We all love animated shows, and some of us want to break into voice acting. In this article, I want to tell you guys about my first experience at a voiceover conference where I got to meet some of your favorite animation characters in some of your favorite shows, such as Cyberpunk, Boondocks, SpongeBob Looney Tunes, and much more. My name is Christian McBride, I go by Mad Mac, and I’m a voice actor and writer. I’ve been a voice actor for three years, and currently pursuing this as my full-time profession. I want to tell you guys How I was able to break into the voiceover industry. I’m still building into my career, and throughout my journey so far, I have faced many challenges, such as the basic necessity of finding consistent work. The constant theme throughout anyone’s voiceover career is “How do I find voiceover work?” The question can be answered in a million different ways because the voiceover market is vast, but for us nerds, let’s stick with animation. Finding a proper mentor and finding the proper niche for whatever is best for your voiceover craft. Given that voice acting is so broad and vast, you could be literally working anywhere at any time, from automotive services to medical narration to E-learning for schoolwork to animation to anime to even podcasts and literally so much more. There are so many voiceover niches I have yet to uncover or work in. This, I believe, makes voiceover so cool it’s so fun to work on because there’s enough work for all of us to succeed.
As a voice artist and a writer, it is my passion to have my own shows that I wrote, scripted, and voiced in, and played a hand in its creation is my ultimate goal. I’m going to keep working until I get there, but in the meantime, I would like to share some insight on things I’ve learned so far in my journey as a voice actor and things that may be able to help you in your journey as well or how to break into voice acting. I started off as an audiobook producer for the first two years, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it, yet audiobooks take up a lot of time and, quite frankly, don’t pay as well as the other voiceover niches. Please, if you run into any audiobook producers, don’t tell them I said that. Audiobooks serve this purpose that led me into the art and the ever-expanding world of voiceover work. I knew then that I wanted to explore and see what other genres I could play with. I knew I wanted to be in animation, but I could not figure out how to get into it. So, I studied and did my own research. I first went to my favorite shows, found the cast and credentials, and followed as many as I could. I watched them on social media. I saw the stuff they liked, the events they attended even the company they kept (Stalker 101). I saw how they were connecting, and I slowly found myself slowly mending into their world. I made sure that the social media algorithms knew this was what I wanted to see all day when I logged onto social media. You must do the same whatever it is you are looking for. You have to immerse yourself in that world. I listened to podcasts, joined FB groups, and listened in on Twitter spaces and clubhouse meetups. This led me to find people who were just like me, looking for the same thing.
This past year I decided to get from behind my computer and go meet my peers in person. I decided to take a chance and go to the Voiceover Atlanta Conference 2023 in Atlanta, GA. I paid for a three-day weekend pass Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, which I only got to attend one day because our flight got delayed for almost all of Friday. I was only able to go to the conference basically all of Saturday, and we had to leave Sunday midday, but within a 24-to-35-hour time frame, I learned so much. I’ve met so many people I experienced kinship, and everyone there wants to learn and grow and build. No one was gatekeeping any information that I needed. I had it on hand. Questions I struggled with finding on my own I was able to answer quickly with the help of others and professionals who have been doing this for a long time. I was able to get coached by the great Melique Berger of Berger Reels in LA., who is now my voiceover coach for the time being. She has appeared in Boondocks, Legends of Zelda, and Cyberpunk Edge Runners on Netflix and was formerly known for her role as Ms. Pancakes in Rick and Morty. In the one day, I was there, I learned you must build an ecosystem. Find friends in the industry, more importantly, help support others the best way you can. Studying and learning regularly become a resource. Find a coach and a mentor to help guide and keep you sharp. No one got great at anything alone, lastly, build your portfolio with projects that you think are fun and do them for free. Do it because you love it and want to gain experience. When the opportunity presents itself, this will be your backbone and confidence.
Lastly, remain curious, and explore. You may start with one thing but end up doing something else completely different, and that is the beauty of it. This is so much fun recollecting with you, and would love to continue to help where I can. Please, if you have any questions, don’t be afraid to message us here at The Game of Nerds.
