That's understandable, we know there are many questions to answer.
Sometimes it helps to talk with someone experienced at working with people getting started in voice-over. We're always glad to share our knowledge with you!
If you’d prefer to speak with us, call 888-321-EDGE (3343) 9am - 6pm ET.
And we'll call you back with an answer.
The Most Marketable Material, It's Vastly Different for Everyone
WHAT: A 1-hour session with the instructor of your choice to finalize the scripts for your demo. Specifically, we focus on finding the most marketable scripts for:
WHEN TO TAKE THIS: Schedule this AFTER your private sessions, and BEFORE your demo recording session.
WITH WHO: Feel welcome to choose any of the instructors on our staff.
SCHEDULE: Because this is a private session, ask our office for the availability of the instructor you wish to work with.
WHERE: Offered in-studio or tele-class.
* * DETAILS * *
PREPARE TO FIND SCRIPTS
Remember, demo-scripts are a "work in progress," so bring scripts to every coaching session and your coach will review them and make suggestions regarding scripts to bring at your following coaching sessions. YOU MUST SAVE ANY SCRIPTS THAT YOU AND YOUR COACH APPROVES AS "DEMO-WORTHY."
We strongly encourage you to find your own scripts, rather than use scripts from our website practice script library. Finding your own scripts will help ensure that your demo is personalized. Before your demo preparation session, please email your scripts to training@edgestudio.com. This way your demo-preparation coach will have access to them at your session.
DEMO FACTS
A voice-over demo is a sampling of your vocal styles. Most demos are approximately one-minute long. The one-minute demo typically contains between four and eight excerpts which are each between five and fifteen seconds long. Each excerpt demonstrates a different vocal style (details below).
Curious why a demo is so short? Think of it as a resume: No one wants to read a five-page resume - instead they prefer a one-page resume that briefly lists your various skills using bullets down the page. The demo is the same. Many professionals have more than one demo (see details below). In this case, you will typically market all of your demos together (that is, they all go on a CD, on your website, and so forth).
DECIDE WHAT TYPE OF DEMO(S) TO MAKE
Three types of demos exist: commercial, narration, and specialty. Each type focuses on a different sector of the industry. Commercial demos allow you to obtain all types of commercial work. Narration demos allow you to obtain all types of narration work. Specialty demos allow you to obtain work in a specific genre.
Most voice-over artists have a commercial and narration demo, allowing them to obtain all types of work. Today, more and more professionals have specialty demos in place of or in addition to commercial and narration demos.
Commercial demo - Due to the "glamour"? of being heard on national television commercials, and the high pay, commercial demos tend to be the most popular type of demo, even though only 5% of the work is commercial work. A commercial demo demonstrates a variety of different kinds of commercials. A commercial demo may have a ten-second excerpt of a conversational commercial, then a ten-second excerpt of a hard-sell style, then a public service announcement, and so forth. A commercial demo should also have local spots.
Narration demo - To work full-time in this industry, many talent rely on their narration demo, as narrations are 95% of the work. A narration demo demonstrates a variety of different kinds of narrations. For example, a narration demo may have a fifteen-second excerpt of a documentary, then a fifteen-second excerpt of a voice-mail, then a website narration, then a children's educational film, and so forth.
Specialty demo - This is a demo that serves one niche of the industry. This type of demo makes it easier to obtain work in one specific segment of the industry. For example, a "nature-film voice-over demo"? increases the chance of being hired by a nature-film producer. However it is difficult to obtain other types of work with this type of demo. Some specialty demo types include: character demo, audio-book demo, promo demo, foreign language demo, nature film demo, children's work demo, etc.
SOME SPECIALTY DEMOS
While the above are the most popular specialty demos - remember that you can specialize in any niche you want. For more information, visit our "marketing resources"? information at www.edgestudio.com/marketing_help.htm.
