I’m constantly asked how I started out in voiceover. How I went from a total beginner to someone with her own professional home studio and clients all around the world. So, I thought I’d make a little video and put this blog together to tell some of the story.

I’m focusing mainly on the studio and technical evolution here rather than talking about the training, personal development, marketing, branding and endless hard slog that has built my business. I hope it’s interesting or useful, or both! Here goes…

How did it all start?

I got my first professional job while I was still at drama school. I recorded a series of e-learning projects at a local producers home studio. At the time I was super impressed and thought I’d never figure out how all that recording equipment and editing software would work. I was glad I was the other side of the mic! But you have to remember, this was the late 90s. Ancient history to some of you! At the time I’d only recently bought my 1st ever mobile phone and only had access to a communal University PC. The idea of having the space, cash and knowledge to set up a studio seemed impossible.

But I soon discovered that as an English voiceover artist with a neutral RP accent, there was a lot of demand for my voice – especially in the e-learning and corporate world. Word spread from client to client and I kept booking more gigs. Always in other people’s studios dotted around the UK but mostly in London. I loved the work. So, I took some classes, listened to radio and TV commercials like a loon and had my first demo reels made.

And then I did nothing. Like a prat! It took me a while to find the money and confidence to set up at home. But once I did, I never looked back.

So, less about the why and how, and more about the kit.

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My 1st studio

It was basic! A second-hand mic that was better suited to live music, an ancient interface and a mic stand. The rest was all pillow forts and crossed fingers! But it served it’s purpose. I gained confidence in self-direction, learned the basics of audio recording and editing (using Audacity freeware) and started to build up a list of clients who wanted to work with home voiceover artists.

The kit:

• Rode NT3 mic
• Roland Edirol UA-25 interface
• Basic mic stand and reflection filter
• Audacity

The sound quality was obviously poor. But it was a great way to start. I was always honest with my clients about my set-up and I made sure that I always sent a sample recording first.

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Studio 2 – my first build attempt

It didn’t take long for me to realise if I wanted to build my career, I needed to invest in myself. So, I built a private studio (a room within a room) in my office. I upgraded my mic and kit, invested in much better editing software and really started to push my voice over career. Boy did it pay off! The better sound quality I was achieving, coupled with my improved abilities as a voiceover and editor, meant that the work stared to flow in. I picked up an agent, improved my branding and marketing efforts and started to work in new areas of the industry. It was great!

The kit:

• Rode NT1a
• Audiobox USB interface
• Reaper editing software

So, why change things?

Well, I made mistakes when I built the studio. Sound insulation needed to be improved, ventilation and light was poor, it was small and I wanted an ISDN line and another equipment upgrade.#

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Studio 3 – my current set-up

Ahhhh, now that’s better! Months of research and planning. Thousands of pounds in materials, builders fees, the latest equipment upgrades and I am now one very happy voiceover artist. And, best of all, my clients are thrilled too! I knocked down the old office and studio and did a total re-build. Broadcast quality sound insulation, the best acoustic treatment and the brand new cables and equipment. Mmmmm, yummy!

I now have the space, equipment, confidence and ability to serve all aspects of the voiceover industry, plus my new ISDN line is live!

The kit:

• Rode NT1A Mic
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB interface
• CCS Musicam Prima LT Codec
• Soundcraft EPM6 mixer with a PDM-300 desk mic for in-booth communications
• Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro (80 OHM) headphones

You can watch more videos all about the studio on my YouTube page where I have video tours, a guide to the build process and other fund stuff like sound tests.

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So, what’s the lesson here?

Well, I guess it’s that nothing is static. The industry is always evolving and so my business is too. As I learn and improve I have to change my studio and equipment to work in new markets and I have to keep up with trends and technology too. We need to embrace that. I know I do. I love learning and stretching myself. I love voice work, but I love running a business too.

If I reflect on the last 20 years of my career, what do I wish?

• I wish I’d found the confidence to start home studio work earlier.
• I wish I’d known that it’s ok to fake it until you make it.
• I wish I’d realised that it’s quicker to ask for forgiveness than wait for permission.  As soon as I threw off the shackles of self-doubt and invested in myself like a professional, I was treated like one.

I’m brilliant at my job and I love it. Let’s see what the next 20 years brings eh?

The post The evolution of my voiceover studio appeared first on Claire Wyatt Female Voiceover.

