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 Warning: Huge long mega-post ahead, though one with good advice and possible opportunity to be paidI've been avoiding posting in here for some time, mainly because 1) I haven't had/don't have the time, and 2) I felt like the VO issues I'm in the midst of dealing with aren't really relevant to the majority of those looking for help in this thread. Then I realized that was kind of dumb, and that it would probably benefit even those just starting out to hear about what someone is dealing with down the road, and that I might even get some help/advice from here myself, since there's always more to learn. So, here we are! Name: blinkeve1826 Specialties: For sure character voices, even though most of the work I find/am hired for is relatively straight-read. Children, both boys and girls; young, middle-aged and elderly women; teenage boys; valley girls, geeks, princesses, nasally housewife, overbearing boss/drill sergeant, elves...oh, just listen to my demo: https://www.listentomelanie.com/demo.mp3 As for my commercial/narration/"normal" voice: youthful, energetic, fun; perhaps also innocent, clear, enthusiastic, humble Tindeck: http://tindeck.com/users/ListenToMelanie Animation demo direct link: http://www.listentomelanie.com/demo.mp3 And I have a much more comprehensive collection of demos on my website, which is... IMDB/Portfolio: https://www.listentomelanie.com Contact: PMs are okay, email is the most surefire way to get in touch with me: ListenToMelanie at gmail Payment: My Paypal is the same as my email, but it's something I prefer to discuss with clients before I start working on a project. Started with classes/building a demo right out of high school, had some great success with VO both at home and abroad, have since done probably 250+ or so recordings for commercials, narration, animation, educational materials, telephony, iPhone games/apps, etc. My most recent VO was the latest in a series of national commercials for Vampire Diaries that I've been working on with a local studio. I've done a bunch of projects with goons, both on and off the forums; I'll link to some at the bottom of this post. So, first a couple of things I wanted to address from other posts in the thread, and then my own whole thing at the end. The Joe Man posted:I smoke and drink a ton of coffee. Everyone should be paying attention to this: those are two of the worst things you can do for your vocal health. You undoubtedly know the long-term effects of smoking, so I won't go there, but in the shorter-term, caffeine/caffeinated drinks and smoking dehydrate you. This isn't opinion or what works best for me/you/anyone else, this is a fact: caffeinated drinks will dry you out. If you're going hiking, what do you bring with you to drink, bottles of iced coffee/iced tea, or bottles of water? There's a reason for that--water hydrates you, caffeinated drinks dehydrate you. In terms of your general health, this isn't good for you anyway, as most people walk around most of the time slightly dehydrated as it is. If your mouth/throat is consistently too dry OR too wet, this is a sign of improper hydration. That six to eight glasses of water thing isn't just a "thing"; it's the bare minimum for what you NEED for your body to be functioning optimally. Eight to ten is actually closer to what you should really be having. That sound like more than it is, though; most bottled water will hold 2.5 cups or so, so you're really looking at 3-4 bottles a day, which isn't so far from the two I'm drinking effortlessly in sips throughout the day, and more consciously when I'm working. There is no short-term fix for this, and if you really do want to do this professionally/for a living, you need to start on good hydration habits NOW. For now, aim to drink one more bottle of water a day, and you WILL feel a difference. Yes, you will have to pee a lot more, your body will be healthier overall and you may see other side effects (improvements in skin health, weight loss, etc). I can't emphasize this enough--DRINK LOTS OF WATER. When you've drunk as much as you possibly can, drink more. This will keep your general health and vocal health where it needs to be for you to function optimally, physically and vocally, so you can just focus on doing your job and acting, instead of how many times you'll need to clear your throat to get a clear sound before you can start. In addition, avoid milk and dairy products right before recording, as those will create mucous, and even cold water, which will actually contract/slightly numb your vocal cords. (Heat expands and cold contracts, remember?) Quick Googling gave me this, which has some wise words on it: http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/journey/care.html The Joe Man posted:I'd like to see you try, if not only for the fact that you're female and you statistically have waaay less competition. Your odds of landing a job (if you're good) are much, much higher than any non-famous male. Is it? I feel like there's a LOT of competition in the female market as well. Perhaps that's just because I'm female and that's primarily what I've been focusing on? The Joe Man posted:One thing to note is that the total length of the demo should be 60 or 90 seconds. My animation demo is just about 90 seconds and I'm thinking of trimming it, but I think it'll be about 1:10-1:15 after I do. Is 60 OR 90 an industry thing, or if it's somewhere in the middle of 60 and 90 is there some reason that wouldn't fly? Nessa posted:It's my 20ish take and I had a cup of tea while recording. I swear my nose and throat were as clear as I could get them and that I don't have a cold. That's just how my voice sounds. Oy oy oy oy. Do yourself a favor and have room-temp water with you when you record, not something that will over-/under-coat your throat, and know when it's time to stop. When things hurt, when you're getting too frustrated to continue productively, when you feel like you're not getting anywhere, that's when it's time to stop and take a break, if not stop for the day. Listen to your bodies, people--they're communicating with you! Leofish posted:It's a combination of mic placement, controlled breathing and practice. A good mic or a good pop filter can help diminish that kind of stuff, but good habits are an important thing to develop. Another tip that has worked for me over the years is speaking just slightly to the side of the mic, rather than straight into it. That combined with the other things you mentioned will help eliminate popping, even in studios where they don't have pop filters. (And for whatever reason, I've been to several that don't have them!) Okay, so my situation. As I mentioned, I've been pretty successful so far, but I feel like I've hit a plateau lately. I'm getting clients, but not as many as I want, and not enough to make a living doing this, which is what I want to do, and I know that I can realistically do. The next step for me to do so is to find an agent. BUT. Before I do that, I should have everything look and sound as good as it possibly can, right? So that's the problem. I'm not completely satisfied with my demos. My animation demo is good, but I'm starting to wonder if it's a bit too long, and I want to rearrange some bits of it--put some of my better voices in the beginning and some of the less important ones closer to the end. My commercial demo is, like, six years old and sounds nothing like me anymore--I want to redo it completely. My old voiceover teacher, who for the most part is spot on about everything and is responsible for most of my success andwho has gotten me some VO work, says everyone he's played my commercial demo for (including those who have hired me) have, obviously, liked my demo. Which is weird to me, because I think it sounds like crap. My website is literally an abortion of an idea--I hired someone from SA to create a website for me, and he aborted the project in the middle, just left without finishing it, so now it looks unfinished, disorganized, and unprofessional. I feel like I can't show it to anyone I want to take me seriously. VO teacher, again, says it's fine and people like it, and balked at some changes I had made (color scheme--as I hate pink, organization, etc). After trying to salvage what I have, my boyfriend convinced me to go with Wordpress, so now I'm struggling to find a theme that I like, that's readable, well-organized, easy to navigate, and can handle a lots of audio, some video, pictures, a customized logo, lots of customization...and makes it all ridiculously easy to do, as I am completely unfamiliar with all of this and am getting really frustrated with it. I'm ready to tell someone to design a Wordpress theme for me, and happily pay them to do so, but I don't even know what I'm looking for. If you are reading this and think you can help me out, though, whether it's with Wordpress or by salvaging my current site, please feel free to contact me. Like I said, I am willing to pay for the right design. My logo, which I designed and again hired someone from SA to create, I thought was good, but again said VO teacher has his criticisms--mainly that no VO actor would hold a mic that way and that it makes me look like a country-western singer, which are valid points, but I also don't think anyone's going to be thinking that when they see the logo...right? I just don't think anyone's going to be thinking into it nearly half as much as we are. But...does it matter? Because I don't want it to be something silly like this that ruins my image. So...as I have a tendency to do, am I being too harsh with myself? I feel like these are things that NEED to be fixed/done before I find an agent, but I also feel so overwhelmed/lost/stuck with all of this that I feel like my VO career is at a complete standstill and I'll never get out of it! Aaarrghrghrgh. What say you wise voiceover gurus? Ooh, and before I forget, some goon projects I provided VO work for: Dropsy the Clown: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3277220 Genius Defense Force, ridiculously fun and super-adorable iPhone game: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/genius-defense-force/id338703323?mt=8 Father Sterling, interactive goon-produced comic book app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/genius-defense-force/id338703323?mt=8 And a few more general pieces of advice: -I teach VO classes here in NYC and private VO lessons both here in NY and online via Skype! All the info is on my site here: http://www.listentomelanie.com/voiceoverclasses.html. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you're interested! Ask me about my goon success stories  -Edge Studio does tend to send a lot of email filled with a lot of junk, but they also offer a lot of free opportunity for practice and learning as well. They have free teleclasses every Monday night, I believe. Free! What's the worst that can happen, you don't get your money's worth? Also take advantage of their script reading contests--basically the same thing you're doing in this thread, but with the potential to win prizes, and I'm sure they'll start recognizing your name after a few submissions, which can't hurt, either. -The lazier couch potato-y-er among you won't want to hear this, but it will help your vocal health (as well as your overall health, obviously) to get regular exercise. Having issues with breath control? Guess what, that has to do with control over your abdominal muscles. Your job will get easier and more enjoyable, and you will be healthier, if you are exercising regularly. Go for a walk 30 minutes a day, join a cheap $10/month gym nearby, go for a run, swim bike ride, whatever--just improve your health, and you'll be improving your ability to read well, too. -Anyone local to NYC might want to consider volunteering with the Jewish Braille Institute by recording audiobooks for the blind, where I found a great outlet for continued practice in narrating, directing AND editing audio. Great for veterans and beginners alike, and you're helping contribute to a great cause. http://www.jbilibrary.org/ has contact info--call and ask to talk to Jane or Peter in the recording studio, and mention that you heard about JBI from me (they love me there ); they're always happy to have more people helping out!-Also, for those of you just starting out and looking for things to put on a resume, look around you--there are opportunities for you EVERYWHERE. I'm a bit envious of those starting out, actually, because that first step is deceivingly easy BECAUSE of the wealth of opportunities around you. Does your job need a new voicemail greeting? Offer to record it in exchange for a positive testimonial on your website. Does your Aunt Bertha need to deliver a Powerpoint presentation next Thursday? Offer to provide narration for it for credit at the end, and to keep you in mind for future projects. Turn to family, friends, and work for potential opportunities to get your voice out there. If nothing else, it's great practice, and these little opportunities can--and DO--often turn into paid ones! I was at my boyfriend's house a few months ago, and his mother was stressing out over a script she had to write for the head of her company to read on camera for a training video or something. Just to be goofy, I read it out loud, clearly over-enthusiastically, so she'd get an idea of how it could sound out loud, but again, just for fun. The next day, my boyfriend calls and tells me his mother told the head of the company how good I sounded reading it, and he decided he wanted me to read it instead--along with the company's voicemail message. Just from reading something out loud, I was offered not one, but TWO voiceover gigs. Get your voice out there, and read for anyone who will listen! You never know when it will happen for you! blinkeve1826 fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Nov 13, 2013 |
