26
Auditions

In This Chapter

The Audition Process

Auditions are an essential part of the voiceover business. Without auditions, it would be very difficult for performers to get exposure to producers and other talent buyers.

Over the past several years, the audition process has changed from one where the voice talent would go to a studio or a casting service for a live audition, to one where now the talent will audition online by recording in their home studio and submitting an MP3 file. For high budget projects, agents in larger cities will still handle auditions at their office or occasionally at a casting service.

No matter how it’s done, the audition process is still the most efficient way a producer or casting person has of choosing the best performer for a project. Once a script is written, copies are sent out to talent agents, casting directors, and online audition services. Specific performers or character types may be requested for an audition, and in some cases voiceover talent may be cast directly from a demo or prior work.

Talent agents and casting directors will select performers from their talent pool who they feel will work best for the project being submitted. If a specific voice actor is requested, the talent agent will attempt to book that performer. The talent (that’s you), is then contacted and scheduled for an audition. These days, most talent agents send auditions to their talent pool via email and expect to receive the .mp3 audition file by the deadline noted in the email.

If you are just starting out, you may get the audition call from your coach, one of your contacts, through classes, online sites, friends, networking, or sending out your demo. You may receive the call several days in advance, the day before, or even the day of an audition. And it may come in an email.

Auditioning from Your Home Studio

The advent of home studios for recording voiceover has made it easy to provide high-quality auditions on a moment’s notice. The key to a great sounding audition from your home studio is in two parts: 1) your studio design and equipment, and 2) your performing skills.

You have only one chance to make a good first impression and your audition is that one chance. Most auditions will be the first time a producer will experience your sound and performing abilities. If your audition is full of room echo or there’s a lawnmower, dog barking, or baby crying in the background, their first impression of you will likely be far less than desirable. These issues must be addressed because when you are booked for a session, you will be expected to deliver a high-quality voice track. It’s a myth that the sound quality of your audition is not important, even though this fallacy is taught by some voiceover coaches.

If you have given so little care to the quality of your audition, should a producer reasonably expect anything more from your work if they hire you?

Online Auditions—Pay-to-Play Websites

The operation of online “pay-to-play” audition websites is discussed in detail in Chapter 18, “Getting Paid to Play” (pgs. 284-287). However, since these websites are a common audition resource and can generate substantial revenue, they are worthy of some additional discussion here.

In short, pay-to-play sites make it easy for a producer to reach out to thousands of voice talent and for voice talent to receive a constant stream of auditions. Some audition requests are submitted by experienced producers who understand voiceover and who appreciate the time, energy, and money that a serious voice talent has spent developing their skills and business. Their audition requests are clear, specific, and informative. They know what the work will entail, what it is worth, and they offer a reasonable fee, expecting professional results.

Then there are the talent buyers who don’t know what they’re doing, or who simply want the most work for the lowest price. Many of these producers do not appear to have even the slightest idea of what it takes to create a voiceover performance that will actually get results. Their audition requests are often fragmented, incomplete, or excessively demanding and unrealistic. Here’s an example of a typical “low-ball” audition request that actually appeared on one of the pay-to-play sites:

One major problem with audition requests like this is that the talent buyer puts the voice actors who submit auditions into a bidding war for the lowest bid. This is never a good idea, and not only lowers the pay scale, but can also damage the credibility of an otherwise excellent voice actor. By asking for a complete production, the talent buyer forces the “winning” voice actor into providing services that may be well outside their capabilities. This producer is probably inexperienced and knows very little, if anything, about what it takes to record a high-quality performance, let alone one that has music and sound effects. Or he is very cheap!

One of my students submitted an audition through one of these member sites and was awarded a job to provide the voiceover work for a radio commercial. It was only after she was hired, and had agreed to a fee, that the producer told her they also needed music and sound effects for a completely produced commercial. She was not prepared for this, she is not a production engineer, and she did not have access to the music and sound effects libraries she needed. Yet, because she was eager to please her new client, she was placed in the very uncomfortable position of having to deliver a complex job for a minimal fee. Had she only recorded and delivered the voice track that she had originally agreed to provide, she felt her compensation would have been adequate. However, by the time she completed the production, she had put in many more hours than she had planned and had to spend her own money for production music, all of which resulted in her actual compensation equaling far less than minimum wage. Her mistake was that she did not have a clear agreement from the outset about what she would provide and agreed to the additional demands of the client after contract signing.

