This article originally appeared on filmdaily.co

Sometimes you need a specific individual to make your project go from a good production to a stand-out creation. The type of project will affect who you should hire for the role, depending on their voice tone, presence on camera, and if their persona fits into your needs for the specified assignment.

What are you trying to find with the actor – do you want someone who resembles the intended person or someone who can bring humor to your skit? Figuring out what type of actor you need can help you narrow down the list to only the best options that fit your criteria.

Before you begin casting

Decide what kind of voice casting services you need

Before You hire anyone for your job, you need to figure out what kind of voice overs you want to do. What kind of voiceover casting do you need? This can help you narrow down the talent and decide on which actor suits your needs. Decide if you need film animation, TV shows, audiobooks, documentary reading, commercials, promotions, or video games.

The type of content you require will affect the tone, personality, and voice of the actor you require for voice casting services.

Define the character you need

Make sure you clearly define the characteristics needed for voice casting services. There is no point in interviewing someone who cannot produce the intended persona of your character. When defining the character, you should clearly describe the gender, age group, pitch, and tone.

Choose a regional accent or dialect

A regional accent or dialect can tell a lot about a character’s background and upbringing. Choosing someone with the right accent can turn a posh Londoner into a blue-collar worker from Manchester. Ensure you define the language needed, the country of origin from where the language is spoken, and the specific accent or dialect.

What do you need from your talent?

Setting parameters, like your budget, the number of voices, and hours needed for the project, helps you to decide if you need one actor or multiple people for the voice casting services. Do you need solely a voice actor for an audiobook, or do you need someone who can do multiple projects, like improv or comedy shows?

Asking for multiple talents allows you to make an accurate and smart decision when deciding who to hire for the voice casting services. By trying out multiple people, you can weed out the best ones in the process.

Additionally, the type of content you need voice casting services for will affect how many people you hire. If you are looking to hire actors for a video game, for example, you could have dozens of people to do voices for characters, sounds, and other roles in the game. Therefore, hiring one versatile person who can do the different sounds and accents could be the best choice for voice casting services.

Know what to expect

Make sure you can decipher voice casting service resumes to see who is a talented actor and who is just starting in this industry. Voice actors aren’t necessarily graduating college or pursuing degrees in other fields, so an on-paper resume could not be an ideal way to scout out voice casting services for your needs.

If someone doesn’t have an impressive resume, it could be best to do an in-person interview to see their talents live, instead of trying to decipher their ability via a paper resume.

Time to start your talent search for voice casting services

Write the breakdown of the part

By describing the necessities of the part, you can ensure your talent clearly knows the assignment and has the necessary information to audition confidently.

Make clear instructions for the voice casting applicants

Provide your talent with clarity by telling them exactly what you need and expect from the interview and application.

• Tell the interviewee if they need to slate to broadcast their voice casting services

• If you want a slate from your actor, make sure they know whether to do it at the beginning or end of their recording

• Do you want your actor to do one or multiple takes?

• Sometimes, providing a demo reel to highlight the actor’s voice casting services can help reduce wasted time during interviews

• Save and name audio files for you to clearly sift through the different applicant’s videos

Broaden your search

When looking for voice casting services, location doesn’t matter. Many voiceover artists are freelance workers, making it possible to hire someone from anywhere in the world, as long as you can coordinate the different time zones.

In addition, avoiding wasting time on set can improve your business’ productivity and efficiency. By maximizing your time and effort, you can avoid squandered effort in the workplace.

Make sure the talent is aware of the project’s requirements

Before hiring someone for voice casting services, ensure they know what they are getting into with this job. You don’t want to hire someone, only for them to back out at a later date due to miscommunication at the jump.

Use only your ears

If someone is auditioning in person for the voice casting services, do your best to only listen to the person – not look at their faces or appearance. Although humans judge based on all of our senses, people will only judge the person based on their voice when listening to an audiobook or CD.

Conclusion

Choosing the right actor to perform voice casting services for your project can be overwhelming – but it doesn’t have to be. By following a checklist of criteria to adhere to before and during the casting process, you can make sure the person you choose is the perfect fit for the role.

Pay close attention to the character’s persona, budget, and what you need from your talent before the search begins. During your hiring process, make sure you focus on providing clear instructions to the applicant to perform to the best of their abilities during the interview.