VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Rick Riley

There's a discussion in the 'Gear' forum about hand held recording devices and auditioning and such, which leads me to the question, has anyone booked anything of substance from using one of these devices?

The reason I ask is because I have multiple agents. All of them top notch in different regions of the country. They handle top tier talent. If I record something with a hand held device, regardless of the quality of the device, it's not going to be of 'studio' quality. The auditions I submit now are studio quality. I know they are going to be compared with other auditions from excellent talent that are also studio quality. My opinion is, the client isn't even going to notice the read if all of a sudden after eight or ten of these auditions, they hear me on some portable mike in some out of the way place. Any technical deficiency is going to take their mind completely off what I'm saying and put their mind on the fact that this guy has some back yard setup. For the most part, clients don't have imaginations, nor do they want them. They want to hear how their commercial is going to sound when they hear the audition, not hopefully down the road if things go well.

The above is my opinion and could very well be wrong. But this is why I don't carry 'travel gear' on vacations as well. If I'm away from my work environment and I get a juicy audition, I either wait until I get back or take a pass and know there will be another, not long after. I'm not going to have them remember me for some technically substandard audition.

Your thoughts?
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Bruce · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 9:15 am Post subject:

I've auditioned by phone before, and gotten some jobs from it, but that was many years ago when a phone was the only option for a quick turnaround audition.

I've seen the tales of big time VOs submitting auditions from little hand held devices, and I know of one story that goes even further, if I recollect the details correctly. On vacation our friend Sam Mowry recorded an audition in a car on a little digital recorder (Zoom?), transferred it to his phone, emailed it. They not only awarded him the job, they used his audition, in Cardinal Stadium at Stanford University.

So yes, it's possible to audition and work with remote gear, but as you've detailed, maybe sometimes we shouldn't.

B
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Jason Huggins · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 9:20 am Post subject:

I totally agree. I have used the mobile setups for emergency pickups where clients already know my typical sound, already know that I'm on vacation, and already know they are going to get substandard audio that will require them to work on it to make it match.

I personally have never had a situation where I absolutely HAD to get an audition in (and it was really important) while I was traveling that couldn't wait till I got to my destination. I travel with a real mobile setup that is comparable to my studio rig, and just build a makeshift booth wherever I go. Anything that just can't wait I will do with the mobile rig, everything else can wait till I'm back in the studio.

NorthEndVoice · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 10:53 am Post subject:

I'm with Rick on this one. Unless the audition can be submitted in an almost "ready for air" file, I wouldn't do it ....UNLESS it was a longtime client who absolutely had to have it. And even then I wouldn't feel good about it. I agree that most clients will have a difficult time getting past the less than stellar audio quality. I just don't want a sub par submission floating around out there. With the elements needed for a good "road kit" getting better and more portable, and paying attention to the temporary recording space I happen to find myself in , I've been able to submit auditions that are indistinguishable from ones done in the studio.

Bish · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 11:48 am Post subject:

There are two distinct ways of looking at this...

1) If you are intending to record the actual gig from your own studio, then the audition serves to prove that you can deliver the goods... both voice and recording quality. The only time where this may not be an issue (IMHO) is where you are a known quantity/quality and you have history with the client who understands that the audition was done "on the run"

2) You are not a home-studio VO. There are many VOs who live and work in major markets who have no need or interest in a home studio. The only time they record an audition in a booth is actually in their agent's office or it's a walk-in audition in a rehearsal studio (or whatever)... any other time it's done on a phone or a laptop. Any gig is done in-studio, so the audition is only to provide a performance sample.

Most people here are in group 1. We tend to forget that NYC, LA and Chicago are knee-deep in working actors and voices from group 2, who just flit from studio to studio. We must look beyond our own little corner of the business.
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samowry · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 11:57 am Post subject:

Thanks Bruce, I was going to post ,but you told it better than me any way.

Beau Weaver, Joe Cipriano and a plethora of other top talent travel extensively and record on the go all the time. There are many YouTube videos of them working new and smaller equipment to fulfill their audition and work needs. As usual, it breaks down to money and experience. The more you record on the go, the better you get at it I imagine.

