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demo

What Makes a Good Voice Over Demo?

March 15, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Nothing gets a group of Voice Actors More Excited…

It happens! Your brimming with joy! The very thing you’ve been waiting for has arrived: your sparkly new voice over Be So Good They Can't Ignore Youdemo. In a lot of ways its up there in excitement with new jewelry and a new car. For professional voice talents, our voice over demos are our calling cards, and nothing gets us going like a new demo to fuss over. In my small inner circle, it happened just yesterday! One of my VO besties got a new commercial demo back from a well-known demo producer. She was so excited to share the demo with our group, and with good reason! The demo was clever. It did all that will be discussed below, and it was a joy to listen to. She sounded amazing, and we were really excited to ohhh and ahhh over it. So, what is it that makes a voice over demo stand out?

Voice Over Demos Are Aspirational

This is a voiceover actor’s chance to showcase your dream array of clients. Whether you are a newbie or an established professional, in a demo (vs. a reel of booked work), this is a voice talent’s chance to say “Hey, look what I can do for your brand.” It’s also your opportunity to show how versatile your voice is in terms of how many industries you can work in. Regardless of whether you choose current, hot, very new products, like the latest mobile app, or a trusted household stand-by that has been around for generations, this is your moment to show them what you’ve got. Particularly with commercial demos, but with other genres like narration too, your demo is the perfect place to lay the ground work for what you are working to build.

https://youtu.be/Z2YkGgO_de4

A Good Voice Over Demo Shows a Range

Those of us who have done multiple demos go from conversational to relatable to sympathetic to humorous all at the snap of a finger. These changes occur in a matter of seconds. We bring a read to life, flesh out the nuances, and just as the reader is connecting and feeling their heard strings or grinning a relatable grin, the spot is over and the next one is starting. Why is this important? Every second is precious. In a demo, we have very little time to convince the listener that we stand out from the crowd, and that they should work with us and not the last demo they listened to. Our ability to convey a range of emotion, tone, style, and pace in a short period of time is essential and a good demo does this.

Ideally Demos Are Short: 50-90 Seconds At Most

If you are lucky enough to have someone listen past your first 2 or 3 spots, just how long will they listen? You don’t know, but they do not want a two to three minute demo. Ideally your demo will be 50 to 60 seconds for a commercial demo. You want to create a demo that is so hot they want to listen over and over. You do NOT want to create something that is long and clunky so the listener never gets to the end. The vogue at the moment is that shorter is better. The only exception to this is in eLearning. Those videos are much longer because each excerpt is longer.

Video Demos Present Like Booked Work

Without doubt, video demos give voice over actors an advantage to others with audio only demos. Whether you are new or an established talent, this holds true. If you are new, a video demo gives you an instant body of work to market. If you are an established talent, a video demo both helps to draw your prospect in and enhances your existing body of work. Who among us, even those of us who have been working for years, does not still have dream clients? The video demo offers this aspirational piece to enhance your body of booked work.

Most Importantly, They Allow You to Market Yourself

At the end of the day, a solid demo is a marketing tool. It becomes another reason to connect. It is another great way to promote yourself. The voice over industry is more competitive than ever. The best way to make yourself stand out, is with a solid demo. Have you ever wondered why you can’t get onto certain rosters? Perhaps you have been trying to get an agent? Maybe you do lots of pay to play auditions, and never get anywhere? If any of this sounds familiar, the answer might be more basic than you think. Have all of these platforms/folks heard your demo? Going back to my VO group, one of my other VO besties says that a good commercial demo has the “bitch slap” factor. You listen and you are just blown away, it’s so awesome you want everyone to hear it. If you’re demo is not like that, you need a new demo!!

Filed Under: Coaching, Voice Over Demos Tagged With: aspirational, bitch slap, commercial demo, demo, demos, length, Marketing, production quality, professional voice talents, range, video demo, VO, voice over, voice over demo, voiceover

Who do You Take VO Advice From?

