What's the deal with VA demos?

[UncagedElk]

So I just started getting into Voice acting, it's been a dream of mine for a while, but that's besides the point.

I've sent a couple of people auditions for various roles, and have gotten no feedback at all.
I understand that VAs should record Demos in order to showcase their "talent", but I'm a little stuck on how to do that. I just can't wrap my head around how to do a decent demo! I've tried scripted, improvisation, and a mix of the two but I just cant find the right way to showcase my "talent"...
Does have any tips or suggestions for making a good demo, or just moving forward in this field in general?

Any help would be much appreciated!

[OldManCricky]

At 7/10/14 02:48 PM, UncagedElk wrote: So I just started getting into Voice acting, it's been a dream of mine for a while, but that's besides the point.

I've sent a couple of people auditions for various roles, and have gotten no feedback at all.
I understand that VAs should record Demos in order to showcase their "talent", but I'm a little stuck on how to do that. I just can't wrap my head around how to do a decent demo! I've tried scripted, improvisation, and a mix of the two but I just cant find the right way to showcase my "talent"...
Does have any tips or suggestions for making a good demo, or just moving forward in this field in general?

Any help would be much appreciated!

(Brace yourself, this'll be a little long)

Haha oh I know the feeling.
As a fellow voice-actor, even I can say that it is very frustrating being hired for projects due to... well basically launching with a clean empty slate. All I can say is, just keep trying, search every nook and cranny for an open audition, you'll be bound to get a number.. that's really how I did it. (No joke). Ounce you find a project which gets released and receives quite a popularity, then it'll get easier for you to partake in more roles for the future.

Now, as for VA demo's, I'll be developing my official one once I finish my animation. I wouldn't RECOMMEND spending time creating a voice-demo now, wait until you complete a few more auditions/given roles.

It's only my opinion though, you could just do a VA demo in your stage if you wanted to, HOWEVER!.. It's frustrating to develop a demo, because you're trying to showcase your skills, when you had just started in this skill (The best way I can explain it). Thus, I suggest doing a few auditions and receive successful roles.

Just watch, ounce you do a few VA projects, you'll be more experienced & confident. This'll give you what we call an "Unconscious Competence", meaning you improved and practiced so much, that you can easily feel comfortable as you nail a line without even trying.
This will also help you feel less subconscious and worried about your performance as you create your VA, since your experience paved the way on delivery.

Don't fret on how to showcase your demo, (improv, comedy, narration, random funny-ass gibberish) There is no specific guideline that every VA has to follow for a demo, just have a good unique voice(s), and be creative with your own style of showing off!

Here are a few video examples that I'll be following for sure:

JelloApocalypse - Most of his demo's are nicely done improvs he did in less then 20 minutes

Usamimi - Her demo reel is only from released projects. Note her formal introduction

Hope this helps good man! (atleast just a little bit)

[Chemiqals]

I wouldn't worry too much about a demo if you're just getting started. I didn't create my first demo until almost a year after I started voice acting. It's best to get as much practice as possible before working on a demo. This way, you can discover your range and figure out the different voices you are capable of. It's also helpful in that you'll probably just get better and better as time goes on. A demo is about showcasing as much range as you possibly can in terms of both your voice and emotions. If you manage to land a few different roles in some fandubs, flash animations, or even professional projects that will help out a lot. This way, you can use samples from those projects for your demo. No need to add music or mix the audio if it's from a completed project! It'll sound more diverse and professional to have a variety of different projects on your demo.

There's also the matter of mic quality and your recording environment. I don't know that you're working with, but depending on the kind of work you're expecting to get, you obviously want to get the best sound quality you can. If you don't have a good mic, you simply won't get a lot of big projects. No one wants to have a bunch of pops or loud background noise in their project. It's a harsh reality of voice acting. But learning how to get the best quality out of your mic by setting up your recording environment and using editing tools in audacity or whatever program you have to mix your audio... it's necessary. Luckily, the more you practice the more this stuff becomes second nature.

