Portfolio at NYU

Posted 10.04.05
The Accent Is on Voiceovers

By Jason Boog

Newsday
March 2, 2005

Manuel Herrera can sound like an army of radio announcers firing off commercial jingles. In one manic minute, the Dominican emigrant can do the Spanish-language voices of a doting father, an elderly scientist and a plucky kid.

Herrera, of Manhattan, who would say only that he is in his 40s, teaches voice-over technique in the Lower East Side offices of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors, a nonprofit center that promotes, trains and assists immigrant actors. A few times a year, Herrera offers a competitive workshop on the art of Spanish-language voice-overs, a trade aimed at millions of Latinos in the city. He earned his position after 20 years in New York's acting scene.

"I've learned from the rich rainbow of Spanish accents in the city," Herrera said.

As more Spanish-speaking immigrants fill the city, voice-over recording has become an increasingly hot commodity, he said. Increasingly, companies realize that in order to sell their products to a growing population of consumers who may not be fluent in English, marketing material needs to be distributed in various languages.

Simultaneously, the demand for Spanish-language voice-overs has also resulted in a growing profession for actors who are bilingual, according to Herrera.

"If you are a bilingual voice-over artist, then you've got a meal ticket for the next 10 years," said voice-over artist Marjorie Kouns of Manhattan. She said nationally recognized voices can earn up to six figures a year.

Over the course of his career, Herrera has dubbed Spanish tracks for companies like Nickelodeon and HBO, becoming a television star with his voice alone.

By day, Herrera produces famous novels for Recorded Books, a Manhattan company that publishes Spanish-language books on tape and CD in the United States. There are more than 75 voice actor auditions for these marathon book-reading sessions each year, but only 20 can fill the coveted spots, Herrera said.

While many actors dream of being the Spanish voice of Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts, most of the industry's voice-over movie jobs go overseas, to places such as Mexico and Argentina, according to Herrera. Film companies have looked south because of lower costs, less powerful unions and fewer restrictions in voice-over production.

"We have all the actors and equipment here, but the voice-over work [for films] goes there." Herrera said.

Nevertheless, when it comes to Spanish-language voice-over work for businesses, such as dubbing commercials, training videos and telephone messages, the industry is booming in the city.

The midtown voice-over office of the CP Language Institute regularly employs around 30 Spanish-speaking freelancers to dub tracks for corporate training videos, on-hold telephone messaging and television programs.

"We can dub a 10-minute video into Spanish in less than a week," said Bing Yang, who heads the business. Yang started the institute more than 15 years ago.

He was born in Taiwan, where he taught university-level language classes as an adult. When he moved to New York in 1978, Yang decided to take his language skills into the recording business. After a few years, his staff grew from three technicians into a bustling office.

Yang's company generated clients by dubbing materials for clients like NBC, PBS and Billy Graham's Evangelistic Association. Spanish-language services currently make up about 60 percent of his annual business, Yang said. His company also offers voice-overs in languages such as Chinese, Korean, German and Portuguese.

Kouns entered the voice-over industry two years ago. Her recorded voice greets runners in Spanish at the finish line of the New York City Marathon, and she's narrated many commercials and on-hold telephone messages. The actress describes her Spanish voice range as "warm, sexy and sophisticated." She can also deliver a dead-on imitation of conservative pundit Ann Coulter.

Kouns isn't Hispanic. The Illinois native learned her Spanish in college and perfected it during the past 20 years in the city.

Ricardo Hinoa, 28, is an actor from Puerto Rico living in Astoria. He spent four months without work before he got a break with voice-over spots. Now, he supplements his theater career with Spanish-language voice-overs for Volvo, Lotto and AT&T television commercials.

After two years, Hinoa has found plenty of outlets for his youthful, confident voice. "I can earn $400 for a 30-second commercial," he said. "No McDonald's or bartending jobs for me now."