VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Hestoft]

I understand the requirement and need to submit clean, unprocessed files as final product so the clients can fit them into the mix, but what about auditions, especially for web sites like Voices.com.

With the wealth of talent here, I doubt lots of you do much work with sites like Voices.com, but we newbies regard it as a good training ground for cutting our teeth before trying to get real work, so advice would be appreciated.

From prior research here and elsewhere, there seem to be two schools of thought: one says don't do any processing at all because (to paraphrase) why should you work for free, and the second says you are pitching to unsophisticated clients to some processing like compression, de-essing and normalizing will get you more jobs than just sending out raw files.

I tend to agree with the second school of thought, but wonder how much processing is enough and how much is too much. I have been recording with peaks at -6db to -9db, using the build-in de-esser, compressor and low-cut filters of my SPL Channel One, then adding some "secret sauce" processing followed up by normalizing files to -3db before sending them off.

I am wondering of others have any thoughts and/or experience with submitting web auditions and what garners the best results.

Ralf-Finn Hestoft
The NEW(ly contributing) Voice of Chicago

[bobsouer]

Ralf-Finn,

Welcome to the VO-BB. I haven't listened to your microphone samples, so haven't replied to that thread yet, but here are a couple of quick thoughts in response to this question.

First, I do process some auditions. It depends on what kind of project it is. For narration work, I pretty much never do any processing. For commercials, a little and for imaging, promos and trailers I do quite a bit.

Second, the thing that will book the job most of the time is your performance, not your processing. Even unsophisticated producers can hear the difference between a poor performance and a good one.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[Hestoft]

Bob,

Thanks for the reply. I do get that it is about performance first and processing last, but I am wondering if perceived performances are equal, the "best" processed file wins, especially in the cluster-f*** audition process of voices.com, where 150 people post their audition files before I even open the email....

Also, I would be interested in some more general details of exactly what processing you use for the different types of auditions. Not trying to pry trade secrets out of you, just trying to get a handle on how producers expect a certain audition to sound.... Thanks

Ralf-Finn Hestoft
The NEW(ly contributing) Voice of Chicago

[bobsouer]

Ralf-Finn,

It's about the performance not the processing. If you spend your time worrying about whether you're processing your files correctly or what processing to use, you are wasting your time. Concentrate on the story. Tell the story. When you do, if you do it well at all, you'll book work. I've averaged $30,000 per year of work booked through a combination of Voice123.com and Voices.com for the last 4 years.

As for exactly what processing I use, for all but a handful of auditions I simply normalize to -1 and submit. For a TV promo or trailer, I will usually add some warm EQ and compression using the Izotope Mastering bundle.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[Hestoft]

Bob,

Thanks! That gives me some hope and something to aim for. Any thoughts on the differences between voices123 and voices? I had heard that voices123 was more low end, but having joined voices, I am not so sure...

Ralf-Finn Hestoft
The NEW(ly contributing) Voice of Chicago

[asnively]

I think it's the other way around. But I have my V123 preferences set to not get anything labelled "low budget," so I only see the good stuff.

IMO, the advantage of one over the other is that with one, it's a crazy free-for-all dogpile to submit auditions into a black hole. With the other, the pool is smaller for each gig, the system encourages and reinforces smart choices, and you can see whether or not your audition was opened or ranked.
_________________
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Amy Snively
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TalkerTees

[bobsouer]

Ralf-Finn,

What Amy said. Or to put it more bluntly, I canceled my Voices.com membership earlier this year. In a couple of months I will renew my Voice123.com membership for the 7th year. However, other voice talent whom I respect have reached exactly the opposite conclusion. As with any advertising and marketing, the thing that separates the wheat from the chaff is what gets delivered when the opportunities arrive.

Or to put it still another way, do you have $600 you can gamble with having no expectation of return? If so, then get professional memberships with both services and see which provides you the better experience. The options are: one, the other, both, someplace else, all of the above or none of the above. Only you can decide what's best for you.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express