Demo of The Day Thread 07/02 to 07/08

Maggie's Voice · **Voice Talent** Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 588

OK Ladies & Gents - we're open for business. It's gonna be a slow week - but should be fun nonetheless!!

Maggie

Colin Campbell · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007, 13:40 (GMT) Post subject:

Last weeks DoD was really slow too. Only 7 pages.

Maggie's Voice · **Voice Talent** Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 588

This lead is from TOS - I actually recorded it on Friday but never submitted it... it wasn't quite to my liking. This morning, I found the mood I wanted to create and recorded it again (with my smoky campfire "morning voice")

Here it is...

Maggie

Colin Campbell · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007, 15:12 (GMT) Post subject:

Now that it's all over, I thought I could share this with everyone. The attached demo got me down to five finalists for a 13 part History Channel series on the fall of the Roman empire. In the end, one of the other five was chosen. You can imagine how exciting it was to even be considered as one of five! The original lead came through Voice123. Here is the second audition I did for them for a private lead that resulted from the original anonymous public lead...

Erik Sheppard · **Voice Talent** Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 1317

Wow Maggie, maybe you should do all your reads in the morning. Nice work. I liked the bed as well.

Colin, that would be my dream job. Every time I'm doing some dumb IVR thing or website intro I am thinking "One day I'll be on the History Channel." Pretty much all I watch on TV is The History Channel, TLC and The Discovery Channel (have you guys seen the new Discovery HD? It is amazing). Sometimes it is hard to enjoy the show because I miss whats going on by focusing on the narrator's delivery too much. Maybe we'll share an office.

Colin Campbell · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007, 16:09 (GMT) Post subject:

Erik, that would be great wouldn't it? I think most voicers dream of documentary work.

I wanted to post that diddy to show that not all the leads on 123 and sites like it are low end stuff. When I first saw the lead, I didn't think much of it. In fact I applied some campy production to it. The experience has shifted my perspective. You never know what you are auditioning for here so give all you've got to every lead that seems reasonable.

In fact, I'm working a national radio and TV lead right now that came in over at TOS. I am supposedly the "top contender."

There are some quality leads, so put your heart into EVERY audition you do. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that such a high quality opportunity would come through Voice123.

A thought just occured to me.... is the winner amongst us? Is so, will they speak out? I for one would love to know.

Thom, Scott?

Maybe a non-123 memeber too though.

September Day Leach · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 1526

HOLY CRAP!!

Maggie and Colin...I could absolutely hear your voices during museum exhibits and narrating on A&E or the History Channel!! Wow!! I went to an IMAXX show about the Amazon last year and the voice was NOWHERE near the caliber of you guys! Amazing! You are what I want to be when I grow up!!! Very Happy

Colin Campbell · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007, 16:34 (GMT) Post subject:

I gotta' tell ya' Ember, you are no slouch yourself.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007, 18:16 (GMT) Post subject:

Colin, that was truly an excellent read! No question as to why you were in the Final Five. As I listened, I think I was wanting to hear just a HINT more 'soul' in it. I know that's hard to define, but something that takes it beyond an excellent read to something that tells me the subject matter is dear to you personally. Listen to Sigourney Weaver narrate Planet Earth's episodes. It's not a highly emotional read, but it sounds like her heart is totally in it. That's what separates those of us here on v123 from the Sigourney Weavers and David Attenboroughs of the world.

And no, I didn't even ever audition for that one from what I can recall. If I DID, I sure never made it into the finals!

Colin Campbell · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007, 18:31 (GMT) Post subject:

Scott.... just for academics. In the direction they told me to "read against the copy which is overblown." It was my nature to emote more but for once I tried to follow direction. I suppose there is a happy medium that I was on the sadder side of. But, hey if I got that far, I must've been on to something.

After I went through that process, I started paying close attention to documentary voices and indeed they do seem to keep the emotion down.

Oh and as an aside. When I got the private lead, I read it and sumbitted it before I realized the acronym they used (THC) was The History Channel. Now I suppose if I KNEW it was the History Channel, I might have done it differently but maybe not better. I started to study the lead later and went.... HOLY CRAP!

Oh.... and Scott... That's me on an RE-27. I did it at work.

John Bigl · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Aug 2005 Posts: 905

so many talents... so many great interpretations of copy... i'm impressed and intimidated...
anyway... been awhile since having the nerve to post a demo for review... been taking voice lessons (which continue); and learning this new ProTools rig..
as always, your helpful comments are most appreciated...

Be Well

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

You should go away more often, Big John BigL...'cuz you come back smokin'.
That worked for me...a pro, smooth read with an understated energy and a couple of smiles in it.
Kudos to your coach, you, and Digidesign. Y'all work well together.

And speaking of doc narration, I was lucky enough to narrate 'Martin's Inferno' for the Discovery Channel a couple of years ago.
I say - and mean - lucky enough, since I was mostly acting and not voicing at the time. Hearing it now, it sounds dry, flat, choppy.
And yet that job was won in a long audition process, which all clearly illustrates that they'd much rather have the pictures tell the story than the narrator.
Colin's smooth and matter-of-factly read here underscores that point.

I attach a short snippet of Martin's Inferno.

Maggie's Voice · **Voice Talent** Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 588

Colin Campbell · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007, 20:14 (GMT) Post subject:

I love your morning voice Maggie. Very distinctive. Well.... I tried the Colorado River too... I think I tried way too hard on this...

Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007, 20:42 (GMT) Post subject:

Robert, I LOVED the Martin's Inferno read! I noticed perhaps less choppiness than usual, but man, did your voice ever work well on that!!

Colin... the dreaded RE-27 eh? I use the RE-20 and as you know, I love it. Shows you that it's more of the VOICE than the MIKE that makes it or breaks it.