Making your VO Demo Work for You
October 22, 2008
I recently attended an online voice over seminar and it gave me sound advice about breaking into the voice over business and tips on voice over demos. Here was a great list we discussed:
10 Signs Your Demo May Be Outdated
10. You need to get your demo transferred from tape to CD
9. Mentions of cars, sporting events, and movie releases predate your child’s birth (or the family pet)
8. The music on the demo makes you want to breakout into the Macarena or wear “Hammer Pants”
7. Peers and friends in the VO community start dropping hints
6. It’s your very first demo and you’ve been in the biz for a few years
5. Companies or stations you included on the demo have since gone out of business
4. Dates and times “date” your demo
3. The material doesn’t reflect the kind of voice overs you are doing now
2. You feel like you need to apologize when sending your demo out to people
1. You don’t recognize the voice on your own demo
From the past two years of taking endless voice over classes, training, ADR workshops and voice lessons, here is what I have learned about the world of voice over demos, that can make or break your success in this industry:
Demos should be updated at least once a year. That’s a pretty hard and fast rule unless you’re Pat Fraley or Don Lafontaine…. then you don’t need one at all. ;-)
Length? For Commercial demos, a minute to a minute 20. But only a minute 20, if it really cooks.
Is your demo filled with Local spots? Joe’s used cars? Tom’s widgets and tractor parts? Try to replace those with something more regional or national, say Wendy’s or Wal-Mart”
With that said I would like to add this caveat.
You have to decide WHOM you’re marketing to.
Do you want to work in LA or NY? Better move there.
If you’re hoping to get work in and around Kansas City, you better be aware of what kind of deliveries they’re looking for in KC. This doesn’t mean you have to use local clients on your demo but a maybe a regional client (Let’s say Cracker Barrel restaurants) with a local or regional feel.
Depsite the fact that “locality” is not as much of a factor as it used to be, regions still have their own flavors and preferences. And believe it or not, this is WAY true in LA and NY.
Just like your demo should be an accurate representation of who you are, so should it reflect the market you’re hoping to get work in.
If you strictly are marketing to the world at large thru voices dot com (there are no other sites ;-) then your demo will have to be a bit broader.
That’s my 2 cents worth.
Break a lip ya’ll!
Keely is a proud member of the AFTRA