Keith Langhorn - British Voice Actor

Keith Langhorn · **Voice Talent** Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 7

Hello, Here is the commercials part of my demo. I also did narration which I will post in the future. Your feedback is appreciated. Thanks

Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008, 13:35 (GMT) Post subject:

Keith, I'll give it a shot, although to be honest with you, I'm always thrown askew by the lovely British accent which - to my American ears - can mask other presentation deficiencies.

My initial impression is that this demo is - at best - so-so.
Much of what you're reading here sounds very forced and just 'read' to my ears. I particularly did not care for the phoney deeper range you dropped down into in the "Chivalry is not dead" piece.

I also really, really hated the Nordstrom piece. It was utterly unbelievable and you could not have sounded any more droll in it.

Your strongest piece was the beginning portion of "I woke up and talked to myself". That was the one, single piece in this entire demo where I believed you were really talking to me and being honest and NOT reading a script. I want to emphasize that it's the beginning of that piece that works, because as you slid into it and got into the actual veterinarian bit you started to slide back into reading again and it lost its believability.

Also, your closing piece about housesitting wasn't too bad. You sounded SLIGHTLY more comfortable in that delivery, but on a scale of 1-10 I could still only give it perhaps a 6 or 7.

From a technical production standpoint, it's WAYYYYY too long and the bits are too long with too much music segue between them. The whole thing seems to be moving at about 33 rpm when I WANT it to move at closer to 45 rpm. That doesn't mean you need to speed up the actual BITS themselves, but the ENTIRE DEMO needs to keep moving forward, not plodding along.

After listening through this several times, here's what struck me: I get the impression you're relying on your (quite nice) voice tonal quality for about 97% of your delivery, and only a minuscule amount on emoting or acting. Don't take this the wrong way, because this is something that has been discussed many times before on this forum for many people, but you need to be careful about being too much in love with the sound of your own voice. Yes, it's nice, but it alone won't do the job.

You really need to learn how to bring out the nuances of words and how to relax and deliver a script so that it sounds believable and not just read (albeit read relatively nicely). It sounds like you're specializing (a lot like me) in low-key, often elegant or highbrow, delivery. That's fine, but what I hear you doing is relying on low-energy and an often monotone delivery. It's possible to still deliver low-key and subtle voiceover yet still be able to provide EMPHASIS. Nay, it's not just possible, it's IMPERATIVE to win the jobs.

Get some acting training and voice-acting lessons. Learn how to massage the meanings out of words and how to breathe some realness into your reads to take them from 'a nice read' to that 'wow' factor.

Finally, let me link you to another overseas voice that recently blew me away. Leif isn't a native English speaker, but in his English delivery he takes on a British accent which really works for me.

But notice this about this spot: It's utterly minimal, verbiage is sparce. But you can simply FEEL an emotion in Leif's delivery that I'd KILL to have. Give this a listen, see what you think, and I hope all of this has helped. Best wishes.

http://voiceoversavvy.com/ftopic4993.html

Keith Langhorn · **Voice Talent** Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 7

Hello Scott, Thank you for taking so much of your time to review my demo & give me such honest feedback. I really appreciate it. It is no good for me to stumble along in darkness & wonder why I am not getting any jobs. Although, if you consider it, Brittney & Lindsay have made a nice living from being mediocre!!
I agree with you on most of your points. Practice,practice,practice. I have not done enough of it, obviously.
Re sounding"droll" to be honest, I am a droll kind of guy! It's my "thing"
I am suprised by your review of using my deep voice for the Lincoln bit.
I listened to the way that Leif recorded his demo. Although it worked for him, I do not feel that it would work for me. I would sound like an old fart trying to be young. A bit like when you are at a set of stop lights & you hear the guy beside you, a middle aged white guy, listening to rap. You know he hates it, but he is trying anyway. One thinks,"get a grip!"
So, practice,practice,practice is my credo.
Once again,thanks for you critique.Perhaps we might stay in touch,so I can use your expertise as a sounding board for my progress? I live in San Diego. Keith