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Apr 18, 2012 18:07
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ChaosTheory posted:You forgot our little adult audiobook. Define "forgot" Edit: I decided shortly after that not to record anything that wasn't totally clean, even in terms of profanity--I'm just not comfortable with it, and if it pops up in a script I'll ask to change it or let someone else record it--so it's not something with which I prefer to associate. For those of you curious--it hasn't been a problem so far, but I also have only had such situations occur in studios and with clients with which I was already familiar, so YMMV. Anyway. I'm at the point where I don't work for free anymore (those of you starting out, though, make no mistake--I definitely paid my dues), but if I come across something I really, REALLY like, well, I need practice like everybody else. I'd love to do some sort of multi-goon radio play or something (though one I wouldn't be ashamed showing, say, my parents). Anyone have any original such scripts? This thread could be a really great opportunity to create something hilarious/legendary/infamous/etc. blinkeve1826 fucked around with this message at 13:45 on Apr 19, 2012 |
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Apr 19, 2012 05:22
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What's the consensus on commercial demos? Is it better for the quality of the different bits on the demo to sound different, as if they were actual spots, or for them to sound the same, so it doesn't sound like you just couldn't get a consistent sound? I've seen conflicting opinions and can't seem to find a straight answer one way or the other. I'm constructing a new commercial demo now (finally) and have a couple of real spots I'd like to use, but most of them are going to be fake--is that mismatch in quality going to work against me? Should I just record all fake spots for the sake of the demo? Additionally, what different types of reads should I be aiming to include? I have a naturally young, energetic voice, so most of what I include will reflect that--including one in character as a young girl--save for the clip of one of my recent commercials where I do the low, sexy/seductive thing. Should I be aiming for more variety (one "straight sell", one wildly enthusiastic, one "real person", one bright and perky, etc.) or just doing what will highlight what I do best? I know the answer is whatever will show clients why they would want to hire me, but is that a bunch of potential things they "would" want (i.e. all the different reads), or am I SHOWING it to them so that they'll hear it and say hey, we like this (i.e. what I think I do the very best)? And any ideas for fake businesses I should use? Right now it's a hybrid of real and fake--ideas taken from real VOs I've done, but with names changed, rerecorded, etc. if I couldn't find or for some reason couldn't otherwise use the original. I'm also working on my first narration demo, which is going to be REALLY hard to limit to just one minute, yeesh. I've got bits from an in-flight video, a tour bus audio guide, and an e-learning module I voiced (all real spots I've actually done, but rerecorded/with names and such changed, except for the e-learning thing which I'm taking straight from the recording I actually made), and I made up a children's audiobook excerpt (to show off some different voices in a childrens' story context), "real" book excerpt, and a phone message. Anything else I should be aiming to include? I'm a bit concerned about the redundancy of the in-flight video AND tour bus guide narrations, but the former is more instructional and the latter shows off my pronunciation of Korean words (I speak pretty authentic-sounding Korean for a very white girl) so I feel like they each have their own purposes, but I'm not sure. And is even a narration demo supposed to be kept down to a minute? That's REALLY rough. And thanks to everyone who replied to my last post, you really helped me get in gear with all this! I already shortened/remixed my animation demo (from 1:28 to :56, wow!) and am now working on, as I mentioned, a commercial demo and a narration demo. Hooray! I keep rearranging the animation demo, though...I keep feeling like it could be better arranged differently, but I don't know how. I know I also tend to have perfectionistic tendencies with this stuff, though, so I could be being too hard on myself again. I welcome any and all of your thoughts on these matters. =) Edit: Oh ffs, I just had a rousing round of "Where The F Is That Hum Coming From In My Signal Chain" and after checking every single connection, taking my external hard drive off my computer desk, switching off and on all of my external processors...it was my stupid receiver. So it looks like I'm going to have to do headphones while recording and monitors only while editing, bleeeeeeeggghhhh blinkeve1826 fucked around with this message at 02:52 on May 7, 2012 |
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May 7, 2012 02:13
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Reposting this as it got lost at the bottom of the last page, and I really would like some opinions on it as I'm recording and trying to figure out what to put on this thing right now: ----------------------------------------------------------- What's the consensus on commercial demos? Is it better for the quality of the different bits on the demo to sound different, as if they were actual spots, or for them to sound the same, so it doesn't sound like you just couldn't get a consistent sound? I've seen conflicting opinions and can't seem to find a straight answer one way or the other. I'm constructing a new commercial demo now (finally) and have a couple of real spots I'd like to use, but most of them are going to be fake--is that mismatch in quality going to work against me? Should I just record all fake spots for the sake of the demo? Additionally, what different types of reads should I be aiming to include? I have a naturally young, energetic voice, so most of what I include will reflect that--including one in character as a young girl--save for the clip of one of my recent commercials where I do the low, sexy/seductive thing. Should I be aiming for more variety (one "straight sell", one wildly enthusiastic, one "real person", one bright and perky, etc.) or just doing what will highlight what I do best? I know the answer is whatever will show clients why they would want to hire me, but is that a bunch of potential things they "would" want (i.e. all the different reads), or am I SHOWING it to them so that they'll hear it and say hey, we like this (i.e. what I think I do the very best)? And any ideas for fake businesses I should use? Right now it's a hybrid of real and fake--ideas taken from real VOs I've done, but with names changed, rerecorded, etc. if I couldn't find or for some reason couldn't otherwise use the original. I'm also working on my first narration demo, which is going to be REALLY hard to limit to just one minute, yeesh. I've got bits from an in-flight video, a tour bus audio guide, and an e-learning module I voiced (all real spots I've actually done, but rerecorded/with names and such changed, except for the e-learning thing which I'm taking straight from the recording I actually made), and I made up a children's audiobook excerpt (to show off some different voices in a childrens' story context), "real" book excerpt, and a phone message. Anything else I should be aiming to include? I'm a bit concerned about the redundancy of the in-flight video AND tour bus guide narrations, but the former is more instructional and the latter shows off my pronunciation of Korean words (I speak pretty authentic-sounding Korean for a very white girl) so I feel like they each have their own purposes, but I'm not sure. And is even a narration demo supposed to be kept down to a minute? That's REALLY rough. And thanks to everyone who replied to my last post, you really helped me get in gear with all this! I already shortened/remixed my animation demo (from 1:28 to :56, wow!) and am now working on, as I mentioned, a commercial demo and a narration demo. Hooray! I keep rearranging the animation demo, though...I keep feeling like it could be better arranged differently, but I don't know how. I know I also tend to have perfectionistic tendencies with this stuff, though, so I could be being too hard on myself again. Link here if you have any thoughts on it: https://www.listentomelanie.com/demo.mp3 I welcome any and all of your thoughts on these matters. =) Edit: Oh ffs, I just had a rousing round of "Where The F Is That Hum Coming From In My Signal Chain" and after checking every single connection, taking my external hard drive off my computer desk, switching off and on all of my external processors...it was my stupid receiver. So it looks like I'm going to have to do headphones while recording and monitors only while editing, bleeeeeeeggghhhh -------------------------------------- So here are some rough reads and stuff that I have so far for the new commercial demo: http://listentomelanie.com/comdemsess05132012.wav Of the ones I recorded tonight, I had music in mind for a few; for those, you hear the read once through naturally, and then the second time with the music I had in mind, and a bit of compression and hard limiting. It got pretty late by the time I was done with all this, though, and since these are just rough cuts, just to figure out what I do and don't want on there, I left the others the way they were (all natural, dry reads). Two are already fully-produced spots that I will be putting on there as-is (Vampire Diaries, 2nd one in, and Comcast/Sprint PCS, the last one), so there's only one version each of those. Any suggestions? I do want Vampire Diaries and Comcast on there, but I'm not particularly married to any of the others. Although I do rather like the "Milk" one. Anything I should include that I'm not yet, or shouldn't be including that I did? Is there anything glaringly missing from my reads? I can change anything in the copy, from the name of a product to the whole darn thing. A couple of my own thoughts: -I like the idea behind the iBook one, and with the right music it would sound good, but I want to use a different product. I've never heard a radio commercial for Apple and something about it just sounds really fake. What product should I change it to say instead? Keep