VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Atticus Jackson]

I'd hardly call it a real demo since it's far from professional, but I did throw together a few clips showcasing my voice talent and I'd love to know if I'm marketable at all in any of the genres I tried.

http://soundcloud.com/atticusjackson/1stdemoreel

Any kind of criticism is invaluable, so please feel free

[Shock]

Not too bad, but it does sound like you're doing a very good *impression* of what you hear VO folks doing on these kinds of spots. I feel you have some good, natural talent, but it needs to be directed carefully. You must not let yourself go over too far into the *dark side* (radio deejay "yukking").

Here's a breakdown:

1- ACC Basketball - totally radio and not totally horrible. Having worked in markets from very small to major, that spot would fit right in at a small market station, and wouldn't sound too *out of place*.

2. Discovery Hx Channel - a very good impression of what you're hearing on Discovery these days, but it sounds kinda forced. What is your *natural* sound? Does that delivery feel *natural* to you? You need to find what your baseline-sound is and build from it. We cannot all be Don Lafontaine, Peter Thomas, and Will Lyman at the same time. Find *who* you are and *your voice*, and build on it.

3. New Nick Jr. videos - radio, borderline yukking.

4. Eyewitness News - bring that voice DOWN!! Speak more naturally. A good exercise would be to practice that script speaking very deliberately and in monotone, and enun-ciat-ing over and over and over. You won't end up sounding monotone, but you'll be conditioning yourself to keep a more *even* tone in your delivery.

5. Audi - I suspect this is closer to your natural-tone. I like this one. The delivery needs quite a bit of work, but this *voice* sounds good - this is where I hear the natural talent shining.

6. ESPN- OMG. "Git ready!" Full-on radio Yuk. Stop. Please don't go there anymore! LOL.

7. You've been to EdgeStudio (sample scripts), lol! That is good. And like the Audi spot, I think this is closer to your natural sound, but here you don't sound nearly as natural as on Audi. Part of it is you don't quite know yet what exactly to highlight in your delivery, and part of it is too much *radio* influence creeping in.

Ok, there's my long-winded two cents, for what it's worth. If I were your coach, I'd start with that "Audi sound" and really work from there, avoiding the over-bombastic delivery.

Even tone - practice, practice, practice - identify a good, established VO talent you admire and emulate that person(s). And above all else, DON'T GIVE UP!

Keep working on it - keep updating your demo and keep asking for critiques here - you'll get them.
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~Shock
Voice Actor/Narration/Radio
*Who Did That Media*
www.whodidthatmedia.com

[Scott Pollak]

I tend to mostly agree with Shock's analysis with some subtle differences. I personally just absolutely HATED the second cut, with the utterly phony, down-in-the-pit-of-my-stomach gutteral delivery, which is NOT your forte'. Ditch it. Forget it. Don't ever even attempt it again.

The spots that Shock said were radio puking and that he hated so much (ACC and ESPN) would work okay for small market, which is where you'd have to start out anyway. Small, rimshot radio stations and their advertisers love stuff like this, and what you have on here sounds as good as most of it does in those small markets. Hey, ya gotta start somewhere, right? Problem is, all those stations have djs on staff, working for $7 / hour, who they can pull into the production room to do a 'rip 'n' read' in that exact same style.

And yes, Shock was right about the Audi spot and last spot being the real you. THAT is what you need to focus on.

One of the biggest mistakes v/o talents make when first starting out is trying to be a bit of everything to everybody. You can't be that, and if you try, then you end up being mediocre at everything. Even though I CAN do the over-the-top, hardsell, in-yer-face spots, I don't do it nearly as well as many others and I learned years ago to focus on the one or two things I do well, and sell THAT as MY voice.

With your youthful sound and the friendly reads I heard in the Audi spot and the closing byte, with a lot of practice, some theatre training, and work, you might have a shot at that particular niche.

But be yourself. Don't be a radio dude. Don't be an announcer. God knows we have too many of those already. Just be Atticus. Whoever that guy is that talks to his wife, family, friends, co-workers every day of the week. The world DOESN'T have THAT guy yet.
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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 Sommer]

+1 on the above.

You need to stop trying to be what you think you need to be and just bring you to the copy. You're not the Don or an announcer, so don't even try to go there.

Just keep working on it listen to what others are doing get some good VO coaching, and you'll soon find your way out of the woods.

You vocal audio sounds very thin. It sound very much like you are using a computer mic. You might want to make an investment in a good USB mic for now.
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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.

[Atticus Jackson]

Thanks for listening! I agree that when it boils down to it I really need to stick with a more natural tone. The Audi one is also my favorite and that is the kind of copy i'd be more comfortable with.

My dad was in radio for a number of years and he was a big influence for me. Maybe that's why I keep "yukking" it up haha!

I'm going to keep practicing and get some training in. I think I know which direction I need to head in. I'll have some updated recordings done and maybe post them later, but for now I must practicccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Thanks again for the invaluable advice!
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-Atticus-