[UncagedElk]

At 7/11/14 10:54 AM, Chemiqals wrote: I wouldn't worry too much about a demo if you're just getting started. I didn't create my first demo until almost a year after I started voice acting. It's best to get as much practice as possible before working on a demo. This way, you can discover your range and figure out the different voices you are capable of. It's also helpful in that you'll probably just get better and better as time goes on. A demo is about showcasing as much range as you possibly can in terms of both your voice and emotions. If you manage to land a few different roles in some fandubs, flash animations, or even professional projects that will help out a lot. This way, you can use samples from those projects for your demo. No need to add music or mix the audio if it's from a completed project! It'll sound more diverse and professional to have a variety of different projects on your demo.

There's also the matter of mic quality and your recording environment. I don't know that you're working with, but depending on the kind of work you're expecting to get, you obviously want to get the best sound quality you can. If you don't have a good mic, you simply won't get a lot of big projects. No one wants to have a bunch of pops or loud background noise in their project. It's a harsh reality of voice acting. But learning how to get the best quality out of your mic by setting up your recording environment and using editing tools in audacity or whatever program you have to mix your audio... it's necessary. Luckily, the more you practice the more this stuff becomes second nature.

Well I did more-or-less prepare for the quality of sound bit I bought a Blue Snowball Mic. I know it's no the greatest quality mic out there but it's decent enough. I do have audacity and I know how to edit out background noise pretty well. One thing I would definitely want some opinions on is my setup see below vvv
Ive put my mic in a cabinet (at about my height) and filled surrounding walls with egg foam, and also yeah, my Pop-Filter is a panty hose on a wire hangar.

[UncagedElk]

Thanks! I guess I'll just try my hand at landing actual roles first then! lol

[Chemiqals]

That's not a bad solution at all for a recording environment. Especially if you're just starting out. One problem something like this causes is that the audio can sound a little "closed in" because there's not much room for the audio to disperse. Ideally you'd want a similar setup in a walk in closet or something like that. The more space you can create between the mic and walls, the better. As long as those walls have some form of sound absorption on them. Obviously this is not practical for a lot of people though. And your solution is far from the worst.

If you're super serious about voice acting, I would recommend upgrading to an AT2020 USB or a Blue Yeti mic. The snowball is a great beginner mic that's far from terrible. But those are what I'd recommend as a next step in the future. Also, if you're in a situation where you have no sound treatment for recording, it's best to record in the most open room in your house. If you can't suppress the echo coming from walls, you want to make the surfaces the echo is coming from as far away from the mic as possible.

As for editing, the biggest mistake I see newcomers make is to rush their lines. It's absolutely NOT ok to hit record, say your line immediately, and then click stop. The best things you can possibly do for you and the people who's project you're working on is to leave space between your lines. When you start a recording, don't make any noise for at least 3 seconds. This will allow you to use that space in the recording for removing background noise. This is very important and I see a lot of people failing to do this. You also want to leave a good second or two between each line and each take. DO NOT silence this audio. It's important that the blank audio is of your recording environment for editing purposes. You'll probably understand as you start to get into editing your voice with effects or just for mastering.

I'm not trying to offend you specifically as I haven't heard your recordings. I'm just giving general advice! Sorry if this is redundant for you. I've been doing this for four years and I wish I knew a lot of this stuff when I started out. So I just wanted to pass this along for anyone who might be starting out like yourself!

[UncagedElk]

At 7/11/14 01:14 PM, Chemiqals wrote:

I'm not trying to offend you specifically as I haven't heard your recordings. I'm just giving general advice! Sorry if this is redundant for you. I've been doing this for four years and I wish I knew a lot of this stuff when I started out. So I just wanted to pass this along for anyone who might be starting out like yourself!

I sincerely appreciate the advice, I definitely have noticed a "boxed in" sort of sound when I record, so the recording space is certainly something I should fix, and I'll totally keep everything you said in mind. Thanks for the advice!