Voice Acting Auditions – The Starting Point or The Finish Line?

The Voice Realm voice actor Bob, writes this short blog post for us.

If you like what you hear, the talent has saved the audio of the demo and can provide that.

But, if inundated with voice over demos, and when it’s difficult to decide which is best, know that in my case (and others), the audition is only the starting point.

With a little more info, I can turn conversational into more character driven (like a real person), or turn a narration into more preachy, or less.  There’s a whole range of nuance which cannot be carried in one audition.  Those of us with decades of voiceover experience are likely to hit your bullseye if you describe the target well AND write for that target.

I was recently asked to do a spoof of the Direct-TV spots.  While I am not the original voice, due to the excellent writing, I was able to capture the FEEL of their spots.

When someone asks for a “Tommy Lee Jones” or “Morgan Freeman” or  another celebrity (always for a tiny fraction of what the REAL star would get paid)  I would ask, “What do you hear when you hear xxx?”  “Is it tonality, pacing, accent?”  And I won’t ask “Why?”  But it’s a good question.  Why trade in fakery?  Is that how you want to be imaged?

When you listen to someone’s demo work, ask yourself if you hear real variety – or just the same voice doing different reads, maybe at different speeds?  Try to find someone who can deliver NUANCE, who is disarming and truly communicative.

Also, when possible, when not script-approved by layers of management, tell the talent when it’s okay to use contractions, etc., to bring more life into your script.  The pros know how.  You will be pleased.

You can hear Bob’s demos and hire him for your next voice over at : http://www.thevoicerealm.com/view-profile-artist.php?artist_id=409