March 3, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

https://youtu.be/pQ6A40S07Xs

The Seed Was Planted

Back in 2015 I heard Bill DeWees say something ot the effect of “be elective about who you take advice from” for your voice over business. This stuck with me. I have always solicited advice from Bill, because I think he gives very sound guidance, but there are not many people beyond my husband and a few in my inner circle that I trust for true guidance. With the new addition of Clubhouse on the social media front, I think we have to ask ourselves who is really qualified to advise us about our voice over business, and who do we actually want to take guidance from. There is a slippery slope of participating in the dialogue and identifying as an expert when someone is actually far from it. Yesterday I sat in on some Clubhouse sessions during my lunch hour. As a seasoned professional in voice over with years of experience, I can easily evaluate which information has relevance and value to be and which should be tossed out immediately. My concern, though, is that for those who are knew to the voice over industry, they will look to both Clubhouse or social media in general in lieu of much needed coaching and not know enough to filter out the mis-information. So, this begs the question, who should you be taking advice from in voice over?

Coaches

Definition of coachThe job of a voice over coach is to teach voice talents to succeed. Whether a coach is working with you on your craft, or on building your business, a good coach can be trusted to help you build a solid foundation for your business. When I work with students, I always work on both professional development as we work with various scripts, but every session also works on business goals as well. Whether you are working towards a demo, or marketing a new demo, voice actors often need direction to help move their business along. The right coach will help you with your individualized goals.

Agents

Definition of AgentThere are talent agents who cast voice actors all over the counts, and they, too, are outstanding for career and rates advice in voice over. A good agent not only secures industry leading rates, they also direct you reads and let you know when you are on the mark and when you need improvement. An agent has both business savvy and a good ear, so if you are lucky enough to be on their roster, work with them! Seek their guidance and build a rapport. You can learn so much for a good agent. Both you and the agent benefit from you learning as much as possible, so they would likely want to help as much as they can.

Established Voice Talents

Advice from established voice talents is very valuable. When I say established, this is not necessarily an amount of time. Instead, a good indicator of how a talent is doing is their client list. If they are booking a lot with brands we all know and love, that is a goos sign indicator that they talent knows what they are doing and you can trust them to give sound advice.

Definition of ExpertI have blogged before about my accountability group, but I cannot stress enough how much this group has helped me daily to grow my business and make better choices. They have pushed me beyond boundaries I would have never thought to challenge, and they have made me look beyond. I am so much better because I am in the company of these women.

I have also blogged about voice over conferences before, but this is another great way to interact with voice actors. Typically you can learn so much from those who present at conferences. You can also meet others and build relationships with many at the conferences, and these bonds endure, even during the pandemic.

Many voice actors offer guidance on social media. On Facebook their are groups for voice actors. For those of us who have been in the industry, we know who is new and who is established, and we can determine who we want to listen to. If you are knew to voiceover, please be discerning while online.

Conclusions

As professional voiceover actors, we put so much of ourselves into our businesses. It is not just the time we spend training and building our booths, but we invest a lot financially too. Between the equipment, the demos, and the websites, starting a voiceover business is no small venture. So please, do not just jump on the bandwagon of every ninny with an iphone. Scrutinize your options and be clear about who you are following and who you take guidance from. As a voice actor and business owner, you have choices. Choose wisely and safely for yourself so that you can build a consistent and sustainable business.

Filed Under: Coaching, Marketing/Branding, Voiceover Tagged With: accountability group, advice, agent, Bill DeWees, business goals, Clubhouse, coach, conferences, demo, established talent, groups, guidance, Marketing, mentor, professional voice over actor, VO, voice over, voiceover

Q & A About Recent eLearning Trends

November 22, 2020 by Laura Schreiber

A Lot of eLearning Trends In 2020

Whether it’s because of the Covid 19 Pandemic or the industry just continues to boom, there is more eLearning work than ever! The demand for female voice over roles is continual, and as a full-time professional voice actor, every time an eLearning job arrives in my inbox I am delighted. I have always loved working with the instructional designers and project managers to bring their content to life. Before I became a voice actor, I was a teacher, so perhaps that it was I feel so at home with this genre. At the moment, there is a huge amount of eLearning content and based on the work coming in I have noticed a lot of trends in the type of work being sought, rates, tech needs, and what books the work. If you are looking to expand your eLearning bookings or to work more in this genre, these are questions you should be asking:

What gets your foot in the door with eLearning content creators?

The Demo MattersYou need a solid demo that represents both a range of your abilities and your understanding of the industry. My vocal range is from teen to middle age, and that is demonstrated in my eLearning demo, which goes from tech industries to pharma to medical. My demo switches gears from upbeat and engaging to serious and professional. My demo is set to music, which is controversial is often eLearning is dry. I wanted my demo to standout and by pleasant to listen to, and I believe it meets that goal.

What are you typically asked for when cast in an eLearning role?

You need toIt has been a while since I was cast as a generic third person narrator in eLearning. Instead, for the last sic months, ever booking to land on my desk is a character role, where the instructional designer wants an authentic, genuine role that is believable for their training. For example, this week I was cast as a college student who had gone down the wrong path and had a drug problem and was now in recovery. I had to be sensitive and relatable. It had to be believable. I was telling this girl’s story in this university’s training scenario. Last week I was a caller in a pay roll company’s HR training. I was the good caller this time, but in the past I’ve been the bad caller. In both instances the character had to be believable, authentic, and sincere. As a female eLearning narrator, this is a big responsibility: to continue booking work for clients you have to be able to switch gears and maintain whatever character you are playing for them that day. The character must be consistent throughout and must have nuance.

What Rates are you booking at?

Maintain Industry Standard RatesRates are really important. My bookings typically range between $0.25/word and $0.45/word with a $150 minimum and $1 per split. I charge for splits if there are more than 10. I prefer to quote the price per word and not per finished minute as I speak quickly. Last week I had a potential client reach out and ask me if I was on Upwork. I told them I was not. They wanted to know if I would honor Upwork’s rates, and I explained that at this point in my career I could not work for those rates. I then referred the client to GVAA and Gravy for The Brain, in hopes of keeping the conversation going. They did come back to me that if they had flexibility they would let me know, but in the mean time it is important to be willing to walk away. The next day I had a job come in that was 617 words and paid of $400. It is important never to settle.

What technological requests do you get from clients?

The Tech MattersMost typically, my eLearning clients want MP3s that are split and fully edited. I typically add EQ, compression, and a d-esser. If you are booking eLearning work for big companies, it is expected that you should have a professional grade studio at this point. Especially because they often do not have music or effects behind their training, the quality of the audio that you provide matters more than ever.

Final Thoughts:

There is a lot of eLearning work for voice actors at the moment. If you intend to be booking it, you need to have great sound and be able to maintain a character consistently for the duration of the script. Your demo gets you in the door, but if you can’t sound as good as that on every single job, then you are not ready to work.

Filed Under: Elearning Tagged With: authentic, believable, character, demo, elearning, eLearning demo, Fully edited, genuine, industry standard, instructional designers, MP3s, narrator, project managers, rates, real person, role, sincere, Specs, studio, teacher, VO, voiceover

Voice Over and Current Trends in eLearning

October 1, 2019 by Laura Schreiber

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IajR9fqd4A&t=4s

Five Years of Passion

As a working mom, I have talked about how working as a full time, professional voice over actor suits me in countless ways. It seems like yesterday I was sitting at my kitchen island and I was watching a GVAA webinar on eLearning. J. Michael Collins, who I think I have mentioned a lot recently, was presenting the outstanding webinar. Everything he talked about resonated with me. It was not just the rates for eLearning that were appealing, it was that I had come to the voice over from the academic world, so for me I felt an instant connection to an industry that I did not know existed!

Me with talented coach and demo producer J. Michael Collins.

