The voiceover industry is one that's prospering right now. Many people who don't want to be actors, or aren't quite ready for that, start with voiceover. Voiceover is, by definition, a piece of narration not accompanied by an image of the speaker. This could mean a lot of different things. It could be a narrator or sound effects in a movie, or the voice actors for cartoons or other animated productions. But one thing's for sure, voiceover acting makes up a large portion of the film industry.
Voiceover acting is something that seems really easy, but actually requires a lot of skill and practice. There's a few main things to keep in mind that really affect how voiceovers turn out. These things are pacing, pitch and emphasis.
Pacing:
Pacing is the speed at which the script is read. A fast pace can make a character seem anxious or excited, while a slow pacing is more sad or angry. The best way to perfect your pacing is by practicing. Find the natural pauses in a sentence and either blow through them or pause and slowly flow into the next word. This is also where repitition comes into play. If a character is scared or anxious, you should stumble over your sentences and repeat words a lot.
Pitch:
Pitch is how high or low your voice is. A timid character would have a higher voice, and a more confident person would likely have a deeper voice. Male characters would also usually have a deeper voice than female characters. The best way to practice this is to practice speaking from the perspective of a mouse, and then switch to a dinosaur.
Emphasis:
The word in the sentence that is emphasized really varies the result. For example, take the sentence "My dog sat in the chair."
My dog sat on the chair --> Surprise at the fact that it was your dog.
My dog sat on the chair --> Surprise at the fact that it was a dog doing that action.
My dog sat on the chair --> Surprise at the fact that your dog sat on some special chair.
My dog sat on the chair --> Surprise at the fact that your dog was allowed on the chair.
It's really important to know what your character's motivation is and who they are as a person, so that you can encorporate the right pacing, pitch and emphasis. You also need to be really familiar with the script and know what each thing you're saying means. Once you know that, it'll be easy to figure out what the correct pacing, pitch and emphasis is.
Finally, here are some good websites to find voiceover jobs: