demo session

Preparing for Your Free Sessions with a Voice Over Coach

January 20, 2022 by Laura Schreiber

So You’ve Booked Your Session with a Voice Over Coach

Wonderful, you’ve pulled the trigger and you have decided to book a free consultation to meet with a voice over coach. This meeting or call could be the beginning of your voice over career if the coach you are talking to is the right coach for you. Just as much as you want to find out if they are the ideal person to help you build the foundation for your business, they too are looking to see if you are the right fit for their voice over coaching program. Keep in mind that this working professional is setting aside time in the middle of booking gigs, running a business, and coaching others to speak with you FOR FREE. So here are some dos and don’ts to come in as prepared as possible for your consultation session. Remember, you only have one chance to make a first impression:

Do:

Actually prepare for your call. Know something about the coach you are speaking to, what genres they work in, their niche in the industry.
Educate yourself about the voice over industry.
Know why you want to work with a coach.
Have some personal goals. Why do you want to pursue voice over?
Ask about how this coach is different than other coaches?
Do ask about where this coach sources their scripts?
Do ask about how this coach designs and creates lessons.
Do ask about whether the coach only works on craft and vocal technique or if they cover business and marketing strategy too.
Do ask about the path that the coach took, what was their story.
Consider pricing and bulk packages.
Do a base line read if the coach sends one.

Don’t:

Don’t come unprepared.
Don’t ask for general life advice, like whether you should commit to voice over or go back to a day job.
Don’t ask for guidance for multiple genres all at once.
Don’t ask how much the coach earns in a year. It is fine to ask about typical career trajectories, but do not expect a stranger to share the income with you.
Don’t ask someone you have not hire to refer work to you.
Don’t ask a coach you have not booked work with for discount codes.
Don’t take more than the allotted time.
Do not continually email the coach who has already given you free time more questions.
Don’t take advantage.

What it it’s a Demo Consultation?

Do your homework in advance. Listen to and watch samples to see if you actually want to work with this coach before you schedule the consultation.
Do ask what is included in the Demo package.
Do ask how the demo recording session is run.
Do ask what the demo script selection process is like.
Do ask how the demo will be marketed and if that is included in the package.
Do ask about different genres the coach produces demos for.
Do ask about general demo guidelines.
Do ask why this coach’s demos stand out.
Do ask how long the demo and the various spots will be.
Do ask about the order of the spots and who determined it/how it is determined.
Do ask about the demo turn-around time.
Do ask about the music/video for the demo.
Do ask about different versions of the demo.

So How Do I Know

In the end, you have to trust your gut. If the coach has good referrals, and you feel like you will go far from working with them, it is reasonable to try coaching with them. Sometimes you can tell a lot by the demos they have produced and others that have coached with them, sometimes you can’t. One of the best coaches I ever had, Fred Frees, never coached anyone until I begged him to coach me. He was amazing. I found him in a testimonial on another coach’s website, and Fred was incredible. He gave meaningful feedback, he listened, he was genuine, he was kind, and he had years of industry experience. What more could I have wanted? I think about Fred often. Don’t pick someone because of their name. Find the right fit for YOU. We all need something different, and we all learn differently. So, find someone who is the right coach for you!

Conversely, if you are rubbed the wrong way from the start, there are plenty of coaches in voice over. Do not force yourself to work with some you do not click with. That is the point of the free session. See what feels right! See if it’s the right fit. When the free session is over, you should be super excited for the next and first real session to start. If you are not feeling that way, something is terribly wrong.

What Makes Great VO Demo Session

May 23, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

The Demo Session Matters

From both sides of the mic, as both a professional voice over actor and coach, I can tell you that how the demo session goes affects how the demo turns out. You’re investing a lot of time, money, and effort. The demo should be nothing short of amazing, and the key to having an amazing demo is an amazing demo session. Our job as demo producers is to make you shine, and as the client, it should be made easy for you. The work should be on our side and you should be made to look your very best, assuming that your voiceover knows to wait until you are demo ready. So, for our team between me and Dave Scott at All Systems Go AV, when your reads are bookable, we move to the demo phase and this is how we make you look awesome:

The Scripts

We create scripts that offer a range in two respects. First, in about 60 seconds, we want you to show a broad range of emotion in your acting ability. These will ultimately be lined up to show contrast and keep the listener and or viewers’ interest. Next, and equally, as important, the scripts also cast a broad net in a range of industries you aspire to book work in. There is a secret sauce in selecting the right blend, and we work hard to custom-fit these scripts to bring out your talents. We also are careful never to duplicate anything that another client has used.

It’s in the Prep

Another way that we make you shine is that we prep you really well for your demo session. Included in your demo package is two sessions (in addition to the demo planning session) to prepare the scripts. We work on the target reads and talk about the different potential options for each read. By the end of these two sessions, you know your scripts. You know them intimately, and you are comfortable with them. We do not move forward until you can deliver them at this level, with joy, enthusiasm, and ease.

Our Relationship

The dynamic I have with coaching students plays a key role in how they develop as a voice talents. I work hard to get to know my clients. It is important to me to form a meaningful relationship. When there is trust, and the guard is dropped, I can bring out the best in you. I can also teach you strategies to prepare you for sessions, which is actually the goal. The goal is not the demo. Remember, the goal is booked work. By building a rapport with my students, and building on their strengths, we can get to a magical place with their reads.

So, What is Demo Day Like?

Well, some clients like the excitement of being in the studio with me and Dave, so they choose to come to my professional home studio to record. Others are just as happy and comfortable choosing a remote but live-directed session via Zoom, Zencastr, or Source Connect. Here is the rundown:

Remote Demo Session

Remote Session with Kathleen — Laura Schreiber and Dave Scott directing a remote session for a commercial demo with Kathleen!

