Day in the life of
Voice Actress – Agos Longo
I am Agos Longo. I work as a freelancer voice actress for Netflix, Disney, HBO, Crunchyroll, Amazon, Paramount, Discovery, National Geographic, Blizzard, and more.
My Typical Day
As a voice artist my days are never ever the same, I work on my own which means I do not have a boss.
The only constant is of course the job itself and working many hours, but the projects change every day. One day I am five different characters in five different projects, the next day I record maybe three ads, on the other, I have to sing for a kids app, the next one I am a character in a videogame, and on the other day, I am the narrator of some audiobooks. So there you go, we never have the same routine.
Pros
The pros of working as a voice actress is not only that I get to do what I love for a living, of course…but that I get to explore so many different characters in such a short time….to be able to perform with so many different energies and personalities in let’s say 10 hours of work is something that makes me feel artistically so rich and in constant growth.
Another pro is that I can choose what projects to get involved in and in which ones I don’t, I get to talk about fees for my own and manage my own agenda.
Cons
The cons of my job I believe that are so attached to some of the pros…for example it is a great pro to get to manage my schedule as I said before, but that lack of “boundary” is also the one that can get you in working for some extra hours (because you love your job, or because that one project is so interesting) There is no one telling you “ok, this is it for today” and it might be difficult to still save some “free time” during the week for other things you love that are not working…why? because “ey! I could so do that voice in the video game! I still have some free time Tuesday at 7 pm!” kind of thought. With time and after working so many years I am learning how to set boundaries for myself :p
The other con will depend on the country the artist lives in….as we do not have a minimum salary or a “payment day” it gets “annoying” to demand the payments or to get some companies to “obey” the payments dates, at the beginning may feel like a lot, but once you get the wheel turning it gets easier…but maybe this is something happening only in Latin America…again, this is also why I became a bit “picky” and started working only in projects that do not give me a headache later 😛
The balance in my case is always for the best. I’ve been working with my voice, on my own (freelancer) since 2007 and I am a very happy actress… I seriously cannot believe to work of what I love and to hear my job out there in so many countries, in so many characters and products. Life’s good!
Advice for aspiring Voice Actors and Actresses
I believe that to be a good voice actor it is mandatory to know how to perform. If you didn’t study acting and you want to be a voice actor that is the first and most important step. Then you have to learn the dubbing technique (as in every brunch of acting…) and I would recommend also getting some good vocal training to get to know your tool, to expand your vocal range, to take care of it, and to play with it so it can be suitable for as many characters and situations possible! Think of it as an instrument…if you wanna play the guitar in a professional way you have to know everything your guitar does. Singing lessons are a great plus.
I cannot leave behind the fact that we need to know how to deal with rejection. We might cast for 10 roles a month (just saying a number…there is no average) and then you might get 3 of them..or 7…or none! This is not personal, we just cannot play every role in the world and this is fine. It is part of the job….as models have to try on a lot of clothes before going to the runway with only 5 outfits. Casting and rejection are also part of the job, being patient and being prepared are key!
