Demo Reel Production
(an introductory guide)
Before I get into creating a demo reel, I’m going to hit on a few reasons why it’s generally
considered a better alternative to have one professionally made. The first and biggest reason is
that when you pay a studio to produce your demo, you have a team of practiced audio
engineers who can mix and master all of the elements, whereas if you are creating your own
you will need to understand all the subtleties of editing, mixing, and mastering as well as being
able to coach yourself to your best possible performance. It just isn’t feasible for most people to
do both. You will also need to come up with your own scripts, find music, and keep an objective
ear toward your performance. For those starting out in voice over, it’s a major undertaking, and
rarely turns out with a “professional” quality.
All that being said, there are also a few reasons to make your own, and situations where
it is more reasonable than to hire someone else. For actors just starting out, their capabilities
change fast enough that a demo would be outdated before it could become useful. It’s also
pointless to spend the $1000+ on a demo when the talent’s capabilities are below average; it
doesn’t matter how well-produced a demo is if the voice falls short. Self-made demos can also
be a great tool to use as a benchmark for a talent’s performance, and much cheaper than a new
pro made demo every few months.
And now, to get into what you will need to make your demo!
1. Script- While it’s possible to record off the cuff, you won’t be able to get a consistent
performance without a script in front of you. You will want to find a handful that you like
(~8-12) in whichever style you want your demo (commercial, documentary, character,
etc…). This will give you a good selection that you can narrow down to what turned out
the best. While you can pull them from the internet, it’s really best if you can get a
custom script. With no budget that may not be possible, but at the least avoid any
‘practice’ scripts, and preferably avoid the first few things that come up in a Google
search. Those are already over-done.
2. Music- While this isn’t essential for a demo that won’t be used professionally, it can still
help set the overall tone for each script, and help separate pieces that might sound too
similarly voiced if left without music. You can find royalty-free tracks cheap (or free)
online, just be sure to get tracks that fit the feel of the spots you will record.
3. DAW- You can use whatever software that you normally edit your voice with. Whether
it’s Audacity, Reaper, Garage Band, it doesn’t matter so long as you are familiar with the
layout and how to use it’s features. If you need help here, there are plenty of tutorials
online that will walk you through every aspect of the DAW.
4. Mic/Interface/Studio- This is all lumped together just because it’s stuff that an aspiring
voice actor will already be focused on. You need a good setup if you want a well made
demo. The space you record in needs to be well treated. Acoustic treatment it the
biggest factor in audio quality. Mic selection won’t matter if it’s being used in an
untreated (or poorly treated) space. Cheap mics like the NW-700/800 or a USB mic like
the Yeti don’t have the greatest sound quality when compared with professional
microphones, and while it is possible to get a decent sound out of lower quality mics, it
will take more effort and still often not sound as good. For a demo that was made as a
benchmark/reference track, this isn’t going to be a huge issue, but for something that
you want to present as the absolute best you can do, you will need a good setup. You
don’t need the most expensive gear, but you will need good gear.
Now that I’ve laid out the things you will need, it’s time to get into actually recording!
While this is definitely the fun part, you will still want to stay focused and as objective as
possible. It’s hard to coach yourself into a good recording, so don’t be shy about getting
feedback throughout this process.
1. Find your “best” scripts- This isn’t just the ones you like best, but the ones that you
sound best voicing. Read all that you collected, record them, practice, record some
more, and then pick out the top five or six. Once you have these picked out, pick one
and focus on it for a while. Keep recording, and when you think you have the best
possible take, move on to the next and do the same thing. When you have them all
recorded, go back and listen through. After leaving it alone for a while, you may pick out
some mistakes that you missed earlier in the process (or just some things you could do
better). Once you are confident in how your takes sound, you can move to the next step,
but don’t rush it. You want the absolute best you can perform for these.
2. Sort/Compile- Take the best recordings from each script, and figure out what order you
want to put them in. While this sounds easy, there are a few things to keep in mind. The
first, and arguably most important, is vocal style. You don’t want to have back-to-back
reads that are very similar if at all possible. Not only can it cause confusion for the
listener as to whether you’ve changed scripts, it will come off as you only being capable
of a small vocal range. Even if that’s true, you still want to show as much variety in your
demo as possible. The second thing to consider is the “feel” or style of the piece. It may
be jarring to go from dark, gritty and harsh straight into light and funny. While you do
want to vary your tone between spots, if it’s too different of a style the reel may not have
a smooth flow when you’ve finished. If it breaks the listeners immersion, they are more
likely to turn it off than continue listening (especially if it happens near the beginning).
3. Cutting- So now you have a few great reads, all in the order you want, and overall the
length may be upwards of five minutes. That all needs cut down to be one minute. Most
of that hard work and effort you’ve been doing is about to get tossed, never to be seen
again. It’s painful to even think about, and even more so when it comes time to start
trimming. Listen carefully to each take, and select the best 10-15 seconds of each
(20sec. max). You may have to shift stuff around to get a good flow, as you don’t want
any awkward breaks or random cutoffs. While this can be difficult, getting the cuts to
sound right is one something that will help make a demo stand out. You don’t want
space between the scripts, and you don’t want a script cut in the middle of a phrase, or it
will sound odd. If it sounds odd, the listener turns it off.
4. Music- Now that you have everything trimmed down and pieced together (should be
within a couple seconds of 1 minute), it’s time to add the music track. You will need to
cut the music just like you did your script readings, and match it up to each segment.
The music should help enhance the mood, but can’t be masking any of your voice, so
you may need to shift stuff around to find the best few seconds from each track you use.
The good thing about music is that you can crossfade the tracks. They should flow into
each other, lending a consistency to the overall reel. You will also want to adjust each
track’s volume separately so that it is loud enough to be a part of your reel (and not just
background), but also quiet enough to not mask your voice at any point. It can take a few
tries to get it just right, but it’s worth it in the end!
5. Listen- That’s right, the final step is just listening. Take a break, go
read/eat/sleep/whatever to relax, and come back with fresh ears. Listen on the
headphones or monitors you mixed with. Then listen on your computer’s built in
speakers. Then the cheapest earbuds you have. Then a big speaker in an open room.
You want to make sure that is sounds good out of any speaker, not just what you edited
with. If you need to, make some changes then come back to this step until you are
satisfied.
6. Render- That’s it! You’re done! Save it as an .MP3 and as a .WAV, as well as a project
file on your DAW (in case you need to come back to it later)
I hope this guide helps! There is a lot of info in a short space, so never hesitate to ask
questions and look for feedback if you get stuck. Making a demo is a long process, and can be
difficult. It usually won’t turn out as good as what you could get from a professional studio, but it
can easily be enough to get local work, feedback, or just as something you’ve completed to
show off to your family and friends. If you are new to voice acting, try making a new demo for
yourself every four to six months, just so you can compare how much you are improving. Also,
remember that no matter how good you get, there is always more to learn. Never stop
practicing, and never stop improving!