Wow! What an honour. And it doesn’t stop with the Female Voiceover Artist of the year. I’ve also been nominated for the Best Overall Performance in the Corporate/Explainer Category and the Best Female Radio Drama Performance. 

I’m utterly thrilled as you can imagine. It’s been a super busy year for Claire Wyatt Voiceover and I’m so pleased my hard work, and the great work my lovely clients have given me, is getting some recognition.

Best Overall Corporate Performance

Ooooo, it was hard to know what to submit for this category. I’ve been involved in so many great projects. But I settled on the short explainer I voiced for Birla Carbon.

Best Female Radio Drama Performance

My work for Big Finish has been recognised in this category. Specifically the performance I gave in The Ninth Doctor Chronicles, The Bleeding Heart. It was great fun to do and, for once, I didn’t play an alien!  Plus it was directed by the wonderful Helen Goldwyn who is also nominated for her terrific acting work.

You can read more about some of my other Doctor Who adventures below and listen to my reels and samples here.

The versatile voice of radio drama

About the Awards

The awards are part of the One Voice Conference created by Gravy for the Brain. They say “The One Voice Conference is a brand-new concept, aimed at all levels of Voiceover Professional; from Beginner to Expert – everyone is catered for – all 300 delegates! One Voice is the only voice acting conference you’ll ever need to attend. Our goal is to take the voiceover industry forward and create a new standard of voice acting conference. Everyone is invited because each and every one of us works, plays a part, or simply loves the world of voiceover.”

A full list of all the categories and nominees is available and the event takes place in the DoubleTree by Hilton, Docklands hotel on 28th April 2018. This black-tie event will feature a 3-course dinner, drinks and a wonderful awards show, located by the Thames river.

Tickets for the awards go on sale on March 1st 2018 at 09:00 GMT.

I’ll be there in my best frock!

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I was thrilled to be asked by the fantastic director Barnaby Edwards to be part of a three-part narrated audio drama for Audible. Not only is it narrated by the legendary Miriam Margolyes but it meant being reunited with with fantastic colleagues and friends. These included Helen Goldwyn, Tracy-Ann Oberman Richard Earl, Nicholas Pegg, Sarah Sutton and Niky Wardley.

The original drama is called Apprentice – Scarlet City – Part I. I played a couple of parts, but most notably the sassy and seductive Lillian who uses her looks and wit to great effect! I won’t say more as it will spoil it for you.

Pre-order a copy on the Audible site.

So, what’s it all about?

Here’s the Publisher’s Summary:

This Original multicast drama blends history with fiction to tell the story of Jonah, a young apprentice from London who raises himself from poverty by wit and luck to become one of the most powerful merchants of the age.

A rags-to-riches tale, Jonah’s journey spans the breadth of human experience, from the intricacies of Edward III’s political intrigues to the cutthroat world of international trade, from the triumphs of war to the agonies of personal loss – love, friendship, joy, heartbreak and glory. Set largely in London, the Scarlet City, the centre of medieval England, the Scarlet City trilogy is a thrilling portrait of the age and the people who made it so rich, colourful and extraordinary.

London, 1330. Jonah Durham grows up in the household of his tyrannical cousin Rupert, and only his grandmother, the calculating Cecilia Hillock, recognizes his talent and intelligence. After her death he inherits a handsome fortune, bestowing him with both wealth and independence but also the wrath of his increasingly dangerous cousin. However, a fateful encounter with the young King Edward III is set to radically change Jonah’s life and the future of English cloth production.

Cast information

Narrated by Miriam Margolyes, OBE (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Romeo + Juliet, Mulan) and starring Douglas Booth (Riot Club, Loving Vincent, Shelley) as Jonah, and Alison Steadman, OBE (Gavin and Stacey, Orphan Black, Shirley Valentine) as Cecilia Hillock.

Also featuring: Daniel Anthony, Josephine Arden, John Banks, Tim Bentinck, Clare Buckfield, Oliver Coopersmith, Beth Chalmers, Elliot Chapman, Trevor Cooper, Ray Coulthard, Gareth David-Lloyd, Richard Earl, Andrew French, Helen Goldwyn, James Joyce, Tony Millan, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Katarina Olsson, Steven Pacey, Nicholas Pegg, Nigel Planer, Siobhán Redmond, Christopher Ryan, David Schofield, Dan Starkey, Sarah Sutton, Niky Wardley, Alexander Wlahos, and Claire Wyatt.

My other audio drama and audio book work

If you’d like to hear more, then please visit my audio book and audio drama page. I’ve created characters for Doctor Who and Torchwood, narrated children’s stories and adult fiction!

