VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Deven Mack]

Greetings, all. Some may have already heard me in this. For the past 5 years, my background has solely been in character work for animation, as I've remained consistently unable to book a commercial to save my life. I've recently started putting together a newer reel of commercial reads, and any opinions would so greatly appreciated.

http://www.devenmack.com/2011commercial.mp3

I'm heavily considering cutting two reads, to get everything closer to 1 minute in length. Not sure which yet, but I've been leaning towards the two I've placed at the very end.
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A video compilation of my character VO work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay6SOQU1vZQ

[Whit]

You sound great to me, fabulous range.

I would definitely tighten it all up and keep it to a minute. I liked the second to last one and would not cut it. You'll save some time too just with tightening up and not having seconds worth of sfx.

I'm sure those far wiser than me will have deeper insight.

[Mike Sommer]

Welcome Deven.

First, I know you've got the talent and the imagination. Your interpretation of Dot Dot Dot is spot on wonderful. When I heard it for the first time I though you were much older, as a matter of fact- for a moment - I thought it was Corey Burton.

The one thing that popped into my mind while listening to this demo, is that you're all over the place. That is to say, there is no one single "signature voice"; the voice that is uniquely yours. This demo plays more like a character reel, rather than a commercial reel. A commercial demo is more about showcasing your acting ability, within a signature voice. If you play it with too many voices, the person listening might not be able to figure out who Deven is-- "Is he young?" or "Is he old?" It can be a little confusing and distracting.

I just think you are reaching and stretching to much, where you need to be a little more focused.

What I was hoping to hear from you, was a more youthful sound. If you want to take on the commercial world by storm, a more youthful sound would be your best bet. The Panasonic spot was more of what I was looking for, and if I were you I would cultivate that voice with different shadings of older and younger, along with all the various emotions need to demonstrate your acting abilities.

The older voices are good too, and maybe you can do a second reel of those as well. There still, you need to find a single voice/character that can can be contoured with various shadings of age and emotions.

I'm quite sure this is a home brew demo, and quite frankly it's not cutting the mustard. I also think you need some stronger material. This is where a good director will really serve you well. Someone that can guide you into your best performance.

If you haven't had any commercial VO coaching, and if even if you have, I think you can do well by investing in some. What you need is direction; to be reined in and pulled back a little; steered to a more direct path. (I will direct you to Marc Cashman and Nancy Wolfson for this kind of coaching.)

Acting classes will serve you well also, along with improve. Every actor needs training, no matter how advanced they are. It is my belief, that until you are booking so many paying gigs that you don't have have time to take classes, you should be taking classes - whether that be acting, improv, or just working out in a group of some kind.

Technically there is some powerful ringing in your booth. It sounds small, and like it is made of plywood, and I think I hear some Plexiglas in there too. This ringing is putting sibilance in your voice, and is smearing the intelligibility of your voice. I'm curious about the mic you are using too.

P.S.
Bee-ah-coo-azz, is now apart of my daily verbal lexicon.
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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.

[Bruce]

I hear lots of raw talent in your demo, but the styles are so diverse that most of the cuts might belong in a character demo.

I agree with Mike that you need some guidance, young Jedi warrior, someone to help you find your voice, your commercial voice. Also, when you do character reads outside of your "normal" voice you need to increase your commitment to the character (acting). I could hear you trying to be the character in some of those clips as opposed to being those characters.

HOLD THE PHONE, as they used to say. I just went to your site and listened to your character demo. Now those were mostly very good, very believable in the animation world. Then I listened to your older commercial demo and my original comments still stand. When playing real people, real announcers, you're just a bit off the beam. Get the right guidance and you'll do well.

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. .