Online audition sites are a numbers game. Although they can work to some degree when you figure out how to use them, have the performing and business skills necessary to submit auditions, and realize that you will likely not get any bookings for a long, long time.

When the topic of pay-to-play website auditions comes up in my workshops, I always recommend that membership with these online services be considered as an extension to your training. Do your best job, but never expect that you will actually get any work from these sites. Use the real-world audition scripts as a tool to further hone your performing, recording and editing skills. If you’re one of the lucky ones, eventually you’ll probably land some gigs.

Recording A "Killer" Audition

To submit auditions that stand a chance of getting you work, you must know how to properly use your equipment, you must know how to work the microphone (mic technique), you must know how to deal with adverse noise conditions (acoustics), and you must know what you are doing as a performer. In short, you must know how to produce a “killer” audition.

Let’s assume you’ve taken care of all equipment and acoustic issues and that you can record excellent voice tracks. Now what?

The first thing you need to know is that just because you think a script is a perfect match, it doesn’t mean your performance is what the producer is looking for. All you can do for any audition is to perform to the best of your abilities, using what you consider to be the best choices for your performance. Then, let it go.

Most talent buyers request auditions be sent as MP3 files without any production, music, or effects. In other words, they want to hear only your dry voice at the best possible quality. You may be tempted to use your recording software to “fix” problems by processing the audio with EQ (equalization), or other electronic tools, or you might want to add some music to your audition to give your prospect a better idea of what you can do. I would strongly recommend that you fight these temptations. If your home studio is properly set up and you record with proper volume levels, you will not need to “fix” your recordings. An audition is not the place for you to demonstrate your production skills or your talent for choosing music.

For most auditions, you simply don’t have enough information. Many audition scripts are incomplete, or first draft and you really have no idea what the producer is looking for, even if they’ve included some direction notes. Every audition is effectively second-guessing the producer in an attempt to come up with a performance that you think will meet their needs. Sometimes, they don’t really know what they’re listening for, so it may be worth sending two, or at most three, different interpretations of their script.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when auditioning from your home studio is to follow instructions to the letter, especially if the audition request came from a talent agent. If you are asked to slate, or identify, your audition in a certain way, do it exactly as requested! If they request “no slate,” leave your name off the recording. If you are asked to send only one track, don’t send two. If you are asked to send your audio at a specific sample rate, you had better know how to do it. If you are asked to upload your audition to an FTP website, don’t email it. Producers want to know that you can follow their instructions and take their direction. Read audition instructions carefully, and follow them. If you don’t, there’s an excellent chance your audition will be never be heard.

Who Wrote This Copy?

It is an unfortunate aspect of the voiceover business that many auditions will arrive as very poorly written scripts. Grammatical and punctuation errors, misspellings, nonsensical syntax, poor sentence structure, and confusing phrasing are commonplace. When you receive a script with any of these issues, your gut instinct may be to change a word or even rewrite the script to make it “better.”

There are several problems with this idea. To begin with, no matter how “bad” a script might seem, you really don’t know that the way it is written might be exactly the way the writer intended. If the errors are obvious and extensive, it may be that the script was written in a hurry or perhaps the copywriter is inexperienced, not qualified, or may not be conversationally fluent writing in English. Or, it could be that the errors are just simple mistakes. It really doesn’t matter because your job as a voice actor is to deliver the best audition you can with the script you are given.

Many inexperienced voice actors make the mistake of thinking that by taking the time to “fix” the copy, they are showing their prospective client that they can work as part of the team, or that their copywriting skills can be an additional benefit to the project. This is flawed thinking because at that stage of the process the client isn’t interested in anything you can do beyond your performance of their script. But that’s not the worst part.

Suppose you do take the time to improve upon the original copy? You record a brilliant performance of your revised audition script and submit it. The talent buyer is under no obligation to book your voiceover services, and aside from the fact that you were never asked to rewrite the copy, you have just given them an improved version of their script. If they like your revisions, they are under no obligation to pay you for it, and will very likely use it when they book someone else. Because you provided a free rewrite of their original script, you don’t even have any copyright to your new version. All your effort will have been to no avail.

