VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Rognog · Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 11:37 am Post subject: Revised Audio Book Demo

I just updated my audio book demo. I added one of the Torkstar pieces and I shortened the others. It works out to five tracks totalling just under six minutes. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

www.tomdheere.com/Demos/AudioBookDemo.mp3
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:05 pm Post subject:

coupla things I noticed:

1. A 6 minute demo is way too long. Even a narration demo should top out at 2 minutes.
2. suggest you lose the profanity.
3. Your pacing is good when transitioning from basic narration to action narration
4. The volume of the 2nd piece is quieter than the volume of the 3rd.
5. Your last clip is very strong. That's my favorite and shows some good acting chops.

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Rognog · Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:14 pm Post subject:

Thanks Jeff!

1. I've heard varying opinions about length. I based the length on an audio publisher's submission guidelines. He wanted 4-6 tracks, each at least one minute long. Is there an industry standard?

2. I was wondering about the profanity. Many novels have profanity and violent & sexual situations. Once again, is there a standard?

3. Thank you.

4. Some of these tracks were recorded in different studios. Should I even out the volume some more?

5. Actually, it's not from a book. It's from the play "Six Degrees of Separation" by John Guare. Is it too dramatic for an audio book demo?
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 1:24 pm Post subject:

Where are you getting your publisher submission guidelines from? Is a submission to the publisher the same thing as a demo reel? I'm not sure... It's kind of like the publisher wanting the first 3 chapters of a novel, whereas other interested parties may want just a synopsis. Again, more expert opinions may weigh in on this.

I'd lose the profanity only so that it is accessible to the widest possible audience. What if you wanted to provide this reel to a childrens' book publisher? Does leaving in the profantiy help your reel in any way? probably not. The occasional "damn" or "hell" should be OK, but one of your segments drops the F-bomb quite a bit.
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Rognog · Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:32 am Post subject:

Ok, I cut it down length-wise and I dropped the segment with the F-bombs. I also normalized it so the volume should be a little more even. What do you guys do to even out the volume if you have multiple tracks? Let me know if this is any better. Thanks!

www.tomdheere.com/Demos/AudioBookDemo.mp3
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Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
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jrodriguez315 · Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:46 am Post subject:

Rog,

I love the last piece. Powerful, dramatic read. Good luck with it. Let us know if it brings in the work, that's the ultimate test of a good demo, I guess.
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COURVO · Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 7:23 pm Post subject:

Grover Gardner, one of the top AudioBook narrators in the biz told me most AudioBook publishers expect a CD with 4 tracks, representing, say, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Childrens', and Biography (depending on the publisher, of course). And that the tracks should be between 4 and 5 minutes in length.

A good AudioBook producer, he said, wants to get an adequate length to see if you can carry the long format, and if -- at the end of the demo -- he/she was drawn to the story, instead of your voice.

I liked your reads, although, the recording sounded a bit hollow to me.

Dave C.
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:08 pm Post subject:

So you're saying an audiobook demo reel should be upwards of 20 minutes long? That seem outrageous. I'm not doubting that he said that, but I don't know anyone who has one that long.
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Yoda117 · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 6:09 am Post subject:

Rognog · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:20 am Post subject:

I use normalize, noise reduction, and hiss reduction. Should I do less?
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Deirdre · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:27 am Post subject:

Tom-- this is too much processing in my never humble opinion.
I can hear audio artifacting throughout the read, especially as words end, and this also makes it sound like you have a lazy "S".

Boosting gain is one thing; removing noise changes the shape of the sound wave. Two sets of reduction are too much. Noise reduction is iffy at best anyway-- the very best thing to do is reduce noise at the recording site rather than in the audio wave form.

I know you know this— but it's worth saying again because, while your read is engaging, I just can't listen to the demo.
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Rognog · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:32 am Post subject:

Please let me know if this sounds any better:

www.tomdheere.com/Demos/NewAudioBookDemoA.mp3

I am frighteningly technically UN-inclined so your input is huge. Thanks for the tough love, Deirdre!
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:19 pm Post subject:

Question: In the first piece is the narrator a female or a gay guy? Or am I misinterpreting the text?

If it's a woman, I'd toss it. I've never heard an audiobook where the narrator speaks in first person and is of a different gender than the performer. It just ain't done.
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Rognog · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:56 pm Post subject:

It's a straight guy who was taken advantage of by a con artist.
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Yoda117 · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 2:05 pm Post subject: