voice over demo

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.

When Are you Ready To Make a Demo?

April 25, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Order of Events

So you’ve decided to make a commercial voice over demo! Where ever you are in your voice over career, there’s nothing more exciting than a new demo to get a voice actor going! So when I, as the coach and demo producer, get the call from a voice talent, it’s my job to assess where they are in terms of demo readiness. If another established talent is working as long as I have calls, they can go straight to demo. If a newbie calls it is obvious they will need coaching. But there is a vast grey area in between a working professional voice actor and someone completely new, so how do I assess what my clients need? Ultimately, no one goes to make a demo unless they are ready to book work at the time the demo is complete.

When a New Talent Needs a Demo

When someone brand new to voiceover calls or emails, after our initial consultation, I like to send them an audition script to read to get a baseline idea of where they are starting. From that, I can best assess approximately how many sessions it will take to get them demo ready. Some people are fast learners and they only need a handful of lessons. Others take substantially more time. Here are some factors that influence how quickly you can get to your demo:

How much time do you have to practice?
How much time do you have to listen to other samples and repeat them?
Have you acted before?
Have you taken improv classes?
Do you sing?
Are you a good listener?
How determined are you to reach your goals?
How good are you at following directions?
How often can you meet?

As the answers to these questions vary so much from voice student to voice student, the results vary. In general, when a voice actor reaches out and wants to do a demo, they are pretty determined to make it happen and that determination and passion lead to success.

When an Intermediate Talent Needs to Make a Demo

In the past month, I have had two clients with acting and entertainment experience who were new to voice over reach out for demos. Again, both were given baseline reads to asses. Both were amazing. You’d think they’d been in voice over for years. Even without coaching, as one had stage and vocal training and the other had on-camera tv experience, their instincts of what to do with the script lead to a natural, authentic, solid read that would be bookable if they submitted.

When someone like that reaches out, I am comfortable moving forward with the demo, as my demo packages include the necessary coaching to prepare the demo. Whether a client chooses the full video package or an audio-only package, their script selection and works on those scripts are included in our process. My goal is for them to have an amazing, jaw-dropping commercial demo that shows their range as a voice over actor, so we choose spots that demonstrate this range.

When an Experienced Voice Actor Needs a Demo

When a working voice talent needs a demo, again, we can move forward with script selection and a process that showcases their range and strengthens their business’ brand. I work hard not only to bring scripts that enable voice actors to target aspirational clients and showcase their capabilities but also to have the demos be a reflection of what the talents value, care about, and matter. The demo prep process is collaborative and the voice talent’s personality and opinion matter greatly.

Again, the demo packages all include the necessary demo prep, so whether you have been in voice over six months or six years, come demo recording day, my job is to make the demo client shine. I work really hard in the time leading up to the demo to flesh out the nuances of the scripts and talk about the different possibilities so that when the day comes to record the demo client is ready.

My Philosophy About Demos

I believe a demo is an opportunity. A good, solid demo gives you a chance to market yourself to potential clients and them what you can do for them. Particularly when you are new to voiceover, a video demo gives you an instant body of work to market that you would not have. If you have been in voice over and reaching out to video production companies, it is just logical that people connect best in the medium that they work in: video. So, why not give them the content the way they like seeing it? If you are doing an audio-only demo, that demo has to be amazing. Every spot has to show a range and the demo cannot be too long. They have to be attention-getting and leave the listener wanting more. I also believe demos should last for many years and should not be dated, so finding content that the client will not age out of and that will not date the demo is of the utmost importance.

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 demo. 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

2020 COMMERCIAL DEMO: LAURA SCHRIEBER VO (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!!