I rarely go anywhere so was very happy my Zoom saved the day. I lost a Blazers gig 2 years before when I didn't have a travel rig.

And as I always like to say, if the client is happy, I'm happy.

Happy recording.

ccpetersen · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:01 pm Post subject:

Not necessarily an audition, but I had a situation a few months ago where I was working at sea and one of my project producers called up and needed some lines done, "STAT". I told them I didn't have a mic (I thought about bringing one along but didn't) although I thought I might be able to borrow one from the stage crew and find a quiet room somewhere to record. To my amazement, they wrote back and said, "No biggie. These lines are going to be filtered as if you're talking back and forth on a walkie-talkie-type device, so use your iPhone and send us the files."

I found a quiet room backstage in the show theater, recorded my lines, and then sent them via email the next time I logged in.

Lucky shot, otherwise, I wouldn't have considered an iPhone-recorded audio set to be acceptable.
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Stormtrooper 7 · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 11:42 pm Post subject:

As far as doing an audition with a portable device, I haven't. But... I do have a Zoom recorder I carry around with me when I am out. I use it as an interface in the studio and as the recorder on the road. When you use it in a car it works really well. I used to do a weekly podcast in my car in the afternoons while my daughter was at dance practice for a while... I had little time then.

Last year during the summer I was on vacation at the beach with the family and one job I have is a pretty quick run everyday, so I would just go to the car and record and send it while I was on vacation. I pretty much do it all the time no matter where I am. So I never really have to stop this one. But one of my other clients emailed me and said he had this super hot video that he had to have completed by the end of the day and asked if there was anyway I could do it now. I said sure, went to the car, recorded it, processed it to match the other stuff I have done for him and was done. The great thing about this guy is, is that he pays me usually before I even deliver it to him... As he did this time also. So I sent him an email with the file that said I did this in my car on a portable rig, and that I was at the beach and I hoped he would be ok with it. That night he emailed me and said it sounded great and he couldn't tell the difference. Then added.... I didn't know you were on vacation, sorry for bothering you, and thanks a bunch. So as a bonus here's $250 on me for spending on the fam and leaving them for a bit for me.

I love this guy.

ballenberg · Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 5:21 am Post subject:

I think Bish has it right. It's really about performance. Yesterday I was in the city in a major casting place..they do a lot more O/C than VO..reading for a national gig. The CD and I were essentially in a tiny closet, boomy,with a ton of noise coming through the closed door from the actors waiting just outside for another audition. And this was a read that needed to be quietly read.
Think the client will worry about the audio quality? Nope. They'll choose their talent and then record for real in an actual studio.

I'd say better to record on whatever you have, from wherever you are than pass on a good audition. Will the client say, "That was a great read, but it sounds like he recorded it his car. Let's hire our second choice and never use this guy again!" Hmm, unlikely, I'd say.

samowry · Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 5:40 am Post subject:

+1 Bill.

captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

If the audition is being listened to on a smartphone of pad, it's all a wash
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Lee Gordon · Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:29 am Post subject:

If the audition were for a job that is to be self-directed and recorded in your home studio, I might include a note explaining that the demo is for performance only and not indicative of the audio quality they can expect in the finished product.
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voicy1stef · Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 3:11 am Post subject:

I agree with Lee.
I've worked w/ an external mic & my ipad. But I would not be happy sending an audition recorded on my phone. Smile

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agettig · Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 9:10 am Post subject:

One day recently, I sent out roughly 8 auditions. At the end of the day, whilst nursing a stout in my quiet place on the front porch (which I have thought would be a great place to record since we moved here), one more audition arrived.

Maybe I didn't want to go back upstairs or maybe it was the half gone stout, but I thought what the heck...I went inside, got my Apogee MiC, plugged it into my iPhone, and recorded the audition into my phone on the porch. It was a local for an RV dealer somewhere in the Midwest so it's not like the stakes were high. Smile

Of the auditions I sent out that day, which one did I book? Yep, the one from the porch. In fairness though, I did re-record it in my normal studio for the final.