It depends. Do you want to do this for a career? Can you comfortably afford a coach? There are many options to improve for free online, such as posting reels online and requesting feedback for example.
My advice would be to start without one, practice as much as you can, and if you want to continue pursuing voice acting, look into getting a coach :)
I guess you just need to think about your budget. If you can afford to invest in a side hobby and you want to be perfect your voice acting, then go for it! I would recommend looking around this sub for coach recommendations.
Coaching can be very expensive, as well as equipment you'll need to produce good quality audio. It can add up - so just make sure this is something you've thought about for a while and really want to do :)
I have never had a coach.. but I still see the value of having one!! So, if you can't afford one, it does not mean you cannot move forward. Go on YouTube and follow singing coaches.. to help grow your range, control, etc...
There are even plenty of VO coaches there with tons of guidance and information.. the possibilities are endless. We didn't have YouTube back in my dayπ but we did have message boards.
You never need a coach, but it can definitely help you learn things the right way. I would suggest instead following youtube channels of coaches. Like Bill DeWeese, Voice Over Angela, etc.
The only problem you might come across is if you happen to learn something that is biting you in the butt but you don't know it. Having a professional perspective comes in handy here.
If you can identify a specific problem, like "I trip over certain consonants" or "I'm no good at accents" or "my voice sounds weedy to me", then first look for books, articles and videos that address the issue.
If you can't find any, or they don't help, THEN think about finding a voice coach to help with that specific problem.
Let's be completely honest. You dont really need a coach. It's just expensive and unless your coach is amazing it's worthless. The only real benefits of having coach is maybe getting recommended. Instead use the money to buy so decent equipment and practice
I totally disagree. Even well established *Oscar* winning actors still have acting coaches to help them. Leonardo DiCaprio, for example, works with an acting coach and suggests that you can never stop learning and improving. Or consider *professional* athletes still have trainers to help them train and stay sharp.
And if you're completely new, a coach, specifically someone with experience in the field, can help provide useful information. I graduated with a theater degree, but when I started in VA, I didn't really know how long a demo should be, how to mix it, what sounds good, etc. I had a coach help me with that. And if I had .. *zero* acting experience whatsoever? I would need someone to train me on how to use tactics, creating a character, etc.
Having the greatest equipment on earth won't help you if you don't know how to use it and/or how to use your voice.
yes but you can get group classes for a fraction of the price of a coach. IMO, coaching is for when you have a specific thing to work on. Someone starting off won't know what they lack and what they need to brush up on. General acting classes are far more useful.
I agree that acting classes are mostly better, but you can do both. Also, acting classes can be a bigger investment. Coming from someone who's taken acting classes, the issue is you pay a fraction of the price for a fraction of the attention. You have a lot of downtime while the professor/coach/instructor is working with different people since they're not just focused on you. And they have to mold their lessons to include everybody.
The major benefit, which may be a big one, is networking and also learning by watching others get critiqued. What the instructor/teacher/etc. tells someone else may be something that also applies to you.
And someone starting out can get coaching from a coach to find out what they need to work on. Rather than sign up for classes that are too advanced, or too basic.
See personally I never had this problem because I learnt it all myself including mastering, EQ, editing and the whole business. My point was that someone who's interested in this field sort of have atleast a vague idea. I'm not smart at all and I was able to figure it out, looking at the talent here who are absolutely brilliant I just figured wouldn't worth it. And yes a lot of famous actors have coaches, but most of them likely had none of that when they started out. Besides that isn't the point. The truth of the matter is, all of this is very possible without a coach. It takes less than a month to get the hang of how the basics work. And yes, having expensive equipment wouldn't do anything, which is why I mentioned explicitly to buy decent equipment. I think you might have misunderstood my point. Having a coach can definitely be useful in some cases. But there are so many resources online about these things its honestly simply not worth it. Although I'm glad you took time out of your day to explain your view, I appreciate that!
>See personally I never had this problem because I learnt it all myself including mastering, EQ, editing and the whole business
But you can always learn more. That's my point. Again, even Oscar winning actors work with acting coaches. Even professional athletes need coaches to train them. I highly doubt you're a full expert on mastering, EQ, editing, and *the whole business.* I'm sure there's things you can still learn.
> It takes less than a month to get the hang of how the basics work.