PROMO DEMO: A very fun area of the industry, and one that requires special training, promos are big business. A promo demo contains approximately 5 different promo styles, approximately 5 to 20 seconds long each. One style could be a movie-trailer, one about an upcoming television show, one for a radio program, and so forth.
CHARACTER DEMO: A demo showcasing character voices, impersonations, animation voices, etc. This demo will be used to market for cartoons, video games, multi-media games, commercials, educational productions, audio-books, etc. Your demo should be 1 to 1.5 minutes long, beginning by demonstrating your 10 or 15 best and varied voices (only 5 to 10 seconds of each is necessary).
TELEPHONE SYSTEM DEMO: If telephone information on-hold ("Thanks for holding, we'll be right with you, while you're on hold, we'd like to tell you about . . . ?), menu prompt systems ("Press 1 for this, 2 for that"?), and voice-mail systems ("The person you are calling is not at their desk, if you would like to leave a message-ph2 . . . ?) interest you, then create a telephone demo. This demo would be between 1 and 1.5 minutes long, and would demonstrate approximately 5 different recordings (each recording around 15 seconds long).
MEDICAL DEMO: Familiar with medical lingo? Then market your unique combination of talents (trained voice and medical terminology) to the medical community. If you fit this category, you're probably familiar with the volume of medical training films and procedure films out there - and how many of them are not narrated by professionals. Record 4 or 5 different styles of recordings on your demo, each approximately 15 to 20 seconds long. Styles could include a college medical school educational film, procedure film, health hotline, training video, etc. Market to hospitals, medical schools, textbook publishing companies, etc.
AUDIO BOOK DEMO: Interested in audiobook narration? This is a huge industry. Audiobook demos are different than other demos. They contain passages from approximately 5 different books. Each passage should be between 3 and 5 minutes long. For example, one passage may be a fiction book, one a novel, one for kids, one for adults, etc.
DECIDE HOW MUCH VARIETY TO PUT ON YOUR DEMO
SELECT SCRIPTS WHICH SHOWCASE YOUR MOST PROFITABLE GENRES
To create an effective demo, focus primarily on your most profitable genres. And choose them well.
Your natural voice is one factor to consider when choosing genres. Nuances are good. Affectations, not necessary. That's because whatever type of voice a casting pro seeks, they tend to prefer someone who sounds like that naturally. Among other things, it's more reliable.
In fact, you may not even need a demo to land an opportunity.
Offer your services to the HR department, by suggesting you record the "welcome to our company" video, "job fair" video, and such.
Talk to The Communications department and record the telephony systems (menu-prompt, information on hold, voice mail, etc.).
Talk to the Marketing department to record commercials, tradeshow exhibit videos, and promotional material.
See the Training department about training videos.
Speak with the Web/IT department to narrate Flash presentations, online tutorials, "welcome to our home-page" narrations, and so on.
One warning: If you need to make a demo specifically for work at your company, consider that. But when it comes to your demo for the world at large, keep your personal focus. Put your company work on your demo ONLY if that work fits within the focus you've chosen.
Real-world stuff is as authentic as it gets. Which is why when Edge Studio produces a demo, we use our resources, insight and expertise to emulate real-world work authentically.
But never include a performance simply because it was produced, or just because you got paid for it. Include it if it is quality and fits your demo.
The more material you prepare for your demo-preparation session, the more choices we have. Bring a minimum of 8 scripts - preferably 12 or more. This is appropriate for all demos: commercial, narration, and specialty demos.
EXCEPTION: For character/animation demos, either stick with the above format or , if you choose to demonstrate numerous voices on your demo (for example, if you want to demonstrate 15 different voice types), bring at least 15 scripts.
For commercial demos, scripts should average 7 seconds long (range of 2 to 12 seconds is typical). Remember that some scripts are very short, such as Nike's "Just Do It"? campaign. For longer scripts, you'll need to shorten them.
For narration and most specialty demos, casting professionals generally prefer hearing slightly longer passages, so scripts should average 8 seconds long (range of 8 to 18 seconds is typical).