Attempting to “fix” an audition script is essentially a waste of your time and energy. Of course, minor corrections might be appropriate for delivering your best work, but the time to discuss major corrections is after you are booked for the recording session. The bottom line is that your services as a copywriter are not on the table at this stage of the project. You may be surprised that the final script has been miraculously fixed. Some talent buyers have been known to send out a flawed script as a sort of test to see (or hear) what auditioning voice actors do to handle the errors. It’s sneaky, but it does happen from time to time. I know because I’ve done it.

As a general rule of thumb, when you get a “bad” script, just do the best you possibly can and leave the copywriting to the client. If you want to send a “fixed” version of your audition, include that as a second take.

Uncompensated Use of Your Audition

So, you’ve followed all the instructions and you’ve sent a very good dry voice track recording as your audition. At this point, unless you are auditioning through an agent, you have no control over who you’re sending your audition to, and you certainly don’t have any sort of agreement for compensation should you be chosen for the job. If you’ve sent out a clean recording, the only thing preventing a producer from using your work without telling you is their personal morals and ethics. The majority of producers maintain high ethical standards and will not use a performer’s work without compensation. But there are those unscrupulous producers who will take advantage of a situation.

There are several ways to protect your auditions from being used without compensation, all with the goal of making the audition unusable as a final recording but still providing a good representation of your work. Probably the best is to simply send only a partial performance as your audition, leaving out a few critical lines. A similar approach is to change the client name, product name, or phone number. This is not a substantial rewrite, but it does serve to make the audition unusable while giving the producer a good idea of your performance.

Yet another approach to protecting your audition is to use a watermark or drop out the audio at certain key words. In its simplest form, a watermark is a beep, tone, or click that is strategically placed to interfere with certain words, thus making the track unusable. At first glance this might make perfect sense as a way to protect your performance, and some of the pay-to-play audition sites encourage its use. However, there is a definite down side to using a watermark.

The only practical reason to use a watermark is if you suspect that your work might be stolen. Producers know this and many consider use of a watermark as a reflection of the actor’s integrity. The logic is this: “If this voice actor doesn’t trust me to handle their audition with integrity, why should I hire them for this job?” This is simply not a good way to start a professional relationship.

Aside from this negative effect, a watermark can easily be a serious distraction for a realistic evaluation of an audition. No matter how low the volume is set for the watermark, the sound can be distracting and annoying. The result of a watermarked audition can easily be loss of the job. A far better approach to protecting your audition is to simply change a few key words of the script.

The Live Audition

Recording auditions from your home studio quickly becomes second nature, especially as you become familiar with the operation of your equipment and software. When you are auditioning from your home studio, you can take your time and keep recording until you have recorded something you feel comfortable in sending out.

However, a live, in person audition is a completely different experience. Live on-site auditions are becoming more and more rare and are most common in major markets like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, but they occasionally pop up in other markets.

Preparing for a Live Audition

As soon as you get the call for your first live audition, you will probably begin to feel butterflies in your stomach. This is a good time to practice some relaxation exercises. You need to prepare yourself mentally and physically for the audition. Just the fact that you were called to audition is a good sign, so keep a positive mental attitude. After all, you have been invited to be there.

Loosen up with your daily stretches and voice exercises. Dress comfortably, yet professionally. Be careful not to wear clothing or jewelry that will make noise. If your audition is close to a meal, eat lightly and avoid foods that you know might cause problems.

Live auditions are usually scheduled, so plan to arrive about 15 to 20 minutes before your scheduled time. Make sure you allow for any traffic delays and parking. If you don’t plan ahead, you may arrive too late to read for your part, especially for multiple-voice auditions. When in your car, continue with some warm-up exercises and listen to music that will put you in a positive frame of mind. Sing to songs on the radio to loosen up your voice and relax your inhibitions, but don’t overdo it. Use your cork.

