The man behind the voice
Iron Wave Productions in Yarmouth offers voice-over services
There are voices everywhere. The voice you hear announcing arrivals in the airport; the voice you hear over the phone explaining voicemail set-up; the voice of audiobooks, commercials, and animation — these are the voices of voice-over recording artists.
“Anywhere you hear a voice and don't see a face, that's a voice-over. It's really neat,” Matthew Ellis, a voice-over artist living in Yarmouth, said of the industry. “It's a very, very wide field, and I've done a little bit of all of it.”
By day, Ellis is a fully employed registered massage therapist and it's been that way since 2006. In 2018, Ellis expanded the range of his career.
“I've always had a particularly distinctive baritone voice and about four years ago I decided it was time to try my hand at [voice-over]. I've always been very drawn to people with voice talent. I'm not a particularly strong actor, but I love working with my voice, [doing] the vocal parts of acting.”
After eight months of formal training, Ellis started — and continues to build — a voice-over business.
“There's essentially three pieces of voice over: narration, commercial and animation.”
Ellis enjoys narration, particularly of audiobooks (he likes that he gets to learn something new) and advertisements.
“I did one for Jeep. I did one for Apple and Jameson Whiskey. I did one for the Heart and Stroke Foundation,” noted Ellis.
There is no shortage of potential gigs.
“I'm always auditioning.
I'm always looking for the big job. I would love to say that I've done a Super Bowl ad or something like that.”
Of the three modes of voice-over, animation is what Ellis does least and enjoys most.
“I think the most fun I've had is when I get to be someone I'm not. I get to pretend,” he laughed.
MUSIC
While it is all about the spoken word, Ellis chalks the versatility of his voice up to his parents and their musical influence.
“I have a fair vocal range. I'm a trained singer, as well, so I know how to kind of stretch my voice when I need to. It's the beauty of growing up with music. I think you just kind of learn as you go. Everybody in my family sings. My brother's an excellent singer. My dad's a wonderful guitar player. My mom was actually a concert pianist. So, I come from music. We all sing.”
LOOKING FORWARD
Pre-COVID, Ellis was working with other voice over artists living in Nova Scotia to provide an array of voice-over services under his company's name, Iron Wave Productions. The collaboration waned during the pandemic, but Ellis said the collaboration is on his agenda. He's also keen to work more in animation and act with his voice.
“Most of the work I've done so far has been either commercial or narrative. But animation or the video game side is really, truly where I'd like to be.”
Without regret, Ellis looks forward to the next years of his voice over career.
“It's just been an absolute blast, and I'm really looking forward to whatever else comes.”