EXCEPTION: For character/animation demos, either stick with the commercial format (7 second average) or if you choose to demonstrate numerous voices, let your scripts average 2 or 3 seconds each.
EXCEPTION: For audiobook demos, each script should average 3 minutes (range 2 to 5 minutes is typical).
Commercial Demo Scripts can be found in magazines (look in magazines that interest you), or transcribe radio and televisions commercials. A great site is YouTube, on which you can find many commercials available for transcription.
Narration Demo Scripts can be transcribed from documentaries, biographies, educational films, voice-mail, videos, audiobooks, etc. There is also the AdCouncil website for PSAs, Webmd for medical videos to transcribe, PBS, Discovery Channel, History Channel, A & E, and many similar sites for documentaries, etc . . .
Specialty Demo Audio-Book Demo, Documentary Demo, Medical Demo, Telephone Services Demo, etc. Find scripts in that specific genre.
Character Demo Begin by listing your 10 or 15 best and varied voices. Then find 5 to 10 second long material for each one. You may need to write your own material, as this is very specialized.
Audiobook Demo An audiobook demos is the only demo which is longer than standard demos. Like standard demos, an audio-book demo contains approximately 5 different excerpts. But unlike standard demos, each excerpt is between 3 and 5 minutes long. In other words, the entire audio-book demo may be between 15 minutes and 25 minutes long.
Promo Demo Begin by listening to TV promos - you'll hear that there are two types:
In one type, the announcer (voice-over artist) and the promoted show (television or movie) take turns dominating the commercial. For example, here is a promo for the television show Seinfeld:
(Seinfeld theme-song playing in the background)
ANNOUNCER: Tonight on Seinfeld, Kramer gets himself into a little bind.
KRAMER: "Hey George, you gotta help me . . . I glued my eyes shut."
GEORGE: George, "You what?"
ANNOUNCER: It's another crazy episode of Seinfeld. Tonight at 7pm. On Nick At Night.
To prepare this type of promo, you must provide the soundtrack of the show on a CD Then at your demo session, we will use the theme song from the recording you made of the show.
In another type of promo, the voice-over is always over the background theme song. For example, here is a promo for the Broadway show "Annie":
(Annie theme song playing in the background)
ANNOUNCER: She's back. And more inspiring then ever! She's . . . Annie. And she's playing at the Weston Theater on Broadway 8 times a week. Including a Sunday matinee. Don't miss Annie. Call Tele-charge for tickets at 1-800-tickets.
To prepare for this type of promo, you need to get the theme music for Annie on CD.
Your goal is a demo that rivals a professional's demo. Therefore, like a professional's demo, it must appear to consist of excerpts of real work you recorded (not artificial excerpts recorded just for the demo). Therefore:
Find scripts suitable for your voice - scripts that you may have been hired to record. For example, if you sound 20 years old, find commercial scripts on makeup, college credit cards, teen pregnancy public service announcements, etc. Find narration scripts on college campus life, campus tours, guidance tapes, workout videos, music documentaries (MTV Behind The Scene), etc.
Find old and new scripts. To a casting professional, an old script (for example, "Miller Dodge has the greatest selection of 2004 Dodges in stock!"?) indicates that you were working years ago. And a current script (for example, "Welcome to Microsoft's eLearning Tutorial series. As a new user . . . ?) indicates that you're still working. That indicates years of experience.
If you are new to voice over, we strongly suggest that your commercial demo include local/unknown brand name businesses. We've seen that this makes you much more marketable. Here is why:
Many of your first jobs will be small jobs - and allowing casting agents to hear examples of similar work will make them feel more comfortable hiring you.
Casting professionals will be more apt to believe that you are experienced. This is because casting professionals know the names of voice talent who are SO experienced that their entire demos are filled with national commercials... So when the casting professional doesn't recognize your name, yet your demo was filled with national commercials, they would presume that you are a newbie.