Always bring several sharpened pencils for making copy notes and changes, and a bottle of water. A briefcase or tote bag containing your supplies, business cards, and perhaps a CD or two of your demo can add that extra touch of professionalism. Don’t give your demo or business cards to the people you are auditioning for, unless they request them—they know who you are. These are for other people you might meet whom you did not expect to be there.

Act as if you know what you are doing, even if this is your first audition. Watch others, follow their lead, and keep a positive attitude.

What to Expect at a Live Audition

When you arrive at the audition, you may find several other performers already there. Also, you may find that several auditions are being conducted at the same time. Find the correct audition and pick up your copy. If the audition is for a large account, someone may be “checking-in” the scheduled performers. In most cases, there will simply be a sign-in sheet at the door and a pile of scripts. Once signed in, you are considered available to audition and may be called at any time. If you are early and want to take some time to study the copy, wait a few minutes before signing in. If you are scheduled for a specific time, be sure you are in the waiting area a few minutes beforehand.

In many cases, you will see the copy for the first time only after you have arrived on site. However with email, fax, and online casting services, it is becoming more and more common for audition scripts to be delivered ahead of time. On some occasions, for reasons only the producer can understand, you will have to wait until you are in the booth before you know what you are doing and get the script.

Be Prepared to Wait

Live auditions are notorious for getting behind schedule, but in rare instances, may actually run early. Even if the audition starts on schedule, chances are that within a short time, the producers will be running late. Have something to read or do while you wait for your turn. Stay relaxed and calm, and keep breathing. This may be a good opportunity to get to know some of the other performers who are there, but only if they are willing to talk to you. Many performers prefer to keep to themselves at an audition in order to stay focused or prepare themselves. Some will see you as their competition while others will not. Always respect the other people who are auditioning. You may end up working with them some day.

Networking can be a valuable tool when used properly—it’s often not what you know, but who you know that gets you work. Even though these people may be your direct competition, you may make a connection for work that would have otherwise passed you by.

If the copy is for a dialogue spot, you may find another performer willing to run lines, or practice the copy with you. This can be an advantage for both of you, even if you do not do the audition together. However, do keep in mind that interaction with the competition can often be distracting.

Use your waiting time to study the script for your character, key words, target audience, and for anything that is unclear—especially words you don’t understand or don’t know how to pronounce. Try to get a feel for what they are looking for. What attitude? What sort of delivery? Most of the time, your choices will be clear. Sometimes, there will be a character description on the copy, or some notes as to what the producers are after. If there is a sketch of the character you are to play, make note of any physical features, body language or other characteristics that might be used to develop your performance choices. Note the important words or phrases, the advertiser and product name, where to add drama or emotion, where to pull back.

Mark your copy in advance so that you will know what you need to do to achieve the delivery you want. Rehearse out loud and time yourself. Don’t rehearse silently by merely reading and saying the words in your mind. In order to get an accurate timing and believable delivery, you must vocalize the copy.

Be careful not to overanalyze. Read the copy enough times to become familiar with it, then put it aside. Overanalyzing can cause you to lose your spontaneity. Decide on the initial choices for your delivery, and commit to them. But be prepared to give several different variations. Also, be prepared for the unexpected.

Auditions for a TV spot may or may not have a storyboard available. This may be attached to the script or posted on a wall. It may be legible or it may be a poor copy. A storyboard is a series of drawings, similar to a cartoon strip, that describes the visual elements of a TV commercial or film that correspond to the copy. If there is a storyboard for your audition, study it thoroughly. Many TV commercial scripts have a description of the visuals on the left side of the page with the voiceover copy on the right side. If you only focus on the words in the script, you will be overlooking valuable information that could give you the inspiration you need to create the performance that gets you the job.

Expect to Be Nervous

Nervous energy is only natural, but it is something you need to control. Focus on your acting rather than on the words. Don’t waste time trying to suppress or conceal your nervousness. Breathe through it and focus on converting the nervous energy into productive, positive energy for your performance. Many of the top stage and screen actors become very nervous before a performance. It’s a common condition of all performing arts. Bob Hope, one of the top comedians of the twentieth century, was known to be incredibly nervous before going on stage. When asked about it, Mr. Hope said he valued his nervousness because he felt it gave him an edge while performing. Adjust for your nervousness by taking a long breath deep down through your body to center yourself and focus your vocal awareness.

