Latest VOX Daily
Voices.com's Vox Daily headline today reads, "Why You Should Have More Than 1 Voice Over Demo". Personally, I don't know anyone who has just one demo, however I have heard folks say they prefer to simply have a "montage" demo and commercial demo. With most all clients desiring a custom demo, I suppose this is debatable.
Distinction: I personally feel that there are two different worlds, as it were, when it comes to the voiceover business. What? Well, one world consists of work on the major networks, most TV work, trailers etc. Then, there is the "other world" (sounds spooky, huh!). The other world is filled with corporate narrations, onhold messaging, local radio spots, church VO, company training videos, web VO and the like. I think we can all agree that these are two separate worlds in terms of how you get the work and how the work is done...generally speaking. Some might say: A world where the BIG girls and boys play, and then a world where the rest live.
World One: Usually you get the work through an agent, referral and sometimes through online casting sites, such as Voices.com. Inhabitants of this world are the likes of: Joe Cipriano, Ashton Smith, Leif Anders, Townsend Coleman and, well, you know the rest.
World Two: Virtually always through online casting sites, word of mouth, someone finds your web site, repeat business, self marketing etc.
Personal experience: If you are like me, I live in world #2 for the most part and I feel it is imperative to have multiple demos to target a clients specific need...to showcase what I have done for others, thus what I can do for them. A prime example would be political ads. This arena is a niche' that demands its own demo. Oh, I also feel if a client is looking to hire someone for a commercial, shouldn't you have a commercial demo? Same goes for messages on hold, promos, eLearning, audio book and trailers. I'm not going to send an on hold demo to a potential client that needs a dramatic movie trailer recorded.
Now, there are many who say "specialize in one area...do what you do best". While I subscribe to that in some form, the internet business has tweaked the game. The needs of clients who also live in world #2 are often different than those of world one. They are not going to contact an agency to get their on hold message recorded or their web intro or podcast voice talent. Many don't even have a script ready for you to read, but they want to hear your voice as they are in process. So you must, in my opinion, have a demo that showcases what you have done in the potential client's area of need (commercial, imaging, MOH, podcast...)
In reality, not many of us will be so fortunate that we only need a Promo demo. No, we need various tools to do various jobs. Now, this does not mean we are to venture into areas where we can't deliver and we will never be everything to everyone. However, a bit of versatility in the "internet voiceover business" is indeed a plus and I'm living proof of it.
Visit the Vox Daily article here!
Bless your day
Posted by Brian Haymond at 8/14/2009 10:32 AM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: charlotte voiceover talent voiceover voiceover demos Vox Daily
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: charlotte voiceover talent voiceover voiceover demos Vox Daily
I know what you mean, Brian.
It used to be that in the "real world" (not NY or LA) a "compilation demo" was acceptable, even for those of us who were represented by multiple agents. However, those days are long gone!
Any demo producer who produces compilation demos is not in touch with the global VO marketplace. And these days, anyone can enter the global marketplace! Online marketplaces like voices.com have really opened up a new world, as has the world wide web.
Granted, there are millions of sites that you're competing with... so it takes a huge commitment to market yourself if you want to be competitive. But now, more than ever, the industry (while it is more competitive) is open to newbies, and to expanding the borders of your market. We talk about that at length in my book "How To Make Money in Voice-Overs Even If You Don't Live in NY or LA." (http://www.voice-overs.com/vostore">http://www.voice-overs.com/vostore)
For online marketplaces like www.voices.com, it's prudent to have a demo for every single kind of VO you could submit a bid on. Don't make a prospect sift through your commercial and IVR work to hear a non-fiction audiobook sample. Have a demo for everything you do.
I, for example, have demos on voices.com for for: commercial, narration, elearning, real estate tours, IVR, medical narration, non fiction audiobook, fiction audiobook, children's audobook, and others.
Of course, each demo is much shorter than demos used to be. They're rarely longer than a minute. Sizes must be small to upload on voices.com. And they must be small to email to your clients.
Here's a tip for voices.com submissions... if they want a generic audition, and you have time, voice part of their script and edit it to the front of your appropriate demo. Their script may not be the best, but your demo should be. This way they hear you on their content, but you also get toshine through your amazing demo! (Another reason to keep demo files small.)
These tips and so much more are available to you every month in the FREE VoiceOver Insider, the premiere online magazine for VO talent, in the world. Sign up free at http://www.voice-overs.com
Good luck, everybody!
Julie Williams
julie@voice-overs.com
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