Demos. You know you need them. But what’s their purpose and what should be included?
Recently, Aleesha Blake, from VO Booth Besties interviewed me about the Atlanta Voiceover Studio demo process. You can check out that interview HERE.
If you don’t follow the VO Booth Besties, you should! They’re super talented voice actors and they share such valuable information. So grateful for all they do!
First of all, Atlanta Voiceover Studio doesn’t do every single type of demo. We specialize in COMMERCIAL demos (because that’s what Mike and myself specialize in). We also do CORPORATE NARRATION demos, AUDIOBOOK demos (via our producer and audiobook production company owner, Erin Spencer), ANIMATION demos (via Arianna Ratner and Real Voice LA)and RADIO IMAGING (via Adam Schneider our Radio Imaging coach).
WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF A DEMO?
The purpose of a demo is to show potential agents and clients a range of what you can do. It should be a reflection of what you can do if you were sent an audition and didn’t have any coaching.
A demo is what you need to get on with an agent, post to online casting sites, and on your website.
Sometimes clients via agents, your website or online casting sites will book you based on your demo. You don’t even have to audition. That happens less these days but it does happen.
These are the QUESTIONS we ask when we’re deciding what scripts to write for your demo:
| * What will you book most? * What are agents looking for? * What are your VO career goals? This determines if we focus on scripts that will be better for agents or online casting sites or a mixture of both. * What are the commercial trends right now? While we won’t write an entire demo full of trends, we want to make sure your demo sounds like spots currently airing. * What are the most popular specs being requested now by clients? (If you can do one of those well, we want to put it first) * Who are you as a person? What’s your essence? Your likes? Your personality? Your favorite brands. We want to infuse that into your demo. * Do the spots we write reflect your range? * Is there variety in the spots we write for you? * Does the music bed for each spot reflect that particular brand’s tone? * Does the demo come in under 1:15? |
For the commercial (and corporate narration) demos we do, here’s what we believe should be on them:
1| SIX spots around :10-:12 each.
- We write complete spots, so they can stand alone if needed – on your website or online casting sites. The quantity and timing allows us to show your range while keeping demos under 1:15.
2| DEMONSTRATION of your range.
- We’re not talking about you doing a high-pitched read and lower-pitched read. Your range answers the question: “What different type of specs/reads can you do excellently?”
3| VARIETY of Scripts/Genres/Vibe.
- Most people listen to the first :15 of a demo. Our first priority is to make sure that first spot is incredibly strong and comes in around :10. That way, if someone only listens to the first :15, they’ll at least hear two different reads from you! Which is why we want that second spot to really show something different from the first.
- We want demos we produce to be interesting to listen to!
4| YOU.
- What does that mean? Our demos are customized for you. No one else has the same scripts…not even one of them. We write it for you because we want it to reflect not only your vocal range but who you are as a person.
Let’s talk demo PRICE!
One of the values of Atlanta Voiceover Studio is STEWARDSHIP. That means when we set a price for a class/workshop or any other offering, we think about how we’re stewarding your time and money, the instructor’s time, the studio resources, etc. The one area we’ve failed at this is our own (Mike and myself) but we’re working on being better.
To determine the demo price, we itemize everything. Here’s what we itemize –
- Administration – time and resources spent scheduling, organizing and evaluating (we have a demo evaluation hyperlink: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8QmpKzU8Wm0aw0PiKeZEquBj-PX4lWKBwbd_NkS0Xy5FDKA/viewform every one has to go through).
- Time Spent Writing the Scripts – this can take anywhere from 2-5 hours.
- Studio Recording Time – we schedule 2 hours for the demo recording.
- Demo Directing
- Post-Production – we have a post producer that has a robust music and sound effects library, so there will never be any copyright issue.
We have a team of demo writers and directors (Jill Perry, Trevor Johns, Chloe Dolandis, & Matt Shoemake). Demos done by them are $1400. Mike and I also write and direct demos but our price is $1900. If you’ve completed the Beginner Voiceover Intensive, you do get $150 off the price of a demo at AVS.
Once you’ve completed the demo, we don’t leave you hanging! You receive a DEMO RESOURCE (or FOLLOW-UP pdf) with next steps + tips on everything from submitting to an agent, making the most of online casting sites and self-marketing.
This email newsletter is not designed to sell you into doing a demo with us but we get a lot of questions about demos, so I wanted to make sure I occasionally shared our process.
For additional DEMO RESOURCES, check this video and podcast:
DEMO PROCESS – How to Know When You’re Ready
ALL ABOUT DEMOS with Agent/Manager Jeffrey Umberger
If you’re ready to get started on a commercial, corporate narration, audiobook or animation demo, find the demo evaluation HERE.
