YOUR GUIDE TO This booklet has been compiled by experienced AUDIO ARTISTS to share information and Contents knowledge about the industry, with members. There are specific sections for each area of this work. Equity rates, where applicable, are detailed at the end of each section. First, there p 3 USEFUL Q & As is some general guidance. P 5 ADR (automated dialogue replacement) 1) Is it necessary to have a studio. One reel is not enough if you wish p 7 ANIMATION dedicated voice agent? to demonstrate the full range of your skills. P 8 AUDIOBOOKS If you are intending to work solely in You should have a separate reel for each: the audio industry, it is advisable to find commercials, animation, narration, video p 10 AUDIO DESCRIPTION representation, because some areas games, drama, audiobooks, etc. are more accessible this way, and a p 12 COMMERCIALS good voice agent has legal and financial 3) Is it necessary to (Radio, In Store, TV, Internet) skills. However, some voice work can be have a home studio? accessed via online directories, such as No, it’s not necessary, but increasingly there is p 15 CONTINUITY Spotlight and Voiceovers.co.uk, casting more work available for those with this facility. websites and ‘Pay to Play’ sites. More on Please see the section on Home Studios. P 15 CORPORATES this in the relevant section. p 16 DOCUMENTARY NARRATION 2) Is it necessary to have a professional p 17 E LT (English Language Teaching) voice reel? Yes. If you have the skills p 18 E-LEARNING to produce your own to a high standard, this would be P 19 HOME STUDIOS acceptable. Otherwise, it should be produced in a professional studio. p 21 MUSEUM AND OTHER AUDIO GUIDES Some studios offer discounts for members, details of which can be found P 22 RADIO DRAMA in the Members Resources section of the Equity website. There are also p 23 TELEPHONE ON HOLD & IVR a number of commercial studios. An agent would insist on a professional P 24 VIDEO GAMES reel and probably advise on choice of www.equity.org.uk 3 3) What are the rates of pay background chatter and announcements, for audio artists? Audio ADR (Automated sports commentaries and very often battles Audio artists are generally self-employed, artists are Dialogue Replacement) including charges and all types of fights and whether as a freelance, sole trader or generally self- deaths. Very often you will be required to limited company, and so are free to Principal ADR lip read the background artists and decide negotiate their own rates. What fee they employed, whether as There are two main types of ADR. If you what they are saying and then record it. charge will depend on a range of factors: a freelance, sole trader find yourself appearing in a Film or a TV Sometimes a whole performance of a who the client is, word count (for some Drama it is likely that you will be asked to character is revoiced by an ADR actor. In types of work), whether the work is for or Ltd company, and so re-record some of your own dialogue in this case you would be booked in to the broadcast, etc. In some specific areas, are free to negotiate the ADR studio. This is often for technical studio for a solo session often with the Equity has been able to negotiate agreed reasons, for example, a plane flying over director. Only actors with sufficient ADR minimum rates. You will find these in the their own rates during the best take, or to add rewrites to experience would be asked to do this. Members’ Resources section of the website your performance. This is often Lip Sync under Agreements & Rates. Where there (synchronisation), which is a skill in itself. All these things and more are recorded in are no Equity agreements in place, we have You have to recreate your performance, the ADR studio so that the sound editor can attempted in this guide to offer an idea of often some months after the shoot, usually mix in the ADR along with the music and the the scale of rates that are common in the with the director present but not always, sound effects to make a final soundtrack. industry. It is important to know your worth issue in this industry. NDAs are particularly at the correct level and with the requisite They need to have everything recorded cleanly and never undersell yourself. common in video games, ADR and some emotion. This is sometimes included in and separately in the ADR studio to be able to corporate work. It is a legal document, the your contract for the job which means that mix it in at the level that they require. 5) What are usage terms of which must be adhered to. there is no extra payment. However, a lot of and buyout? agents are wise to this and have it put in the Usage is an extra payment for use outside 7) What does Equity offer contract that you must be paid for recording the basic contract and is for a fixed period, Audio Artists? your personal ADR. You can make or ruin after which you would be entitled to In addition to negotiating fees with your performance at this stage of Post negotiate further payment for additional employers, including the BBC (for Radio Production. usage. Buyout means a one-off fee and no and ADR) and some of the larger UK radio entitlement to ongoing payments. However, groups (for commercials), Equity offers the Group ADR you can restrict your Buyout to a single type same basic services to all its members, i.e. Group ADR is when a group of actors are of Usage, e.g. on a website, but not as a insurance, legal advice, tax advice, chasing brought in to record all the necessary ADR pre-roll ad (pre-rolls are explained under up late payments and discounted products during Post Production. An ADR group can Radio Commercials). As with other areas and services. The union also offers services range from two actors up to 15 or more of the industry, buyouts are becoming more to members in sorting out grievances, such (rarely). During a group ADR session you frequently offered. as underpayment of agreed rates. are required to record all the atmospheres in a production as well as the individual 6) What is a NDA? ADR for some of the smaller characters. NDA stands for Non-Disclosure Agreement. More information on these and other topics This can be a pub or restaurant scene, You may be asked to sign a NDA before can be found on the Equity website and by somebody talking on a mobile phone, police you are allowed to see a script or work on a searching online. You can also direct any call signals as radio transmission (RT), production, as data privacy is an important questions to the Audio Organiser. train or coach announcements, hospital 4 www.equity.org.uk www.equity.org.uk 5 asked back. If you’re from Lancashire and confidence. These are run by ADR Casting series or a one-off feature film, animation Often you can do a good Yorkshire accent then Companies so they will see your potential requires voice artists to flex their skills with in ADR you tell them that, not that you’re from Yorkshire. during the workshop and this has led characters, accents, and different types will need to They’ll decide if they want to employ you or to many new actors being employed in of voices. The key skill with animation is not. Similarly if you are asked if you are an ADR. However, these workshops should versatility. Although you will often be hired improvise while experienced ADR actor and you’re not…. be seen as an educational opportunity for one main voice, you are almost always watching the scene & tell the truth. If you get yourself in the studio and not an audition. asked to provide several others, so it’s and you are with a group of experienced important to have a consistent range of only speak when the actors you will be caught out. Sometimes There are several Equity agreements in accents and character voices you can call character you are experience is necessary but also sometimes place for ADR recording. These cover on. Sometimes they will ask you to come up they’ll be looking for new voices. cinema and television through the Pact/ with suggestions yourself, so be ready to voicing is Cinema agreement and the Pact/ITV think on your feet. Improvisation is another Getting Hired and BBC agreements. Check the Equity great skill to have, as well as good timing. website for the most up-to-date rates. This is what everybody wants to know and Scripts can usually be obtained in advance, there is no easy answer. If you become especially if you have particular needs, known for being a good ADR actor you will ANIMATION such as dyslexia, but sight reading remains On an ADR session it is very important to be hired again and again. The difficulty is important. Ways of working differ from be able to improvise. Often you will need getting the first job and being good enough Animation is one of the classic areas in studio to studio and project to project. to improvise while watching the scene and to be asked back. People are always looking which voice artists work, and has been Sometimes you will be in a single studio only speak when the character you are for new, young voices but there are so many around for nearly a century.