in mind I can use any two adjectives in place of "power" and "elegance" as well (beauty and strength for some makeup thing, creativity and sophistication, whatever). -I wrote the one for Estelle's Dressy Dresses to match my young-sounding voice, but I wonder if it's not too similar to the Air Jamaica and/or Kohl's spots? I think I need more variety, but I know the "older"-sounding spots really aren't my forte and the more youthful, energetic ones are. This goes back to the question in the beginning of my post though--am I aiming to give them a wide variety of all the types of reads clients are likely to ask for, or some different reads on which I sound best? -I'm having a heck of a time figuring out what to use from that Vampire Diaries spot. There just doesn't seem to be a good place to cut this thing. Here's the full spot: http://www.listentomelanie.com/vd3.wav I can pull off making it into: "The TV show is a runaway hit...The Hunters: Moonsong, the must-read new book in the Vampire Diaries series. Get your daily bite of the Vampire Diaries at vampirediaries.com." ...or just: "The Hunters: Moonsong, the must-read new book in the Vampire Diaries series. Get your daily bite of the Vampire Diaries at vampirediaries.com" ...or even just: "Get your daily bite of the Vampire Diaries at vampirediaries.com" ...if it comes down to it. I think that second one will be best in terms of length and what it shows, but is it alright that it's clearly taken out of the context of something larger and doesn't make so much sense on its own? Edit: I actually just heard that finished spot for the first time tonight, and freaked out at the beginning of the "Stefan's Diaries" line. I'd just added some new equipment to my setup and having some issues with gating right around then, and I got this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach; I wouldn't really let something like that go to production to be put into a nationally-airing commercial, would I??? I quickly opened the original recording to hear that line and, thankfully, it sounded fine. Sooooo I don't know what happened there, though there are a few places that sound weirdly edited now that weren't when I made it. Boy did that just about kill me though. blinkeve1826 fucked around with this message at 07:33 on May 13, 2012 |
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May 13, 2012 03:53
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There's a free "Talk With A Pro" teleconference from Edge Studios right now (9-10PM EST) about home studios, with a Q&A session going on right now. Aside from the odd person interrupting with a funny voice (seriously, HOW old are we???), it's pretty useful. Dial 1-641-594-7078 and stay quiet unless you're asking a question, for the love of all things holy
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May 15, 2012 02:37
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The Joe Man posted:Wonder what happened to that dude. Maybe he's gotten better by now. My news: commercial demo raaaaarrrrrrraRRRRGGGGHHH Edit: Okay, here's some stuff I'm working on for my commercial demo. I pretty much scrapped everything I'd had and started over when I realized what I was doing wasn't what I should be doing. The big thing was that I was making my commercial demo more of a radio commercial demo, with all of the spots being more like what you'd hear on the radio, rather than what most demos seem to be, which is TV commercial spots. I figured this out by going to voicebank.net (has that been mentioned in here yet?) and just listening to a bunch of commercial demos from the best agencies on that list. Armed with a better knowledge of what I should be doing and what it should sound like, I started over and I'm much more satisfied with the results now. Here's what I have so far: Dove: http://www.listentomelanie.com/dove08032012.wav New Balance: http://www.listentomelanie.com/newbalance08022012.wav Old Navy: http://www.listentomelanie.com/oldnavy08022012.wav Swiffer: http://www.listentomelanie.com/swiffer08022012.wav I would like feedback, if there's anything that really needs to be corrected/improved, but do keep in mind when relaying it that I am something of a perfectionist and often, to my detriment, end up obsessing over perfecting things that are already fine the way they are. So yeah, basically, just be honest--if it really needs to be corrected, I want to know, and if it's fine the way it is, I want to know that, too. I also have potential spots for Cheerios, Target, Apple and Eve and ING Direct left to record. Biggest issue with those, honestly, is background music. Anyone have any good resources for FREE royalty-free music that is as good or better than Kevin Macleod's? I've recently grudgingly admitted to myself that as much as I love his music I can't use it for EVERYTHING. Edit 2: One more for ING Direct: http://listentomelanie.com/ingdirect08022012.wav blinkeve1826 fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Aug 7, 2012 |
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Aug 2, 2012 20:28
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Bumping this because I tacked on those bits for my demo as an edit and I'm not sure if anyone saw them, and hell, this thread can obviously use a bump here from time to time...
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Aug 5, 2012 21:35
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Thanks Joe Man! I boosted the vocals in the ING spot, and I'm actually just leaving out the New Balance spot it seems. It was the weakest of all of them, as well as the longest, and I don't have the space for it. I think I have something--Commercial Demo 2012, Draft 1! Right now it's at 1:07 and I can't get it down any more than that without taking out a whole spot. (Believe me, I tried). Is that negligible and fine, or does it run the risk of being trashed because it's too long? I feel like I can and should shorten it, but I don't know what I should do to do so. I'd probably have to take out a whole spot, but which one? Or maybe I could shorten the Dove or Target ones, or even a bit of each, but what would I take out? I'm not married to the copy so any and all of it is up for any kinds of changes that would make it better. So, how is it? Opinions on the order, variety, and overall quality would really help. I went with strong spots at the beginning and end, and what I hope is good variety throughout. As soon as this is done, I'm going to start looking for an agent, so I want to make sure it's in really good shape. Is there enough variety on here? Are there any types of reads that perhaps I should include, that aren't on there right now? Do I need a more "sultry" read, something like you'd hear for a shampoo commercial or makeup or something? I couldn't find good copy or commercials so I left it, but...? I think this is a good start but my gut tells me I have more work to do. I think. Edit: Just for fun--here's my first commercial demo (from 2007!) for comparison. It's sooooo long. Then again, as my first demo it served as both a commercial demo and an animation demo for quite some time. So fun to hear how far I've come and how different I sound!
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Aug 6, 2012 07:33
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JossiRossi posted:Blink, that's an incredibly solid demo. Hell, I have no idea if I'd be able to but if I need a female VO for any reason and I can pay I'll be sure to toss it your way. Your old demo really shows how far you've come in terms of performance and production quality. I really hope you are getting work. Thanks a lot for the kind words, I really appreciate it! Actually, right now I'm not getting work, but that's because I'm newly-minted...:drumroll: SAG-AFTRA member! This was a huuuuuuge step but it was an important one for me to take at this point in my voiceover career, as I am serious about doing this for a living. I was getting work regularly as a non-union voiceover actress, but a couple of things made me take the plunge and though I haven't been able to turn any of my non-union clients into union clients (yet), I definitely think it was the right decision for me, at the right time. It sucks having to hang back and be like, "No, sorry person who's offering me money to do what I love, I can't do your recording" while I haven't gotten any union work yet...but that's also because I didn't have a demo I felt comfortable sending out as a representation of my abilities. Now that that's finally (almost) done, I felt confident enough sending out what I have so far to an agent I met a while ago at a workshop and I'm trying not to go nuts thinking about it in the meantime, eeeeeeeeeeeee
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Aug 7, 2012 18:47
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Either create your own from radio or TV ads, grab a book and read something from it, or use something from Edge Studio's script library. Hell, read a cereal box if it's all you have--anything with words can be a script.
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Aug 7, 2012 22:57
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blackswordca posted:Can we adlib at all or is it a word for word thing? Also is this real? if so the copy writer needs a smack to the head. Welcome to the industry. Are you sure you want to be getting into this? Just be glad you're working with native English speakers here for the most part. I did VO work in South Korea for about a year and a half and companies like Samsung and LG were producing scripts that were so terrible just the memory of those experiences is enough to give me a headache. A commercial for a mom-and-pop store I can understand, but corporate narration for Samsung, and they can't do any better than "Click the next butoon to move on to next tep"? Like, they're not making enough money to hire a native speaker to at least proofread the thing? Uggh. Question: I recorded a series of promo spots for Vampire Diaries last year, one of which I'd like to have on my website. This is the one I've had up. It's a good enough performance, good enough quality. My performance and the audio quality on this one, though, are much better; however, the production house screwed up with the editing on its end, and the result is that I sound like I cut off the "S" in "Stefan" (I didn't believe me, I anxiously checked the source audio when I heard it) and the timing isn't quite what I intended/recorded. Which one should I be using, and why?
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Aug 8, 2012 00:03
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JossiRossi posted:What was your experience in signing up to join up with SAG-AFTRA? The process and what not. Also let us know how working with an Agent goes. I'm pretty instantly wary of the concept of working with one, but that might be too many movies on my part. Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, it's probably post, which is REALLY annoying, because I sound pretty drat great on it otherwise. Joining the union made sense for me, because I knew I would have to eventually if I wanted to made a real living with this, and I knew it would be a lot more difficult to join after the merger so I took the plunge a few months ago when it was still AFTRA, and became SAG-AFTRA when the vote went through a month or two later. It wasn't difficult--just expensive. SAG is the one where you had that catch-22 of basically needing a SAG job to join SAG to...get SAG jobs; AFTRA was just a hefty initiation fee. Why the negative view of agents? I don't think of them as particularly good or bad people, just people doing their jobs. My agents in South Korea were another matter entirely...THAT I wouldn't do ever again. Not that I could anyway, as that was all non-union.  Finally got the commercial demo down to :60 exactly, and I'm really happy with the result: http://www.listentomelanie.com/commercialdemo.mp3 Now to write up a cover letter (what on earth do I make the subject line so that they'll actually open the email??) and start sending it out! I can't beleive I'm at this step. It's simultaneously exciting and terrifying.
