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Copy material
Your selection of voice over copy is a very important initial step
in the demo process. Begin by studying available styles of delivery,
then select your copy. There are multiple delivery styles to choose
from. The first secret behind making a great demo is to select the
copy most appropriate to you. Choose something that pushes your
buttons or perhaps speaks to your inner voice. Look for Compassion,
Joy, Sadness, Love, Anger, Empathy, Excitement, Grief,
Sympathy or Tenderness. Choose copy which evokes emotions within
you. Look at possibilities. Listen to current commercial spots on
television and radio. They can give you many ideas and guides toward
of what is most popular and effective. The industry readily shows
what they are looking for.
Eight selections are ample for a voice over demo. With current studio
technology, additional spots can easily be added later. Maintain
your focus on styles that are appropriate and that suit you.
Don't limit or restrict yourself. This is an opportunity to stretch,
to experiment and show where you excel. Take the time to choose
script copy that inspires and allows you a fresh performance. Select
copy that makes you laugh or cry, or that brings you something you
to want to share with your audience. If your listener doesn't hear
truthful emotion in the voice, they can't believe your character
or the words you are saying. Picture the listener at home as you
record your voice.
Your personality is always, in some way, reflected in your voice
demo, so don't attempt to disguise that. In addition to using traditional
announcer copy, find copy that evokes the inner child in you or
brings a tear to your eye or perhaps even might get you steaming
mad.
That's the basis of a professional voice demo. Now some specifics...
Q:Can you use copyrighted scripts for your demo?
A: While professional voice-over artists use excerpts from professional
jobs on their demos, newcomers must create a demo by recording available
excerpts.
If you are not a copywriter, you will need to use copyrighted material.
However, the question as to whether someone else's copyrighted material
can be used on your demo is important. We did some research. We
found that most material can be used without requiring the author's
permission. The most compelling reason for this is the "Fair
Use Act", which indicates that copyrighted material can be
used, without permission, as long as it is not being directly used
to make a profit. We also asked (talent union) ACTRA's
legal department if it was alright to use copyrighted text on demos...'No
problem, at all,' they said.
If you need to find voice copy, JL Studios has a voice
over script library you may purchase, and can be used for both
practice and demos themselves.
When you book a voice demo session with the studio, you have access
to the library at no extra charge!
Commercial Styles Of Delivery
Announcer - mostly impersonal , factual or straight-forward
Regular Sell - medium volume, natural delivery
Hard Sell - loud, urgent delivery
Tag - end of commercial information line
Spokesperson - representative of the company
Testimonial - recommendation, endorsement of a product
Dialogue - conversation, speech between two or more
Half-Voice - intimate, subtle tones, barely above a whisper
Comedic /Humorous - always good to make the listener laugh
Dramatic - intense (but not necessarily loud), evocative
Character - someone you know, a cartoon character or movie star
Dialects - regional and foreign accents. (if you can maintain accent
for 60 seconds)
Recording session
Once you have your copy, the next step is to rehearse. And rehearse.
Record your voice as you rehearse. If you don't have a recorder
, borrow or purchase a portable cassette or handheld machine. It's
just for rehearsal.
You are only really objective when you can listen back to the text
you have been rehearsing. Then you can critique your own delivery,
intonation, inflection, speed, and then re-record. Make written
notes. Compare the recordings. When truly satisfied, move on to
your next selection of copy. Learn to deliver naturally.
To record in the studio, if you have really done your homework,
you will be able to concentrate on the feeling and delivery of each
spot and not worry. The words will be very familiar to you. The
voice recording session will go smoothly if you can be relaxed enough
to give your best, and freshest reads, without stumbling.
Production
The recording session will last a few hours. JL studios record various
voice takes for each individual spot. You will be pleased at how
good these voice tracks can sound. You'll arrive at a total of 8
spots, usually, which you are confident about.
Give your best. It may be a test of your endurance. You might feel
that you could nail it better. The engineer then takes these raw
voice tracks and blends them with other elements, along with some
sweetening, into the finished demo.
JL Studios can find the right piece of music to complement not only
the copy, but your unique interpretation of that copy. Other elements,
like sound effects, can be added, if the copy requires it. Combining
all the elements, along with tight editing and processing of your
voice, equalization, reverb, or other effects, will enhance the
piece. JL Studios then edits the spots and assembles them in the
most appropriate order to complete the master of your professional
voice demo.
When You Are ready...
Choose from voice
over demo packages - designed to give value for your money.
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