Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Wilson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kim. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always loved storytelling.
I went to Sarah Lawrence College. I studied literature, acting, and fine art. Out of college I took a job in advertising and got a peek into the creative end of the business world.
Took a break for my children and they were little – we read books aloud. Big chapter books with sometimes the classics and sometimes fantasy. As my children grew, I realized I didn’t want to give the storytelling up! My husband encouraged me to get into the field and take a class in Voiceover and acting.
I signed up for a “intro to voiceover class” and I walked away with such purpose and confidence and knew this is what I was meant to do. I’ve never looked back – I think it was 2009.
From there – I studied the craft of voiceover. Took every seminar, private coaching class, workshop I could get my hands on. Trips to NYC – trips to Los Angeles. It didn’t matter where – I was determined to make this my career. I dived into the on-screen acting world to further my skills and experience. On camera acting frightened me but I knew I had to face the scary stuff in order to further my talent. I starred in a few indie films and helped write and produce a couple as well. I tried not to hold back.
Today I am full-time national voice over with International clients worldwide.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. It was like going back school to learn a new skill. Yes, I had the energy and motivation for it. But I had to learn to read and analyze a script and bring meaning to the words on the page. It’s taken me years to learn and I am still constantly learning and relearning new ways to read scripts.
This field is one of the most competitive industries in the entertainment world. My voice range is the most oversaturated in the market – the friendly mom sound. I have to work extra hard at standing out amongst the thousands of friendly “Mom”-auditions producers are listening to.
One of the hardest things to get used to is rejection. Immediate rejection and lots of rejection. I’ve had to learn to audition and walk away knowing I did the best I could knowing I did the best I could….and not obsess over what I could have done better!!! It can be soul-crushing.
I mentioned it earlier — but I believe in order to be a voiceover you must not only study the skill of voice acting but also study the art of acting. Acting on screen TERRIFIED me. I studied the Meissner Acting Technique for two years. I made myself audition for roles and later star and co-star in a couple of indie films. I also helped write and produce several as well. Overall it was terrifying but also exhilarating and extremely rewarding. It furthered my confidence and voice acting skills in ways that are immeasurable.
And the industry changed as well. Over the years, it’s no longer to be a great voice talent. You need to treat your career like a business. You must have a marketing plan and a brand. So suddenly I found myself taking business classes – learning how to market myself. It took me many years to go from part time to full-time!
Please tell us about Kim Wilson Voiceovers.
I am a full-time voiceover.
For Commercials: I am the voice you hear on the radio, TV and internet. The voice behind the images, music effects, and animations. I can be the announcer of a product, the nagging wife, the corporate intellect or the sexy woman that’s in love with her shampoo. Sometimes even just the last 3 words of a commercial – called a tag. For example, “Member FDIC” is a tag – that I wish that was me!!! As soon as I tell people what I do, they always tell me they never listen to another commercial the same again!
eLearning: I also voice eLearning modules for companies. Which involves leading them through a computer program about things like the company benefits or training the employees on thing like management skills. Sometimes I’m an avatar on screen, leading users through the training program. Sometimes I even am the voice that trains doctors on medical devices, or even new pharmaceuticals.
Corporate Narrations/Medical Narrations: I am the voice that talks about a company’s capabilities or products.
Promos: One of the most fun to voice….Those are the 15 second spots that tease the audience about what show is up next!
My voice show up on all sorts of things we don’t even think about~spotify in the background, doctors videos in their office, even a phone system!
For Corporate narration my favorite is a project I voiced is with Amazon. I’m an avatar that takes the new employees through their benefit packages step by step.
For Medical: my favorite was a project I voiced was for a 6 month project with Novo Nordisk with one of their products. Super fascinating
AR/VR/MR (Augmented reality, Virtual reality and Mixed Reality) is my next adventure I’m thrilled about because the voiceover technique is a bit different and very exiting!
I could be voicing a character within the VR experience.
Or perhaps The VR experience requires my voice to guide them through the space they are exploring.
Or perhaps the most fascinating to perform would be the voice inside the users head! So the question I ask myself is, “what would my inner thoughts sound like out loud?” That’s where the fun begins!
I have my own home studio where I voice and produce. I am able to record auditions within minutes and send them via email. And I also can produce broadcast-quality national commercials from my studio as well as full scale 50 page eLearning projects.
I am known for my friendly warm natural sounding reads. I can be unpolished and quirky or I can be super high energy with a touch of sass.
I am most proud I was able to build my passion into a career and a full time business.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over I think I would have taken business classes early on! It would have helped steer me in the right direction in terms of thinking about myself as not just a talent but a businesses well.
I also am extremely grateful that I challenged myself to do the hard stuff as well. Exploring the world of on camera acting paid off.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kimwilsonvoiceovers.com
- Phone: 508 314 9011
- Email: kim@kimwilsonvoiceovers.com
- Instagram: @thekimwilson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimwilsonVO/
- Twitter: @heykimwilson
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimwilsonvo/
Image Credit:
Photos by Nadia DeLemeny
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