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Aug 10, 2012 03:29
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BlueGrot posted:Are you running a compressor on this? Sounds like it's choking your consonants. Attack time might be too short. Try 20-30 ms. Sounds like it's less than 10. I absolutely am and you're 100% right. I'm using a compressor and a gate and I don't really completely understand how to use them (Behringer Composer Pro XL and Behringer Multigate Pro). Say what you may about Behringer, but aside from the issues that are in all likelihood arising from me not knowing how to properly use them I am quite happy with the sound I get from them. You were spot on about the attack time--I had it all the way down at 0.3--but it doesn't seem like bringing it up to 20 helped. Or 50...or 300. There's something else going on there. For the record, the gate is as low as possible without it letting in room tone (around -40 at the moment). I recorded a small sample of my setup so you can hear what I'm talking about. Don't ask me what's up with the sample sentence, I really don't know. http://listentomelanie.com/fish.mp3 For reference, my signal chain is Rode NT2A->Yamaha MG102C->Multigate Pro->Composer Pro XL->BBE Sonic Maximizer->Computer, then back to mixer->closed-back headphones (AKG K55s) and/or monitors (Polk Audio, don't recall exact model, but they're pretty solid). Someone tried to convince me I HAD to use an audio interface to make anything worth recording and I had an Apogee Duet for some time, but it ended up adding some pretty nasty buzzing into my recordings and I didn't like the lack of control I felt like I actually had over them anymore. I like having a mostly analog setup and I know that the potential is there to make great recordings with them--the setup at the recording studio at which I did most of my training had was almost identical, just with, like, a bigger mixer--if I knew what the heck I was doing (I had my voiceover teacher explain all of the settings he had me put all of the knobs and buttons on, but a lot of it still remains a mystery to me). Any ideas, from that sample? Thanks for your feedback already, I feel like that at least got things on the right track 
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Aug 18, 2012 00:23
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Edited with organization as this post seems to be pretty tl;dr: 1) Babby's first interview 2) New and improved VO website! 3) Thoughts on next steps in VO career 4) Money for your thoughts (yes, you) 5) More ideas for marketing and next steps, for me or for any VO talent looking to expand 6) HELP! with writing a cover letter to agents 7) Potential future VO opportunities for you (yes, you) So I've been kinda AWOL from this thread for some time, but for good reason. 1) First it was this: http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?page=1&branch=NEWS&source=&category=society.people&art_id=1469552 I taught traditional Korean drumming to Korean kids at a Korean Culture Camp in Flushing, which apparently is newsworthy. Completely unrelated to VO but I thought it was cool and wanted to share it. My first interview! 2) Thennnnn it was full-speed ahead with this: my new and improved website! After being frustrated with a half-finished website for yeeeeears (someone I hired on SA-Mart stopped answering my emails after finishing like half the site and getting half-paid...???), a friend of mine who creates websites for a living helped me fix up mine, adding a nice new audio player, making the design much less pink (uggh) and making the whole thing mobile-friendly with a fancy shmancy responsive design! I finally feel confident enough with what I have on there to show it to industry professionals, which is exactly what my next step is. 3) Now that I have a solid commercial and animation demo, I'm going to start creating new promotional materials--namely, new business cards, promotional postcards, demo CDs for when I need to send out the odd hard copy, and pens, because who doesn't like pens?? People who throw away business cards keep and use pens. I'm anticipating that being a good idea. I'm also finding that even though I've never needed one before, more and more people are asking for a headshot and resume, so it looks like I'll have to (very grudgingly) plunk down some money on those, too. Since I'm not reeeeeally going out for on-camera work yet and am in the middle of a pretty big weight loss, I think I'm going to go with relatively cheap ones for now, and get nicer (more expensive) ones later on when I'm closer to my goal weight and my appearance will vary less, because holy cow headshots are expensive. 4) Aaaanyway, I'm currently crowdsourcing some ideas for taglines for the aforementioned postcards in SA-Mart. If you think you might have some ideas and might want to make a few quick bucks, thread is here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3507737 Mind you, I'm not exactly rolling in cash right now, what with having to drop my non-union VO clients and currently being in the scary "spend money" part of "spend money to make money" right now, but regardless, it's a few bucks for a few minutes of your time. 5) While I'm doing this, I'm making lists of every casting director, production house, recording studio, publisher (audio books), game developer/studio (for video games and iPhone games and the like), ad agency, etc. I can find within and hour or two of my home (which is a lot, since I live in the NY metro area) and once I have a comprehensive collection I'm going to contact each one, see if they work with voiceover talent, and send my stuff to those willing to take it. This is something I recommend to any voice talent, by the way, union or non-union, years of experience or not--you will always be your best agent. I've also been going to as many relevant workshops and classes as often as I can, that are either voiceover-related or run by an industry professional I think it would particularly benefit me to meet. A few weeks ago I attended a workshop with a casting director where all attendees did commercial reads (fake auditions, essentially) for him, and I was happy that his comment for me after I read was "You're so darn likable"! I'm actually going to another voiceover class in just a few hours, and I haven't been able to sleep which really isn't good considering I have a full evening of work after that as well. Such is life. 6) And while I'm doing THAT, I'm also trying to draft an email/cover letter to send agencies along with my demo and resume. Theoretically this shouldn't be TOO difficult--I've written plenty of cover letters before and know how to make myself sound good--but this industry is different, and I want to get it right. And everything I write, I feel like it sounds sell-y and desparate and "HIRE ME GIVE ME VOICEOVER WORK". I want to sound confident without coming off as cocky, and I'm having trouble doing that. Any suggestion for what to say in this thing to do that? I'm mainly having trouble with a salutation/introduction, and even more so with a subject line; once I'm past that, I know how to include my accomplishments and make myself sound good, it's really just the opening that's getting me stuck. I want to stand out from the hundreds of "Dear (name of agent), I am an experienced, professional voiceover actress and I would love to be represented by your agency. I have years of experience..." they get weekly, but don't want to sound like a jerk. I want to grab their attention and make them see that they have a potential goldmine with me, but don't know how! If it helps, some key things that I'm thinking of pointing out, but don't know how to phrase in the best possible way: -I've done a LOT of voiceover work. Well over 200 recordings, probably over 300. -I've done a wide VARIETY of work: commercials, corporate narration, training videos, ESL materials, museum audio guides, documentaries, PSAs, animation, iPhone games, computer games, student projects, phone message systems, hell, even in-flight videos. My voice is in airplanes, tour buses, classrooms and museums. -Said in-flight videos were for Japan Airlines, and I recorded that (as well as voiceovers for Apple and Ebay) before I turned 21. I'd recorded over 150 (if not more, I honestly lost count) by the time I turned 23. -I did all of that as a non-union voiceover talent, without an agent. Imagine how much money I can make them with the right agency working with me, you know? -I have a wide range of solid character voices, in a variety of age ranges and in both genders, as is demonstrated by my animation demo...provided, you know, I can get them to pay attention long enough to not delete the email/trash the CD and listen to the darn thing! So yeah, any advice you guys may have for this would be greatly appreciated, because aside from this I'm completely ready to start sending my stuff out to agents and really getting things on track! Oh, also, there were two of you I think who had suggestions a few pages back for improving my home setup--thank you!! You can probably see why I haven't replied yet (I've been a liiiiittle busy) but once I have a moment I will try what you suggested, and hopefully it will work! Sorry for the block of text--the way things have been going, I have to post if and when I can. I've gotten a lot of useful advice and help from this thread, even just from seeing what others post, and I'm hoping my posts are doing the same for others. CuddleChunks posted:
I am looking forward to trying this. 7) Edit: I just got an email from someone who spotted a post I made in a forum for iPhone developers asking me to do voice work for an upcoming kids' educational game thing his studio is making. I'm trying my darnedest to turn this into my first union VO job, but that said, I'm sure this isn't the first time I'll get a request for a non-union job I can't take, so anyone who's interested, can you send me your demos and/or samples? If your demo wasn't recorded on your own equipment, please send me a sample of what your setup sounds like as well so I know what I can expect from you in terms of quality. Decent quality and noise-free, please (no Logitech headset mic recordings with your little sister crying in the background). Preferably as links to downloadable and streamable mp3s so I can just keep a list of links handy somewhere, but be able to download one or two if and as needed. Email to ListenToMelanie at gmail. Now that I go union, NOW I get a hit from those posts, gahh blinkeve1826 fucked around with this message at 16:34 on Sep 23, 2012 |
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Sep 19, 2012 10:46
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Hahahahah okay, if you haven't ever tried this, you may want to fire up a recorder and start reading some text while you drift off to sleep. Ahahahah what in the hell? There's all these drifty passages as I fade in and out of consciousness. Holy poo poo I start blathering about work and other crap. I'm glad I have this on tape.
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Also, crossposting from this thread, where the OP abandoned his thread after getting a bunch of VO samples: Just a heads up to everyone who posted in this thread who's interested in doing any VO work in the future, especially through semi-anonymous means of communication like this--I don't know exactly what happened on the OP's end, but this is a prime example of why you should somehow watermark your auditions. Like a visual watermark, this just means doing something to your work so that it can't be used without your knowledge and/or permission. For audio files, this can mean making/sending a lower quality file than that which you would send for a real booking (like IzzyFnStradlin did), or adding intermittent sounds, like a beep or tone, throughout the file (that's what I do). This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way myself and hopefully it'll help some of you in the future.
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Sep 23, 2012 16:45
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King Lou posted:Hey guys, I don't know if any of you are in the NYC area but this thing is happening next weekend and I'm going to it. I'm going! Would be interesting to put some faces to names (and voices) from here.
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Nov 23, 2012 02:31
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When they got back to me (eleven days later) it was an automated reply. I thought I saw your name on the list on the site, though, so as long as you're there you're good to go.
