What are video producers looking for?
As a voiceover artist, you will spend a lot of time working with video producers, as they will often be involved in reviewing auditions and casting for roles (and therefore your point of contact), along with managing projects end-to-end and often dealing with payments.
To give yourself as much of a chance as possible of landing roles, it is vital to know what video producers are looking for and how to give yourself the edge in the process.
I have put together a few pointers that I hope will be useful for VOs and even make life easier for other video producers.
Audition like it’s the real deal
When that audition lands in your inbox, I would highly recommend treating it as if it is the final role. By that I mean reading the directional notes carefully, recording in your ACTUAL recording space, and providing an edited audition that has the breaths & mistakes removed. Producers want to have a realistic idea of the quality of the final audio you will supply and this is your chance to wow us. Finally, please, please, please DO NOT record your audition on your phone. It doesn’t matter how good your voice is, this type of recording will not give us any idea of your technical capabilities and will go straight in the ‘no’ pile.
Boss your recording space
Following on from that, it is crucial that you are recording in a good quality environment, with a low noise floor. It doesn’t have to be a professional studio or even a vocal booth, it just needs to produce high-quality audio! Most video editors will be happy to tweak audio, but they will be expecting a professional, high-quality file delivered.
Flex your audio editing skills
There are basic expectations that should be met to make the producer and editors’ lives as easy as possible. We love it when an audio file arrives without clipping and plosives, and with all the mistakes removed. Lightly processed audio is fine, as is raw audio (with mistakes removed), if that’s what has been requested. Some video editors want to take care of the audio processing themselves, so take on board and follow the instructions given by the producer.
Be responsive
Voiceovers tend to be last minute jobs and are often needed within 24-48 hours of you being selected for the role. When that email hits telling you you’ve won the job, I would highly recommend replying and confirming your availability as soon as you can. If there is no response (within a reasonable timeframe), producers may move on to reserve artists and the job could be lost. I would also suggest being honest about your availability just in case you can’t deliver in the timeframe requested.
Give us some choice
Usually, a minimum of two takes of a script will be requested and sometimes more (especially if you’re doing a live session). Editors want to have a bit of variety for the edit as sometimes a faster version works better, or a different intonation works well. Essentially, if you are asked to provide more than one take, please ensure that the takes are different and therefore offer that all important variety. There is nothing more annoying than receiving three identical takes!
Be receptive to feedback
Client feedback and the subsequent pick-ups and re-takes are all part of the process and should be expected. Read the feedback, digest it, and review what you have already done to give you the best chance of meeting the new direction/request. It is also worth communicating how many takes and rounds of pick-ups you are happy to provide before the job begins.
Make it easy for producers to pay you!
And finally, get that invoice over in good time with all of the relevant details on it so you can be paid easily and quickly. If you are working with a larger company, you may have to fill in some forms, so make sure you get all the paperwork sorted in good time to make the producer’s life easier and ensure you get your payment when it’s expected!
Is there anything else you think producers are looking for? Let me know…
