Prepare for an audition: You sit in your room with your phone beside you or your cell. You are actually waiting for a callback from an audition you did last week. The phone rings and you hurriedly answer it. Yes! It’s the employer. But, there is a slight problem. You are rejected. So, you hang up the phone with disappointment in your face. You ask yourself, “Why? Where did I go wrong?”
If this happened during your first audition, do not fret. You should know that a lot of rejections can happen in the industry, especially for first-timers. Now, if you are someone who experienced the same situation for the tenth time, this only means one thing: you need to step up and start improving your chances in auditions with more effective tips.
As we’ve stressed earlier, competition in the world of voice acting is very stiff and you cannot afford to be mediocre when it comes to your audition. In reality, the auditioning part is where majority of the work is done. You need to allocate a good amount of time creating the best auditions. And by creating auditions, we mean the whole process from preparations to recording and editing.
In a blog called Laura Voices Online Now, the author advised some voice exercise to help it more flexible.
“The routine includes breathing and relaxation techniques, body and neck stretches, yawns, lip and tongue trills, resonance and articulator drills. Of course each day when I wake up, I read the newspaper, and select several stories to read aloud, in order to get my brain to mouth engagement into motion early on way before I head into the booth. “
In the same blog, the author also shares some things that a voice over talent should do when in the auditioning process.
- (1) In any performance situation, the voice actor must have poise and confidence. This is a challenge, especially for the voice actor who auditions alone in the confines of his/her home studio. Remember that confidence grows with every rehearsal and script preparation, whether or not you book the job. I look at each audition as a chance to keep “my chops well-oiled”.
- (2) The successful performer is one who is able to control tension so it will not interfere with performance.
- (3) Relaxation is paramount! Keep practicing warm-ups. When you are warmed up, thoroughly prepared and relaxed, you’ll gain self-confidence.
- (4) Psych yourself up for the audition performance and use breathing exercises, or use some type of physical or vocal release.
- (5) The more experience you gain through recording auditions and listening to and critiquing your playback, the easier it is to lose your apprehension over the process. Think of “owning” the delivery.
Now that you know what you need to do to prepare for an audition, I think it is also important that we take a peek at why employers reject audition pieces. We need to know these things so we do not repeat them and be disappointed again and again.
According to Home Brew Audio, a website that caters to people who are not that technical when it comes to computer stuff, there are mainly two things why employers throw away an audition:
(1) Non-Custom Audition – I can tell you one thing for certain – sending demo reels with recordings that don’t answer the specific need of the client is one way to get your audition ignored completely. When, as a client, I say in the job description something like “I need a celebrity impersonation of President Obama,” and one of the auditions is a demo reel of cartoon voices and car commercials, I click the Stop button immediately and move on. Just take the extra time and record something that the client actually asked for. It’s fine to send a demo that you already have if it matches the client’s description, or if they don’t really give a description. Otherwise, leave the demo reel for your profile page or promo kit.
(2) Poor Recording Quality – Another thing that causes auditions to get set aside is a poor quality recording. It is so inexpensive, gear-wise these days, that there is really no excuse not to spring for the $75 or so for a decent USB mic at the very least – if you’re serious about making the voice-over thing into regular paying gig.
Are you excited on your next audition with all these information in mind? Share your experiences to inspire others!