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Nov 23, 2012 17:39
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titties posted:Also, would you be willing to talk a little about what it's like to record in a studio? I know I'm not ready to work professionally yet, but still the idea of actually stepping into the studio is terrifying since I don't know what to do or how to act and they'll all know I'm a poser and oh god Out of curiosity, where are you located? If this is something you're seriously considering, have you taken any voiceover classes? Group classes in a professional studio setup are, in my opinion, the best and most cost-effective way to train and learn what it's actually like to do this in a studio as opposed to sitting behind a mic in your coat closet. Even if you go the private route, any voiceover teacher worth his/her salt will have you in his/her own booth or recording setup as part of your training. But when I was just starting out I took some great classes at a local voiceover school/studio and I was able to learn all of the basics of studio protocol, mic technique, cold reading/copy analysis, techniques for reading both by oneself and with one or more other people, what producers/directors are looking for, and how to conduct oneself in an audition and during a booking. I had had a solid acting background, and admittedly the learning curve would have been a bit different had I not, but all told it was about a year and a half from my first class to my first commercial demo, much of which was produced using material I'd recorded in class, supplemented with a few private sessions. Unfortunately, my teacher has since moved (from NY to Philadelphia), but I like working with him so much I still occasionally have phone lessons with him, and even go out to visit and have a session in person when I can make the trip. If anyone in this thread is in the Philadelphia area, I can't recommend Chuck McKibben enough--he brought me from zero experience and training to ready to compete professionally, and did so incredibly affordably, compared to what other people in New York charge (and what he really could be charging). I also got my first few local spots through his class, and still keep in touch with many of the people I learned with. Feel free to contact him and tell him you got his name from Melanie. But yeah, those feelings of "what am I doing I am not good with studio" diminish and eventually go away altogether with enough practice. Monathin posted:So I've always kind of had an on-again, off-again relationship with voice acting (I tried it once stupidly several years ago and basically cut myself off with crippling lack of self esteem issues once I realized how awful I was). When it comes to actually talking, I stutter and stammer a ton(something I need to eventually get looked at or manage to shrug off), but I've got experience with script reading(being a rookie stage actor at our community playhouse) and can parse Shakespeare like an amateur champ. I want to train my voice so that I'm not embarrassed of it every time I hear it played back to me, and maybe even get it to the point where I wouldn't be opposed to doing voice work. Is there anything anyone suggests aside from reading everything aloud every day in order to get my voice to sound less awful? I can read off a script or two if need be if someone needs to hear how awful I am to identify what sort of voice practice I should focus on to make me sound less like a dweeb. Reading aloud every day. Seriously, that's what will get you there--your mouth, throat, tongue and lips, like any other parts of your body, contain muscles which can, and need to, be trained. Even if you have the nicest voice in the world, or tons of acting experience, you will still need to refine it for the intimacy of the mic. Yeah, it sucks hearing what you sound like at first, but like anything else, even that gets easier with practice. The first few times I heard myself, I was like, THAT'S what I sound like? But then I got used to it, tweaked it, and eventually got myself to sound slightly different, until I learned what I needed to do to sound how I wanted, and now it's a much more natural process. In addition to general VO technique though, I've always had a slight lisp with my "s" sounds--though actually, I didn't even realize it until I started doing VO work! I had never really scrutinized my speech before then. It took a couple of years of consciously correcting my tongue placement, but it's much better than it was (although I think I'll always have it a bit), and people don't really notice it now. These things aren't necessarily a detriment to your career, though--as long as you get it somewhat under control, they can add a nice unique quality to your sound. I do a lot ofwork on children's media projects, and it may even lend an air of authenticity or friendliness to my work. Who knows? Another thought--do you stutter when you sing, too? If not, you may want to try setting text to a tune and singing it. It may help you get into a rhythm and just feel more comfortable with it. Another BIG part of this for you, and I can just tell from how you talk about yourself and your work, is confidence and how you feel about yourself. It is just as important to take good care of yourself and your health as it is to know what to do in the studio and have all the training and preparation under your belt, because when you take better care of yourself you feel better about yourself, and when you feel better about yourself you will find that all of these things come much more easily. Make sure you're getting enough sleep--and that you're getting sleep at the right TIME, because there's a difference between getting eight hours of sleeping beginning at 11:30PM and eight hours of sleep beginning at 1AM--and that you're getting some exercise, even if it's just going for a walk a few times a week to start, eating well or starting to do so--just eliminating soda from your diet and replacing it with water, for example will do wonders for your waistline AND your vocal health, making your mouth more well-lubricated and giving you a clearer sound in your recordings! A few small changes here and there will go a LONG way. But keep in mind that none of this, the VO stuff or the health stuff, is quick; it is a process, but one that can have tremendous benefits if you keep with it. On my end of things, I decided several months back to pursue on-camera and possibly stage acting once again, which is where I had my background to begin with before I got into voiceover, and I had an interesting acting/VO week this week. Saturday night was the 5th Annual NYC Voiceover Mixer--which, apparently, is the last one they are holding, which I didn't know until afterwards. The mixer was nice enough and I got to meet the mighty King Lou! Made a few interesting connections there, including a woman who may want me to do some Korean voiceover work. Hmm. On Monday, my teacher from the voiceover classes I've been taking through SAG-AFTRA told me that with a few of her suggested tweaks to my demo, she'd be happy to recommend me to her agent at CESD, one of the biggest agencies for VO and one of my very top agency picks.  And then on Monday night, at an event organized exclusively for alumni of NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, I got to hear the president of ABC Television speak, and got to speak with him briefly afterward. I told him that if he ever had to decide on a pilot that had me in it that he should okay it, because I would make it great. And I gave him my pen. So now the head of ABC Television has my pen. Cooool.Oh yeah, I got pens made! With my name and logo and website and stuff. Theory is that will casting directors get tons of headshots and postcards and business cards and toss them if they don't want them, they won't throw away a good pen. If you would like one or two just PM/email me your address and I will send them out posthaste! Oh, and shameless plug: I finally created a Facebook page and would greatly appreciate some new fans, or likes, or whatever it's called now. And if you have your own page, message me once you've liked mine and I would be happy to return the favor. I also have other social media links on the main page of my site if anyone wants to connect that way.
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Dec 5, 2012 19:49
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titties posted:Hi, Melanie. Glad to see you unbanned and back in the thread! Hey...you (I just can't bring myself to type out your username)! Good to be back. Hmmm...there's plenty in Detroit but Google Maps tells me you're not exactly close to there. The bad news is, there doesn't seem to be much in your area. The good news is, there doesn't seem to be much in your area--so you're not likely to have as much competition as you would in the bigger markets. However, if you don't have an acting background at all, that should probably be your place to start, anyway. You have to have some idea of how to convincingly portray different qualities, characters, emotions and states in order to be able to do so for the mic. I mean, you COULD go right to voiceover, but it will be a lot harder, take a lot longer, and there will be many, many others going up against you over time who will have that training and may ultimately be picked over you for it. For acting classes, you might want to try a local university--I don't know anything about Ferris State University, but maybe start there? And for voiceover-specific training, yeah, it looks like sessions via Skype are going to be the way for you to go for now. Because you're in a relatively remote location, you may want to invest in a home studio setup sooner than others. This can be as simple as a decent mic and audio interface (although I personally don't like and don't use external interfaces), or even a good USB mic to start, and some heavy blankets/foam mattress pads to absorb sound around you. Although...for demo production and true "studio" training, you might want to start at that production house. (I'm guessing it's MacDonald Audio?) They probably don't do "lessons", but you could just book an hour of studio time, bring some of your own copy, and record, having them give you feedback as you go. They are, after all, the ones who would be making these determinations if and when you eventually do this professionally. This option is actually pretty efficient, in that you end up with recordings to potentially use on a demo at some point, practice, AND you start developing a relationship with these guys, so that when the time comes they know you and will think to call you in! Huh. If I didn't produce my own demos I'd consider doing that myself. If you can reach these guys, tell them what you want to do and see if one of them would be down. I mean, if you're paying for studio time, I can't see what the problem would be. There seems to be a bit more in Traverse City, but even that's kinda far, so I'd explore these options first and see where they take you. Also, if you are going to go the Skype route, my aforementioned voiceover teacher offers Skype lessons at less than half of what Edge Studio charges. For just starting out for sure he can help you just as much as Edge can, if not more. (You might want to transition to Edge later if you end up wanting to specialize in animation or something, but that's down the road, after you're solid in your commercial/narration reads. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and give Chuck a call. He'll talk to you a while and give you a "consultation" over the phone at no charge and he's really helpful. Do it do it do it.) Adib posted:I live in Austin, TX—fairly big and hip city. I wonder if those sorts of classes are available here? You, I have to admit, I sort of envy at the moment. Austin is a hotbed for voiceover work, and Texas has tonsssssss of animation studios. (Off the top of my head, Funimation is located in Dallas. Not super close to you, but close enough for a day trip if you happen to book something.) A quick Google search brings back tons of acting classes and voiceover production houses and the like--what I'd recommend is calling a bunch, talking to different teachers/producers, and just getting a feel for what they're all like. Choose the one you feel most comfortable with and go for it! Edit: And thank you for the "like", JossiRossi
blinkeve1826 fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Dec 7, 2012 |
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Dec 7, 2012 01:33
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titties posted:I am certainly just a hobbyist for now. I have recorded maybe 15 things ever since I started posting in this thread. My current setup is just a Yeti standard and Audacity without any soundproofing at all. It produces better results than I expected, but probably not broadcast quality. Honestly (and I have no problem with being harsh, believe me) I quite liked your reads, particularly your first. Compare those to your Summerset Hills read (the earliest one of yours in this thread that still exists on Tindeck) and you'll hear that even over those 15 or so reads, you sound much more natural/conversational and "level", for lack of a better word--not as artificial and "announcer-y". You do slip into it a bit in the second spot, but you ease into it towards the end. Was this your first take? You might want to get into the habit of recording a practice take or two before you record a spot, so you don't do that easing into it in the middle of the spot, but rather beforehand so your whole final recording will sound nice and even. Eventually you'll have to do less of that, though I still do it if I'm recording something in anything other than my natural voice. Your audio quality is surprisingly good, too, for what you're working with. Actually, I think you sound quite a bit like Steve Blum, so I may be a bit biased because Steve Blum is one of my favorite voice actors ever and I LOVE his voice. There were a few spots where you fumbled some things, and you may want to pay careful attention to those: the disparity between the speeds of the "are you getting" and "tired of boring book-of-the-month clubs" in the first was a bit jarring, you'd be better to keep the speed steady (by slowing down your opening just a touch); you do some "tuh"s instead of "to"s, "kin"s instead of "can"s, etc. that are typical of most people starting out. It's hard to pronounce those clearly and make them sound natural, but it comes with--guess!--practice; in the second, I feel like you're forgetting what you're saying and why you're saying it--in other words, "Sure, WE'VE all heard of 50 shades" makes less sense than, for example, "Sure, we've ALL heard of 50 shades". Not saying you should do it that way either, but while you're reading, just keep in mind what you're saying and why you're saying it, and that natural, easy read you already have a handle on will maintain itself. Honestly, though, I'm nitpicking because there weren't any huge major things you need to correct. As subjectively as possible, I think you could probably do this professionally if you really want to. Be warned that it is a long, torturous, and costly road, but if you really want to do this and stick with it, I think you could probably do this professionally. You already have a nice, easy, conversational read, which is exactly what commercial producers/casting directors are looking for now. quote:That doesn't sound like a bad idea. If you could, would you PM me or shoot me an e-mail with some contact info? I posted his website in my last post, I think, and his contact info is on there. But shoot me an email (melanie at listentomelanie dot com) and I'll send it to you anyway.
