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SilverSurfer3001 · 06-30-2008, 07:58 AM

yup. There should be a "hook" that you can locate in each and every spot that you do, that encapsulates the essence of what makes you stand out as an artist. If I were an CD (and a loooonmg time ago, I was) or an agent and got a tape with 1:30 wort of stuff and found it to be nothing more than three spots, that demo would be trashed before the cd tray fully extended.

Your demo must give a snapshot of you. If you are a one trick pony, then a couple of spots edited together should do the trick. The demo is indeed a tricky thing to do. I don't have one yet, because frankly, I don't think that I am ready to put one together, yet. I just call local folks and ask for copies of old campaigns (both local and national) to see if they would be willing to help me with my career plans and share some old scripts so I can hone my skills. That could lead to having them call you in and may lead you to getting a gig, other times it could lead you to get some fairly strong local copy of actual campaigns that have worked, other times it could lead to nothing.

If you are a character person, make a demo of those characters. there are two ways to do it: 1) with individual clips of your character voices, or 2) with a dedicated script that allows you to draw al your character voices into a single creatively written "story line." As a former CD, I have to tell you, anyone who put together a creative and entertaining :45 script that showcased characters would always be moved right to the front of the queue of people to call if my current stable fell apart.

This is a tough insustry to shove a foot in the door. I takes lot of persistance and belief in yourself and your abilities (not to mention your equipment). As to your demos: Keep 'em as close to a minute as possible - after that 99.999872% of peoples eyes begin to glaze over. There is a fine line to walk between how many spots to include. You don't want too many and you don't want too few - especially if they are similar in tone, style and delivery. But a full spot on a demo tends to show a lack of creativity and lack of experience as the artist attempts to just "fill a minute."

Man that's a lot of words for my .02, innit?

06-30-2008, 07:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
SilverSurfer3001 Jody Silvers Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 230	yup. There should be a "hook" that you can locate in each and every spot that you do, that encapsulates the essence of what makes you stand out as an artist. If I were an CD (and a loooonmg time ago, I was) or an agent and got a tape with 1:30 wort of stuff and found it to be nothing more than three spots, that demo would be trashed before the cd tray fully extended. Your demo must give a snapshot of you. If you are a one trick pony, then a couple of spots edited together should do the trick. The demo is indeed a tricky thing to do. I don't have one yet, because frankly, I don't think that I am ready to put one together, yet. I just call local folks and ask for copies of old campaigns (both local and national) to see if they would be willing to help me with my career plans and share some old scripts so I can hone my skills. That could lead to having them call you in and may lead you to getting a gig, other times it could lead you to get some fairly strong local copy of actual campaigns that have worked, other times it could lead to nothing. If you are a character person, make a demo of those characters. there are two ways to do it: 1) with individual clips of your character voices, or 2) with a dedicated script that allows you to draw al your character voices into a single creatively written "story line." As a former CD, I have to tell you, anyone who put together a creative and entertaining :45 script that showcased characters would always be moved right to the front of the queue of people to call if my current stable fell apart. This is a tough insustry to shove a foot in the door. I takes lot of persistance and belief in yourself and your abilities (not to mention your equipment). As to your demos: Keep 'em as close to a minute as possible - after that 99.999872% of peoples eyes begin to glaze over. There is a fine line to walk between how many spots to include. You don't want too many and you don't want too few - especially if they are similar in tone, style and delivery. But a full spot on a demo tends to show a lack of creativity and lack of experience as the artist attempts to just "fill a minute." Man that's a lot of words for my .02, innit? __________________ Will talk for money.