This is true even for audiobook demos: Include segments of lesser-known books on your demo, rather than just national best sellers.
Avoid redundancy. Do not have scripts for competing products, such as a car commercial for Ford and a car commercial for Chevrolet. This is because in the real voice-over world, if Ford hired you as a narrator, Chevrolet would not.
Avoid very popular, currently running scripts that will make casting agents say, "Wow, is this really you?"? Because then you'll need to say, "No, its not."?
Have various length scripts. A professional voice-over artist may be hired to read four words for a McDonalds commercial (i.e.: "Did somebody say McDonalds?"?) or even two words for a Nike commercial (i.e.: "Do it."?). The voice-over artist may also be hired to read a 60-second commercial for Chevrolet, of which a twelve-second excerpt could go on the demo.
Use scripts that sound current. Instead of having many video excerpts on a narration demo, have an excerpt that is from something more current, such as a DVD or website. For example, if your scripts says, "This video will demonstrate how to set-up your new treadmill."? edit it to, "This on-line presentation will walk you through the steps in setting-up your new Nike treadmill."? or "This DVD will aid in the set-up and use of your new treadmill . . . hit 'start' when ready to begin."?
BILINGUAL DEMOS - choosing scripts for bilingual demos
Incorporating multiple languages into the same script demonstrates that you speak two languages AND that you can flip back-and-forth. This is a plus to casting professionals looking for bilingual voice talent.
Of course, we've all heard: "For English press 1, para Español oprima numero dos."
But to really show your bilingual abilities, consider multiple scripts. For example, here are scripts for a woman who speaks English and French:
This is a telephony script. The company name is French. And the third line is French - it translates to: "You may press 0 at anytime to return to the French menu".
Welcome to Yves Rocher.
Pour revenir sur le menu francais, tapez 1.
For English, press 2.
For customer service, press 3.
This is a French museum audio-tour:
Welcome to "La sculpture en marble"?, The Marble Sculpture - an exhibition program at the Rodin museum's chapel, including works by Rodin and Louis Bourgeois. This new audio program, written and produced by Acoustiguide, helps you explore and enjoy the museum's collections.
This is an except from a "language learning" series:
"Excuse me, what time is it?"?
"Excusez-moi, quelle heure est-t-il?"?
Now repeat it again, "Excusez-moi, quelle heure est-t-il"?
"Thank you very much"?
"Merci beaucoup"?
Now repeat it again, "Merci beaucoup"?
**EXCEPTION**
If you are specifically an English speaker and a Spanish speaker and want to actively work in both voice over markets, you will need to make separate English and Spanish voice over demos. The Spanish voice over market has grown by leaps and bounds and to be competitive in that market a demo entirely in Spanish is needed.
ADD CONTEXT TO DEMOS
Adding verbiage that indicates where your voice over script would be heard makes your demo more marketable. (This is ONLY for scripts which typically are accompanied by a visual, such as television commercials, documentaries, training videos, and so on, rather than radio commercials and audiobooks.) Here are some examples - try incorporating some of these into your scripts:
Editing scripts to make them unique, more interesting, and appropriate for your voice makes your demo more marketable. We strongly encourage you to edit scripts. Here are some examples: (Critical edits are in bold.)
To make this out-dated brochure sound current, we added a few words to convert it into an interactive guided tour:
"Kingsborough Community College, a beautiful 71 acre campus surrounded by the waters of Sheepshead Bay, Jamaica Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean, offers an outstanding education leading to an Associate in liberal arts and sciences."
"We're glad to bring Kingsborough Community College into your home. In this interactive guided tour, you'll visit our beautiful 71 acre campus surrounded by the waters of Sheepshead Bay, Jamaica Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. Just click "start" to begin."
Here, to make this national script sound local (which is usually recommended), we took the last line, edited it slightly, and added a tagline:
"See yourself going barefoot wearing silk pajamas... See yourself mastering mountain golf and kayaking through class 3 rapids. See yourself moving to the rhythm of a 290 horsepower V8. See yourself driving the new Jaguar XJ series."
"See yourself driving the new Jaguar XJ series. Test drive one at your local Newington dealer on 320 Main Street, next door to Home Depot."
To make this encyclopedia article sound like a television documentary, we edited one word...
"Giant snakes have a reputation of being aggressive. The anaconda measures over 16 feet and weighs 180 pounds."
"Giant snakes have a reputation of being aggressive. This anaconda measures over 16 feet and weighs 180 pounds."
To make this workbook sound like an interactive eLearning DVD, we added some words...
"Next read pages 17 and 18 in the "How To Play Piano" workbook."
"Now, pause this DVD and try the practice exercises on pages 17 and 18 in your accompanying "How To Play Piano" workbook. When you're done, hit play."
To convert these instructions into the beginning of an audio-tour, we added an opening sentence...
"The self-guided tour introduction explains how the easy-to-use listening device can make your experience a more enjoyable one."
"Please listen carefully while we introduce your self-guided tour. We'll also explain how the easy-to-use listening device can make your experience a more enjoyable one."
To make this magazine article sound like a video, we edited a few words...
"In the following chapters, you will read stories from real-life survivors who...."
"In this video, you will hear stories from real-life survivors who...."
To shorten this 60-second script into a 15-second happy retail commercial, we pulled a few select phrases:
"There's an old saying. Nothing succeeds like success. And we're proving it again in Plainville. You see...that's where we're opening Long Island's twenty-eighth Edwards. Now just what accounts for our success? You do! You've supported us from the very beginning. You like the fact that we don't make you carry a special shopper's card, or clip coupons to save money. And you're glad we don't set limits on what you can buy. Instead, we just have low prices on everything in the store every day. All 350 varieties of produce. All our fresh sea food. All our USDA choice gold star beef and lamb. Everything from the bakery, pharmacy, flower shop, the food court, the dry cleaners, even one hour photo processing, plus we feature thousands of bonus buys every week. And discounts on all merchandise. In short, we make it easy to save. Come to Edwards grand opening, Sunday, May 4th, on Route 8 in Plainville. And have a little shopping success of your own."
"In Plainville, Edwards is proving it again! We're opening up another terrific supermarket on Route 8. Why not have a little shopping success of your own!"
To shorten it further into a 10-second enthusiastic tag-line:
"Come to Edwards grand opening, Sunday, May 4th, on Route 8 in Plainville, and have a little shopping success of your own."
or into a 5-second serious tag-line:
"Edwards. We make it easy to save."
To make this text article into a travelogue DVD, we added contextual words and colloquialisms:
"London is made up of a rich tapestry of villages just waiting to be discovered. Check out our guides to some of the best London villages.
You'll find plenty to see and do, from unique shops and restaurants to fascinating local galleries and museums. So get ready to explore a new part of town!"THIS . . . is London!
It's made up of a rich tapestry of villages just waiting to be discovered! Check out our guides to some of the best London villages.
You’ll find plenty to see and do here, from unique shops and restaurants, to fascinating local galleries and museums. So come with us as we explore a new part of town!"
To make this Apple flyer into an interactive presentation, we added contextual words:
"To build something truly different, you need to work in a truly different way. Apple designers and engineers work together through every stage of product development. It’s a partnership that makes innovation possible. And it’s exactly how the MacBook Pro was created. With its patented unibody enclosure, industry-first features, and environmentally sound design, it’s a revolution in the way notebooks are made. Read more here."
"To build something truly different, you need to work in a truly different way. And as you see here, Apple designers and engineers work together through every stage of product development. It's this partnership that makes innovation possible. And it's how we created this Macbook Pro and this video!"
We have and supply music and sound-effects for 99% of recordings.
However YOU MUST bring music if you are recording something that requires special or rare music or sound effects. For example, if you will be narrating an Eric Clapton documentary, bring one of his music CDs so it can be inserted into the background of your narration. If you are recording a commercial for potato chips that requires a "crunch"? in the background, bring a bag of potato chips (so we can record you crunching). If you are recording a commercial for Expedia.com, find their jingle on-line, or record it from TV, and bring it.
Your demo preparation session is designed to help you confirm that you have the most marketable material for your demo. Please email your scripts to edge@edgestudio. com prior to your "demo preparation" session, so that we digitally edit them with you during your demo-preparation session. PLEASE EMAIL YOUR SCRIPTS AS TEXT - NOT AN ATTACHMENT. Your scripts may also be added to our 'Script Library'.
Marketable Demos, That Get A+'s from Casting Professionals!
WHAT: A 1-hour private recording session to record & produce your demo!
WHEN TO TAKE THIS: Schedule this approximately 1 week after your Demo Preparation Session. This leaves you a week to practice and/or take a last-minute extra Private Training session.
WITH WHO: Feel welcome to choose any of the instructors on our staff, but we recommend working with the instructor you worked with during your Demo Preparation Session.
SCHEDULE: Because this is a private session, ask our office for the availability of the instructor you wish to work with. Each demo-recording session is 1.5 hours long.
WHERE: Offered at one of our studios, or the studio of your choice.
* * DETAILS * *
Fantastic! You've made it to your demo-recording session! Next will be real work!!
Part 1 of your demo-recording session is when your record at the studio. It takes up to 90 minutes to record 1-minute of material. Why? Because we take time to do it right - whether that is last minute script changes or having you record the same word repeatedly until you learn how to do it on your own (rather than us using digital software to make you sound better than you really are).
Part 2 is the editing & mixing of your demo. During the next 2 weeks, we handle this without your presence. Editing is completed. Music tracks are added. Sound effects are added. Mouth clicks and breaths are removed. Your demo is compressed, equalized, sequenced, mixed, and a master is created.
When completed, we'll email you an MP3 of the final copy. If you would also like a hard copy (on a CD) just call our office and request it.
If you will NOT record at our studio, that is fine! Your demo will still be marketable IF you follow these guidelines:
(1) First you'll need to schedule your local studio (where you will record) and our studio (where we will telephone-produce you from) at the same time for a 1.5 hour long session. This just takes some phone calls back-and-forth.
To find a local studio, search online for recording studios - but ONLY find ones that seem to specialize in voice over. If they don't, they are probably music recording studios and, in our experience, recording music and voice over require different types of engineers. Expect to pay between $50 and $150 per hour for a good studio. Find one with:
If you are unsure about the studio you find, we are glad to speak with them. NOTE - have your engineer give you a backup of your recording in case the master is lost.
The engineer at your studio will only need to set recording levels, phone-patch us in, hit record, and then send us the recording. We (Edge Studio) will handle all of the direction during your recording session.
(2) We suggest to confirm with your studio a few days before.
(3) Please email us your scripts at least 1 business day before your session, and bring two copies of your scripts to your local studio (one for you and one for their engineer).
(4) The day of the recording, get to your studio 15-minutes early. Once they set recording levels, they can call us and/or we can call them (their preference). Then while they record your demo, we will produce it.
Our studios will connect using a "phone-patch,"? allowing us to produce you over the telephone as if you were here. This is how approximately 30% of professional voice-over sessions occur.
Review & Reassess Your Game Plan > Move Towards Work
WHEN TO TAKE THESE: After your demo is completed.
WITH WHO: Edge Studio instructor Randye Kaye.
SCHEDULE: For a complete schedule click here. To sign-up please call our office at 212-868-EDGE(3343).
WHERE: Offered via webinar
There are two major questions you should ask yourself after completing your demo:
We recommend the "Build Your Business" phase-3 program - you'll learn how to Grow and Operate your business and stay in tip-top vocal shape.
Call with any questions or comments.
Thank you,
The Edge Team
Call us 888-321-3343
Email us training@edgestudio.com
