Have you ever heard someone explain the difference between hearing and listening? According the University of Minnesota, “Hearing simply happens. Listening, however, is something you consciously choose to do.”
In other words, there’s a difference! Continue reading Are You Really Listening?
The audio demo. A staple of the voice over industry. Talk to any talent. Any coach. Any producer. They’ll all tell you the same thing. Get a good demo. Regardless of the means, they all point to the same end.
Get a good demo.
For many years voice over work mostly consisted of commercials, be it for radio or TV. In both of these cases, the audio demo was more than enough to get your foot in the door with a producer, client, or otherwise.
As talent, we’ve relied heavily on these demos for years. At any given moment, I’ve got no less than half a dozen audio demos that I’m circulating through various and assorted avenues. From my personal website to casting sites to social media and beyond.
But, is the audio demo enough today?
These days, I do very little commercial work. In fact, the bulk of my voice over business in the last year or two has all come from Explainer Videos.
These 60-90 second animated videos are all the rage right now. They’ve been proven over and over again to generate leads, increase sales, create brand awareness and improve search rankings. And that’s just the beginning of their benefits!
With more and more companies creating these videos for their products, services and brands, it’s an area of voice over work I expect will continue to grow.
When I reach out to production companies that create explainer videos, I always include a link to my explainer demo. That demo has got my foot in the door with many different producers and, without question, it has lead to many great voice over opportunities.
However, for some producers, an audio demo is no longer enough.
The most common question I receive from producers I reach out to is, “do you have video samples of your work? Your voice sounds great, but we’d like to see how it matches up with the animations.”
It makes sense when you think about it. An animated explainer video is a very visual tool. Of course you’d want the voice to match the animation, regardless of what type it is. And I’ve done all types of these videos.
When a client asks to see videos I’ve worked on, I send them to this link. I regularly post my projects and this has become an invaluable resource for me in closing deals with potential new clients. It gives them the opportunity to not only hear my voice, but to see how I can adapt it to different scripts and animation styles.
As an added bonus, almost everyone of those project pages includes a testimonial from the client I worked with. One more thing to instil confidence in the potential new client thinking of working with me for the first time!
If you’re not making samples of your video work available, you might be missing out on voice over work. In the video age, an audio demo may no longer be good enough.
In the video age, an audio demo may no longer be good enough.
One of the byproducts of the Pay to Play culture is fast auditioning. If you don’t submit your voice over audition within the first 10 minutes on some sites, you might as well forget it. At least fifty people will already be ahead of you.
What this means is, instead of submitting a quality audition, many voice actors are now racing to submit any audition at all.
Forget editing. Forget proofing. Forget quality. Just get it done.
I’ve posted jobs on Pay to Play’s in the past. I was shocked at some of the things I heard in auditions.
All of these things, in my book, are a great way to guarantee you don’t get hired for the job. Many of these things, in my opinion, are also the result of auditioning in a hurry to try and beat the crowd.
Your audition is your first impression. We all know about those. You never get a second chance to make one! Your audition is also going to be a reflection of your finished product.
If I hear background noise in your audition, why would I assume your final audio would be any different?
If you didn’t take the care to follow the script and proof your read to confirm such, I have to question your attentiveness to detail.
If you can’t bother to edit out an obvious mistake, like where you’ve stopped and started over again, how can I trust you’re professional?
I know you want to get your audition submitted quickly. I know if you’re not in the first 20 or so demos you’re much less likely to be considered. But if you want to be heard, and stand any shot at all at booking the job, take a little pride in what you’re submitting.
Think about your average 30 second audition. Honestly, how long is it going to take you to edit out the mouth noise and clicks? If the dog barks and it bleeds through, is another 30 seconds to record really going to kill you? If the audition took 30 seconds to record, it’ll take 30 seconds to listen back and make sure you follow the script to the word.
Even when it’s a race, which I don’t like, but on some sites is a reality, there’s no excuse not to submit a professional quality, fully edited and proofed demo. Unless of course you don’t want to book the job. Then, by all means, submit the rough cuts.
This week I’ve been doing a Five Day Challenge and a number of voice actors opted to participate with me.
The point of the challenge was simple. Each day, for five days, send out at least one demo to one potential client. It’s a completely attainable challenge, and one that could result in new work. Why not participate? Continue reading A Tip For Sending Voice Over Demos
You’ve Got Mail is, quite possibly, one of the greatest romantic movies ever made.
How’s that for an opening line on a voice over blog written by a man in his 30’s?
I watch You’ve Got Mail every time I see it on TV. I can’t help myself. I don’t even want to think about how many hours I’ve spent on the couch over the years investing even more of my precious time into that movie. If I did, I’d be ashamed. Yet, I’d change nothing! Continue reading I Wanted It To Be Me So Badly
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