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VOICE ACTING
Regularly, I get asked what my biggest pet peeves are in voiceover casting. And to be honest, I like to share my pet peeves just as much as what I like or prefer. It’s good to know what to do, but it’s just as valuable to know what NOT to do. As a voice actor, your goal is to make a strong impression in every audition, but sometimes, well-meaning actions can have the opposite effect. Casting Directors see and hear hundreds of auditions on every project, and certain things can turn your audition into an instant NO, no matter how talented you are. Understanding what drives us crazy can give you a competitive edge and help you stand out for the right reasons. Here’s a look at some of my biggest pet peeves in casting and how to avoid them. TOP 5 PEEVES 1. Not Following Directions One of the biggest frustrations is when talent fails to follow audition instructions. Whether it’s how to label the file, slating, giving the requested number of takes, fitting the specs, or ignoring the deadline, you are sending the message that you’re either not paying attention or not taking the audition seriously. 2. Overly Processed Audio This is a BIG mistake a lot of voice actors don’t realize they’re making. We want to hear your voice, not your equipment, editing skills, the presets or stacks you got done by an engineer, etc. While it’s important to submit clean audio, some actors go overboard with processing - adding too much compression, EQ, or noise reduction. This can strip your voice of its natural qualities and make it sound artificial, which hurts when we want an authentic, unprocessed sound. And guess what? People breathe! So why are you cutting out all of your breaths when we’re looking for “real people”? 3. Not Fitting The Specs This one is bigger than most actors realize. Sending in an audition for every role, even if you don’t fit the specs, is a quick way to get us to not listen to your aduitions on future projects. Yes, as an actor you can play a LOT of different roles – age doesn’t matter, looks do not matter. However, if a role requires a specific voice type, accent, or age range that you don’t match, submitting a read anyway wastes everyone’s time and will damage your reputation with the casting team. Know what you do and submit accordingly. You cannot do everything. 4. Late Submissions Or Submitting Right At The Deadline How often do you submit an audition moments before it’s due? How about after the deadline? Here’s the deal – we often are listening as submissions come in. There may be times when we have the top 10 or 20 we want to send to the client before all of the submissions have been received. There are also times when we need to submit to the client in batches. If we have to submit our top 10 in the first batch, we may only have 40 auditions to choose our top 10 from. But closer to the deadline, when we need to submit our second top 10, we may have 400 to choose 10 from. You do the math on your odds of being submitted. 5. Overconfidence While confidence is important as a voice actor, overconfidence or pushiness can turn us off instantly. Sending follow-up emails to ask about your audition status or overselling your abilities in a way that comes across as arrogant can backfire. At the same time, self-deprecation can also make us second guess working with you. No-one wants to work with an ego. There are a lot of great people in this industry, so we don’t need to work with the difficult ones. BE FUN AND EASY All in all, as a casting director, I’m always looking for professional people who are fun and easy to work with. Voiceover is a collaborative industry and that’s one thing I truly love about it. So, I share all of this in order to help you navigate what works and doesn’t work so we can build stronger connections and work together to get you BOOKED. Email: casting@voicecaster.com |
By Kelly Moscinski
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