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Dec 7, 2012 19:31
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The Joe Man posted:I've decided to try and get heavy into audiobooks through ACX. I've never really done audiobooks before, and am honestly more character-oriented...so when it switches the POV to a new person, I have an instinct to make the new voice different. With an audiobook, am I supposed to do that and make each voice unique? Or just continue the same natural voice throughout every character in the book? I've heard both, and what works best in my opinion is using your own voice (or close to it) for the narration or narrator's point of view, and variations for each character that are just different enough to recognize that they are distinct characters without distracting from the text itself. While part of the purpose of an audiobook is to bring alive the story for the listener, some do want some sort of autonomy in deciding what the characters look like to them, in which case if the listener has pictured the town butcher as big and burly, with a deep, amiable voice like the butcher in HIS hometown, but you've decided he looks and sounds like Joe Pesci, it may take away from the listener's enjoyment/experience of it. If you give the characters enough, well, character to be distinct without telling the listener THIS IS WITHOUT QUESTION WHAT THIS CHARACTER SOUNDS LIKE PICTURE HIM IN YOUR HEAD ACCORDINGLY, you'll hit a happy medium that will work for many projects. That said, if a character definitely deserves a specific voice, like a gravelly trucker or kindly old man or something, those should have a bit more definition. But three guys in their 20s, for example, don't need to have drastically different voices--just vary pace and/or pitch and/or speech patterns for each and you should have enough distinction there alone. For the love of all that is holy, do not read women's lines in a silly falsetto. For characters of the opposite gender, allow your interpretation of the character to be just that--an interpretation, not an impersonation. So you'll raise the pitch of your voice a bit, the voice will sit "higher" in your body, but you won't sound like a woman--that's okay. If that was the goal, they would hire women to come in and read those lines. So it's the same thing as above; you want to provide the definition/differentiation, but you don't need to spoonfeed the characters to the listener ("I'M A WOMAN NOW, SEE MY VOICE IS ALL HIGH AND GIRLY ooOOOOooh").
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Dec 18, 2012 03:42
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Oh absolutely, and I know The Joe Man would be least likely of anyone to do so. But just to cover all the bases for anyone just starting out, or anyone who just wasn't sure...
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Dec 18, 2012 03:51
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King Lou posted:I just got my 4th Blue Yeti Pro from Blue. They promised this one won't be a giant piece of crap. I would recommend to take the Yeti off its stupid, pointless base and just stick it on a regular mic stand and attach the poop filter as one would normally. Although I don't have a fancy Blue pop filter. Quoting for "poop filter"
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Dec 27, 2012 07:42
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Online live stream about recording Audible audiobooks right now go go go go https://www.sagfoundation.org/videogallery/livestream It's through SAG so I don't know how helpful it will be for non-union folks but I don't suppose it can hurt.
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Jan 11, 2013 03:40
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IS anyone besides me and King Lou in the NYC area? If so...I'm giving a seminar on voiceovers at Actors Connection on Monday, March 4th, from 12PM-2PM. The main focus of the class will be recording a voiceover demo (hence the title of the seminar), but I'll be giving a comprehensive overview of everything you'd need to get to that point and discussing a variety of things about the industry in general. The seminar is FREE and you can register for it here (and do so quickly, because these seminars do fill up fast): https://www.actorsconnection.com/seminars/7410
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Feb 24, 2013 07:09
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The Joe Man posted:Would there be any chance of you recording the seminar and sharing it with the thread through an unlisted link or similar? Yeah, I should be able to do that. Though if anyone here IS in the NYC area and can make it I'd highly suggest they do that instead Actually, I organized a group class/voiceover jam session a few years ago but this is my first "official" voiceover class. I initially thought to do it after I went to a less-than-stellar free seminar at AC a while back, with a guy who had been in the industry for a long time but was obviously more out of touch with it than he realized. The two main things that really bothered me were his critique and, interestingly, a lack of it; the critique he DID provide of people's reads was really vague and primarily consisted of him repeating the lines back at the person in the manner in which he wanted them read, with no explanation as to why one should do it one way or the other. However, there were some questions that were asked that he all but blew off. One woman asked about the different types of demos, and which one she should aim to do first, and his response was something along the lines of, "that's what you have to figure out". I mean, I get that it's a free class and that you want to get people to take private lessons with you, but to give no direction like that when it would have been SO simple to tell her that considering her voice type she would primarily be going out for commercial and narration work and should focus on those two, respectively...it really irked me. When it was over I walked right up to the desk and asked how I could teach a class there myself. While I don't have the 25 years of experience or whatever it was he was that he did have, I do have the knowledge of the technique and the industry that I've gathered from my own experience, and I'm hoping I can clear up some common misconceptions ("I'm thinking of doing voiceovers in my spare time, is it hard to get into?") and at least give people a better idea of where they should be going and how to get there. So both this class and that jam session I held a few years back were born of a desire to provide better information and training than that which I've seen available at a rate at which people can afford to pursue it. I very strongly believe that group classes are THE best way for a beginner to get his or her feet wet in voiceover work, if it's an option that's available. The classes I took when I first got into VO absolutely gave me the foundation for everything I know and use today, not to mention the people I met with whom I'm still friends and a teacher I still very much look up to and learn from even now. And at $20 for a two-hour class--in which I not only learned about technique, auditioning, the industry, audio editing, etc. but also got at least half of the material I would later use on my first voiceover demo--I still can't believe what a good deal I got. I doubt there's anything like that at that price in the NYC area anymore, mind you, but I would love to hold one myself...perhaps if I enough people from this seminar are interested I can figure something out with a local studio space. Hmm...
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Feb 27, 2013 06:29
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Does anyone in here happen to be a native speaker of Spanish, German, Dutch and/or Polish? I got a call today looking for non-union male VOs for a project in these languages. If this is you and you have professional quality recording capability and/or can record local in NYC, shoot me an email (in my profile). Heck, if you're interested in being *~in my files~* for when I do get these calls (it's not so often, but it does happen--I had one a few days ago for a non-union female VO for a Nike spec spot) , then shoot me an email with: -Your full name -Phone number -Email address -Any foreign languages you speak -Union status (if you're not in SAG-AFTRA, your status is non-union) -Experience and/or training -Website or any web presence you may have (good reason to at least have a Voices.com or Voice123 profile) -Demos if you have them, samples if you don't. Please include something recorded on the setup you'd be using to record, especially if you're not local to NYC. -Anything else you think I might want to know about you Alsoooooooooo I had quite a bit of demand for a group class at that seminar I held earlier this month, so I'll be teaching a voiceover class at a studio in midtown Manhattan on Thursdays starting in April. (Current start date is the 4th, but that will almost definitely become the 18th soon.) If you refer someone who also signs up you both get $10 off, and I'm happy to give an additional $10 discount to SA members Just include your SA username on the registration form. More info here: http://www.listentomelanie.com/classes.htmlAnd I did record that seminar, it's just taking me a while to get it because my boyfriend recorded it and I, he, his digital voice recorder and his computer only cross paths every so often. HOWEVER, I will most likely be holding a free Google Hangout where I will give a very similar seminar to the one I gave earlier this month. I'd highly, highly, highly recommend coming to anyone here who wants to take this to the next level, or even anyone who just wants to know more about it. And I mean...it's free.
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Mar 22, 2013 07:35
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Yes, it is going to happen. I still have to do a little write-up for it and create a Facebook event and figure out how Google Hangouts even work, but I just started working with my first talent agent today so things are a little nuts at the moment (in a good way). You lot are the first to know, however, that it will more than likely (like, 90% sure) it will be Sunday, April 7th, 7:30-9:30PM EST. Mark your calendars! Ishamael, that children's game looks like a ton of fun. How'd you come to do that?Edited for username truthiness blinkeve1826 fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Apr 5, 2013 |
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Mar 29, 2013 06:44
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Ishamael posted:Thanks! I work with a videogame company pretty regularly as one of their voice actors, and they gave me a call for this one and wanted something "kid-friendly". Game work is always a little different, but this one was especially interesting because of the sheer number of words, letters, numbers, etc. that I had to say in the same tone. And harder than it seems! There was a handful of projects I did a few years ago where I had to record all the numbers 1-100 and a bunch of starter phrases and prompts ("Turn to page..."). I started off all energetic and clear and confident but somewhere around 70-80 I started to droop, and I think we may have even had to rerecord the last ten or so on one occasion because I was just so sick of it and you could hear it. In all fairness, it was the same client for each of these projects, so why the company would want to waste time--and money to pay me--on having me do the same exact thing several times over is beyond me. But hey, money.