Clients can choose their preferred way to patch in. Typically our top choices are Source Connect and Zencastr as there are not latency issues and the quality of the audio is outstanding. We typically set a time that is ideal for the client. When we first connect, we confirm the order of the scripts. Typically Dave does a sound check first and will either ask you to send him a quick recording of the audio to make sure your settings are correct or if we are using zencastr he will simply upload a sample to check. After making the necessary tweaks, we begin recording.

We typically take multiple takes of each spot, just as we practiced. We want options so that we can give you the most amazing demo possible. Before moving from script to script, I confer with Dave to make sure he has what he needs as well. We are listening to every single read for both the quality of the read and the audio quality. When we have what we need the session is over.

Sometimes waiting for the demo to come back is the hardest part!

In-Person Session

If you choose to come to record in person, that is fantastic too! We try to make you feel totally at home, my booth is your booth for however long you’d like to stay. We sit just outside in the workspace and direct you via the speaker. We go on mute while you record. There sure is excitement and it is a joy to be able to collaborate in person. Again, as in the remote session, we make sure that in each read we have the technical read that we want and the audio quality that we need.

The Result: A Demo Session That Will Blow Your Mind

My work as the coach ends on demo day. I work with Dave to select the best takes, and we put together the order that highlights your range and showcases your talent. At that point. Dave and his team as All Systems Go AV work to create the magic. From video clip selections to choosing current music that draws the audience, to working on branding, the team at All Systems Go AV creates fresh, vibrant content that you will be excited and proud to use to market yourself.

5 Top Questions Your Should Ask a Demo Producer

March 22, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Getting Started

For us voice over professionals, few things are more exciting than doing a new demo! It’s up there with booking a huge commercial campaign, getting signed by an agent, and seeing an old friend. Why is a new demo so exciting? A voice over demo means opportunity. It is a new moment for us to say here I am, listen to this. This is what I can do for you! As a full-time, professional voice over talent, there are plenty of other female voice over actors booking lots of commercials. How do I make myself get noticed? The demo. So who you do your demo with, the coach and producer you choose to spend your time and money with matters, a lot. I have worked with some of the top coaches in the field, and I can tell you that I have had outstanding experiences and I have had experiences hat should have been better. Now that I am work as a voiceover coach and am on a demo production team myself, I am trying to educate my students along the way, so that they understand what to look for and how to advocate for themselves. Here are some questions you should ask every single time you do a new demo, whether it is a commercial demo or another genre:

What is your script selection process like?

In my mind, the demo script selection process should be collaborative. The coach should work with you to find scripts that show both your range and are appropriate for your brand. If you have dream VO clients, this is the time to include those scripts. So for example, if you are doing an automotive demos, and you love Audi, you would include an Audi script. If you are doing a commercial demo and you love shopping at target, why not include a target spot? The scripts should not simply descend from above on demo day, be handed to you, and recorded. They should be meaningful to you and they should show both your range and what matters to you. They can be an interesting glimpse into your interests too! So, it is very important that you can easily talk to your voice over coach or demo producer about the scripts that you have.I find it to be the ultimate irony that we use our voice to speak for others, but often, even when we are making investments in our own business, if can be so hard to advocate for what makes the right sense for us. The strength of your demo very much depends on your scripts and you should love them!

2. How will the Demo Session Go?

Whether you are recording in person in a recording studio or remotely via Source Connect, ipDTL, or Zoom, the Demo Session is extremely important. It is your day to shine. Put frankly, you should be the star and by put on a pedestal on demo day. Nothing else matters except your ability to rock every spot. Since you have likely worked with your coach before, by the time you get to the demo, they should be able to bring out your best. There should not be any drama. I have worked with some coaches who move very quickly from script to script and some who spend a lot of time going through each script so they have lots of options, but at the end of the day you should feel amazing about your session. Anything short of that is not ideal.

3. Where do the video clips come from?

The world of video demos presents voice actors with an exciting opportunity to market yourself. Whether you are new to VO or new to a genre, having a video demo either gives you an instant bod of work in voice over or it immediately enhances your existing body of work. The catch, though, is that you cannot simply take an existing video or commercials and dub over it. That is not legal and violates all sorts of copy write laws. Instead, video producers, like the team that I work with at All Systems Go AV, need to pay to belong to a content library where they are legally and lawfully accessing the content. A video demo by any other means can get you into trouble.

The exception to using branded content is if you are putting together a video reel of actual work that you yourself have done. If you are the actual voice in the video, and were part of the team, you can then have a reel produced using the branded content! Those are amazing marketing tools and are legitimately yours to use.

Take a look at this demo. Ever single clip here is legitimately used from a content library my team pays to have a membership from. These logos, while they may seem familiar to you, have been altered more than 30% from the original, and are also legitimate to use. Every video demo should be done this way so that you are never at risk of having to remove it.

https://youtu.be/qBE2CK8h0D0

Laura Schreiber Commercial Demo 2021 Produced by All Systems Go AV (https://youtu.be/qBE2CK8h0D0)

4. Deliverables: What is part of the package?

Different coaches price demos differently, so you are often not comparing apples to apples. Some coaches include some sessions, a video demo, and an MP3, others are charging for an MP3 only. You need to be very clear about what you are getting from the coach for their fee. When my team does a video demo, it includes necessary prep, script selection, the video demo as a whole and in parts, and the MP3 as a whole and in parts.

5. Is the demo producer flexible with the order of the spots?

This is really important. Demo producers typically send you their preferred order, but at the end of the day the demo is yours to live with and their preferred order matters less than your preferred order. I personally have had demo producers make changes without any fuss, and I worked with others who refuse to make any changes at all and insist that it must stay the way it is.