VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[OneGeoVO]

I'm starting to venture into imaging and I'm also doing a bit more character work. So I have done a total rework of my general voice-over demo to include these facets. The result is a demo reel that runs a bit long at 1:22. In any case I'm hoping that the demo still holds together as a comprehensive display of my work, and is not too varied (or fragmented?) at this point.

OneGeoVO-voiceover-demo

[Bob Bergen]

Hey bud!

Big mistake to combine genres onto one demo. That's a dated style. Buyers today have no attention span. Each genre needs it's own demo, and one minute per. Your is too long.

It also sounds home made. Too much establishing music between spots. You want voice attached to voice attached to voice. With opposing energies and intents next to each other. This shows off your versatility. Establishing music shows off the production.

The "carbon based life forms" byte is very produced. When it comes to characters you don't want to mess with it in a way you can't recreate the voice at a session.

I also hear you reading/pushing a lot. The reads don't feel organic. I have no idea who you are. You have a lovely voice. But so does everyone else with an agent and demo on voicebank. You need to give em something they don't have. That would be you. Your style, your personality, your sense of humor, etc. Your brand. Listen to top VO talents from top VO agents on voicebank. Compare your demo to theirs. You'll hear the difference.

Hope this helps. If you have other questions don't hesitate to ask.

Bob Bergen

[Mike Sommer]

I agree 1000% with Bob.

This is on of those situations where you need to really step back and listen to what you are doing. Then again, you may have this notion stuck in your head that this is what Voice Acting is all about. --What you are doing is measured and calculated; it sounds forced and unnatural. And lends itself to being uninteresting.

When one has clients that have the attention span of gnats, one needs to engage them, pull them in with the ability to tell them a story.

Your first move (after following Bob's Suggestion) is to get some coaching; someone to direct you down the path of VO enlightenment.

Besides Vociebank, you should listen to the demos on agents websites like DPN
http://www.dpntalent.com/
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Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

[OneGeoVO]

Thanks for the valuable feedback and advice. I really appreciate all of it.

I'd like to discuss the point about regarding the generic nature of the demo I posted:

Yes, indeed I do have a number of market specific demos on my site (promotion, PSA, narration, characters, etc.), most are shorter. And certainly what you say about attention spans and all, makes perfect sense. What casting director is going to stick around and listen to stuff that is out of their area of interest, just to get to the goodies at the end? (Or even after the first cut.) Good reason to submit a market specific demo if I know what he/she is looking for.

Then again, if you go to a major job-board like voices.com, that's pretty much all you see, i.e. generic demos. I just played one from there (and most are like this) where the VO artist flipped all over the place from wild and zany characters to warm and sincere, and everything in between. So I suppose it is good to keep that generic "scatter-gun" demo handy too?

Overall however, I think you have a very good point.

[Bob Bergen]

Hey bud!

Well, if that "scatter gun" demo is working for ya, then sure, go for it! I've never seen it work in today's market. That said, there are no rules.

But if you take a look at the top voice actors in the biz they don't use em. So again, if this demo does the trick for ya then that's all that counts.

I did take a listen/look at your website. It's very wordy. And you have redundant demos. Several times I either heard the same spot or same demo again and again. Huge red flag! Your demos should leave the buyer asking for more. They not only have a limited attention span, they have limited time, Never have the same material on more than one demo.

Technology has made it that everyone competes with everyone, be it the top grossing actors on both coasts or the newest voice actor in middle America. By virtue of having a demo and a website you are pitting yourself against everyone. You need to be as competitive or better, both in your talents as well as your marketing.

BB

[OneGeoVO]

[Bob Bergen]

You want your home page to be a one stop shop. Have your demos there. One demo per category. No need for entire spots. That's redundant.

Again, leave the listener asking for more. More would be an audition, representation, or a job. If they click more than once and hear the same material you've just wasted your and their time. You missed an opportunity to show off another facet of your talent and versatility.

One minute demos are best for most genres. Audio books need to be longer, and animation I think can be 1:30. But you are better to have 30 seconds of brilliance than the redundancy of repeating what the buyer has already heard.

I would also lose the "one vo geo" sound byte that comes up on your site. It's just very electronic, and doesn't show you off.

B

[Bailey]

Joe

Welcome to the VO-BB.

Whatever I have to add to this discussion may amount to a cup of water in the ocean. You can decide on which demo direction you may want to go. Just be sure that your very best happens in the first 6 seconds of that demo. If you can't catch them in 6 seconds, you won’t catch them in 60.
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"Bailey"
a.k.a. Jim Sutton
Retired... Every day is Saturday, except Sunday.
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AOVA Graduate 02/2004 ;
"Be a Voice, not an Echo."

[OneGeoVO]

Thanks Bailey. Great! Of course I've read this in every book about VO I've ever come across, and from every VO coach I have ever dealt with, but this is an excellent reminder!

Good forum here! I am modifying my site right now according to some of the feedback I've received. It's a relief (understatement) to receive useful advice here along with your great reminder.

[asnively]

I agree with Bob. A compilation demo with multiple genres all mashed together screams "I am new at this and in a very small market" or "I am not new at this, but I've not been keeping up with what's going on in my industry."

Both categories are amply represented on Voices.com. If you want to stand out there, 1) be awesome and 2) conform to current standards.
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[OneGeoVO]

Thanks Amy, and yes, this is why I've taken my general demo off my site now.

And here I am struggling to decide between voices.com, voice123 and bodalgo. So thanks for your voices comment as well.

[OneGeoVO]

Over at Bodaigo.com they ask for your "scatter-gun". From their profile page:

----------------------------
Master-Demo

The demo labeled master demo is the one shown in all database search results that match your profile together with your name, the short description of your voice (as provided in section My Voice). Ideally this demo will feature a broad variety of your talent.
----------------------------

Generally however, I agree with the comments posted here about this.

[JBarrett]

I don't think that a demo that features "a broad variety of your talent" necessarily needs to be in the scatter-gun category. A well-crafted commercial demo will show appropriate variety.

With all due respect to the folks who run the P2P sites, I would trust the recommendations of the people in this thread over them any day. Keep in mind that you're aiming to attract the attention of the people who could potentially hire you, not the people who offer to take your money and put you on a site with thousands of other hopefuls.
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Justin S. Barrett
http://www.justinsbarrett.com/

[Mike Sommer]

All you need is a spectacular commercial demo, for a P2P site. This alone will demonstrate your voice and acting chops.

Then if a client wishes to hear more, they can click over to your website, for further listening.

First and foremost, voice actor needs a spectacular "Commercial Demo" that is the bread and butter of VO.

But, what has been glossed over here, is that your acting chops need development. Without acting chops, you're in the boat alone, pulling with one oar.

Joseph, you're website needs considerable pruning. This is a business where time is money. Nobody is willing to wade through a chin deep website. It needs to be clean and simple. It should say, Here I am; Here is my stuff; Here is how to contact me. Maybe a second page with a brief- "Brief" Bio, and some insightful information. - It's like going on a date, the more you open your mouth, the more likely you are to say something stupid and turn your date off.

Oh and delete the "OneGeoVO" audio, that blast on every page. One never knows where a user may be viewing your site. Let the viewer decide when they want to listen to you. Nothing is worse, than sitting in a meeting and a website starts blasting, and you can't find the mute button.
_________________
The Blog:
http://voiceoveraudio.blogspot.com/

Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

[OneGeoVO]