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Mar 29, 2013 19:09
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And BAM: Info: http://listentomelanie.com/classes.html Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/167420216745994/
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Mar 29, 2013 22:21
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^^^^ My opinion on all USB mics is the same, which is that unless you are 100% sure you only want to pursue this as a fun hobby and will not need or want to adjust or expand your recording setup at any point in the future, they are silly choices. It makes far more sense to get a decent regular condenser mic and a USB preamp so you can use your mic with other equipment in the future, rather than just the USB port on your computer and having to buy a new mic entirely if you decide to add additional processors and whatnot to your setup. That said, among USB mics, the AT2020 has pretty good reviews and those I've spoken to who have had it have been pretty happy with it, for whatever that's worth. Also, a few things about my free online seminar on voiceovers on Sunday: -If you have any questions you'd like answered during the seminar, email them to questions@listentomelanie.com no later than 11:59 on Saturday, April 6th (tomorrow)! -If you'd like the opportunity to read some commercial copy and have it critiqued during the seminar, please email melanie@listentomelanie.com with the following info: -Name -Email address -Phone number -Website (if applicable) -Gender We'll have time for up to three people to read, so if you'd like to be one of them email me soon (and no later than 11:59PM on Saturday, April 6th)! And once again, the link to more info on my site: http://www.listentomelanie.com/classes.html And the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/167420216745994/
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Apr 5, 2013 23:23
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Ishamael posted:On the other hand, I would add that someone going out to buy a new mic as the answer to their VO problems is also a mistake. Most likely, the weak point in the chain is their voice. Oh yeah, I'm not advocating buying different mics to solve quality issues. I'm saying that if you want to be doing voiceovers as a career for the long-term, you're not going to be using a USB mic for years to come--you're going to want to have the flexibility to add processors or compressors or a mixer or whatever to your signal chain, and you can't do that to the same extent if you have a USB port where an XLR connector should be. And yeah, a good voice will be good on good equipment and on terrible equipment--but to that end, why not just record on an iPhone for the time being? If it's simply for a hobby or to practice, the quality of the iPhone or iPad is more than sufficient. (That's what I use to record auditions on the go and during private lessons in homes of students who don't have their own studios.) If you want to buy a fancier mic so you can have a fancier mic, that's your prerogative and your money. If you're going to pursue it as something more than just a hobby, though, I think it's worth investing in a decent mic so you don't limit yourself to just USB capability and have to spend money on another mic down the road. I know some people are going to disagree with me and swear by their Snowballs and Yetis and that's fine. Maybe I'm just old school. But I also think it's potentially a smarter use of one's money in the long run. Also, it looks like we have a goon reader up tomorrow Stinkmeister, check your email (and phone)! We'll have to touch base sometime tomorrow afternoon beforehand to get things set up.
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Apr 7, 2013 05:30
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Stinkmeister posted:A huge thank you to blinkeve1826 for holding an informative and inspiring seminar! I strongly recommend that you join one if you get a chance. This was just about forever ago--well, no, I guess only three weeks? Wow. It seems like a lot longer as these past few weeks have just been this swirling abyss (but a good abyss) of working, teaching, classes, auditions, filming, and what semblance I had of a regular sleep schedule absolutely demolished by Tribeca Film Festival these past few weeks. But I wanted to thank YOU for watching and for participating! For those of you who missed it, it's up on my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/listentomelanie - it's one of the only things I've ever uploaded so it shouldn't be too hard to find). It's LONG, though--to hear Stinkmeister's read and my feedback/adjustments, skip to 2:03:20 (we work together for about ten minutes). Most of you will also benefit from hearing the other two reads, one directly before and one directly after this, as all three readers make some mistakes that a lot of beginners tend to make. It was definitely a learning experience for me--if it wasn't obvious, I had never used Google Hangouts before, though it worked out fairly well for the most part. There were some moments where I forgot to change who was on screen and someone was on screen but not speaking which was a little awkward, but I just wasn't thinking about it because I also had to focus on what I was saying, what I was about to say, answering everyone's questions, getting everyone there at the right times, etc. I may do some more of these in the future where I address a few specific issues or work with a few people on their reads, but I will most likely not do something this long in the future unless it's more interactive. I was much more comfortable with the in-person workshop I gave a few weeks prior, and the interaction was a HUGE part of that. I'll be okay with giving online classes, but only if I can hear and/or see the other people involved. Speaking of which, I just started working with a few private students and it's been going REALLY well. I meet with all of my current students in-person, but I'm going to start doing Skype appointments too, so if anyone in this thread lives in a remote area and is looking for a voiceover instructor via Skype (or in person near me in NY, for that matter), I charge a LOT less than most teachers and studios like Edge. Oh, and if you watch that free seminar, I give out a discount code good for $20 off any of my classes or first private session for 2013, on top of the $10 goon discount I think I mentioned last time I mentioned classes. If there's enough interest, I'd like to get an online class going in addition to my in-person classes, the next of which I will run over the summer at a recording studio in midtown Manhattan, so please PM or email me (melanie at listentomelanie.com) if you're interested in either so I can get something going! On an unrelated note, I was just recently cast in a student film, the casting call for which described my character as "feminist, opinionated, short brown hair, athletic", Latina, and a closet lesbian. Of those things, I have brown hair (though it's not short). Lesson learned? Submit myself for EVERYTHING, because if I can book athletic short-haired Latina...? blinkeve1826 fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Jun 7, 2013 |
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Apr 28, 2013 07:06
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ThisIshamael posted:They'll only know you're a poser if you act like a poser. and this JossiRossi posted:You'll be fine. This is certainly within your ability, and worst case if you do feel like you've dived too deep we'll help you out here. Ishamael is totally right as well, just make sure your answers are confident, even if you yourself are not. Trust me, you are leagues ahead of what I would consider amateur as well. Trust me, the people you need to make sure to avoid are those that think they have all the answers because they often know so little they don't realize they know nothing. are full of truth. Your success, in this line of work or any, is so much determined by the way you handle yourself and your work. The fact that you were savvy enough to even have the idea to approach this organization with your idea says a lot about that. Now, that being said, take a second and assess this realistically for a second. This isn't a nationally-airing promo on NBC or something; this will be a locally-airing radio spot in what I am guessing is a small market. (I don't remember where you live, but I don't think it's in the middle of NYC or LA or anything, right?) You are writing and voicing it as a gift to this organization. You do have some experience, even if it is primarily in practice (and they don't have to know that that's the case). And for a local, non-paid spot, you can definitely get away with recording this on a USB mic, provided you adequately soundproof (a lot of echo is an amateur giveaway). If you are nervous about that, you can post or email me a sample of what you sound like on your setup right now and I'll tell you if it's unusable (although from what I recall from earlier samples of yours, I think you're fine). Anyway, if you go into this thinking, "Oh no, my first real live official voiceover spot!" you're gonna be a nervous wreck, yeah. But if you go into it thinking, "This is exactly what I've been doing for the past several months; now I'm just going to let someone else use it", there's no pressure there. This is going to be a great learning experience for you--the next time you're asked to do a spot like this, you'll be able to confidently begin without the whole "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING" freak out beforehand. An important truth of the world to recognize and embrace is that no one knows what the hell they're doing. One you realize that, things get a lot less scary. If you are satisfied with and confident in the work you provide, your clients will be, too. Ishamael posted:They'll only know you're a poser if you act like a poser. This is worth repeating. There is no magical point at which you transform from "wannabe voice actor" into "actual voice actor". The only thing that changes is how YOU label yourself. Right? It's not like you pass a test to become a certified voice actor, or have some initiation ceremony, or record exactly 55 voiceover spots; it's a completely arbitrary designation. The same person can honestly say "I'm trying to get into voiceover acting" and "I've been training for voiceover acting for the past several months". One sounds like someone who doesn't know what he's doing yet; the other sounds like someone I'd consider giving a shot, someone who has more to learn but already has a solid start. At my first voiceover class ever, I read a Brooklyn Brewery commercial script with a classmate that another classmate had written. He approached the company with it, explained that they could use it for free if they purchase their own airtime, and that week I had a commercial airing on Long Island radio. It wasn't the most amazing piece of work I've ever created (it was my first voiceover ever), but it was completely appropriate for what it was--a free commercial airing on local radio. Both of the following statements were true about this experience: "A commercial I recorded in my voiceover class made it on the radio." "I just recorded a commercial for Brooklyn Brewery that's currently airing on the radio in the New York metro area." Which one do you think I used in telling people about it?? Eventually, you will gain more experience, credits and confidence, where you won't have to feel like you're "faking it 'til you make it". But until then, present yourself in the best light possible. Why not??
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Jun 7, 2013 17:38
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I'm teaching TWO online classes and TWO classes in NYC this summer! All the info's on my website (http://www.listentomelanie.com/classes.html), but basically, the 6-week class covers the basics of the business, technical and creative aspects of voiceover work, and different types of VO work including commercial, animation/character, and long-form/narration voiceovers. The NYC classes are held in real recording studios, and all of the classes are a GREAT value for the price. Those who take one of my classes will also be eligible for exclusive industry workshops I'll be putting together with industry professionals (casting directors, agents, video game developers, etc) later on. If you refer someone who also signs up, you BOTH get $10 off. (I'm happy to stack this, too--if you refer three people who also sign up, they each get $10 off and you get $30 off!) The online classes are $159 through June 19th, and $179 from June 20th on. As I've mentioned before, goons get a $10 discount on any of my classes and private sessions through 2013; when prompted during registration, type "SA and then your username (i.e. "SA blinkeve1826"). Please spread the word; these will be fun and professionally valuable. If you're curious about VO work, thinking about making this a professional endeavor rather than a hobby, or want to take your professional VO work up a notch, this is a great opportunity to do that! Feel free to PM or email me (melanie at listentomelanie.com) if you have any questions.