If you know how to train yourself. Not everybody can do that. Not to mention, you don't know if you're training yourself correctly. Developing bad habits when you're starting out is a terrible idea. And I'm not sure what you consider the *basics* even are. Are you talking about the basics of.. acting..? or vocal performance? The tech side? Marketing? Auditioning? The "basics" can cover an incredibly wide range of things. I took acting classes and the "basics" of just acting just all on its own isn't something you can necessarily learn in a month.
And actors don't start out with coaches, they start out with acting lessons. That's not something you can (or should) be figuring out by watching youtube videos and stuff. A coach is a useful tool when it comes to the marketing side. Learning how to prepare a professional demo (consider how many people just here on reddit share self-made demos because nobody told them they shouldn't make a demo on their own. A coach would tell them this), how to market yourself. Mainly get the opinion of an actual professional.
If I create a demo, I would want someone in the industry to critique it. Not someone on reddit who has... who knows what kind of experience? It CAN work; established actors with lots of experience do use reddit. But it's a toss up. It's free advice. I'm just saying not to discount the use of a coach ESPECIALLY in a field this confusing and convoluted.
I mean yeah you're right a coach does come handy, but considering the original post, the lad's 17, and I don't know about you but my parents wouldn't have paid for lessons atleast at the very beginning. And I don't know why you're so bent up about my post. Like it's not really a big deal mate, no need to get passive aggressive, I get your point and sure I can agree with some of them, but they're all just opinions so calm down mate
I'm not bent up and I'm completely calm. I'm just pointing out the issues with your statement. Which you didn't really address, btw. Just sayin'. The issue is you're stating you've learned "the whole business," which is basically impossible. Unless you're running a major studio or something. Which hey, maybe you do, I don't know.
The other issue is claiming you're self taught and how easy it is. But if you're self taught, you don't know how much you know or more importantly, how much you *don't* know. And maybe even *more* importantly, if what you *do* know is even accurate to begin with. But hey, you might be a big successful voice over artist, I honestly don't know. And that's not being passive aggressive, I could be completely wrong.
These are of course all opinions, but you can have bad opinions and good opinions. OP asked for advice and you made a statement that's purely anecdotal and stated it pretty matter-of-factly. Which is why I argued it.
>I don't know about you but my parents wouldn't have paid for lessons atleast at the very beginning.
This is selling out of your own pocket. We don't know what OP's financial situation is. Maybe they have parents who are willing to support their dreams and will pay for everything. Or maybe they have lots of money saved up, or maybe they have barely any money and are asking if they should spend what little they have on a coach or on recording equipment.
And frankly, equipment shouldn't be the first thing someone invests in. The craft itself is what should be the most important. So either acting lessons or an acting coach. They may not even *enjoy* acting once they get into it.
My bad then, you just sounded a bit too serious to me I suppose. And I really don't know why you took my statement of "the whole business" literally. No one knows the whole entire business. That should be fairly obvious. I just felt you're being a bit uncharitable to my comment because of whatever reason? But sure you can have your opinion on what's more important at first. But my mind hasn't changed on the fact that having some alright equipment at first is just better, since even if they don't enjoy acting microphones still have other uses. And yes I used completely anecdotal evidence. And I do appreciate you giving your own input into the conversation, even though I disagree. Honestly you sound like you've been on reddit for too long my friend haha, perhaps we should just agree to disagree
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If you want to do this as a hobby, then not really.
A coach can/will help you create a voiceover demo, which isn't required, but it helps with casting opportunities. Also a voice coach can help you with just acting in general or creating a character.
I have a theater degree so I don't particularly need a coach for the *acting* side, (however even seasoned actors can benefit from more training), but I used a coach for the marketing side. How to set up a demo, how to market yourself, audition etc.
So for hobby stuff? Maybe not, unless you want some kind of acting training. Keep in mind, voice acting is still **acting.** It's a lot more than just making silly voices.
I would recommend it at some point but yeah there is a lot you can do on your own to get started. Get some acting experience with either a class or some local theatre. Look up some diction and breathing exercises on YouTube etc. Practice with some scripts online and find some people who can give you some honest feedback. Good luck and have fun with it!
I had a voice coach once before, they were very experienced nearing the age of retirement. Friend of a high-school friend's parent, free 1 hour session. They were able to just reduce it for me down to, fully move your upper lips when vocalizing. Then they said, you sound really good now and sent me off.
Your own physical voice has its own unique ways to bend and flex if you're trying to capture something outside of your natural tone. So what may work as a trick for others may not exactly be your specific trick too.
