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Post by Brittany Ann Phillips on Feb 11, 2018 18:28:40 GMT -8
Hello all! It's a new year and I recently acquired new recording equipment, so I thought it would be best to work on new online demo reels that would be an accurate representation of my audio quality and voice acting skills/improvement. This is where I need your feedback! I have recorded a test character demo and a commercial demo. Both can be listened to here (they are both dry, with no music or special effects): Character DemoCommercial DemoDo not hesitate to brutally honest/blunt. If something is not working (or if the entire demos are not working), by all means, let me know and I will go back to the drawing board. One example is that the EQ-ing definitely needs to be worked on (any tips would be greatly appreciated). Stay awesome everyone! Brittany Ann Phillips
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2018 19:24:58 GMT -8
Hey there! I've never given feedback for a character or commercial demo reel before but I'm gonna give it a shot. I hope I won't come off as too mean. First things first, you have a great length for the character demo reel and you're very straight to the point with the intro but (needs to be more exciting). I really love your voice. It kind of reminds me of Rhianna DeVries and Ashly Burch from Life is Strange. I feel like you have a lot of potential for animation/video-game roles. Things that need work: Acting! Acting! Acting! It's very important. I'm not convinced that you're the character on some of these lines. It feels like you're holding back from expressing yourself fully. I feel like you're only giving 80%. Some of the characters and emotions sound too much alike and lacks energy. For instance, characters 1 and 3 sound almost the same. From 0:38 to 0:50 I couldn't tell if those were the same characters or not. Be careful when arranging the order of voices. Try to have a balance of voices for each scene. For instance, don't continue with a sad emotion right after doing a serious emotion. Arrange the order of the voices in a way that contrasts from the other drastically. Slow down on some lines because listeners will have trouble comprehending what they hear. It seems like you tried to fit as much as you could within one-minute which is okay but only if they sound distinct from each other. Remember that each scene should be around 7-10 seconds long. As for sound quality. It sounds great! Crisp and clear except around 0:46, I hear some sort of buzzing noise. Almost sounds like a refrigerator. -------------------------- Commercial Demo Reel Your voice has a very soothing tone to it. You'd be really suitable for product commercials. However, this reel still lacks energy. For the scene at 0:35, I don't feel drawn in to the world you're describing because it seems like you're not really into it. It almost sounds like you're reading the lines. The important thing about commercial/narration voices is that you have to sound engaged. (check out Billy DeWees two keys to narration voice overs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=reHZ5kZybDA) Billy DeWees gives out great advice on all topics to voice overs. In the video link I shared. The two keys are: To sound engaged and to sound credible. You have to feel interested in what you're talking about. As well as KNOW what you're talking about. Understand everything about the product, world, or radio station you are advertising. ALSO, another important thing. ENUNCIATION. Don't talk too fast, there were some scenes where some of the words weren't clear enough. ----------------- I hope I wasn't too mean! I hope this advice will be useful. Most of the stuff I addressed is probably stuff I have trouble with all the time, but don't worry. All you gotta do is practice, practice, practice! Actors never stop training and are never perfect! If you don't mind. I'd like to get feedback on a character demo reel too!
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Post by Bean on Feb 11, 2018 23:17:10 GMT -8
I liked the majority of the clips I heard, but I will second what phantompunk was saying in certain ones where it seemed you were lacking emotion, like the aforementioned :35 one in the commercial demo. It also surfaces a couple of times in the character demo. I struggle mightily with raising my voice or having enough passion in it at times, so I know how annoying that can be.
Outside of what I just said, I enjoyed listening to them. You're definitely on the right track there with some of that stuff. I liked the radio and perfume commercials in the middle of that demo, for instance! So there's more good than parts that need improvement. That's what I'm trying to say here.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2018 23:32:36 GMT -8
I liked the majority of the clips I heard, but I will second what phantompunk was saying in certain ones where it seemed you were lacking emotion, like the aforementioned :35 one in the commercial demo. It also surfaces a couple of times in the character demo. I struggle mightily with raising my voice or having enough passion in it at times, so I know how annoying that can be. Outside of what I just said, I enjoyed listening to them. You're definitely on the right track there with some of that stuff. I liked the radio and perfume commercials in the middle of that demo, for instance! So there's more good than parts that need improvement. That's what I'm trying to say here. Having to raise my voice is an issue I have too. Mainly because I live in a dorm and I feel embarrassed to shout or scream. I usually struggle to imagine myself in the scenario my character is in because it's hard to picture everything when you're just inside of a booth or a closet. Also, when making a demo, never add characters or performances you feel iffy about only add the voices you're comfortable with and always have your best voices showcased first. The brutal truth about demo reels is that some clients will only listen to the first few seconds of it.