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Jun 13, 2013 05:07
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Soooo rumor has it I might be working with some producers to cast a project or two directly from my upcoming voiceover classes. Only one way to find out for sure! Reposting the info, as the classes start next week and I think my last post got lost on the last page amidst Darth Vader and Summerset Hills. --- I'm teaching TWO online classes and TWO classes in NYC this summer! All the info's on my website (http://www.listentomelanie.com/voiceoverclasses.html), but basically, the 6-week class covers the basics of the business, technical and creative aspects of voiceover work, and different types of VO work including commercial, animation/character, and long-form/narration voiceovers. The NYC classes are held in real recording studios, and all of the classes are a GREAT value for the price. Those who take one of my classes will also be eligible for exclusive industry workshops I'll be putting together with industry professionals (casting directors, agents, video game developers, etc) later on. If you refer someone who also signs up, you BOTH get $10 off. (I'm happy to stack this, too--if you refer three people who also sign up, they each get $10 off and you get $30 off!) The 6-week online classes are $179 (just $29.83 per class), and the NYC classes are $259. As always, goons get a $10 discount on any of my classes and private sessions through 2013; when prompted during registration, type "SA" and then your username (i.e. "SA blinkeve1826"). Please spread the word; these will be fun and beneficial to your professional and personal development. If you're curious about VO work, thinking about making this a professional endeavor rather than a hobby, or want to take your professional VO work up a notch, this is a great opportunity to do that. Feel free to PM or email me (melanie at listentomelanie.com) if you have any questions.
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Jun 20, 2013 07:01
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JossiRossi posted:I can't afford to sit in =[  Thanks man. I don't like tooting my own horn too much so it's nice when others do it for me I think there's room for success, in some way, for anyone who wants it enough, and I'm really invested in helping the people I work with achieve it. Also, to keep spreading the word about them, I had an idea: please share the class info with at least one other person--send an email, post it on Facebook, etc. As a thank you for helping spread the word, if someone mentions your name when they register, they get $10 off, and I will send YOU a $5 Starbucks gift card as a thank you for your help. (Or I can just Paypal you $5 if you really want me to.) All the info is on my website, for both the online AND the NYC classes, although people are welcome to contact me directly if they have any questions. Edit: WOW that's a lot of recording. How long did all that take you???
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Jun 22, 2013 00:14
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Metal Ray Sunshine posted:If anyone is interested, I had some recent auditions with Funimation. Very fun thing to do, and on the way out, I took some snapshots of the sides they had me read. Here they are if anyone wants to take a look. This particular audition was for One Piece, but they had me read sides from already casted shows, so they can keep them on file as examples of different styles of voices you can do. That's awesome! Can you talk a little bit about the process? How did you get in to audition? Had you been trying for a while? Was it through your own persistence, or through an agent (or both)? I know it's quite competitive down there and there are tons of people trying to get in all the time. Are you local to Dallas/Ft. Worth?
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Jun 25, 2013 06:18
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Lumpen posted:I have had my first professional audiobook released on Audible. Feels good! Congrats! That's awesome to hear Out of curiosity, for how many audiobooks did you audition before being chosen to work on one?So is anyone here besides King Lou in the NYC area?? I have some things coming up that would be helpful to anyone at any level, but they're all in NYC. I have... 1) Two free seminars on getting started in voiceover work this Sunday, one in the morning and one in the evening; 2) A one-day intensive beginner voiceover workshop on Sunday, August 4th; 3) A seminar with a freelance casting associate who works with some of the busiest casting offices in NYC (and casts union and non-union folks), and; 4) A weekly beginner class and a weekly advanced class starting in September, both of which include a visit and feedback from a VO industry guest. All of the info for all of these is here: http://www.listentomelanie.com/voiceoverclasses.html Even if you can't attend these yourselves, please spread the word to those who may be interested. I really do my best to make my classes and events as helpful as possible for the people attending. Also, I just had my first student from one of my current classes get her first VO job, less than halfway through the class! I was so ridiculously happy to hear that!! My students are listening to me and it's working out for them
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Jul 11, 2013 17:55
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CuddleChunks posted:That's awesome news, congratulations! Thanks! Teaching has been such a great experience for me so far, in terms of reinforcing and reminding myself of what I know, keeping me on my toes and getting a better idea of what does and doesn't look/sound good to people...but this made me so happy I have a really good feeling about a few of my students in particular; the more motivated ones (and even the more reticent ones, with some work) definitely have the potential to take what I'm teaching and just hit the ground running. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one more person gets at least one more gig before the class is over.Captain Walker posted:So I'm sitting with my expensive Yeti and I realized I don't have any idea what I should be doing for a demo reel. I'm a young male with a deeper voice and I need a reel to get jobs. What kind of material should I be reading to show off my range? There are a couple of different things that need to be addressed here, and since most of them are universal I'm going to address them as general advice to everyone here. Captain Walker posted:So I'm sitting with my expensive Yeti... This is an important point for those who tend to be a bit spend-happy when they get into new hobbies: Please do not spend money on recording equipment before you know what you are doing. Please please please please please save your money. You have an "expensive Yeti" but little VO experience and no jobs lined up. I don't mean to pick on you, nor do I mean to say that a mic/recording equipment is not a good thing to have (it is), but that is not a purchase that has to be made right away, nor should it be. When you're just starting out, you definitely DO need to be regularly recording yourself, playing back/listening to your recordings, and recording again. (You should, of course, be practicing regularly even if you're not a beginner as well.) For practice and even for basic audition purposes, though, you don't necessarily need to go out and buy a mic. The recording quality of the iPhone and iPad has gotten to the point that many professional voice actors are using them for auditions. Heck, I use my iPad for on-camera auditions, too. There are PLENTY of things in which you will need to invest money if you plan on pursuing this to any serious degree, many of which are more important to have early on than a mic. It's much more important to have some training, for example, and know what you're doing with your equipment before spending the money on it. And I don't just mean technically, although that's important too, of course, to get the best quality sound possible. But as those with solid voiceover training and/or voiceover experience in this thread can tell you, voice acting is a whoooooooole different ball game than stage acting, or even on-camera acting. Knowing one definitely helps the other, but everything needs to be adjusted and refined for the mic and the setting. You can drop $1000 on a Neumann if you want, but it's not going to make you sound any more or less like you know what you're doing--only actually knowing what you're doing will. And that comes with training and practice, which can even happen with the mic on your iPhone or--better yet--in an actual booth of an actual recording studio in which you can get some actual practice with someone who can help you figure out what you need to be doing to succeed in this industry instead of blindly forging ahead without a clear direction. Do you want to spend some money? Spend it on classes, lessons, books, business cards, a website, networking events, gas for your car to get to them, renting an hour of studio time at a local recording studio here and there to test out different mics so you actually know what you'll want to be buying eventually and are making connections with other industry folk in the process. Captain Walker posted:...and I realized I don't have any idea what I should be doing for a demo reel. This is the result of the lack of the process I mention above. You need some sort of training. I can't emphasize this enough. I came into this with a background very similar to yours (10+ years on stage in community theatre, plenty of acting classes and training, unconventional "look" that I didn't think was right for film/) and I remember going into my first voiceover class all like, I got this, I'm gonna run circles around these guys who've never even HEARD of Stella Adler.  And I did have something that some of the others in my class lacked, but interestingly, all of my acting experience wasn't it; it was more of just a natural ability to look at written text and "hear" how it would ideally sound. That said, it took an additional full year of voiceover classes, and a number of private sessions, for me to get ready and produce a decent demo. With my teacher. Who guided me every step of the way. It wasn't for another three years, audio production classes, more private VO lessons, 100+ voiceover recordings and a VERY thorough understanding of my voice and what I could do with it that I even thought about making my own demo--and even then, under the tutelage of someone with 25+ years of experience in audio production. It was six years (and more experience, and more practice, etc.) before I created one of my own demos completely on my own--but still with a TON of feedback before calling it a finished product. An amateur-sounding demo will show me that you don't take your work seriously enough to invest the time and money into creating a proper demo, or even knowing what that is and what it should sound like. A demo is something you absolutely must have professionally done. The only possible exceptions to this would be 1) catering specifically to an amateur market (fandubs, stuff for friends and family, mayyyyyyyybe very very local radio spots depending on the market, etc.) or 2) if you yourself are an audio engineer by trade.Long point short, if you try to create your own demo at this point, it will sound like an amateur demo...in which case it might even be better not to have a demo at all. Which brings me to... Captain Walker posted:...I need a reel to get jobs. No, you really don't. You don't need a demo to get jobs. Especially if you're just starting out--which you are--you're not going to be expected to have a demo right away, as they can be costly to produce. What you do need is a couple of solid samples of different types of reads you can deliver, for as many types of work for which you would like to be considered. You seem to have some idea of your voice type--that's a start. Start by recording some things on which you might naturally sounds best. Maybe a car commercial, medical narration, a book trailer of some sort. For commercials, record a hard sell, soft sell, guy-next-door spot, and maybe a :15, :30 and/or a :60, etc. Read up more if you don't know what these terms mean. For character work, record some samples of solid, sustainable characters you can perform, which are NOT simply "voices" or accents and are not created overnight. Record yourself reading an excerpt from a book aloud if you want to be considered for narration work. A faux telephone prompt list if you want to do that. These will give people an idea of what you can do and cost you a lot less time and money; plus, they can be updated as you continue to practice, learn and improve--something that is much less easy to do with a full demo. In related news, I had a reeeeeally good meeting with someone from one of the top voiceover agencies last week, and I just found out that I got a callback for something really really exciting (on-camera). I don't like talking too much about things until I book them, but it's for a major network and it's right up my alley and I'm elated and terrified but very, very ready.
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Jul 17, 2013 06:45
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