Voiceover Scout, a nationwide talent search, conducted by The Bourne Consultancy launches today to find new, exciting, different, diverse and distinctive voices who fancy their chances of becoming commercial voiceover artists.
Open to anyone aged 18 and over, the contest is the brainchild of The Bourne Consultancy founder and ex-voiceover agent Melsie Bourne and is staged in association with Loud and Clear Voices and No.8 London.
During the first lockdown, Melsie spent a lot of time pondering two very different issues. Firstly, the difficulty she was having finding voices to fulfil some very big brand voiceover briefs and secondly, her desire to give back, by helping someone break into the industry that has served her so well these past 25 years.
“Being a voiceover is not as easy as it sounds. It comes with a lot of pressure. It’s not just reading a script. It’s reading a script that has taken a creative team weeks to craft. You’ll be reading in a studio with the client and you’ll be expected to bring it to life for the first time.”
(Melsie Bourne)
The result of that pondering is Voiceover Scout.
The competition has an impressive line-up of judges made up of the great and the good of the creative industries including actors Idris Elba, Angela Griffin and John Thomson as well as renowned creative director Trevor Robinson OBE, and leading creatives, producers and agents.
“I’m delighted to have been asked to be a judge for this fantastic new initiative, Voiceover Scout. It’s such a wonderful industry but can be very hard to break into so I am excited to be playing a part in giving a total newcomer a chance to break through. Looking forward to hearing some great new voices.”
(Idris Elba)
The winner of Voiceover Scout will be given the chance to break into what has been, until now, a closed industry, which is why the competition winner will be represented by a leading London voiceover agency and given the opportunity to record a professionally produced showreel.
How the Voiceover Scout competition works:
- The competition is open to anyone who is 18+ and a UK resident
- The contest closes at midnight on Sunday 13th December
- Entrants need to enter a recording of their voice (max 30 seconds long)
- The reading can be of anything – a poem, script, a story or the lyrics to a song
- The winner will be announced in the new year (early 2021) and will be invited to No.8 London to record a professional showreel and meet their agent
