The Transformative Power
of an Influential Voice
By Kayla Bowles, October 22, 2023
Hello SOVAS readers, and thank you for taking the time to visit my column, Diary of A Voiceover Intern. Here, I intend to engage my evolving learning experience as an intern at the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences (SOVAS) through a series of conversations with voiceover professionals. I will engage SOVAS ambassadors, previous winners of the Voice Arts® Award, casting directors, talent agents, and others in discussions about breaking into the voiceover industry and building a thriving career.
Meet Wael Habbal—Voice Actor and SOVAS international for United Arab Emirates. He became the Arabic voice of Google Maps in 2010, and has since done many successful campaigns for Mercedes Benz Middle East, Audi Middle East, BMW, Porsche, and UAE Etisalat. Following a world tour seeking knowledge about the global voice over industry, Wael began educating and training passionate students in many training centers in the Middle East. Please welcome him as my guest today.
Kayla: Hello Wael, thanks so much for being here! My first question for you is: how did you get involved in the voiceover industry? How did you hear of the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences?
Wael: Thank you for having me! I started doing voice-over in 2003 by chance, which quickly turned into a passion and a primary goal of mine. I first worked for CNBC Arabia as the main channel voice and then moved to MBC Group (Al Arabiya News Channel) to be one of the main voices there. During my first work period, I was always looking for sources and sites to learn from and benefit from the experiences of others, and spent a long time traveling and researching before I came to know about SOVAS. Once I became familiar with the organization a few years ago, I was able to crown my success story with them as a prestigious international institution.
Kayla: I can definitely relate to your drive to learn as much as I can abut the industry from as many people and places as possible. There is so much information available, especially now. When you were first starting out, did you have any specific goals for yourself? How have your goals changed and/or evolved over time?
Wael: To be honest, in the world of voiceovers, the client and the quality of your voice are what determine your goals, meaning that if your voice is suitable for documentaries, for example, and the clients find that to be true, you will have to direct your goal towards study and research of the world of documentaries in order to succeed with it. Of course it is okay to try doing other VO jobs from time to time, but make your goal clear without hesitation. In the Arab world, due to the small percentage of professional voices compared to the market and countries that speak Arabic, you will not be able to limit yourself to documentaries only, for example, but you will be asked to do many other works, and this is a good thing for us.
Kayla: That’s such an interesting notion. I have always had a very clear vision of what I want to accomplish in my career as a voice actor, and that end goal is what has driven me for most of my professional life. Allowing the jobs that you get dictate, or at least inform your career goals is something that I’ve never considered before, but I will definitely explore that going forward. What do you find comes easiest to you in terms of types of voiceovers (commercials, e-learning, etc.)? What do you find most challenging?
Wael: Commercial advertisements, of course, depend on your voice in some way to sell their products and influence buyers, and this is a great challenge for the voiceover artist. In addition, you can freely express all your voice capabilities in the world of advertisements, of course, according to the content of each advertisement, but in general it is an enjoyable, colorful world.
Kayla: In 2010, you became the Arabic voice of Google Maps, and have since done many successful campaigns for Mercedes Benz, BMW, and other major companies. How have those opportunities impacted your career?
Wael: To be honest, I was performing many jobs for some international brands before and after the implementation of the Google Maps project, but it is certain that the popularity and spread of the Google Maps application contributed to supporting my career well, especially in the Arab world, where the application is widely used, and users here are accustomed to my voice through it. Something I’m proud of.
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Kayla: You should be proud! That’s a major accomplishment! Did you have any mentors or peers that helped you find your place in the industry, or even someone that you wanted to model your career after?
Wael: I am considered one of the old generation of voiceover commentators, and the profession was not widely known in 2003 when I started. I did not have any role models in the profession. There were actors and actresses with beautiful voices who carried out voiceover projects, so I loved listening to them, but they were not specialized voiceover commentators. Someone I’d love to mention here is colleague of mine named Rania Abi Nader. She encouraged me and introduced me to an audio production company through which I began implementing my first radio advertisements.
Kayla: You alluded to it briefly in your previous answer, but could you further describe the culture surrounding voiceover in the Middle East? Is it a career path that the average person is familiar with?
Wael: In the Middle East, there is not yet a career path specifically for voice-over. There is no employee who works only as a voice-over commentator at a television station, for example, but the profession is spreading reassuringly, and beautiful voices are subject to training and qualification, and they work from their home or from the studios and create. The culture of voice-over is growing well here in the Middle East and the demand is high. It grows with the advancement of technology as well as media and advertising.
Kayla: What do you think is most missing from the global voiceover community as of right now, and how do you think we should address it?
Wael: I believe that we should have a government organization that supports the intellectual property rights of every voice commentator. Artificial intelligence is coming and the confusion it will cause is great. I think it will be difficult at first to protect the rights of voice commentators around the world, but with a little persistence it can be achieved.
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Kayla: What would you say is the biggest risk you have taken in relation to your voiceover career?
Wael: The biggest risk I took was that I once accepted the role of a cartoon character in a children’s series, and it required me to scream and get emotional, and after I finished the work, my voice went away and did not return for a while.
Kayla: That sounds tough! It’s so important to take care of your voice. What do you think is the most important thing for someone breaking into voiceover, specifically someone in the non-English speaking market, to know?
Wael: Everyone who wants to delve into this field must know that a beautiful voice is an intelligent, educated voice. A beautiful voice is an influential voice, and this is not related to the harshness, lowness, or highness of the voice, but rather using its tools in an intelligent and influential way.
Kayla: I absolutely love that. That’s a saying that I think every voice actor should keep in mind. Thank you again so much for talking with me! Before we wrap up, do you have any final thoughts?
Wael: Thank you for this nice opportunity. I thank the SOVAS organization for its efforts that have covered the world. I thank it for the support it provides to hold the most important global workshops and competitions that will revive and develop this industry.
Kayla: Wonderful, thank you!
Kayla Bowles is assistant to Rudy Gaskins and Joan Baker, founders of the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences (SOVAS), creators of That’s Voiceover! Career Expo, and the Voice Arts Awards. She currently studies the art of voice acting with Joan Baker, and has studied with Real Voice L.A., The Acting Studio, and Broadway Evolved. Though new to the voiceover business, Kayla has already booked a local TV commercial, a role in an indie animated series (in development), and lent her voice to various passion projects. She is currently an undergrad at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY.
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