Expect to Be Treated Like Just Another Voice

At most live auditions, the people there really want you to be the right person for the job. However, if the audition is for a major account in a major city, expect the possibility of being treated rudely by people who just don’t care and are trying to rush as many performers through the audition as possible in a limited amount of time. If anything other than this happens, consider yourself lucky. Many times, the people handling the audition are just there to record your performance and have little or nothing to do with the client who will eventually be hiring the actors.

Make a Good First Impression

Greet the producer or host, introduce yourself, shake hands, be spontaneous, be sincere, and be friendly. In other words, be the pro.

If you are auditioning near the end of a long day, the people in the room may not be in the best of moods. You still need to be friendly and professional as long as you are in that room. Remember, first impressions are important. Your first impression of them might not be very good, but you need to make sure that their first impression of you is as good as possible. Your attitude and willingness to meet their needs will go a long way.

Answer any questions the casting staff or engineer ask of you. They will show you where the mic is and let you know when they are ready for you to begin. Do not touch any equipment—especially the mic. Let the engineer or someone from the audition staff handle the equipment, unless you are specifically asked to make an adjustment.

If you have any questions about pronunciation or direction, this is a good time to ask.

There will probably be a music stand near the microphone. Put your copy here. If there is no stand, you will have to hold the copy, which may restrict your physical movement. If headphones are available, put them on—this may be the only way you will hear cues and direction from the control room.

Before you start, the engineer or producer may ask you for a level. This is so he can set the proper record volume. When giving a level, read your copy exactly the way you plan to perform it. Many people make the mistake of just saying their name or counting 1, 2, 3,… or speaking in a softer voice than when they read for the audition. Use this as an opportunity to rehearse your performance with all the emotion and dynamics you will use when the engineer starts recording. In fact, in a studio session, many times the engineer will actually record your level test—and occasionally that take, or portions of it, may end up in the final product.

Make the Copy Your Own

Your best bet for getting a job from an audition is to discover the character in the copy and allow that character to be revealed through your performance. Play with the words! Have fun with them! Put your personal spin on the copy! Don’t change words, but rather add your own unique twist to the delivery. Be careful not to focus on technique or over-analyze the script. Use the skills of voice acting you have mastered to make the copy your own. If they want something else, they’ll ask.

Making the copy your own is an acquired acting skill. It may take you a while to find your unique style, but the search will be worthwhile.

Introduce Yourself with a Slate and Do Your Best

You will have only a few moments to deliver your best work. Remember, you are auditioning as a professional, and those holding the audition expect a certain level of competency. When asked to begin, start by slating your name, then perform as you have planned.

To slate, clearly give both your first and last name, your agent (or contact info), and the title of your audition. You may be asked to slate in a specific order, add additional information, or leave an item out. Many talent buyers only want your name and your agent’s name in the slate.

There are two schools of thought on slates: One is to slate with your natural voice. The other is to slate in character or in a manner consistent with the copy. Slating in your natural voice may be like a second audition by giving the casting person a taste of who you really are and what your voice is like. Slating in character provides continuity for the audition. Neither approach is correct in all situations. If you have an agent, ask how they would prefer you handle the slate. For some electronically submitted auditions, you may be asked to not include a slate, but you may be asked, instead, to include your name as part of the MP3 file name. Use your best judgment when slating, but always keep it short. For a project we were producing, we specifically asked for the talent’s name and phone number in the slate, and nothing more. We had roughly 225 auditions submitted and of those, only 25 actually followed our instructions for the slate. One audition actually had a rambling slate that ran longer than the actual copy. Needless to say, that talent was not booked.

After slating, wait a few beats as you prepare yourself mentally by visualizing the scene, and physically with a good diaphragmatic breath, then begin. Don’t just jump in and start reading. When auditioning from home, you have the luxury of editing later on.

At a live audition, you may, or may not, receive direction or coaching from the casting person. If you are given direction, it may be completely different from your interpretation. You may be asked to give several different reads, and you need to be flexible enough to give the producer what he or she wants, regardless of whether you think it is correct. You may, or may not, be able to ask questions. It depends entirely on the producer and the audition setup.