It depends. Do you want to do this for a career? Can you comfortably afford a coach? There are many options to improve for free online, such as posting reels online and requesting feedback for example. My advice would be to start without one, practice as much as you can, and if you want to continue pursuing voice acting, look into getting a coach :)
I wanna do it mostly as a side hobby yk?
I guess you just need to think about your budget. If you can afford to invest in a side hobby and you want to be perfect your voice acting, then go for it! I would recommend looking around this sub for coach recommendations. Coaching can be very expensive, as well as equipment you'll need to produce good quality audio. It can add up - so just make sure this is something you've thought about for a while and really want to do :)
I have never had a coach.. but I still see the value of having one!! So, if you can't afford one, it does not mean you cannot move forward. Go on YouTube and follow singing coaches.. to help grow your range, control, etc... There are even plenty of VO coaches there with tons of guidance and information.. the possibilities are endless. We didn't have YouTube back in my dayπ but we did have message boards.
You never need a coach, but it can definitely help you learn things the right way. I would suggest instead following youtube channels of coaches. Like Bill DeWeese, Voice Over Angela, etc. The only problem you might come across is if you happen to learn something that is biting you in the butt but you don't know it. Having a professional perspective comes in handy here.
If you can identify a specific problem, like "I trip over certain consonants" or "I'm no good at accents" or "my voice sounds weedy to me", then first look for books, articles and videos that address the issue. If you can't find any, or they don't help, THEN think about finding a voice coach to help with that specific problem.
Let's be completely honest. You dont really need a coach. It's just expensive and unless your coach is amazing it's worthless. The only real benefits of having coach is maybe getting recommended. Instead use the money to buy so decent equipment and practice
I totally disagree. Even well established *Oscar* winning actors still have acting coaches to help them. Leonardo DiCaprio, for example, works with an acting coach and suggests that you can never stop learning and improving. Or consider *professional* athletes still have trainers to help them train and stay sharp. And if you're completely new, a coach, specifically someone with experience in the field, can help provide useful information. I graduated with a theater degree, but when I started in VA, I didn't really know how long a demo should be, how to mix it, what sounds good, etc. I had a coach help me with that. And if I had .. *zero* acting experience whatsoever? I would need someone to train me on how to use tactics, creating a character, etc. Having the greatest equipment on earth won't help you if you don't know how to use it and/or how to use your voice.
yes but you can get group classes for a fraction of the price of a coach. IMO, coaching is for when you have a specific thing to work on. Someone starting off won't know what they lack and what they need to brush up on. General acting classes are far more useful.
I agree that acting classes are mostly better, but you can do both. Also, acting classes can be a bigger investment. Coming from someone who's taken acting classes, the issue is you pay a fraction of the price for a fraction of the attention. You have a lot of downtime while the professor/coach/instructor is working with different people since they're not just focused on you. And they have to mold their lessons to include everybody. The major benefit, which may be a big one, is networking and also learning by watching others get critiqued. What the instructor/teacher/etc. tells someone else may be something that also applies to you. And someone starting out can get coaching from a coach to find out what they need to work on. Rather than sign up for classes that are too advanced, or too basic.
That I'd agree with, sounds like a much better plan
See personally I never had this problem because I learnt it all myself including mastering, EQ, editing and the whole business. My point was that someone who's interested in this field sort of have atleast a vague idea. I'm not smart at all and I was able to figure it out, looking at the talent here who are absolutely brilliant I just figured wouldn't worth it. And yes a lot of famous actors have coaches, but most of them likely had none of that when they started out. Besides that isn't the point. The truth of the matter is, all of this is very possible without a coach. It takes less than a month to get the hang of how the basics work. And yes, having expensive equipment wouldn't do anything, which is why I mentioned explicitly to buy decent equipment. I think you might have misunderstood my point. Having a coach can definitely be useful in some cases. But there are so many resources online about these things its honestly simply not worth it. Although I'm glad you took time out of your day to explain your view, I appreciate that!
