VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[yarg28]

I'm still being coached but I recently started looking for work on one of the p2p services. I'm primarily doing it as workflow practice.

One of the things that I noticed is that when a job is posted, by the time I reply, there are about 20 replies ahead of me.

Now I'm moving pretty fast (getting faster!) but it got me thinking about how I'm auditioning.
My auditions are fully edited, breaths, clicks, timing, etc. and then processed. I'm basically sending a production quality file.

Is that what is expected? Are there any places to take short cuts? Is it even worth it to move up to the first 10 replies?

I'm not trying to avoid the work. I'll do whatever it takes. I just dont want to do so much more that I'm limiting myself.

Thanks.

gary

[Foog]

I'm no expert. I'm just now coming up to the one-year anniversary of what I am calling my "P2P experiment". But I sure do complain about P2P's a lot, so that has to count for something. Here goes some advice worth every penny you have paid for it:

I edit my auditions as well. Don't go overboard - don't time it to a scratch track or sync it to a music bed they provided unless they ask for it. But giving them the same quality they can expect once you are hired is never a bad idea. And if they DO make a special request, be sure to fulfill it. You'd be surprised at how incredibly many people DO NOT, and you may be the only one in ten or twenty auditions (or all! ALL the auditions!) to actually give them what they asked for.

As for the number of replies before yours: the point of "don't-bother-with-that-audition" is different for everyone, and you need to figure out where it is for you. Reading countless snippets of mediocre, misspelled copy about some random a or event for a client that wants to weep for the sheer heartrending beauty of the selected read can be soul-sucking, or it can be a great way to hone your craft while gunning for a paying gig. ...not so much when they don't even listen to it. I don't care how cavalier you want to be about it, there's no way to be happy about submitting something that doesn't even get heard. I'd rather record it, play it for my cat, then delete it. I guess my advice is to keep auditioning if YOU are getting something out of it, but by all means stay above the "not even listened to" threshold.

Personally speaking, in the past couple of months I have stopped auditioning for anything with more than 30 replies unless it REALLY speaks to me. In what may be a reflection of this, my ROI on P2P sites (considering subscription fees, time spent auditioning as well as actually doing the jobs) has finally crawled out of burger flipping territory. Of course, that is likely a reflection of some other factors as well. Speaking of which...

Another thing you should consider in order to be more efficient is to target your auditions towards appropriate gigs. It's not just the number of auditions, but the type of gigs. For example, as much as I would like to sound like a bright, 20-something tech-savvy everyman... I don't. So I don't audition for those types of reads. And if you really want to target yourself more effectively, avoid all those (many!) auditions where the client doesn't know what gender or age he is looking for. Chances are it ain't you, and even if it is, indecisive clients can be more trouble than they're worth.

And finally, but most importantly, a piece of advice from a tonne of the fine folks on this here board that I have been very slow to take to heart, but very happy to: file it and forget it. Do not sign up for email notifications about whether your audition has been listened to. Do not constantly log on to the site to check this either. Just... don't. Every week or so you may want to check out the stars, likes, thumbed-noses, heart-shaped-candies or whatever the particular site uses to "grade" auditions so that you can attempt to analyze what is working best for you. And that's good! Develop your niche, and understand what works for you. But there is nothing - nothing, I tell you! - that is a bigger waste of time than obsessively checking for the quick-gratification feedback. Constantly. And then again. Just in case something has changed. And again. And again, just in case. No, wait. Can't go to bed yet. Lemme check just one more time.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to check Facebook.
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Andrew Fogarasi

[Bill Campbell]

I do VO and I hire VO from Voice 123.

90% of the jobs I get are direct invitations. Much of it repeat business.

Most of the jobs I hire for, are direct invitations. I seek out the right voice for the project.

On auditions, I'm just listening to see if the voice is right for the job, and then, if the sonic quality is good.

SEND IT (GOOD) AND FORGET IT.
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www.asapaudio.com

[yarg28]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Good stuff.

