Voice-artist Greg Phelps is a regular contributor on the VO-BB, and yesterday he asked a great question:
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:….if you had the person from a large advertising agency, that selected all the voice actors for that agency, sitting across from you and you could pick their brains, what would you ask? "
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Among the answers was this knowledgeable response from veteran Voice-Actor Connie Terwilliger:
(which I’m posting with full credit to Connie and the VO-BB)
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Each casting is different – they are looking for different things – but having done some castings in my time – both live and from demos – I’ll bet they’ll tell you things like:
1. Be there on time (early actually)
2. Read the breakdown AND the sides provided. If they have been provided ahead of time, you should know it cold!
3. Don’t make noise or disturb the other actors waiting their turn.
4. If it is a union casting, have your card handy and make sure to sign in and out of the log sheet.
If it is a casting off demos – get to know the casting directors and make sure they have a copy of your demos, so that if your agent hasn’t submitted you for the casting, and the casting director thinks that you may be what they are listening for they can put your demo into the mix. Same thing with the creative directors at agencies. Make sure that they have one of your demos in hand – unless they have requested a link to your website. But out of sight, out of mind, so some degree of follow up is a good idea.
As far as not bugging the casting directors or the creative directors. Do your due diligence – always have something to say if you are going to call them. Read the local trades, know what they have been doing. I subscribe to MediaPost (email avalanche alert!!!) and read about a national account that a local ad agency has that I was unaware of – great stuff to talk about when contacting the agency.
Send post cards or include them in your eNewsletter (always making sure to let people opt out),
Just a few ideas. Each person is different though, so what works with one may not with another.
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I so appreciate Connie’s insights. She has a wealth of experience, and you can take her admonitions to the bank.
CourVO