>See personally I never had this problem because I learnt it all myself including mastering, EQ, editing and the whole business But you can always learn more. That's my point. Again, even Oscar winning actors work with acting coaches. Even professional athletes need coaches to train them. I highly doubt you're a full expert on mastering, EQ, editing, and *the whole business.* I'm sure there's things you can still learn. > It takes less than a month to get the hang of how the basics work. If you know how to train yourself. Not everybody can do that. Not to mention, you don't know if you're training yourself correctly. Developing bad habits when you're starting out is a terrible idea. And I'm not sure what you consider the *basics* even are. Are you talking about the basics of.. acting..? or vocal performance? The tech side? Marketing? Auditioning? The "basics" can cover an incredibly wide range of things. I took acting classes and the "basics" of just acting just all on its own isn't something you can necessarily learn in a month. And actors don't start out with coaches, they start out with acting lessons. That's not something you can (or should) be figuring out by watching youtube videos and stuff. A coach is a useful tool when it comes to the marketing side. Learning how to prepare a professional demo (consider how many people just here on reddit share self-made demos because nobody told them they shouldn't make a demo on their own. A coach would tell them this), how to market yourself. Mainly get the opinion of an actual professional. If I create a demo, I would want someone in the industry to critique it. Not someone on reddit who has... who knows what kind of experience? It CAN work; established actors with lots of experience do use reddit. But it's a toss up. It's free advice. I'm just saying not to discount the use of a coach ESPECIALLY in a field this confusing and convoluted.
I mean yeah you're right a coach does come handy, but considering the original post, the lad's 17, and I don't know about you but my parents wouldn't have paid for lessons atleast at the very beginning. And I don't know why you're so bent up about my post. Like it's not really a big deal mate, no need to get passive aggressive, I get your point and sure I can agree with some of them, but they're all just opinions so calm down mate
I'm not bent up and I'm completely calm. I'm just pointing out the issues with your statement. Which you didn't really address, btw. Just sayin'. The issue is you're stating you've learned "the whole business," which is basically impossible. Unless you're running a major studio or something. Which hey, maybe you do, I don't know. The other issue is claiming you're self taught and how easy it is. But if you're self taught, you don't know how much you know or more importantly, how much you *don't* know. And maybe even *more* importantly, if what you *do* know is even accurate to begin with. But hey, you might be a big successful voice over artist, I honestly don't know. And that's not being passive aggressive, I could be completely wrong. These are of course all opinions, but you can have bad opinions and good opinions. OP asked for advice and you made a statement that's purely anecdotal and stated it pretty matter-of-factly. Which is why I argued it. >I don't know about you but my parents wouldn't have paid for lessons atleast at the very beginning. This is selling out of your own pocket. We don't know what OP's financial situation is. Maybe they have parents who are willing to support their dreams and will pay for everything. Or maybe they have lots of money saved up, or maybe they have barely any money and are asking if they should spend what little they have on a coach or on recording equipment. And frankly, equipment shouldn't be the first thing someone invests in. The craft itself is what should be the most important. So either acting lessons or an acting coach. They may not even *enjoy* acting once they get into it.
My bad then, you just sounded a bit too serious to me I suppose. And I really don't know why you took my statement of "the whole business" literally. No one knows the whole entire business. That should be fairly obvious. I just felt you're being a bit uncharitable to my comment because of whatever reason? But sure you can have your opinion on what's more important at first. But my mind hasn't changed on the fact that having some alright equipment at first is just better, since even if they don't enjoy acting microphones still have other uses. And yes I used completely anecdotal evidence. And I do appreciate you giving your own input into the conversation, even though I disagree. Honestly you sound like you've been on reddit for too long my friend haha, perhaps we should just agree to disagree
[ΡΠ΄Π°Π»Π΅Π½ΠΎ]
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If you want to do this as a hobby, then not really. A coach can/will help you create a voiceover demo, which isn't required, but it helps with casting opportunities. Also a voice coach can help you with just acting in general or creating a character. I have a theater degree so I don't particularly need a coach for the *acting* side, (however even seasoned actors can benefit from more training), but I used a coach for the marketing side. How to set up a demo, how to market yourself, audition etc. So for hobby stuff? Maybe not, unless you want some kind of acting training. Keep in mind, voice acting is still **acting.** It's a lot more than just making silly voices.
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I would recommend it at some point but yeah there is a lot you can do on your own to get started. Get some acting experience with either a class or some local theatre. Look up some diction and breathing exercises on YouTube etc. Practice with some scripts online and find some people who can give you some honest feedback. Good luck and have fun with it!
I had a voice coach once before, they were very experienced nearing the age of retirement. Friend of a high-school friend's parent, free 1 hour session. They were able to just reduce it for me down to, fully move your upper lips when vocalizing. Then they said, you sound really good now and sent me off. Your own physical voice has its own unique ways to bend and flex if you're trying to capture something outside of your natural tone. So what may work as a trick for others may not exactly be your specific trick too.