Are you suffering from audition fatigue?

Hey, there!

Are you suffering from audition fatigue?

I asked that of members of a SXSW audience recently. A lot of them didn’t know what it was right away, but it’s such a descriptive phrase that a lot of hands shot up.

It’s true.

In the world of VO, given the huge numbers of avenues by which we can get auditions (agent submissions, web sites like Voice123, ACX, Voices and more, existing clients, our own entrepreneurial bent and more), we could be facing 10-20 auditions a day.

(A lot of the new faces at SX were a little shocked at that.)

And I sure you don’t want that large number of opportunities to be anything but exciting.

Sometimes, it can look like a mountain of work.

Here’s the secret I promised I’d share with you to make that pile of scripts feel invigorating instead of fatiguing: simply work faster, by making bolder choices earlier.

Let me explain: if you voice a take, and you’re not happy with the energy you display, don’t just ramp it up a little. Make a bold choice, speak to a larger space, and really turn up the heat. Don’t take it up a step or so, only to have to do the same ramping up again and again until you get it where you want it. If you need to pull it back, do so – but that’s a lot easier, and faster, than the timid step by step of not-so-bold adjustments.

Go for one or two takes instead of 5 or 10, and your work load (and your performances) will easily and naturally become better.

[tweet_box]Are you suffering from audition fatigue?[/tweet_box]

I hope that little piece of advice was as helpful to you as it was to me when I heard it back in the nineties.

There was another piece of advice I got back in the nineties that also made a huge difference in my career. I’ll save that for another day’s 60 SECONDS.

Now go check your inbox. I bet you have an audition waiting, and it could use some bold choices.

Hope this helps.

David

Responses

Leave a Reply to David H. Lawrence XVII

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cancel reply

  1. “Make a bold choice…” Great advice, same as camera work. Figure out the character, needs, arc, then make a bold choice, give them something to think about, if only that you are capable of being different.

    Thanks David!

    All the Best,

    Bill

  2. Thank you for that article you wrote about audition fatigue…. I can’t tell you how much that hit home for me when you sent it. I burned myself out so bad when after I finally got my demo and home recording studio set up. I spent like 5 hours every day for a week recording auditions on Voice123…. Then I got to a point where the idea of going in there and sitting down and recording made me want to shoot myself in the head. I’m glad I’m not the only one who has gotten there. I want to feel the joy that I used to when it came to VO, not dread the audition process 🙁

    Anyway, I’ll take your advice, and see if that helps! THANK YOU!

  3. This is something I didn’t realize I was doing. Thank you for this nice reminder David. A question, if I may, when voicing an add where you are extremely excited (such as a lottery winner for example), how do you keep Audacity from hitting the red zone and sounding muffled?

    1. “Muffled” isn’t quite the right work – “distorted” is the accurate term. Just don’t yell right into your mic – and lower the input level in Audacity. A combination of the two should work.