[ConnieTerwilliger]

I'm not paying for any P2P sites, but I did for a while as I always like to see what the latest is when it comes to the internet.

So, in addition to the above suggestions...

Low rate for the work = pass
Bad script = pass
Egregious typos = pass
Excessive demands = pass
Poor audition opening rate = pass
Too many vocal ages and genders asked for = pass

Good rate for the work. Project defined clearly. Interesting script. Requesting only Middle-aged Females, with a good audition open rate = play
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Playing for a living...
www.voiceover-talent.com
YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/connieterwilliger

[chrisvoco]

[Scott Pollak]

Okay, let's get this straight. It's:


"Submit it and forget it"

Has a catchier ring to it, dontcha think??
_________________
Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

www.voicebyscott.com

[Bruce]

[Foog]

But "file it and forget it" has such nice alliteration!

Though seeing as I am still tempted to angst about submitted auditions, maybe I should forgo catchiness and tell myself:

"submit it and stop worrying already ya eejit it's only an audition and they can only pick one person just because that person may not be you does not mean you stink get it together man! just move on and focus on the gigs you get fer carp's sake stop staring at the damned thing it isn't going to make them choose someone any quicker you know it's not rocket science stop taking it personally and surely you have something better to do and did you remember to call your mother?"

every time. Yep.
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Andrew Fogarasi

[Rick Riley]

I haven’t seen this addressed, so I will add what I’ve been told by Voices. How ‘many’ auditions there are doesn’t factor in to Voices.com anymore. It’s the ‘Voice Match Percentage’ that is the key criteria. Auditions are presented to the voice seeker on a match priority scale. If you’re first audition but only match 70% of what they’re looking for, then you’ll be heard after the 40th audition if that audition matches 100%. In other words, everyone who matches above 70% will be heard before you.

There are people who game the system by putting in key words in the voice description that allows them to match 100% a good percentage of the time. I’ve talked to two of them and they book consistently. While I am a member of Voices, I haven’t auditioned in months as I’ve been blessed with more than enough work to keep me busy. However I have made note that if I want to return and audition, I’ll beef up my profile because as it stands I match most auditions I see at about 70% to 85%. And in the past I’ve been under the first 25 auditions with that percentage and never been listened to. That was my complaint when I contacted Voices and that’s when they told me how the auditions were presented and how to raise my match percentage in order to be heard. Voice 123 doesn’t use that system so if you’re going to get heard there you need to be upfront, however they don’t use the Cattle Call method, so that’s easier to do.

Hope this helps.
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Never do anything you wouldn't want to explain to the Paramedics

www.rickrileyvoice.com

[Lee Gordon]

[Rick Riley]

[Rick Riley]

As an aside, the reason I contacted Voices is because there was a producer that was looking through Voices, for a voice for a spot that ran regionally during the Super Bowl. I worked for that producer in the past and I was voicing a spot for the NFL that was actually running in the Super Bowl. So I auditioned. You would think the producer would have at least listened. It was never even listened to, and had it been listened to, with that criteria going for me, I felt I would have booked it. Maybe not, but apparently he never saw it because a ton of people auditioned for the gig and while I was under the 20th submission, it got buried under much higher percentage matches than mine.

Just thought I'd add some validity to the argument.
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Never do anything you wouldn't want to explain to the Paramedics

www.rickrileyvoice.com

[yarg28]

for me there are plenty of jobs every day that I am 95% or above on. What I'm trying to do is be sure that I'm in the top 20ish of the 95% or above. Just as a math problem that gives me a likelihood of not wasting my time entirely.

I dont generally submit anything unless i'm at 90% or above just because of the percentages. It may be different if I had limited high voice matches. But I have plenty to sift through.

I never even look at jobs listed for both genders just to eliminate another filter.

It just irritates me that I go as fast as I can from the moment a job is posted and 20 people still get in before me. Truthfully, I dont want to be near first. I'd just like to be in the top 20. Thats why I'm trying to find ways to speed up.

thanks for all the comments so far.

[Rick Riley]