The post An epic audio drama from Audible appeared first on Claire Wyatt Female Voiceover.

My voiceover skills are usually put to the test on these fabulous audio drama sci-fi jobs (playing anything from telepathic Hyenas to sentient computers!) but with this one I’m playing a human. This is the first Torchwood I’ve done so it was fabulous to work with Tracy-Ann Oberman and a delight to be reunited with the wonderful Barnaby Edwards as director.

The day started with a surprise as I’d prepared my character as a Londoner but it soon became clear that I sounded too much like another actress in the cast. A quick on-the-spot whizz through a few accents choices and we settled on Bristolian. It actually made the character even more fun and unique.

Working with legends!

Now, Big Finish jobs are always fun. They have a knack for putting great teams together, the lunches are legendary and the scripts always brilliant. AND you get to work some absolute legends. For once it wasn’t a Doctor! This time I had the pleasure of working with Jane Asher and Trev from Trev and Simon (my pant-swinging 80s childhood hero!).

You can pre-order your copy now by going to the Big Finish Website.

Synopsis

Torchwood One – we defend the British Empire. We keep everyone safe. For your own good.

Something’s happened. Something’s twisted its way into Torchwood One. Something old. Something which should have been forgotten, wiped, abandoned. Soemthing which has been waiting. Something which knows how the world should be ruled, how people should be used.

When humanity’s threatened, Yvonne Hartman is required.

Directed By: Barnaby Edwards

Cast

Tracy-Ann Oberman (Yvonne Hartman), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Jane Asher (Elaine), Paterson Joseph (Matthew), James Wilby (Pascal), Adjoa Andoh (Fiona), Niky Wardley (Stacey), Daniel Anthony (Julian), Tim Bentinck (Tommy), Trevor Neal (Jason), Claire Wyatt (Tanya), Helen Goldwyn (Receptionist), Nicholas Pegg (Soldier) and WOTAN

The post My latest audio drama voiceover available to order appeared first on Claire Wyatt Female Voiceover.

As an actor I gained a reputation as the go-to person for playing multiple roles in one show. In fact, I’ve rarely ever been in a show where I only play one character! It requires an active imagination, an ability to manipulate your body, a willingness to make a fool of yourself and, of course, a great ear for accents and vocal character.

And it’s not just inventing characters. I’ve had to impersonate real people too. It takes a lot of listening and playing around before you find all the elements that make up someones voice. Are they breathy, nasal or shrill? What pitch and speed do they talk at? Is there a defect or impediment? What shapes do they make with their mouths and faces to form the sounds? Detailed research and a lot of hard graft but I get there in the end.

Anne Hegarty from The Chaser

What’s great is that all my theatre training and experience is now bleeding into my voiceover work. A recent client found me via Google precisely because they needed a skilled voiceover artist who could also do impersonations. They needed someone to impersonate some people from the TV game show The Chaser as well as coming up with characters playing the game. It was a lot of fun. Sadly, I’m not allowed to share the content so I’ll have to leave it to your imagination. But they did share the avatars with me.

Jenny Ryan from The Chaser

My many acting roles

Here’s just a selection of some of the shows I’ve done where I’ve had to take on characters and do impersonations:

• Vanity Fair by William Thackeray. I played the wealthy,grouchy and flamboyant octogenarian Lady Steyne as well as an hilarious and loving Irish military wife. I also played a teenager, a middle aged mum and a sour and snobbish Governess.
• Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. In this I played a man. Yup, you heard that right. At 5’2″ and the tender age of 25 I played the comic role of Ragueneau the pastry chef as well as a few extra characters here and there.
• Coronation Street on Stage by Jonathan Harvey. To celebrate 50 years of the iconic soap we toured and amazing show featuring some of the most famous characters and scenes. It was the hardest  job and most epic vocal challenge of my life! I played 11 characters including Vera Duckworth, Elsie Tanner, Annie Walker and Hayley Walker. The hardest part was doing an accurate impersonation but one that would work on stage to audiences in their 1000s. A breathy TV voice would never carry. So I had to adapt the voice but still sound like the character. Not easy! And then you add the millions of costume and wig changes. I was a sweaty mess by the end of each show.
  • You can see a short video of me playing Annie Walker on YouTube – watch from about 45 seconds in.

