We get asked a lot about the standard rates for voice over work in Ireland.  Below is an excerpt from our great guide to getting voiceover work.  I hope you find it useful.

Dublin based, Igloo Animation, recently launched a new service aimed at Dublin businesses. They create short explanatory animations, illustrating how products and services work. Of course, all this means more work for voiceovers. Good stuff. Trevor answered a few questions for our blog and here is what he had to say about getting voiceover work for animations.

Who the hell is Igloo Animations anyway?
Igloo Animations is an award winning animation studio
set up in the digital hub in Dublin8

What sort of clients do you have?
Igloo’s clients range from large corporate companies to small businesses

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Ted.com and Movies, Music, People that make a difference

Where do you normally find to people to voice your animations?
It depends, sometimes it could be someone that you live with
and other times you have to cast actors for different roles
and find them through casting agencies.

Do you have a favorite VO?
No, nor do I really have a favorite screen actor. I have seen even great
actors cast wrongly and it’s hard to look at when that happens. Sometimes an actor that you would never rate highly can get cast into a role that they fit perfectly and then your opinion changes, so you never know

What advice would you give to a voice over looking to do more animation work?
Get VO samples online at casting agencies etc… so that people can have a basic idea of what to expect of you before you come in.

You have recently started doing special ‘explanatory’ animations for products on services. Have you any idea how much more effective (if at all) they are over plain old text?

Yea, It’s way more effective, well for people that want visuals like me anyway. Would you prefer to read about a movie in ?plain old text? or would you prefer to see the trailer? A picture can say a thousand words

What sort of budget do I need to get one of these short animations made?
2,500 euro’s

What better way to see what this is all about than heading over to their website where you can a short version of NAMA, Sustainability and even FL Financial Services (whatever that is).

Amy Stack, Voiceover Artist

If I told you that you get voiceovers out there in the world charging €20 for doing a radio ad, would you believe me? It’s crazy, but true.  Many voiceovers totally undervalue themselves in the hope of securing the gig. And many other voice overs simply don’t know what to charge.

Our advice

Our advice to voice overs is always: when quoting a job… STICK TO THE RATE CARD. It’s there for a reason. That’s what IAPI considers a fair wage to artists, and the rate card is put in place so that voiceovers don’t get ripped off. Don’t undercut your fellow VOs, because that will create an industry where lots of people are earning no money.  If you tell people, “my quote is €x, I just charge the standard IAPI rates”, they’ll understand and won’t want to be seen ripping off struggling artists.

Why IAPI rates are fair

People think that voiceover work is very well paid. Yes it is, in a way, but that is taken out of context. Think of all you have to do to be a voiceover artist:

• - training (a few thousand euro)
• - a good demo (€300)
• - professional headshots (€150)
• - piehole subscription (€145 - €500)
• - you might have invested in a home studio (€5000 + for a decent one)
• - perhaps agent’s commission (up to 20%)
• - tons of time/effort self-marking
• - you have to be available  during the day at a moment’s notice (which means you can’t have a stable day job… this is a huge commitment and probably the biggest sacrifice a VO makes)

So yes, it is nice getting a TV job worth €800, and getting it done in less than an hour.  But you’ve earned it.

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Brief videos explaining how to use a web-site or web-app are all the rage. I like it. It’s an engaging way to tell people how to use your service without them having to dig through explanations. Its just a shame that most of these video’s don’t go the extra mile and pay attention to the sound.

It is a bit of a bug bear of mine - but there is nothing worse than watching a grainy vimeo video where I can’t hear what instructions being mouthed by the demonstrator. If they knew how easy it was to get a voicover to mix in decent audio, perhaps more people would do it.

So here is how it works.

1. Find a voice-over for your gig. You can search for Irish, UK and Canadian talent. FYI: the Canadians sound just like yanks so you can hire them if you are targeting that market.
   For a small job like this, you are looking for someone with a home studio. We can help advise on this front.
2. Get a portion of your script together and post it via our online auditions.
3. The results come in pretty quickly, and once you have someone you like, hire them.
4. They’ll send back a mp3 which you can lay over your video. Some of them will be able to mix the video for you also.

And that is it. It won’t cost a bomb but it’ll make the world of difference when it comes to how likely your users are to actually stay and figure out how that website actually works.

To vote please text ANNESLEY B to 51303.   Or click here, select Annesley Bridge Branch, and choose option B, the Irish Humour Foundation.

Tara Breathnach has just been cast in the upcoming film ‘Jack Taylor’ ( Magma/RTL) to be directed by Stuart Orme. She has also recently finished filming on Showtimes ‘The Tudors’ and is currently playing Tina O’ Dowd in TG4’s Ros na Rún and voicing Galactic Football for Telegael. Listen to Tara’s voice over demo.

Don’t miss Jim in this new show. From the creators of the 2007 Fringe hit Gerry and the Peace Process and the upcoming Channel 4 comedy pilot iCandy comes a brand new comedy sketch show. Meet a bunch of hilarious characters: a Dutch mountaineer with a taste for human flesh, an eastern European doorman who wants to be on Fair City, and the first traveller Taoiseacht who vows to fight his way out of the recession… literally. Louis Theroux takes us on some REALLY weird weekends, Peter Stringfellow unveils a community outreach programme from his tabledancing club and Orson Welles goes undercover with the world’s most dangerous gangs.
Listen to Jim’s voice over demo.

I would have no hesitation in recommending Piehole for recording a voice demo. They were invaluable in helping to source and select good material in advance of the recording session. As a result of their practice session and ongoing consultation, I went in to the studio much more prepared than I would otherwise have been, confident that I had the best scripts available to me to record. Their advice in the studio pushed me to achieve the best recording I could and helped me to feel much more confident in the studio environment. The final demo was brilliantly produced and it was only a couple of weeks before I got booked for a gig off the back of it.

PLAY WILL’S DEMO

Remember voice overs - always ask where you got your gigs.  Piehole is not an “agent” - we don’t take commission and we don’t take your voiceover bookings. As such, all your bookings will go directly through yourself or your agent.   So next time you finish a gig - ask if they found you on Piehole.