VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[jwillis]

Hey y'all!

So, I've been a lurker for a while on this messageboard and I'm hoping I'll get some good, honest feedback about the two demos I currently have. One is a demo produced by a voiceover veteran here in Chicago and the other I put together my self. I'll let you guess which is which

I have a trial Premium membership with Voices123 in the hopes of building an actual sample reel, but until then, I have two demos currently posted on my Voices profile.

My site is here:

http://voice123.com/judewillis

Any criticism or comments would be much appreciated.

cheers!

-Jude

[Bruce]

Hey Jude, welcome aboard.

Well your commercial demo is a very good reflection of your very natural style, a style that is still in quite a bit of demand these days. I would however consider dumping the two person spot (it doesn't add to the mix) and the Macy's spot (I don't believe Macy's would use that style of read).

The narration demo is again a fair representation. The "difficulty" with very natural needs is not over enunciating, but having clear enough diction to be considered professional. The Garage Band piece could have been a dash cleaner in spots. With both demos I'd consider adding a bit more "production value" such as compression and bring the music up a bit so it's "there" but not competing with you still. That would give listeners a fighting chance of believing you actually did these as paid work.

Onward and upward!

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[Bob Bergen]

Hey Jude! (that was just fun to type!!)

I think you are talented. And you do have the type of voice and style that is very "in" these days.

But your demos sound like demos. There's a sameness from spot to spot. Same mic, same energy, same library mix. Now, I know most first demos are indeed made from scratch. But a good producer will strive to make the spots sound authentic. In today's online and digital age, you are competing with working actors by virtue of posting your demos online. Back in the old days the only people who got your demo were the ones you snail mailed it to. Today, it's online for the world to hear. And even after you take it down, you never know who might have kept it.

As working actor's demo consists of real work. Real work recorded on different days, with different mics, in different size rooms, and quite frankly the actor was in different moods. Splice 8-10 of these spots together in a montage and you have an organic variety to the demo. This makes an audio illusion of an actor's versatility.

Here are some demo producers I think rock:
http://www.demosthatrock.com/
http://www.mmvoiceover.com/

Compare your demo to theirs. I think this will demonstrate better what I feel is lacking in yours. But again, I think you have talent! OH- and I do agree that the partner read doesn't add anything that "wows" me. But I do believe you should have a partner read on your demo. The one you have right now feels read-y. Just doesn't feel you are connecting with the copy or your partner.

Hope this helps! BB

[jwillis]

Bruce and Bob. Thank you so much for taking the time to provide some detailed feedback!

This confirms a lot of what I've been thinking since I got my demo file back from the coach I worked with.

Both seem very flat to me and I'm a bit frustrated as, to my ear, they sound comprable in production value(The Narration demo was put together by me and the Commercial one by the fellow I paid)

So I'm now in a rather unenviable position having paid hundreds of dollars for something that I can't really use.

Awesome

Well, (expensive) lesson learned!

I'm wondering if I should try to find a teacher in town or just try to find another producer/director to create a more dynamic sounding demo.

Also, are there any good tips/materials on self-producing pieces? For example, my knowledge of "compression" is limited to the compression function in Audacity.. There has to be someone out there who does voiceover and also engineers their own stuff. Am I wrong? Is that an insult to audio engineers out there?

(I might just be thinking out loud but any advice would be awesome

thanks again!

cheers,

-Jude

[Bruce]

I've not read this book, but you'll quickly find a couple of dozen members here that will happily recommend it: http://sound4vo.com/

It's apparently a great technical book on recording, and I'll bet he covers technique, too. However, a critical ear, lots of practice, and a guiding hand from someone with lots of experience are the key to engineering quality audio.

Until you find a good voiceover coach consider acting classes or workshops. They can be a big help....and they're often less expensive.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[Mike Sommer]

As always Bob and Bruce are spot on. The touche upon everything heard on the performance end.


On the technical end there are a lot of little problems. The one thing I heard was the room, at :05 I could hear the ceiling of the room. This is not a bad thing, but because of the room you don't sound focused in the auditory sense. It's a little smeary, the mic is not helping either.

The reason why you don't do your own demo is because there are so many little tricks and technics that you can't possibly learn let alone know what would work for the right situation. Le the folks that do it everyday do their job.

I also belive you could use the collaboration of a good director to get the most out your talents.
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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.