“I’ve always been keen to lift the lid on an industry that can seem a bit ‘closed shop’ to people who are interested.”

Yannick Lawry is busy preparing for one of his favourite pursuits: teaching the Voice Over Workshop at Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) this month.

An AFTRS short course alumni himself, Yannick has worked as an actor, voice over artist and radio broadcaster both in the UK and Australia, but it’s in the tutoring space where he derives great satisfaction in empowering others and watching them grow.

“Celebrating uniqueness is something that I really love as part of teaching at AFTRS,” he says.

Helping to guide students on their career journeys is also a huge source of pride for fellow AFTRS tutor Dani Torresan, who has worked in commercial radio for over 25 years as an announcer, producer, and voice over artist.

“Watching people grow and seeing people achieve things – especially post-AFTRS courses – that’s been one of the most rewarding things of my whole career,” she says.

Held in person at AFTRS’ state-of-the-art radio studios, the AFTRS Voice Over Workshop is an intensive, two-day course, where students learn the vocal techniques and skills required to be a professional voice over artist.

Yannick will deliver the January 2025 course run, with Dani in charge of the February course.

But if you were expecting a whole lot of power point presentations and boring handouts, you’d be mistaken.

“It’s nearly all hands-on,” says Dani. “Of course we do some theory, but most of it is jumping straight into the studios, pushing buttons, recording things.”

As Dani can also attest, there’s no shortage of fun.

“The connections that are made in just two days are amazing, because people have come from all different parts of Australia with all different backgrounds, all with different ranges of experiences.”

They might be an actor. They might be a nurse, who’s been asked to do the on-hold messages at the hospital where they work. Or they might be straight out of school.

“But all of these people work really closely and have fun, and by the end of the two days, really great friendships have been formed,” says Dani.

Yannick says the AFTRS curriculum is always changing to reflect the fact that the industry is always changing.

“The AFTRS course takes a positive approach and allows people to be excited about what they could do in this dynamic industry.”

Yannick says right from the outset, students get time behind the microphone.

“What I love about the course at AFTRS is that it looks at what people are already bringing to the table that is amazing and unique, rather than just correcting things that are ‘wrong.’”

From long-form narration to over-dubbing foreign commercials and video games, Dani says career opportunities for voice over work have expanded in recent years.

“There are so many different avenues that people can take. There are, of course, 30 second or 15 second radio and TV spots – that’s probably the bread and butter for most voice overs.”

“I think, post-COVID, there is actually more work because the kind of training that used to be done in a boardroom within big organisations, a lot of that is on video now. People do modules at home. For example – first aid training or HR training. Voiceovers are needed for all that kind of work now.”

And, by the end of the workshops, Dani says people are really starting to open up their ears.

“We really encourage people to start listening to audio in a different way, listening to commercials in a different way, and analysing the different ways things can be voiced.”

Dani says these days, voice over work is not limited to any one particular sound or style. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“You just have to have a voice that connects with an audience. And all audiences are different.”

In a nutshell, Yannick describes the AFTRS Voice Over Workshop as a little bit of theory, and a whole lot of practice. Delivering clear messaging, bringing scripts to life … and putting your own unique spin on it.

“It’s a massive two days,” he smiles.

 AFTRS Voice Over Workshops will be held in January and February 2025. Details on how to enrol here.