Auditions Verses Actual Gigs Landed Concerns

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

Your optional Reply button for empathetic Voice Seekers has been on quite a few talents' Wish List for a while. It's been discussed at length elsewhere on these sprawling boards.
I continue to feel it would be a fairly simple and welcome option for V123 to institute.
No matter what hardened old pros say, it IS nice to know you were heard once in a while. And some seekers would have bothe the time and the class to acknowledge a few of the respondents.
voice talents, like nature, abhor a vacuum.
Voice On!

Anthony Reece · **Voice Talent** Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 53

here here....maybe ver 2.0 will have it? thanks for the reply and I too agree it is nice to get feedback from clients now and zen. even if it is well, it wasn't right for us...

a-

Freddie Molina · Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007, 01:42 (GMT) Post subject:

Gordon Gibb · Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007, 01:54 (GMT) Post subject: Getting a Hearing.....

I have suspected this since the beginning. Only the most keen, overly-thorough seeker who is so concerned about getting the right sound, just the right read and nuance for his or her project, someone who is willing to wade through 295 demos to discover the next Don LaFontaine, for example, will make it to the end of the run. Some will, but I truly believe it is the vast MINority. The remainder will listen to the first couple of dozen, then pick one.

That suggests the so-called "expiry" is laughable. What's the point of having an expiry? Honestly......

And sooooo many clients are looking for custom reads, now. If I am sitting here, with my system powered up (as it is all the time) - and a lead comes in, by the time I switch to Adobe (which is also up), do a few takes, slate it, save it, and answer the lead with a stock answer template (perish the thought of taking the time to actually write a custom response - and I'm a writer too, for heaven's sake, so I can go at the keyboard pretty quickly....)

Even with high speed connectivity, and getting the demo out within a few minutes of the lead coming in, I'm at sixty-something.

I DO think - and this is not to fault those who have the capacity for same - but this system favours the individual who is sitting at the keyboard when the lead comes in, gets the demo out poste haste, and therefore has a better chance of being heard. You can't be considered, if you are not heard.

So - with the vast majority looking for custom demos, even for IVR's, what the hell do you do? You pick and choose the leads that are right for you, and you STILL get left out on the perimeter. The V123 page suggests, when there is a custom demo requested, that a custom demo is REQUIRED. So am I going to just upload a demo reel, and ignore the copy? That suggests I'm stupid, blind, or terribly impolite.

Excuse me for spewing, but there has to be a solution to this.

My agency in Toronto solicits auditions from voices it has in its portfolio, mine among them. The seeker goes through them, picks out the voices he, or she would like to hear a custom demo from, and then an audition is requested from those, say, dozen or so. The client has an idea in mind anyway. Not EVERYBODY is going to fit the paremeters. Then, if there is an audition requested, you can EXPECT that you will get a hearing - because it was requested, and the shortlist is manageable, and listening to them all is realistic. It's a second step, but I say a manageble one, and not too much to ask.

How about that, Voice 123? Don't allow clients to request custom demos from the beginning. We have canned demos posted for a reason. Require the seeker to go through them first, then ask those requested to audition.

Seriously folks, if Voice 123 is revamping its' service, for heaven's sake I hope they have taken into account the marketplace AS IT NOW EXISTS, not when V123 started. Perhaps, in the beginning, the template of letting everybody compete for everything, sure -- ask for a custom demo when signing up, and first-come, first-served, the early-bird-gets-the-worm. Maybe in the beginning.

But not now. There are far too many of us. Expiry dates aside, which is a facade, human nature and compressed schedules suggest only the first few dozen will be heard. That's the reality.

So how do we address that? How do we inject more fairness into the system? How does Voice 123 respond?

Comments?

Respectfully,

Gordon Gibb

Amy Snively · **Voice Talent** Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Posts: 1028

I've said it a million times if I've said it once: Custom reads should be for call-backs only.

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

Amen, Amy...Amen.
Aside from the insanity of thousands of talents rushing to zap in a dozen custom demos a week, it would also cut down on the misuse of many, many custom demos.
When the poster has 188 clips to choose from, he/she can run and hide.
I'm sure some half of our 'clients' are not serious buyers.
Kvetch On!

Colin Campbell · Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007, 03:29 (GMT) Post subject:

Great! So what do I do? I am the schlep answering all those leads. Though I confess... not lately. I am too busy making actual money with producitn stuff. Not my first love, but at least my second.

Amy Snively · **Voice Talent** Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Posts: 1028

Got any extra work for me, Colin?

And not extra work BTW, extra work. Very Happy

Cameron Thomas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 06 Dec 2006 Posts: 479

I've noticed that the list of responses grows much, much quicker with the generic demo leads. So if you're not responding to a generic lead within a few minutes, you're just as far down the list than you were to prep a custom demo--maybe further.

Gordon Gibb

Another reason why I think you need pre-selection. With a generic especially, the only way I can guarentee I can make it in early, is if I have the V123 page open, and keep clicking on the "Read and Answer Leads" Button. If I wait for my e:mail lead to come through, I'm too late already. It might be nice to have the capacity to have the site allow for automatic refresh on the Read and Answer Leads button.......so if we have it open.......we can set it to refresh every couple of minutes.

