ticket to the live recording of the...

One of the most famous promo voices in America lives in a tiny Scottish seaside village, an hour and a half north of Aberdeen. We went to see him to find out what life is like if 30 million people hear your voice every day – but none of them knows your name (it’s Philip Banks, by the way). Also featuring a very tolerant Doric-speaking farmer, James, who let us record him and his excellent dialect....

Coco Mbassi is a VO from London, but is originally from France and has lived in Cameroon... niche, you might think. But her story will be disconcertingly familiar to any non-native voiceover... how do you get out of that pigeonhole - and do you even want to?  If you have something to add to this conversation, we'd love to hear from you! Send your comments and views as an email or MP3 to vosoc...

Are all Americans voiceovers these days? Does being British there make it easier or harder to make a living? And what the bejinkers is a Mid Atlantic accent anyway?!  The VO School podcast host (and indisputable Brit) Jamie Muffett joins us from his US studio to answer all our questions  In the Panic Room... How To Stay Present: tackling copy with one eye on mindfulness, with input from...

If you're an actor who's expanded from in-vision performance to voiceover, there are plenty of pickles you can get yourself into. You might have found yourself projecting so hard your mic is popping all over the place, or maybe you're phenomenal off book but your sight reading lets you down. In this bonus episode, Nic and Leah are joined in the panic room by a question from an actor about pauses -...

Doc Brown (AKA Ben Bailey Smith) is famous for being a rapper, comedian and actor among plenty of other things - but what many people don’t realise is that he’s also been working as a voiceover this whole time! In this extended episode (in honour of the arrival of 2020), we cover racism, classism, feminism and capitalism, Ben’s take on Multicultural London English and the flimsy flexibility of our...

We've tracked him down! In our Child Voiceovers episode, Tracy Nampala (animation casting director) mentioned Louis Ashbourne-Serkis' extraordinary performance as Noddy, Toyland Detective (season 1), so we thought he'd be the perfect person to talk to about what being a CVO is actually like. Lucky for us, despite recently starring in The Kid Who Would Be King with Patrick Stewart and being up to h...

Ever wondered what being a child voiceover’s like? The kindly and wonderful animation director Tracy Nampala (Noddy, School of Roars, Ricky Zoom) shares how she gets the best out of the children she casts and top children’s casting site coordinator Joanne Lamb reveals the worst practice she’s seen from some surprisingly crap producers. Also - everything you need to know if you’re near a child who...

Once upon a time, there was a three year old who was puppet MAD. Warrick Brownlow-Pike watched them, drew them, made them, moved them and gave them great big muppety voices. Now he's a grown up major-league puppeting superstar - Gonger on Sesame Street, Dodge the Dog on the BBC, and The Chamberlain in Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance - so we've spoken to him about what makes a voice "...

Our Leah was nominated for two VOX awards this year, but did she win them? Does it even matter? What’s the difference between awards in the UK and the US? And what if you have to pay to enter? Does that make it worth less? We bring you all the answers - or at least some vaguely researched pontificating - in our special bonus episode direct from VOX 2019. Featuring insider info from multi-award win...

We’ve cornered studio engineers Tom Rowbotham , Kirsty Gillmore , Rob Bee and Rich O Donoghue and asked them what on earth they're twiddling with. Featuring: A fancy new(ish) way to get rid of mouth clicks Ten things you really need to know about studio etiquette Some truly heartwrenching answers to the question "What's been your most catastrophic session? A competition to win brand new Focusrite...

Ladies and Gentlemen, this episode is about to begin! VOG specialists Katie Flamman and Lorraine Ansell tell us everything they know about getting the sound exactly right, Nic tackles a mysterious squeak in the Panic Room, and Equity's Audio Committee makes a big announcement! Got a voice question? Send it to the Panic Room using the “send in a voice message” link below, or email an mp3 to vosocia...

