VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Darren Altman

http://www.ukvoiceoverguy.com/

I look forward to your opinions about my new site. Thanks in advance!

Darren x
_________________
https://www.darrenaltman.com/
http://twitter.com/darrenaltman

mcm · Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 11:56 am Post subject:

Darren, I like the look of your site - nice colors, nice font for your name.

But, less is really more. The things I would subtract from your site:

The letters that drop in to say Welcome to my website
The audio that loads immediately
The moving circles around the microphone (moving stuff is rather annoying and seasick-making)
The testimonials on the home page from people who have obviously listened to you in some kind of training capacity - they are not clients. They just suggest you don't have much experience
The biography - it's way too much information and really, nobody is going to read it, they just want to know if you can deliver their message
The file on your demo page called Simpsons09
The file on your demo page called Impressions
The Links page
The Drumming website link
The Production page, which just tells potential clients that you can do the obvious

Hope this helps.

Mary

Darren Altman · Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 3:31 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the feeback Mary, I have shortened Don La Fontayne's quote so it doesn't put me in a 'student' context.
_________________
https://www.darrenaltman.com/
http://twitter.com/darrenaltman

Deirdre · Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 4:05 pm Post subject:

Darren— when you get a moment, look at this thread:

http://www.vo-bb.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=30420

It starts with my "rules" about web design.

Auto-playing audio can be the biggest turn-off there is.
Naming your "producer" at your VO coaching place as a source for a quote will very likely backfire on you. Testimonials are iffy— unless the person quoted is a mega-star, it's pretty pointless.
The Don LaFontaine quote is interesting, so what the heck.

A Graphic saying "Welcome to my Website" is old old old-fashioned, and does not belong on the site of someone who really should appear to know about top-notch technology.

Can you put your demo stuff in ONE player on your demo page?
I'd get rid of the Simpsons cut— your Character demo is pretty splendid with the exception of Yoda as the first out. Your panoply of accents is quite impressive— you don't need a "Grover" voice to kick off that reel.

I think your nifty graphic stack of client logos could go on your landing page. It is otherwise a bit bleak.

I hope this is helpful. I think you sound great— your website should really be arresting.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

Philip Banks · Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:09 am Post subject:

You have a 9 page web site and if the specific purpose of the site is to promote your career as a Voice Overist you need only 1 page.

It's extremely difficult to see the needs of other people but in order to get business that is exactly what is required.

Most people reading this will be surprised to know that the majority of people likely to give you work have never heard of Don La Fontaine and amongst those who do know about him do not care what he thought about you let alone think him to be a legend, voice over or otherwise. Whilst I'm sure Heather is a nice person no one really cares what she thinks either.

Chris Grant the voice of the Monty Python film The Meaning of Life thinks I'm crap and said so to my face, he wasn't joking. He's probably no alone in that opinion - No one cares, that's to say no one who is important to advancing my career or in the context of your web site and these comments your career.

Your site needs to ask one question.

"This is Darren Altman, Voice Overist. Will you give him a job?" There are two possible answers, yes or no and all you have to do is help people make the yes or no decision quickly. Assuming the decision is yes then the Producer needs to be able to contact you as quickly as possible and do the deal.

Valuable information?

On the 6th October one client very kindly paid into my bank account $10,560.00

"Banks, you big headed gobsh*te!" Believe what you like but I chose that client spefically because they chose me having found and visited my web site.

If a Voice Overist or indeed anyone else tells someone something which doesn't help them get to where they want to be they have a message for you

Darren Altman · Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 4:23 am Post subject:

Thank you for all your replies, which I much apprecitate and for that link with the no-no's of voiceover websites!

I have started by scrapping the "welcome to my website" on the front page, the welcome audio as the intro page loads (I didn't realise that was so frowned upon!) and my "links" page. I have also scrapped my "home page" with the quotes on them Phillip and made my "audio" page the front page.

I'm going to do some more tweaking later.
_________________
https://www.darrenaltman.com/
http://twitter.com/darrenaltman