Voice-Over Pro Tip

Great VO Auditions

Hey Reader,

A winning audition is about much more than just a great performance (although it's largely about that). It's about a complete package of skill, attention to detail, and professionalism.

It's always good to review the components of a great VO audition, so let's review them and make sure you're not leaving anything out on your next one.

​

The Performance

• Read the script aloud before hitting record. Don't just read it in your head. A quick, even mumbled run-through will help you catch tricky phrases and give you a sense of the flow, allowing you to deliver a more confident and polished read.
• Find the "Why" and the "Who." Even if you only have seconds, quickly determine the intent behind the words. Who is your character speaking to, and what is their goal? This instant mindset shift will give your read a powerful sense of purpose.
• Embrace the direction. Did the casting director ask for "friendly and conversational" or "energetic and upbeat"? Make sure your read clearly reflects the tone they requested, but don't get too into the weeds. Read the direction, acknowledge it, but bring your own personality and "self" to the read. Don't be afraid to give them a few slightly different takes if you want to as well (although they may not all get listened to)

​

The Submission

• Listen back to your takes. This is non-negotiable. Before you export, listen for any mistakes, mouth noises, or background sounds you might have missed. Do this with good studio headphones. A quick quality check can prevent you from submitting an unusable take.
• Clean your audio. You don't need to do a full-blown production on an audition, but it's important to do the basics. Remove any audible breaths, clicks, or stray plosives. A clean audition file shows you're a professional who cares about your final product.
• Follow the file naming convention. This seems minor, but it's a huge sign of professionalism. Casting directors often have specific naming requests (ex: ProjectTitle_YourName.mp3). Ignoring this can make your submission harder to track and can signal that you don't pay close attention to detail.
• Final Levels. Make sure you get your final volume level up to a competitive standard. You'll see various advice for what this should be online, from normalizing to -1 db, or to -3db, or to target certain LUFS levels like -16, or -14. A quick and dirty way to get in the ballpark is just to play some other pro audio through your same setup and compare your final file volume level to it. Ideally that would be other audio from a pro VO on it's own, but audio from a professional podcast can work, or even just commercial spots.
• Timeliness. Obviously if there is a deadline for the audition, you want to meet that. But overall, when it comes to submitting voice-over auditions - the quicker, the better. Don't underestimate this, be quick, it really goes a long way.

A great voice-over audition is the perfect blend of your talent and your professionalism. By checking off every item on this list, you'll ensure your submission is not only a fantastic performance but also a flawless representation of you as a professional talent.

-Michael

​

​

​

Want to read all of the past VO Roadmap Pro Tip Emails? Check out the Archive here: https://vorm.kit.com/​

If you have a question or topic you'd like me to address in a future email like this - just reply to this email and let me know!

And if you find these emails helpful - please share VoiceoverRoadmap.com among any VO groups your part of - Facebook, Reddit, etc... or just tell others about it!

Want to help support future content from VORM? Use our Amazon Affiliate link when shopping on Amazon by clicking the link below!

​VORM Amazon Affiliate Link​

​

Curious about my own personal VO Work?

​www.MichaelLangsnerVO.com​

​