“Claire Wyatt is an instantly recognisable Elsie Tanner, her Vera Duckworth pairs well with Lailey’s Jack, but the audience’s hearts almost audibly go out to her Hayley and Sangster’s Roy Cropper.” Theatre Review

Some memorable Doctor Who Audio drama characters

• The Boy that Time Forgot – I played Madam Teegarna, a Scorpion-like alien military leader, as well as other minor characters.
• Exotron – in this I played a telepathic hyena called a Farakosh, a young Northern technician and a computer!
• Return to the Web Planet – I played Mother Earth herself in this spooky existential tale.
• The Silver Turk – this was fun to record as I had to play the posh Countess Mitzi Wittenmeier as well as her young Scottish maid in the same scene. I also played at least three more minor characters.

I also use my character skills for radio commercials too. And of course there’s Halloween and the Xmas season approaching!

Don’t forget to get in touch if you’d like to find out more.

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I spent another joyous day with the team at Big Finish productions last week recording an episode of Torchwood. It’s all hush hush at the moment until it’s released, but I can talk about the other great projects I’ve done for them. And I can tell you this – it’s never a dull day and I usually die at least once!

My first encounter with Big Finish (the production company that make audio content for Doctor Who, Torchwood and other great sci-fi hits) was back in 2007. It was a bit of a trial by fire! I got a call and was asked if I could do the voice of a telepathic hyena! “Sure!” I said without the first clue as to how I would do it. “Oh, and you’ll also be playing a construction worker, some tannoy announcements and the voice of a sentient computer” says the lovely director. “No problem” I say while swallowing down my terror. Multi-roling is what I’m well known for in my acting life, but with audio work it’s even harder. You have no costume or physicality to help differentiate your characters for the audience.

In audio drama your skills are stripped bare – it’s just your voice and the imagination of the listener. A challenge I relish! The job was Exotron. A Doctor Who story with Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant. I had an absolute blast and it obviously went well as I was soon asked back to do more.

Over the last few years I’ve worked with Doctors Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Paul McGann and had the pleasure of working with some amazing other actors including David Schneider, Isla Blair and the late Sam Kelly. Every project has it’s challenges. From evil, scuttling Scorpions to Mother Life herself – I never know what’s coming. I once had to play both an elderly Countess and her young Scottish maid in the same scene and in conversation! It was a relief to finally play the Doctor’s companion in the The Ninth Doctor Chronicles recently – just one character and my own accent!

Creating atmosphere

PARADISE 5: Richard Earl, Nicola Bryant, Colin Baker, Helen Goldwyn and Claire Wyatt

And it’s not just the named characters you’ll be playing on a Big Finish job. Oh no! Most of the fun comes when creating the wild tracks. Death scenes, chattering aliens, Victorian crowd scenes – there’s always some extra hubbub that needs voicing. Ask yourself how to ‘chatter’ in a made up Scorpion language and then make it sound different for fear, anger and various types of death!

You have to have a warmed up voice, an open mind and a willingness to play and make a prat of yourself.

I work hard to practice accents and play around with my voice to see what tones, energies and characteristics I can create. Audio drama is all about being versatile and creative. And I can’t wait to do more.

As soon as it’s released I’ll let you know about the Torchwood job.

Listen to my Doctor Who stories here:

• The Boy that Time forgot
• Exotron
• The Ninth Doctor Chronicles – The Bleeding Heart
• Paradise 5
• Return to the Web Planet
• The Silver Turk

The post The versatile voice of radio drama appeared first on Claire Wyatt Female Voiceover.

Ungh! Technology. It’s meant to make life easier right? Speed up your life so you spend more time doing the things you love? WRONG! Due to technical issues that are too long an tedious to explain, I’ve had to change the website address and email for Claire Wyatt Voiceover.

Please note that I can now be found at:

• WEBSITE – www.clairewyatt.com
• EMAIL – claire@clairewyatt.com

Hopefully it will all run smoothly and I can forget about tech admin for a while and get back to doing what I love – voicing great projects for my clients.

So, what else is new?

You can find all my voiceover reels and catch up on the latest news at www.clairewyatt.com. But you’ll also see that I’ve added a couple of pages talking about my acting work. It includes links to my online acting CVs and places to find out more like IMDB. There’s also a page dedicated to the Workshops I offer.

So, take a look around and don’t forget to drop me a line to claire@clairewyatt.com if you want to find out more about the voiceover or acting services I provide.

And lest we forget…

The new details are:

• WEBSITE – www.clairewyatt.com
• EMAIL – claire@clairewyatt.com

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