It’s so cool that I get letters every month asking about the voiceover business. Here’s one from a reader of The Magazine of Santa Clarita who asks about V-O demos.
Q: How come, on the websites of agencies, you will see some demos that say 1:34, and some of them are listed as over a minute long. I was just curious about that. I thought most V-O demos had to be 60-seconds long, and no longer. –Tina W., Saugus, Ca
A: The 60-second demo was a trend started by Voicebank years ago, to streamline and downsize demos into an efficient length for voice talent to focus on their “signature voice.” Most demos back then ran 1:30, 2:00 or longer, forcing most talent to edit their demos down to :60 to be Voicebank eligible. But sometimes their full demos were uploaded onto agency websites, hence the discrepancy. A lot of talent got used to hearing their 60-second version demo and liked it, but others want to show more versatility and range, so they opt to showcase their longer demos on their websites or landing pages. Today, most V-O demos being produced run about 60-seconds to accommodate Voicebank and the talent agent, who simply uploads the :60 version to Voicebank without really listening to it. When I produce V-O demos, they usually run between :60 and :90. I feel that this longer-than-sixty-second version shows a potential client range, it also forces a prospective talent agent to critically listen to it so they can suggest specific changes to forge a 60-second version for Voicebank.
I’ll share more voiceover questions and answers in the coming months. If you have any questions, please write to me and I’ll get back to you.
Marc Cashman creates and produces copy and music advertising for radio and television. Winner of over 150 advertising awards, he also instructs voice acting of all levels through his classes, The Cashman Cache of Voice-Acting Techniques in Los Angeles, CA, at Cal Arts and through Vibe Studios. Cashman Commercials © 2012
He can be contacted at cashcomm@earthlink.net or his website, www.cashmancommercials.com.