VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Tom Test]

A little background for those of you who don't know me. I've been a full-time talent since '95. I've had my own studio since 2003, and made the successful leap to ISDN earlier this year. I did a fair amount of political work during the 2010 mid-terms, and I want to do a lot more for 2012. Business has been great, but we gotta make hay while the sun shies, right? (I'll only work for moderate-to-progressive candidates, FWIW).

I'm looking for advice on how to make a great Political VO demo that is tailored to that market (if indeed there is anything different from a normal Commercial VO demo, aside from the copy). I plan on researching award-winning political spots for inspiration on scripts and interpretation. I can record my own broadcast-quality tracks in my studio, and have several producers in mind (but am open to suggestions for other producers, especially if they do a lot of work in this area).

Once my demo is done, what is the best way to find firms that specialize in this line of work? Would it be useful to go to some sort of meetings among that particular audience, and if so, what sorts of meetings?

And am I being incredibly naive even to ask anyone to give up their career secrets?
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Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com

[Bruce]

You'll be limiting yourself a bit by only choosing one side and by choosing the more liberal side. Conservatives spend a lot more money on broadcast and their scripts are usually a lot meatier fare, but I truly understand your desire to lean one way.

Their are two basic kinds of reads, attack ads and glorifying ads and many shades of each. A mix of positive and negative will be your best demo fare.

Political consultants and the producers they hire do most of the VO hiring. Find them and you'll eventually find work.

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. .

[Melanie Haynes]

Hey, Tom. It sounds like you're on the right track. Most of my political jobs come through production house/agencies and they often ask if you have a party preference and keep separate demo pages. They usually market political spots separately from regular commercial spots, so it's important to have that political demo. As Bruce said, it is good to have a mix of typical political styles on the demo.
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SaVoa#08019

www.melaniehaynes.com

832-912-9250

[Lance Blair]

Good question. I'm working on assembling a script that takes various points from different campaigns both conservative and liberal and keeping it kinda vague as to where my allegiances are. I'm militantly moderate, btw. Trying to focus more on the story telling and the emotions rather than the issues (gee, isn't what they do in these spots anyway?). I mean, in many commercial demos they aren't product driven, so they don't have to be issues-driven here.
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Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

[TQuinn]

Take a look at the daily publications, THE HILL and POLITICO. Each is distributed on Capitol Hill and each has a ton of info and potential leaads. Also take a listen at www.ProducersHandyDandy.com which is a compilation of demos, including poliicals. The crew on the site are all union (SAG or AFTRA, or both), and most are DC area-based, and quite a few do the vast majority of the political work arising from DC. Also, take a look at TIVA-DC and www.WIFV.org for local political consultans to get your voice out there.

Best of luck.

Tony

[Tom Test]

Wow! Thank you so much Bruce, Melanie, Lance and Tony! REALLY helpful suggestions here. I even got a phone call from another vo-bb'er, plus a PM from yet another. I am humbled by the generosity here. Thank you!
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Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com

[anthonyVO]

It's admirable that you choose a side, but if it makes you feel any better, you can always take some of the conservative dollars and donate it to a campaign of your choice.

-Anthony

[Tom Test]

[anthonyVO]

I can definitely understand that. I did a "tea party" spot a couple of weeks ago. Distortion? I think so, but then again, that can be applied to some national network commercials as well and, man, I don't flinch.

In the end, you have to do the work that can allow you to sleep at night while still supporting yourself and your family.

-Anthony

[Lee Gordon]

I think we sometimes get overly worked up about having our voices become identified with a particular piece of work we may have voiced. The people who produce the commercials we do have a tough enough time trying to make sure they are heard by their intended audiences. I think the chances they'll be heard by some random producer who will then blackball us are fairly remote.

And in most cases, only those of us who are particularly attuned to the voiceover game (i.e. radio announcers, other voiceoverists, and radio & VO nerds) are even remotely aware of whom the unseen voice belongs to. How many times have you been in a group of acquaintances, friends, or even relatives when somebody mentions a commercial you've done and somebody else says, "Oh, that was you?"

There are issue-oriented projects I'll do for less than the going rate if it's a cause I believe in, and there are ones I find abhorrent that I wouldn't do for any amount of money, but not too many that I avoid because I'm worried about offending a producer on the opposite side of the political fence.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice