Mr. Gordon:
You asked for ideas for articles, so here's mine: I haven't even gotten as far as having a demo made yet. It took me a long time to find only two studios here in Cleveland, so I would love to see an article on how to find, then choose a studio and how to get the best deal once I've chosen.
Thanks,
Dan
______________________________________________________________________________________
This was a question posed to Rick Gordon at CommercialVoices.com recently. Rick has asked me for some suggestions, so, here goes.

Finding a studio these days is very hard. Many have closed their doors due to the competition of ³home based² talents and the invention of ISDN, Internet delivery and the like. Even in large cities, you may only have one choice of a place to record. So what is a new talent to do? First, ask at your local studio to see if they have experience in voice talent demos. Ask to hear samples of some they have produced in the past. If you like what they have done for others, then work your best deal and get started. Once you have a demo, and start getting work, you can then add to it with the real bits and pieces you collect.

If there are no studios near you, you may want to try to contact the production directors at your local radio stations and see if they want to earn some money on the side. If their stations allow them to free-lance, they may
be able to come in after hours or on weekends when the studio is not being used and help record your voice over demo segments. They may be able to help assemble the segments with music and sound effects too ... but you may want to call that a ³rough mix². Most radio production people will create spots that sound like their station. As a Œvoice over¹ talent, your demo should sound more varied than that. Be sure to get copies of all the elements you recorded in the clear as well as a mixed version so another engineer could re-assemble and re-mix if necessary. This goes for the studio too ...it may cost a few extra dollars for the separated elements,
but should you want to have a different demo version later, it will be well worth it.

There are several companies that specialize in voice over demos. I know of one in Charlotte, NC and another in New York City, as well as my company in Greenville, SC. Once you have your elements recorded, perhaps you¹ll need to send them to one of these studios for a final mix and montage creation. With MP3s and CDs, various mixes could be done for your final approval. If you can¹t find a studio or radio station facility in your
area, you may need to plan your vacation to another city where a studio is located. Spend a few days there creating your demo and then return home ready to start your new career. Your demo needs to sound good! No one is going to hire you for a gig just on your word that you can do it. You need a demo even if you have to travel to get it.

Another idea is to enlist the help of a working talent who has their own studio. Even though you might become competition, it doesn¹t hurt to ask someone if they want to earn a few dollars helping you get started. Again, these working voice over talents may not be professional engineers and audio specialists,
but they may be able to help with basic recordings of your scripts so you have something to send to an engineer for assembling your demo.

Nothing is free these days. Be prepared to pay for what you want. A professional engineer with experience in talent demos is worth the cost to get you started on the right foot.

Dyana Daniels
Williamson Evans Words, Music & Moving Pictures
Greenville, SC
WilliamsonEvans.com