Many auditions are simply intended to narrow down possible voices and the performance is secondary. The copy used in some auditions may be an early draft, while other auditions may provide a final script. Either way, you are expected to perform to the best of your abilities. Do your best interpretation first, and let the producer ask for changes after that. It may be that your interpretation gives the producer an idea he or she had not thought of, which could be the detail that gets you the job. In some cases, you might be asked to simply improvise something, and won’t even have a script.

Offering your opinion is usually not a good idea at an audition, but it is something you can do if it feels appropriate. Some producers may be open to suggestions or a different interpretation, while others are totally set in their ways. If the producer is not open to it, he or she will tell you. These are not shy people. At other times, the audition staff will be doing little more than simply giving slate instructions and recording your performance.

The casting person will let you know when they have what they want. Two or three reads of the copy may be all the opportunity you will have to do your best work. When you are done, thank them, and then leave. Your audition is over. If you like, take the script with you, unless you are asked to return it.

Own the Session

This mental mind trick works equally well for on-site auditions, outside studio sessions and home studio sessions. The purpose of this visualization exercise is to put you in a mindset for success.

Begin by observing the environment. If on location, walk across the street or parking lot and observe the building where you will be working. Listen to the birds, study the architecture, notice the trees and observe any traffic. Notice the details. If at home, relax and observe the details of your home studio. Immerse your senses in the sounds and sights of wherever you are.

Next, close your eyes and, in your imagination, see yourself being welcomed by your client and studio staff. Say to yourself positive statements like: “I own this session.” “These people work for me.” “We’re having a great time.” Stay in the present tense.

After a moment or two, open your eyes and let it go. Proceed to your session ready to work. You may be surprised at how it goes.

After the Audition

If you do not hear anything within 72 hours after the audition, you can safely assume that you did not get the job. Generally, agents call only if you get the booking or are requested for a callback.

While you are waiting for that call, don’t allow yourself to become worried about whether or not you will get the job. Write your followup letter and move on. Remember that voice acting is a numbers game, and that if you don’t get this job, there is another opportunity coming just down the road.

When the Actors are Gone

At the end of the day, the audition staff takes all the auditions and return to their office where they listen to the recordings and narrow down the candidates. They may choose the voice they want right away, or they may ask for a second audition—called a callback—to further narrow the candidates.

A callback session will generally be much more relaxed and you might have more time to work with the script or receive direction from the producer. Don’t be surprised if the script has changed.

If for some reason you do not get this job, the producer may remember you next week or next month when another voiceover performer is needed for another project.

After the callback, the audition staff once again takes their collection of auditions (much smaller this time), and returns to their office. This cycle may be repeated several times until the producer or client is satisfied that the right voice is chosen.

Be Good to Yourself

On leaving a live audition, you may come up with dozens of things you feel you could have done differently or “better.” Second-guessing yourself is self-defeating and counter-productive. Instead of beating yourself up, do something positive and be good to yourself. You’ve done your best! You have survived your audition. Now you deserve a treat. Take yourself out to lunch, buy that hot new DVD you’ve been wanting, or simply do something nice for yourself. It doesn’t really matter—just do something special. Then let it go.

Union vs. Non-Union Auditions

Whether you are union or non-union, the simple fact is that you can audition for anything. There are only a few situations where your union status might be a factor in auditioning for a project.

Many union talent wishing to stay true to their Rule 1 agreement believe that they cannot audition for non-union voiceover work. The truth is that any voice actor can audition for any job. If you are nonunion, you can audition for a union job. If you land the job, your client can qualify you for the union job under the Taft-Hartley Law.

If you are a union member, you can audition for any non-union work that might come your way. If you are booked for the job, there are several things you can do: You can ask the union to get involved to move it to a union job. Or, you can create your own production company as a union signatory and hire yourself as the voice talent. This effectively removes your client from any dealings with the union and keeps the work within union jurisdiction.

Many union voice talent are going to fi-core membership which gives them the right to work both union and non-union jobs. And some non-union voice talent simply prefer to stay non-union, while others will take vouchered union jobs if booked, but only to the limit of becoming eligible to join the union.