A History of Voice Overs

As a person who does voice acting online, it's always been my intention to study how the craft became so popular in today's society. Truthfully, voice acting/voice overs gives life more meaning and makes everything more interesting. Without voice overs, video games, animated series, and even radio would not be where it is today. 

Phonautograph

For a long time, it was thought that Thomas Edison was the first person responsible for making sound recording possible with his invention of the phonograph that was patented in 1878, however in 2008-2009, it was discovered that in 1857, a French printer and bookseller by the name of Édouard-Léon Scott invented a device known as the Phonautograph. The intention Scott had by inventing this device was to study acoustics visually and one day be used to recreate a singer's voice or the timbre of an instrument. Historians described the playback from the phonautograph to be caused by “a bunch of wavy lines scratched by a stylus onto fragile paper that had been blackened by the soot from an oil lamp.” It was in 1860, when the first recording was ever made. The recording was that of a young girl singing a small snippet of a French folk-song called “Au Clair de la Lune.” [4][7] 

Telephone Transmitter

Later in 1876, a German inventor by the name of Emile Berliner created a device known as the telephone transmitter aka, the first known microphone; although the term microphone was coined by Charles Wheatstone in 1827. His methods in developing this transmitter and reproducing sound differed from many since he “etched crooked roads upon a level of metal plain,” whereas many before him tried by “straight roads through valleys of wax and over waxen hills and plateaus.” Not long afterwards, Thomas Edison creates the phonograph and records a recital of “Marry Had a Little Lamb,” which upon recording the sound, played it back as well. [7][8]

Talking Doll

By 1893, Henri Lioret who was a French clock-maker, unveiled the first ever talking toy known as Bebe Jumeau which was powered by a phonograph. The doll was able to speak 35 words, sing, and tell stories. These toys were popular in France but didn't actually become a huge product until the creation of the teddy bear, Teddy Ruxpin which was invented by Ken Forsee in 1985. [5][6][7]

Over a decade passes and in 1906, a Canadian inventor by the name of Reginald Fessenden made a one way broadcast on Christmas Eve of himself playing the violin, singing a song, and reading a text from the bible. The very next year, Lee de Forest, an American inventor broadcasts a transmission through a transmitter designed in 1906. He is self-proclaimed the “Father of Radio.” [3][7]

Radio Performances

It wasn't until the 1920's where radio became a big hit beginning in 1922 where legal radio ads were made from New York City by the Queensboro Corporation. By 1929, live performed radio shows as well as animated series beginning with Mickey Mouse were created and thus began the voice over world. [1][7]

The Start of Animated Cartoons

While voice over existed in the form of radio and short animated series, it became a much bigger deal when actors and acting in general was incorporated in the voice over industry. For a long time, actors primarily performed in front of crowds on stage at a live performance, but acting on a recording of something was extraordinarily different and peaked the interest of many actors. By 1938, actor Mel Blanc popularized the world of voice over with his portrayals of a majority of cartoon characters in the hit series The Looney Toons. Many popular voice actors in modern days mention Mel Blanc often in interviews, referring to him as “The Man of 1000 Voices” and labeling him as their inspiration for getting into voice acting. [2][7]

Television popularity grows

It was in the 1950's where television dominated the media world and cartoons/animated series as well as advertisements exploded even further. A decade later, ADR dubbing or Automated Dialogue Replacements popularized due to the genre of foreign martial arts

Video Games incorporate Voice Acting/Overs

Automated Dialogue Replacement aka ADR Begins

movies being so demanding. This was the starting point for dubbing and many of it was horrid due to the lack of understanding the technicalities this new craft required. As time passed, dubbing became even more popular due to Japan and other Asian countries' development of anime and other foreign cartoons. The difference is that most of these foreign animated series had much more serious and adult content and themes which appealed to many teenagers and adults in the West. By the 1980's Video Games also entered the market at an alarming rate and voice acting was implemented in them as well. At first, the recordings were mostly small dialogue and nonverbal sounds, but by the later 1990s and early 2000s, large quantities of voice acting was implemented in almost all video games existing today. [2][7]

Online Voice Acting Booms

In modern society, voice acting/voice overs has expanded beyond needing to go into studios with many professionals and even amateurs booking gigs online through free to use forums as well as membership paying websites. This expansion has led to the market becoming so much more competitive then before, but it has also given many people who don't live in cities where the studios are located, the opportunity to work in the market.

Works Cited

[1] "A History of Broadcasting in the United States : Volume 1: A Tower of Babel. To 1933." Google Books. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. <https://books.google.com/books?id=nKFvnNl9vOEC&pg=PA110#v=onepage&q=Queensboro&f=false>.

[2] I Know That Voice. Dir. Lawrence Shapiro. 2013. Film.

[3] "Milestones:First Wireless Radio Broadcast by Reginald A. Fessenden, 1906." - Engineering and Technology History Wiki. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. <http://ethw.org/Milestones:First_Wireless_Radio_Broadcast_by_Reginald_A._Fessenden,_1906>.

[4] "Reconsidering Earliest-Known Recording." NPR. NPR. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104797243>.

[5] "Sound Of The Hound." Sound Of The Hound. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. <http://soundofthehound.com/tag/henri-lioret/>.

Suddath, Claire. "Mickey Mouse." Time. Time Inc., 18 Nov. 2008. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. <http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1859935,00.html>.

[6] "Teddy in a Tumult : Problems of Toy's Producer Leave Its Creator in a Bind." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 1988. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. <http://articles.latimes.com/1988-01-19/business/fi-36933_1_teddy-ruxpin>.

[7] "The History of Voice Over [Infographic] | Daily Infographic." Daily Infographic The History of Voice Over Comments. 7 Nov. 2011. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. <http://www.dailyinfographic.com/the-history-of-voice-over-infographic>.

[8] "The World's Work ..." Google Books. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. <https://books.google.com/books?id=F4pgvOJ2Xx8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>.