Let's talk about what should be included in a voiceover reel for audio drama. A few qualifiers at the top: this is specifically regarding demo reels for audio drama. Reels for commercial, audiobook narration, video games, etc. have a specific purpose, and not all of the tips I’ll share will apply, though I believe some of this info can transfer over. Secondly, when making a demo for commercials, e-learning, and other voiceover areas, it’s typically best to work with a demo producer who knows that area of focus well. Thirdly, this is based on my decade-plus of experience as a producer, director, and voiceover talent in the audio drama industry. So while this is based mostly on anecdotal evidence, these tips have been concurred with by several colleagues, and I believe these are great rules of thumb to keep in mind.
Why Cover this Topic?
Because of my position as an audio drama critic with Audio Theatre Central for over 15 years, and as a producer/director for nearly as long, I am contacted by a lot of VO talent. The frequency of these inquiries has greatly increased in recent years as I have started producing more micro audio dramas. I have been getting "cold-called" by a lot of voice talent, and a lot of demo reels have been sent my way, and many of them are simply put, not very good, and are not effective. I am now more convinced than ever that I was correct when I began advocating for 90 seconds as the top length for an audio drama demo a few years back. (It doesn't hurt to have a longer one for a specific discipline that you can send over upon request, but I really think your "first impression" demo needs to be 60-90 seconds.) I'm being sent 2.5-minute demos, and frankly, most of the time, I can't be bothered. I'm finding I'm bailing about halfway through. This is also partly due to the fact that there is very little variation between the clips, some of which are 30 seconds long.
This is anecdotal, of course, but I think if your demos are long-ish, you might have trouble getting casting directors to pay attention, and it could cost you jobs. Think about it: if they get just 10 auditions for a job and all of the demos are 2 minutes, that's 20 minutes for them just to get through the initial samples. For one character! And I'd guess that most jobs are getting far more than 10 applicants. The same thing applies if they are seeking out talent on their own on VO freelance sites too; shorter is better because it's less time for them. Not all, but some casting decisions are made under tight time constraints, so I think you put yourself at a disadvantage to have your first impression be a long reel. So that is why I felt it was important to address this.
Elements of the Audio Drama Demo Reel
As you probably already know, voiceover for audio drama is a totally different beast from commercial, e-learning, and other types of voiceover. Obviously, there is some skillset crossover, but it's also very different; much closer to animation or video game work. When I talk with voiceover artists who want to get into more audio drama, if they have an animation or video game demo, I tell them to use that to send to audio drama producers. As a producer and director, those sorts of demos display a person's acting abilities for more than a commercial demo can, and that's what we're looking for when casting for audio drama. But as soon as you are able, get a reel that is specifically for voice acting for audio productions.
The overarching principles for an audio drama character demo are probably pretty similar to any other demo, but with a few tweaks. Here are some guidelines I tell folks when they ask me what an audio drama demo should have:
- 60 to 90 seconds total length
- A total of 5 to 10 clips
- Each clip can range from 3 to 10 seconds long (Any longer is usually too long with the same character.)
- Have your best stuff and your regular voice at the top (Don't start off with a wacky character or accent.)
- Should show a variety of characters, emotions, accents, and even ages (But only include accents, dialects, and ages that you are truly proficient at and can reproduce upon request.)
- Each clip should be a different and unique-sounding character (If two sound too similar, cut one out. Even if the characters themselves are different, if the voice of that character is too similar to another one, we don't need both.)
- Limit any voices that are not yours; ideally, no others (I don't think it's a hard and fast rule that you should never have another voice in there. If it helps with context and it's very obvious that the other voice is not you, then I think it can be ok at times. But it's something that should be carefully considered. I've heard a lot of demo reels where there are two characters in a scene, and I can't tell which one is the person whose demo I'm listening to.)
- Full scene context is not really needed (We just need enough that we're not completely lost and can catch a "glimpse" of who the character is. We don’t need to know the whole story.)
For other types of voiceover, a professionally produced demo is pretty much a must because a producer can help the talent hone in on their strengths, and they also know what styles and approaches are trending in the industry. But for audio drama, it's a little different. The main thing is to hear if you can act and what your natural voice actually sounds like. We like the fun characters and accents, but your real voice is the most important for us to hear, so that's why I say to put that first in the demo. With audio drama being audio-only, unlike film, games, and animation, we have to be very mindful of not casting voices that sound too similar to each other, even if they are fantastic actors, because it can be confusing for a listener to know which character is speaking if two actors sound too close to one another. If it's a comedy or a kid's program where the characters all have cartoony voices, it's not as big of a deal, but for thrillers, dramas, or adventure stuff, we need genuine voices. I hear too many demos that are just a string of goofy characters or impressions, and that's not nearly as effective for a casting director in this arena.
So all that said, if you keep all of these tips in mind, and you are a decent editor/producer and can cut together a nice reel of clips from prior projects, I absolutely think it's ok to self-produce an audio drama demo. If you don’t have enough past work to pull from, you can write your own snippets of dialogue and create some distinct characters to voice them. Or you can even select bits of conversations from public domain literature and use those. Just make sure that you are choosing or writing material that allows you to portray a range of emotions, situations, personas, and accents.
Bonus Tips
- Do not send a WAV file; MP3 only (larger, uncompressed files chew up mobile bandwidth and can get blocked by email filters.)
- Ditch SoundCloud (their player is not mobile-friendly.)
- If you are a voice actor who wants to be added to my talent roster, reach out with your demo and contact info. I rarely post open audience and prefer to cast from my own talent list.
- If you’d like me to review your demo reel, I’m offering a special rate of $25 for anyone who contacts me and mentions this post.
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