Are Your Current Voice reels going to Land you Jobs in 2022?

2021 is now in the rearview and we are all set to face what’s coming with 2022. With the bitter-sweet experiences of the past few years, especially due to the pandemic and lockdowns, we are hoping that the new year to be different. What will unfold in the coming year cannot be accurately predicted as we have learned in the past two years, but for sure we estimate and prepare ourselves to be more agile and varied to adapt to whatever is about to come. Every industry has undergone some massive acclimatization in its functioning and has developed new ways to survive and thrive in this suddenly changing environment. In the voice-over industry, 2022 is expected to be a very vocal versatile year, hence, there are some major changes expected. To adapt to these changes and continue to get jobs and grow, the voice-over professionals, seasoned or amateur, are analyzing trends, gaining new skills or say variety, and polishing the existing ones. With the current scenario of online auditioning, voice reels have become more important for a voice artist. These are now have become the only means through which an artist can display his talent and convince clients and land the gig. So, “are your voice reels 2022 ready?” is the bigger question for voice artists, and in addition to that “what else is required to land jobs in the coming year?”  Voyzapp – the voice-over marketplace of professionals has penned down some important aspects of voice-overs that every voice artist must check out and work on, if needed, to be able to land more jobs in 2022.

Commercial Demos – Commercial voice-overs are going to continue with its quirky and offbeat humor as past year. However, choices will be more inclined towards voices that exude everyday perseverance and warmth, as the new variant has delayed the expected comeback of everything. There will also be an inclination towards hiring BIPOC voices (Black, Indigenous People, People of Color) globally, by the brands or businesses that target a younger audience.

Heated Politics – Political voice-overs are going to be in rising demand. Talking about India, there is going to be some major campaigning from each political house as some of the major and biggest elections will be happening in 2022, and coming years. However, the earlier subtle and calm voice-overs are not going to be the major play instead a full-blown strong and aggressive voice-over going to be in demand. Obviously, as voice artists, you won’t be asked to pick a side but you will need some hard-hitting voice reels if you want to get those jobs.  

Animation & Gaming – These genre demos need to undergo some major changes. The genre itself has evolved in the recent past and based on those changes more acting skills are required in the voice-overs than previously upheld funny tones. The Animation and games are going to be more story-driven and engrossing, therefore, artists have to showcase more character inhibition and authenticity in their animation voice-over reels.

Documentary & Narrations – Well, these are some of the static genres and do not need much of an overhaul. However, getting more conversational and communicative would definitely come in handy.

Corporate Narrations – With its continued evolution for the most part corporate narrations have shifted from hard sell to a more involving and conversational tone. Demos for this genre are needed to be a bit more intimate and somewhat edgy humor than before.

Explainers and E-Learning – The major credit of inducing the conversational tone into every other genre goes to explainers and eLearning. As it will continue with its natural tone, there are going to be some new adaptations. There will be more and more inclusion of 3D and CGI in explainers. As far as eLearning is concerned there are going to be somewhat shorter modules with the inclusion of role-playing and simulations with gamified and scenario-based courses. The professional eLearning voice-overs are going to ask for some verities in 2022.

Medical Narrations – Well, these have exploded in recent years due to pandemics. Medical narrations are growing and are expected to substantially rise. Voice demos that display empathetic and educational read along with a hint of corporate or promotional tone would be beneficial.

Multi-Genre is more Profitable – “The more the merrier”.  This phrase is going to be super implied in the coming year. Voice artists who can do great in different genres and styles are going to be in more demand. Proficiency in one particular style would definitely help you land jobs in that category but mastering other styles would open doors to infinite possibilities.

Now in addition to the alterations in the voice reels, there are some new things that voice artists will be needed to do for creating more opportunities and landing more jobs. To begin with, voice artists are needed to be both the artist and supervisors. They need to excel in time management and efficiency and supervise their work-life balance while working in a remote setup. As artists will be working independently things like self-discipline could really become a necessity in order to maintain that professionalism. In addition to managing time, supervising their own work, and maintaining that work-life balance and professionalism, artists will require to be more communicative and exposing. That means voice artists will have to be in constant touch with other artists and professionals of the industry to be informed about what’s happening on the inside. Also, this can help them to be an easy recommendation for a job. Exposing themselves means to market themselves over the online platforms and interact with people there. The more they are on these platforms the greater is chance of getting multiple job opportunities. It is like self-advertisement and networking blended, casting a wider net to avail more opportunities.

However, these qualities are not new and were always expected to be present in professional voice-over actors but they are more prudent now than ever before. With 2022, about to kick off, voice artists are required to come up with versatility, marketing & networking abilities, and most importantly authenticity. Apart from everything mentioned, authenticity and professionalism are going to be the watchwords for the voice-over industry in 2022.

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