Introduction
Hello, mga kapitVAHay! My name is Dave Soltura, one of the voice actors for Voice Actors at Home PH, and our goal is to help one thousand Filipinos go full-time in voice acting by 2025, and you could be one of them.
Today, we’re gonna answer the question, “Kailangan ko ba ng American accent para mag-voice acting?” or “Do I need an American accent to be a voice actor in the Philippines?”
The Importance of the American Accent
Yes, and no. Dun muna tayo say “yes”.
If you can speak with an American accent, malaking bagay ‘yon because maraming projects na kailangan yon.
We live in the digital age where everyone’s trying to make content that can be consumed globally.
As of today, I’ve had over 535 voice-over sales in the United States, 45 in Canada, 234 in India, 179 in China, and the list goes on.
An American accent helps you work with clients all over the world, even if you’re based in the Philippines.
And for the projects that you can get here in the Philippines, a lot of them do require an American accent or something close, which people like to call neutral.
I personally call it Filipino broadcast English, which is more or less what you would hear sa ANC.
When it comes to the being foreign, producers love hiring Filipinos because the Philippines is consistently among the top Asian countries when it comes to English proficiency.
That said, if you have an American accent pero nahihirapan kang magsalita in Filipino, sayang yung Filipino projects.
The Value of the Filipino Language in Voice Acting
Which brings us to “no”, you do not need an American accent para maging voice actor dito sa Pilipinas.
Maraming nabubuhay as voice actors all their lives just speaking Filipino.
Kasi pag nasa Pilipinas ka, the audience for most of the projects you would be getting would be Filipinos.
We try to watch national TV, most of the content there is either in Filipino or in English that’s not quite American or neutral.
And I share this not to brag, but to encourage you and to share the reality.
Personally, my highest-paying project for three hours of time, which is a multi six-figure commercial, was recorded in Filipino.
Because in the global market, no one speaks Filipino better than actual Filipinos.
Now, if I had an American accent pero nahihirapan akong mag-Filipino while auditioning for that, I wouldn’t have booked the project.
Conclusion and Encouragement
And of course, if you live in Visayas or Mindanao, for instance, the accent that you develop there would be perfect for your audience there.
You can get projects exactly where you are.
As they say, bloom where you’re planted.
And that’s it for this video. If you want more content that can help you become a full-time voice actor as a Filipino, check out this other video.
Introduction
Hello, my kapitVAHays! My name is Dave Soltura, one of the voice actors for Voice Actors at Home PH, and our goal is to help one thousand Filipinos go full-time in voice acting by 2025, and you could be one of them.
Today, we’re going to answer the question, “Kailangan ko ba ng American accent para mag-voice acting?” or “Do I need an American accent to be a voice actor in the Philippines?”
The Importance of the American Accent
Yes, and no. Let’s start with “yes”.
If you can speak with an American accent, that’s a big deal because there are many projects that require it.
We live in the digital age where everyone’s trying to make content that can be consumed globally.
As of today, I’ve had over 535 voice-over sales in the United States, 45 in Canada, 234 in India, 179 in China, and the list goes on.
An American accent helps you work with clients all over the world, even if you’re based in the Philippines.
And for the projects that you can get here in the Philippines, a lot of them do require an American accent or something close, which people like to call neutral.
I personally call it Filipino Broadcast English, which is more or less what you would hear on ANC.
When it comes to being foreign, producers love hiring Filipinos because the Philippines is consistently among the top Asian countries when it comes to English proficiency.
That said, if you have an American accent but struggle to speak in Filipino, you might miss out on Filipino projects.
The Value of the Filipino Language in Voice Acting
Which brings us to “no”, you do not need an American accent to be a voice actor here in the Philippines.
Many thrive as voice actors all their lives just speaking Filipino.
Because when you’re in the Philippines, the audience for most of the projects you would be getting would be Filipinos.
We try to watch national TV, most of the content there is either in Filipino or in English that’s not quite American or neutral.
And I share this not to brag, but to encourage you and to share the reality.
Personally, my highest-paying project for three hours of time, which is a multi six-figure commercial, was recorded in Filipino.
Because in the global market, no one speaks Filipino better than actual Filipinos.
Now, if I had an American accent but struggled to speak Filipino while auditioning for that, I wouldn’t have booked the project.
Conclusion and Encouragement
And of course, if you live in Visayas or Mindanao, for instance, the accent that you develop there would be perfect for your audience there.
You can get projects exactly where you are.
As they say, bloom where you’re planted.
And that’s it for this video. If you want more content that can help you become a full-time voice actor as a Filipino, check out this other video.