feedback on my work from a casting perspective

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Permalink Reply by Lani Minella on June 6, 2008 at 1:02am

Good work dude! I've replied on your page and welcome you to pick my brain personally.
In general, if you are submitting demos as a point blank submission, try to separate commericals from characters and don't put too much straight stuff in with your character voices.
Clever production, but bring all your character voices up front, not processed too much to sound like they're on the other end of a phone conversation.

When doing commercials, always fake national names....try not to include names of your town like Chicago car dealerships. Simply change the copy to Chevrolet dealer or just Volkswagon...drivers wanted.

Demos should have as many totally different voices for as short as you can get away with snippets.
Don't go back and forth between two voices in a conversation. Hit voice A and then B and try not to go back to A again or B again unless it's a really short hit. Once a casting director has heard a certain voice, they get it....they don't need a repeat.
Good range you show.
I am happy to tweak people's accents any time so feel free to pick my brain.
In general when doing a Brit accent, if the word ends in "er" or "or" or has an "er" in the middle of the word, change it to "ah" or "uh". Example: To unduhstand my wuhds you need to place the voice in the back of your throat, and not go Monty Python or say r's too cleahly (clearly)
Aftah ohrduhring oystuhs, you may feel rahthuh adventuhrous.

Hope that helps!

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Permalink Reply by Lani Minella on October 9, 2009 at 4:47pm

Hi CJ. Sorry it's taken me so long to get to your stuff but here are a couple of thoughts. Your first demo is interesting but of course it's too long at 2 minutes. Try for a minute and half or less and you don't have to go on that long with each voice. Good variety but you can also split up the demos into categories like commercials, characters, tutorials/narration, audiobooks, message on hold etc. It goes without saying that the original one is way too long, so just split them up.
Mr Kia is fun, but again we only need to hear one or two lines of that character. You could take that voice and slightly alter it and be other game characters like a general or more threatening like an orc or monster.
Hope that helps. Keep me posted

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Permalink Reply by Lani Minella on October 9, 2009 at 4:51pm

I've tried replying and it won't let me while I browse using Firefox.
Here are a couple of thoughts and it's less than I wrote before, but time is short.
Your original demo is way too long and so is your first one hear by about half a minute. Variety is great but you don't need to go on with the voice or the bit after one or two lines from each character. The KIA spot is ok but again you should develop that texture with variations and make that into somerthing else too like for games or cartoons; A general. an orc, a pshycho killer etc.
Separate your demos and split them up more like into categories such as Commercials, characters, games, tutorials and narrative, audiobooks and messages on hold.
Hope that helps and keep me posted!

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