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Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Feb 12, 2018 1:33:20 GMT -8
I'm gonna focus on your character demo here since that's primarily the kind of work my background is in & therefore feel more comfortable giving feedback in that area, if that makes sense. You definitely have a pretty voice to listen to and a solid starting point, but here are a few things that stood out to me: - A lot of the clips seemed very much on the same level to me both vocally and emotionally, leading the whole thing to sound almost like a monologue in parts. I felt like you could have definitely played with your range a bit more and also the emotional content. Not every clip has to include big and bold choices, but don't be afraid to throw some in there for contrast. It's okay if you don't necessarily want to go all over the place with pitches and such, but making distinct character choices will really help carve out each clip and make it unique even if the vocal types are similar. If I were listening to this while casting, I might be hesitant (for example) to give you a role that involved a big emotional crying scene because that type of acting range isn't displayed in your demo, if that makes sense. You varied up pacing, which is good, but you should vary up the volume too---one of the other reasons the demo felt kind of one-note is because it was all about the same, even volume---no really quiet emotional moments or heightened intense/shouting moments. Conversational is good for a commercial demo, but on a character demo you have room to play.
- The first voice on your demo should be your strongest. What you have on there as your first clip works in and of itself, but I wouldn't put it at the top---I get the sense from the rest of your demo that you are good at playing the "young adult quirky girl" types and something really strong like that for you should go up first.
- Your enunciation sounds muddy on some clips, particularly on the second spot where you are speaking really fast, as well as the "drag you to the police" line (where I couldn't make out what you were saying in part of it). I have a lot of issues lately with my enunciation too so one thing that I found helpful is to practice reading the line slower, get really comfortable with forming the words, and then speed up until I can do a solid take without sounding stumbly. Diction is especially important for demo purposes to help achieve that clean, professional sound (unless it's a conscious choice for one of your characters to have speech that is mumbled or slurred such as a little kid character or a drunk woman, but that's kind of a special case.)
- Believe the words you're saying! One of the examples I'll use is the part that starts with "When I was younger, I spent my days by the ocean." You're saying this line, but it sounds like you are saying the line rather than really thinking about what it means---again, your voice sounds pretty here, but I don't believe what you're saying. Without knowing the character or scene this is from, I'd look at a line like this and picture it in my head... the sights, sounds, smells of the ocean, the feeling of the sand beneath one's feet, the nostalgia of the emotions felt in that time. That will give your read something to be grounded in. It can follow through to the next part of "But now... now I do my own scrubbing." You can take your time here. What is the meaning of the "do my own scrubbing?" Maybe a slight smirk, or wistful smile...or if she's bitter about that, more of a scoff. Allow for transition, even/especially in the same clip. It's OK to take your time with it and let the audience really get a sense of what you're saying and know that you believe it, too.
- Take your choices further. Don't be afraid of holding back or feel like you need to play it safe. "If any of you don't show... you'll be digging up the grave by yourself, tomorrow night." You sound mildly annoyed here, but I'd take this two steps further. This could be a threat... laying down the law for the people you're talking to (who are you talking to? Knowing stuff like this in your head is super important for fleshing out scenes in the demo... I wrote a guide on this called "5 Ws and H" which might be helpful with some of the stuff to think about for that??) Having a visual picture in your head of what's going on when you're saying this can make a world of difference. Like you're this super badass chick with a sword STANDING IN THAT GRAVEYARD AND NOT TAKING ANY ATTITUDE FROM YOUR UNDERLINGS WHO DARE TO DEFY YOU or you're going to ruin their reputation and they'll never have a social life in school. Or something. Obviously I have no idea what the scene ACTUALLY is but that's just a silly example of how you can take a line and make it into a strong choice
Apologies for the long winded critique---I hope it helps somewhat and am looking forward to seeing what you can do!
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Post by Brittany Ann Phillips on Feb 12, 2018 9:48:31 GMT -8
Thank you for the feedback everyone! All of your points are quite valid. I will go back to the drawing board.
Brittany
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