Clare Reeves is a professional voice-over artist who works across the full spectrum of the voice-over world, which includes narrating documentaries for National Geographic. She’s a trained radio presenter; former BBC Studio Manager (she did some sound engineering for the BBC World Service); the mother of a 3-year-old; she plays bass guitar; and she’s also a lover of travel in Africa (although the 3-year-old has put African travel on hold for now!).
She does work for Music Radio Creative, National Geographic, Trivago, International Bank BNP Paribas, National Railway Museum, and much more…
Top Quotes from Clare Reeves:
- “I am very lucky and privileged to be narrating documentaries for them [National Geographic] from time to time, which is a bit of a dream come true as a voice-over artist, because obviously the content is incredible.”
- “I’m the narrator and storyteller [of the show: Wild Borneo]... bringing that to life for the audience.”
- “My first encounter with radio, when I was 14 years old, and I wanted to work in my local BBC Radio Station, so I got a bit of experience there.”
- “For 3 years while I was a student, I would be going in on Sunday morning at 5 or 6am to the studio.
- “I’ve worked in television as a Network Director, so I used to put the BBC’s channels on air.”
- “I did some training for the BBC; I use to run their induction training at one point as well… I ran a 2-day induction course for 80 people around every fortnight, and I was in charge of the content of all of that.”
- “What inspires me… is the amount of little worlds that I can pop into. I can be voicing stuff for the Abu Dhabi Government one minute, and doing something completely different the next. You just hop into all these little worlds and learn about things.”
- “You have to be incredibly disciplined in the world of being a voice-over artist.”
- “I’ve actually got a folder for a plan for the entire year… Keeps me sorted, keeps my mind tidy.”
- “If you’re in the creative business, you have got a creative mind, and creative minds are not generally very linear; we skip about a bit… Your instinct is to break out of that and to think creatively and make connections and do all of those wonderful things that would spark inspiration.”
- “Getting the work, getting repeat clients, and building on what I’ve done, and finding new opportunities and people saying, ‘Hey, we love what you do, we’d love you to work with us.’ That feeling is sensational.”
- “Having built my own job and the fact that I do it [voice-overs] for me, that’s my biggest win.”
- “I love it [voice-overs], I love every aspect of it. It’s fabulous.”
- “Clients quite like you asking the questions because it makes them feel that you’re in control and you know what you’re doing.”
- “Go and talk to somebody who’s objective, but who knows the business, just to check if you are wasting your time or not… I know that’s really heart-breaking, but they will work with you to bring out the best in you. Just to have a go, put a showreel together and get honest opinions from people that matter.”
- “If you’re that determined, go for it. If you’re not that determined, you will soon stop because it is hard work.”
Resources:
- FreeAgent Accounting Software
- Large Condenser Microphone from SE Electronics
- Audio Interface – Focusrite Saffire 6i6
- Apple iMac
- Adobe Audition CS6
Key Timestamps:
- 00:33 Guest introduction
- 01:27 Narrating for National Geographic
- 01:56 What happens behind the studio for the NatGeo Show: Wild Borneo
- 10:32 How Clare Reeves started in voice-overs
- 14:33 Clare as an induction trainer at the BBC
- 15:17 What’s Clare’s inspiration?
- 18:08 How Clare stays focused as a voice artist
- 20:15 Tools and resources Clare can’t live without
- 25:28 Biggest success story
- 27:10 Learning experiences
- 30:04 Clare’s advice for someone who’s just starting out
- 32:36 Clare’s MRC demo
- 34:40 Where to find Clare
Want to Hear More from Clare Reeves?
Head over to Clare’s website; there’s a bunch of cool stuff there (she even has a blog about the voice-over business). You can also tweet her @ClareOnAirLive and like her on Facebook too. Clare’s demo for MRC can be found right here and if you want this warm & confident voice for your audio, order now.
Stay Tuned…
Did you listen until the end of the episode to claim our special offer? Next week, our guest is LadySpitfire from The Indie Authority. She interviews some really cool indie and rock bands, and next week we’ve got her in the hot seat!
