Well, as I now approach the 2 month mark since my layoff on 4/10, I continue to push to work as hard as I can to get this VO career off the ground as quickly as I can, but without sacrficing quality to my clients. One of the corners that I absolutley CAN’T afford to cut right now is the investment into a professionally-produced demo. In the world of voiceover, your demo is your business card. It showcases your voice, vocal range, and is essentially a make-or-break weapon in your VO arsenal.
One thing I have not yet been able to dive very deeply into is marketing. I have been working with a do-it-yourself (DIY) commercial demo up until now, and now that I’m going up against the best and brightest in the world, I can ill-afford to step up to the big stage and try to do battle with a DIY demo. Most agents/agencies, or hiring directors will listen to a DIY demo for all of about 5 seconds before they shut it off and move onto the next audition. A DIY demo has it’s place (for those just getting started), but I’m beyond that now, and regardless of my technical skill and abilities, it was time to turn to a pro. Cue the help of the guy many consider the BEST in the business, Chuck Duran! For years, I watched his videos on Youtube (VO Buzz Weekly) as he took demo sessions with various voiceover artists, and worked his magic to produce some of the most pristine demos in the business! I KNEW I had to work with him…but I also knew that he’d be brutally honest, and would NOT take me on if he felt I was not ready. With time already against me, and funds ticking down on my severance since the layoff, one thing I could not afford was to lose any time to rejection. I was beyond nervous when I went to Chuck to seek his help. After I provided him with my samples, website, and other studio details, he got back to me the very next day and said “We’re going to make a DEMO THAT ROCKS!”
We had our pre-production meeting on 4/12/2023, which was like a deep dive psych session, with me on the couch. There really is a psychology behind choosing the perfect scripts for your voice, as well as your preference. It all plays into what kind of product you put out, and Chuck most definitely does his homework. When that session was over, he got with his partner, Stacy J. Aswad, who pens the scripts to perfection to showcase your voice and vocal range. Chuck is a busy man, so after this session, we booked the demo session…but it wouldn’t happen for another month and a half…5/30/2023. In that time, I was paired with Ed Bednarcyzk, a long-time industry pro, to sharpen my reads and prepare for that demo session. I had mulitple sessions with Ed over a 4 week period, leading right up to the day of the demo recording. Ed was a HUGE help, and is a consummate professional! What a great learning experience that was for me!
Then came the day…5/30/2023!
I was BEYOND nervous! I knew, however, that I had to kick those butterflies, quickly! I couldn’t have any tension in my throat messing up my reads, or be stumbling my way through the scripts. By this time, I had the scripts (all 6 of them) practically memorized, anyhow, so my focus could be on performance, and not reading. Great advice from Chuck! Then we went through our session, and under his watchful eye and expert guidance, we went through those 6 scripts, giving Chuck exactly what he needed to put together my first PRO DEMO! I’ll need to allow him time to work on engineering this demo to perfection (2 to 3 weeks), but I’m on pins and needles right now. I can’t wait to hear that finished product! Only then will I FINALLY be able to get out and market myself in the way that I have not been able to in the past.
This is where I feel I can REALLY take things to the next level~ I’ll share more as updates become available! Thanks for taking the time to allow me to share with you!
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