I decided during that webinar that I would to an eLearning demo with JMC and I can tell you that demo has paid for itself in spades. While I have had many conversations with industry friends about how processed eLearning demos should be, and a lot of folks are confident that there should be little production, I am very pleased with my demo for several reasons. First, it showcases my range from warm, millennial to professional, confident, and knowledgeable traitor and will work across the genres of eLearning. Next, I think my personality shines through. Lastly, it is pleasant to listen to! As most of my booked work is proprietary content and cannot be shared on my website, it is really great to have something that I am happy to share!

I have focussed on building and maintaining solid client relationships in the many years that I have been doing eLearning. While I have been full-time in voiceover for five years, I have really developed the eLearning strand of my business since 2016. Some of my best clients, that I continue to do steady work for, I met face to face at conferences like ATD, Dev Learn, and smaller conferences put on by the eLearning Guild. I also have worked with some wonderful clients that I connected with on LinkedIn. Regardless of the source of the business relationship, my approach s the same, I treat each client as if they are my most important client and all of my success depends on them. The result has been great, and as a consequence recent eLearning clients include Walmart, PSEG, Ace Hardware, Victoria’s Secret, Sam’s Club, CosmoProf, Sally Beauty, Club Pilates, and more!

More Casting Trends!

Finding the right conference to meet your business goals can be tricky! I have a lot of success at the smaller conference. There may seem to be a lot of potential at large conferences like ATD and DevLearn, but it is often easier to find content creators at the smaller conferences.
With an eLearning client Alicia that I get to catch up with at conferences!

So with all of this eLearning work, what trends have I noticed? A lot of clients are writing the scripts for “real” characters with specific voice and tone requests. These are not typical narrators. I am not Suzie from HR, I am playing a role in a scene. as a voice ACTOR, this is actually great fun for me! For example, in a recent project of Sally Beauty, they wanted to voice to be conversational, fun, and upbeat! It was no problem, the script was a joy! Last week I was doing a training module for Ace Hardware. I have been doing their work for a while, but this was very different. They really had a specific character in mind. Before recording the entire module, I sent three samples for approval to make sure we were on the same page and that my interpretation matched their vision. I had so much fun putting these samples together. I think that as the technology continues to improve, the content creators will push voiceover actors even further in our roles.

Rates are HIGHER

As a working mom, I am pleased that as the demand for solid voiceover for eLearning increases, the rates that voice actors are paid is also increasing. It is increasing in two ways. First, session fees continue to rise. While I have old clients that still are grandfathered in at their original rate, new clients book at the appropriate industry standard rates. Jobs are typically quoted per finished minute or per word, and there has been a huge jump. When I first started doing eLearning, I was happy to have a minimum session plus $18 per finished minute. Now I quote my session fee plus $35 per finished minute of audio. Frankly, because of the intrinsic value of the content we are providing these clients, I think these rates are right where they should be for corporate clients doing training.

My Goals

I love doing eLearning projects. Any project is welcomed and makes me happy. As a true Jersey girl who spends a lot of time in my salon getting my hair and nails done, I was thrilled to do so much work for CosmoProf and hope more work in the cosmetic industry comes in. I also love travel, food, and dogs, so if the universe and voiceover gods shine down on me and send me work related to my passions I will be delighted!

Filed Under: Elearning Tagged With: characters, clients, conversational, demo, elearning, GVAA J. Michael Collins, narration, professional, proprietary content, rates, session fees, technology, trainer, training, VO, voice over

Tips to Choose the Best Voice Over Coach for You

July 2, 2019 by Laura Schreiber

This is, after all, the foundation of your career!

