VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

Mike Sanderson · Joined: 29 Sep 2014 Posts: 2

Hello,

Please take a listen to my commercial VO demo and let me know what you think. Thanks!!

https://soundcloud.com/michael-sanderson-5/commercial-voice-over-demo

or my website

www.mikesandersonvoiceovers.com

vkuehn · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 6:55 am Post subject:

Nice sound! You and I should get together for "mutual coaching". There's a hint of mesquite-and-cactus that I can never quite fully remove from my delivery... and your work has a pleasant aroma of Boston. Maybe we could teach each other how to neutralize the accents when needed. Laugh

Bruce · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 9:40 am Post subject:

You have a very natural style.... on everything in the demo. I'm thinking it would be nice to have at least one different approach in there. You're also so natural your diction is a bit muddy in spots, to the point of not being helpful.

Lastly I'd consider hiring at least an audio engineer, if not a demo producer, to assemble the thing. Your voice needs a bit of EQ and compression versus the music to make it sound more like broadcast quality.

You're on the path, and that's a good thing.

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. .

Ed Fisher · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 9:51 pm Post subject:

Scott Pollak · Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 6:08 am Post subject:

Well, I'm going to be a little more blunt here.

It's not that you sound bad, you certainly don't! It's that there's nothing that really sounds like it's professionally done here.

To my ears, every spot sounds 'read'. And by all means lose the ESPN spot! The number one mistake aspiring v/os make on their demos is including some high-profile national broadcast piece that they very obviously didn't voice. And then the contrast between that and the real spot (which everyone else is already familiar with) is pretty stark.

And Bruce is right about the mix. Your voice is lost in the mix, and the EQ/compression (or lack thereof) on that one dry spot just sounds bad.

I'm hoping Bob Bergen will chime in. He's great about providing very balanced and unbiased feedback on new demos and I'm sure he can offer a ton of great info from someone who is at the top of his game.

Also, one question: was this produced by one of those voicemills, like "Voices for All" or "Such a Voice"? Just wondering, because it sounds a lot like what they crank out.

You have a very, very nice tone to your voice. Now, put that horse back before the cart, invest in coaching and training to get your DELIVERY to match that voice, and then when the time is right, invest in a demo that will actually land you some work.
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Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

www.voicebyscott.com

Mike Sanderson · Joined: 29 Sep 2014 Posts: 2

Hey Guys,

Thank you for your candid opinions. This demos was actually recorded in a top of the line studio with a very well respected voice coach who I have trained with. There is always room for improvement and I practice this everyday.
Thanks again!!

Bruce · Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 6:42 am Post subject:

Bob Bergen · CM Joined: 22 Apr 2008 Posts: 939

Ask and ye shall receive!

First of all, it's all so subjective. There are demo producers I love and recommend that others (agents, other actors) cannot stand. And, vice versa. That's show biz!!

That said, here's what I don't love about the production of your demo. It falls flat between spots. You need tighter editing. Example: between the first spot and the second there's almost 3 second between the last word of the first spot (hamburger) and the first words of the second spot (Sports Center). Now, 3 seconds doesn't sound like a lot of time. But when a demo is on average one minute, it's a lifetime. And it's dead space that doesn't showcase the voice talent. We don't need to hear a baseball being hit.

Often times a producer will add a music sting or sound effect to alert the listener the demo has moved on to the next spot. That shows off the producer, not the actor. If you have contrasting energies and intents next to each other, a tighter edit with voice attached to voice will not just make the demo move better, it's an audio illusion of the actor's versatility.

And, none of the spots sound real to me. It sounds like a demo. It doesn't grab me. Feels very library and simple. Compare your demo production to this producer from LA:
http://www.demosthatrock.com/portfolio.html

Listen to Men-Commercials. Very different feel from your demo in production and presence. And all the spots sound broadcast real. All demos should sound broadcast real, even those made from scratch.

Now, I actually like your read and style. Very conversational and understated. Memorable. You don't sound like you are trying to be anyone other than you. Not easy to do!

Hope this helps. B

yarg28 · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 2:18 pm Post subject:

there are some really good comments above. I'm not going to waste time repeating some of it.

I was very confused about the tire supply spot choice. You clearly have a Boston accent and its wrapped around country music and tire sales. It felt very strange to hear you sort of do the southern "ya heard that" thing in an east coast accent with hillbilly guitar in the background.

I have an accent and I really struggle with trying to pick the right stuff.

I also felt like the time wasn't used that economically. 1:13 and only 5 spots. The phone spot and the drinking and driving spots were loooong. As Bob pointed out, between the one spot there was time but I also noticed that there were a fair amount of large pauses in a couple of the reads. Not suggesting that every read needs to be chop-chop but having so many pauses in something as time sensitive as your demo seems counter productive. As a comparison, my demo is 1:16 and I have 8 spots in it.

You're on the right track and you've got some natural talent. Keep at it.

gary

Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2279 Location: Atlanta

You do 'sound like yourself', which is terrific. There's an ease and confidence in your voice.

Boston voices that are smooth and easy and confident are a rarity. I'm from Chelmsford, I know. Smile

You've got something there. Milk it. Your voice was great on the Drunk Driving bit (despite the production - the room sounds boomy and muddy, and the mix doesn't highlight you).

I'd like to hear you do something like a family-oriented warm and fuzzy piece and a great-outdoorsy/DIY type piece. And I'd be interested in your take on a Dennis Leary attitude read to mix things up.

If you change the permission settings for the file on Soundcloud to allow downloads, I'd be happy to fix the EQ and tighten up the edits for you, no charge. It's important to have demos that clients can download and review/share with colleagues or end-clients. Good luck!
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and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!