We’ve dragged ourselves out of a sluggish 38 celsius funk to bring you the sparklingly musical (and non-musical too) impressionist Jess Robinson.  In this episode, Jess reveals who has the trickiest of all the voices to get right as well as which ones do her the most damage, and in the Panic Room - ARG I'VE FORGOTTEN HOW TO BREATHE Got a panic? Send it to us! We'll keep you anonymous, we prom...

Did you know there are VO Socials across the UK? Join us on a whistlestop tour round three of them – Bristol, Scotland and Hull - for advice on tricky clients, VO horror stories, and a surprising amount of nudity…  Get involved in real life:  NEWCASTLE 5th August at the Town Wall opposite Central Station from 7:30pm  BRISTOL 21st August at Bambalan from 7pm (Happy 1st birthday Brist...

EXPLICIT CONTENT! Be warned. This interview with radio commercial producer Adders from LBS has absolutely zero bleeps in it. That’s despite it containing an extraordinary, previously unbroadcast recording of one of voiceover’s most famous mavericks raunching up a car dealership, and TWO whole OTHER swear words as WELL. If you feel you can manage all that, you'll also hear: Why SEO is worth troubli...

   It’s the One Voice Conference 2019 in podcast form! Featuring keynote speaker Hugh Bonneville, voiceovers from all over the world, and the Northern winners from the One Voice Awards. Don’t forget to leave a review, and send your questions to our brand new Panic Room by clicking on the "Send Voice Message" link below (or by emailing listen@thevosocial.com if you can't see it) Theme tune written...

 It’s a bonus episode! Join Nic, Leah, Paul Brown and special guest Natalie Silverman for a quick jaunt back in time to find out if things really were better in the olden days of commercial voiceover. Plus, find out how YOU could be the proud owner of the preposterous number plate A1 MVO!  Also, the oooonly time we could find to record this bonus episode was on the fast (loud) train home...

Paul Brown is one of the most well known radio commercial voices in the UK. He’s been at it since the 70s, and now works from his home studio near Macclesfield for a floor-moppingly long list of huge name clients. We popped round his gaff to find out what he knows, and have a nosey at his great big fancy booth. Ooh it is posh though. Theme tune written and performed by Martin Stirrup under this Cr...

This time around,  we have an avant-garde bash at getting the levels right and then expert In-Store Radio producer Toby Huggins from KVH Media takes us on a trip all over this under-lauded industry. He also reveals the details of a party he's planning in the aisles of a high street store near you, AND we launch our competition! You can win TWO brilliant prizes (info in the podcast), and all y...

In this episode we chat to Judith from Manchester/London voice agency The Voiceover Gallery about how being based up North makes a difference, current casting trends, and what to do if your client's "being a nob". There's an absolutely lovely chap featured in Show Offs Corner, and Nic tells you how to get tickets for the ridiculously brilliant guest coach she's shipped up North for a workshop.&nbs...

The North played a blinder at the VOX awards 2018, with a load of nominations and an outstanding TWO wins by Cumbrian lad Jack Oddie, so we called him up to get his perspective on regional accents taking over the commercial mainstream. Also in this episode, Manchester based video production company Bearded Fellows smash through some frankly savage home truths about how they cast voices, and Leah g...

Boz talks in this bonus episode about casting, music, sound design, authenticity and purpose in Holy Mountain's "Billie Homeless Dies At The End", "Saving The Blue", "Hay El Matar" (back on BBC Radio 4 from November 19th) and "The Good Listener" (which is being repeated on BBC Radio 4 on 12th September 2018)  Episode 14 of the podcast will be published in December - send your VO work to vosoc...

Here, have an interview with the man from Holy Mountain; Leah's favourite creator and award winning, industry disrupting megatron, Boz Temple Morris. The most Northern of our VO Social attendees features in Show Offs' Corner, and there's a clip of one of the Guardian's "Best Shows To See" at the Edinburgh Festival at the very end... for reasons that will become apparent. Send us your contributions...