What’s usually the biggest question in a voice over artist’s mind? That’s right – “How do I book more voice over auditions?” Of course it is. It’s the human condition. More, more, more! I want more Regal Vegan Faux Gras spread on a nice doughy loaf of ciabatta, more trips to Europe, more sunshine (I live in Portland, Oregon now), but that’s another story. You want more voice over auditions. If you are at this stage, the first thing you have to assess before you can find the right answer is where you are located and thus what type of voice over “universe” you are in.
You might live in New York City or Los Angeles, where you have a shot at actual live human representation in the form of a voice over agent. If you live in a city where this is the case, your marketing strategy is clear cut. Get heard by the people in your city. Agents and Casting Directors can hear you via the MP3 voice over demo you send them. They can see you in that off-off Broadway showcase. They can meet you, live, in person!, at a meet and greet night at an education center that hosts these kinds of events. Dig deeper and you can find many ways to get them to pay attention to you. Getting them to hear you and like you and offer you a shot at a voice over audition is the first step. We’ll get to the second step in a minute, but let’s first address those of you living in Tinytown, USA.
If you live in a place where there’s little to no “live” voice over community, you will be heading directly to your computer and typing in addresses such as voices.com or voice123.com. You will act as your own agent and submit your own recordings for auditions that are posted on these sites. It’s pretty simple when you’re living in Tinytown.
Now – you’ve got the audition, hopefully. How do you get from the audition to BOOKING THE JOB? Be better. Be more interesting. Be more interesting especially at the beginning. Many many people in this business, and even more so in this next ADD generation, lose their interest quickly. I can’t tell you how many times I had clients ask me to play back the auditions I had cast and then said the words “skip to the next one” before the actor had finished his second sentence. They were busy! Busy checking out the sushi menu (we were paying!) or texting their girlfriends. If you don’t intrigue them, the “next” is ready and waiting to slide off their tongue. So think of that first line as your hook. Hook and reel them in. Remember that when you are doing this, your number one philosophy should not be compromised – and that is to BE AUTHENTIC. Your place of sounding interesting still needs to make sense. This comes from understanding the text. What is the writer truly saying? What is the point he is making? Understand this, and find a way to make these points intriguing, captivating, compelling – and believable.
Yes, there are tons more techniques for booking the job. I will give them to you in time. But heck, this is only a little blog entry, and my fingers are tired. Now go practice.