But still - I'm convinced that pre-selection is the key. Unless Voice 123 can guarentee that the client is required to listen to all responses before making a decision (and how realistic is THAT???), it is not a level playing field. We are all eager, but some of us have other committments. or slow systems, or take a little longer to get the demo just right......and we are penalized for doing so.

The playing field IS level, in the context that we all have demos on our web sites. That's what they are there for. And there is nothing stopping a client from perusing the sites, hit on a talent who seems just right and offer the job, or a private lead. Otherwise, perhaps V123 can assist the seeker in touring through the roster. Okay, you're looking for this kind of voice? Let's narrow it down for you. Okay, here are the people who fit those pre-qualifications. If there's alot of us, maybe V123 could do a rotation, so throughout several leads, all talents are at least toured at least oncem equally. Then the seeker makes his or her selection either for the job, or for an audition....say, a dozen, or 20. You can listen to 20. You can't listen to 200.

Is this more work for V123? Dunno, if you can automate this kind of thing.
It would be great if the system were to run itself, and believe me, with a job in radio in 2007 we can automate the place for days, without a human being ever setting foot into the place.

But does that help us? Okay, on paper it works......you put a lead out, all the talents can compete for the lead, and may the best woman or man win. But if reality dictates that the fastest in, not even necessarily the best, makes it in, then the sprinter is favoured........and the rest of us are left on the bench.

Expiry? Phooey. If I answer by the expiry date, then I have every right to be heard. Even if I am # 299. How does V123 guarentee that? Yes, please answer by the deadline, but (nudge nudge) the sooner the better. Obviously. And everybody and his brother asking for custom demos from legit, high-end jobs where a demo makes sense........to "Hello, you've reached Marty Inc, we're not in right now.".........without any filtering?

I now limit myself to the leads that are right for me, and I know I put out some good stuff. And still, if I'm last in, I can kiss that job goodbye.

I should not get the job because I don't fit the job. I should not get the job because I'm not any good.

It should NOT be that I don't get the job because I wasn't even considered because my demo was never listened to.

Which means I'm wasting my time and effort. Why bother responding to leads at all? We have demos sitting on our web sites. It's probably just as effective to ignore public leads, and just wait for people to come find you.

Of all the jobs I have landed on this site, they have either been because I just happened to be, as luck would have it. in the top 20. Or, they found me with a private lead. Or, on a couple of high-end jobs, the seeker made a point of listening to each and every demo, because they wanted something specific. I was 200-and-something on that one. And yet they found me.

That's not going to happen very often.

So how do we fix it? I say pre-selection on custom demos, and do that exclusively. Have V123 promote a new voice - a poster boy or girl, every time someone logs in, perhaps. An equal rotation. And if we are still going to have the capacity to respond to generic leads, then I would like the capacity for an automatic refresh on the Leads button. Waiting for them to pop up on my e:mail, and I'm already too late.

Anybody else?

Gordon Gibb · Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007, 12:56 (GMT) Post subject:

Tom wrote:

Freddie Molina · Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007, 13:07 (GMT) Post subject:

Hello Gordon,

All your comments are valid and totally understand where you´re coming from.

The issues you mentioned, like the amount of talents replying to a single lead and how the benefit goes to the ones just sitting in front of their computer, are somethings we had in mind for quite a while.

Voice123 has grown quite a bit in the past few years and this is why the last year our development department took on the challenge of improving the system. A totally new version of Voice123 will be coming (very) soon, this version will include features that address these concerns, features like the possibility for client s to select how many talents they want to audition, The SmartCast System that will act as a filtering tool making sure the best talents for each client´s request are call to audition, and a few things more.

The main idea with this major release is to bring a much better auditioning tool, drive more leads on to our service and bring more benefits to talents.

Please be patient, things will come very soon.

Gordon Gibb · Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007, 13:10 (GMT) Post subject:

Okay. I'll be a good boy. Looking forward to the release. And glad you feel our pain......

Freddie Molina · Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007, 13:20 (GMT) Post subject:

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

Tom writes that the system does work for the poster.
And maybe it does, in a way.
By facing a tsunami of custom demos, the client gets a voice all right.
But the whole process as is indicates that he/she didn't know what they wanted going in.
It's "male or female, young voice to senior, be creative". That posting tells me right away the client is only looking for an easy presentation to pitch to their possible customer.
They can go in to a meeting and say "Lookit, WE'VE (!) come up with some distinct possibilities here."
They get kudoes for a full presentation. We get bupkus.
I've done only three customs here in a week. As Gordon points out, it's simply too futile to study the clock, the script, the clock, the take, the clock; and all for a long-shot at a frivoulous posting.
In the same time span, I've had three serious leads from two sites where there are no open auditions. The customers approach only those talents that suit their planned campaign or project.
It indicates professionalism in the talent-seeker.
And it makes me feel likewise.
Voice On!