Here’s a look at the best cities for various types of voiceover work:
New York City, New York
New York City is the place to look for the best voiceover work for commercials. With most of the major ad agencies located in the Big Apple, it makes sense that the biggest voice talent for ads would congregate here. While famous voice actors like Donald James and Rick Blade are based in New York, advertising agencies have the clout to bring in celebrities for voice-over work in ads.
Los Angeles California
For film dubbing jobs, Los Angeles is hands down the best city. Since many actors and actresses live and work in Hollywood, people looking to book a particular voice will have to make a trip to Los Angeles. Unless it’s for an animated movie, voiceover work for movies will usually star the actors. For example, Ray Liotta, who played Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, also provides the voiceover for many of the scenes.
Chicago, IL
If you’re in the Midwest and don’t have time to go to New York or Los Angeles, Chicago may be the best city for you. Known as the hub of the Midwest and Big Radio City, the Windy City has a long history of great broadcasting work. Chicago broadcasters like: Harlan Hogan, Bob Worthington and Gonzo Schexnayder have served some of the biggest companies in the country. Chicago also offers good voice training programs, so there’s no shortage of new talent.
Vancouver, British Columbia
For some time now, Vancouver has established itself as one of the leading animation production companies in the Western world. From schools to state-of-the-art studios, Vancouver offers great possibilities for present and future animators. Some of the most popular animations, like Ed, Edd and Eddy, and The Prince of Egypt, have come out of Vancouver. With such a thriving scene, it’s no wonder Vancouver is the best place to find voice talent for animation. To match the high quality animations, the voice talents need to be high quality to bring out the gist of the stories.
Montréal, Québec
The best city for video game voice over work is Montreal, another Canadian city. Very quickly, Montreal has become a major player in the video game industry. Now there are more than 50 development companies, 14 software companies, and 18 game service companies located in this beautiful city, offering more than 6,000 jobs. Without a doubt, voiceover work is integral to the success of a video game and the voice talents in Montreal are purpose-built for games.