Recently another local mom who I am connected with on LinkedIn reached out and asked me if I could “point her son in the right direction” so that he can consider pursuing voiceover. After 5 plus years as a full time, professional voice over talent, I know better than to name names, but I can give you some pointers to think about when you are considering which voiceover coach to work with. It is a big decision, one that will hopefully shape the trajectory of your career, so you should think about these points.

https://youtu.be/JGK3ZznACsM

1.Is there a demo on the horizon?
Whether you are a newbie or an established talent, you will likely be coming at this from different angles. You may just be honing your skills, so a demo is not in play. If a demo is on the horizon, that changes things. I find it helpful to find other talents who worked with that coach. Listen to their demos. Are they booking? Do they have agents? Who are their clients? Do you actually like their demos? Do they sound current? Is this the sound you want for yourself? I have some demos that I am very very proud of and others that I am not happy with. I was not happy with the coach and for a multitude of reasons I still moved forward with the demo. I very much regret both the money that I spent, the time that I spent, and my own inability to see this coming, especially because it did not happen at the start of my career, but instead when I was a seasoned professional. It is what it is but I will not make that mistake ever again.

2. Does this coach give feedback in a way that you respond to feedback? Do you actually know how you learn? I am sensitive and while I wish that I could say business is business, I do best with positive reinforcement and constructive guidence. In my career I have worked with a few coaches who are harsh. One of them I could not tolerate and had to stop after several sessions. Another one I did persevere. The result is possibly my best demo. That coach was not mean, he was just also not sweet, and every session was very hard for me. Some coaches use a lot of acting techniques. Others have their own inventive, creative approaches. See what works for you and what you enjoy. Since you invest a lot of time and money in this, I actually believe it should be pleasant.

I have been fortunate to work with the best of the best. When you have the luxury of working with top coaches, if you are like me you hear their voices in your head when you work all day every day. Anne Ganguzza, J. Michael Collins, and Fred Frees are amongst the dream team that I have assembled, but I have worked with others who continue to inspire me!

3. Is the cost within reason? The reality is that this is a business and you need to earn money. often we hire coaches either while we are still working in other jobs and segueing in to voiceover. We all want to avoid demo mills that promise a demo after 5 lessons; but, at the same time, we don’t want to be on the hook forever. I once worked with an amazing coach who said a “demo is a reflection of where you are now.” So in a few years when your work changes you make a new demo, right? I like that, especially when I was starting out. But we all have room to learn and to grow, so at some point we can pull the trigger and move on. I have also supplemented coaching with classes. I have attended online classes through groups like GVAA and VO Peeps that are amazing. I have taken live classes at our local theaters in advanced acting and improv. I have gotten a lot out of these classes and just like with coaching, the classes are only as good as the teacher.

4. Think outside the box- there are known coaches and then are new folks and are plusses and minuses to both! I have worked with the biggest names in the industry and I have worked with folks just starting out. When you work with a proven coach who has a curriculum, you benefit from years of experience. You hope that they see your potential and that they correct your flaws. But this does not mean that if someone is new to coaching you should run for the hills. I have had coaches that I think are brilliant and they have had very few students. As long as they are committed to the process and to your success it can work very well. Their success as a coach is inextricably linked to your success after having been their student, so they typically want to the best for you.

5. Think about who is choosing the scripts- you or the coach.

I have had this work both ways for lessons as well as for demos. I have had to come up with scripts and write scripts. I have also had to work on scripts that I have never seen before, just like in real life. I think ultimately, for me, I prefer to have the scripts given to me. As a working talent, we don’t pick our scripts. And when they are well written, it seems like a miracle. An absolute miracle. So why would we write scripts that are brilliant, witty, pithy, and not at all like the majority of our actual day to day work? It’s practically a farce. I also think when the coach here’s our raw read it helps with audition technique too.

Conclusions:

When you are working with a coach, the question you have to ask yourself is are you continuing to learn and grow or have you plateau? Once you have plateaued, you either stop, or if the goal is the demo, you do the demo….

Filed Under: Voiceover Tagged With: Anne Ganguzza, classes, coaches, demo, demo mill, demo production, Fred Frees, GVAA, J. Michael Collins, professional actor, talents, VO, VO Peeps, voice coach, voice over, voiceover

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