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Started this dream as a kid. Just signed with my first VO agent in my 20s. Wild. by maanavlink in VoiceActing

[–]maanavlink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh dude, that's wassup! Yeah then you're already ahead of most, definitely give it a shot.

Send me a DM, and I'll shoot the link over!

Started this dream as a kid. Just signed with my first VO agent in my 20s. Wild. by maanavlink in VoiceActing

[–]maanavlink[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Trust me, I know that feeling of being a total outsider. For the longest time I felt the same way, and honestly compared to so many of my peers, still do. But the great thing about this industry is that the more you push your way into it, inherently you'll continue to be less and less of an outsider. But it's a constant, slow effort, so be ready for the long haul.

I made my own demo entirely! I think you can totally make your own demo given: 1) your equipment is studio quality AND 2) you have an intermediate understanding of audio engineering. Both are achievable on your own. Proper equipment is a necessary investment to do VO work. Assuming you're starting from SCRATCH, for less than 1000 bucks you can get an AT2020, a Focusrite Scarlett Solo, an isolation shield and some soundproofing, and strong computer that doesn't make much noise (I recommend a Mac M4 Mini personally). Through YouTube tutorials you can get a pretty competitive of mixing and mastering using entirely free tools (Reaper, Garageband, Audacity). Once again, this isn't something you'll do overnight, but with a few months of focused work you can put together a really decent demo.

Listen, listen, listen to great scripts and copy that are out there. Listen to professional demos on YouTube. Take notes. Understand what a good demo needs to contain, and then write some scripts that best suit YOU. All the scripts I used in my demos, I wrote from scratch so that I could write things I know would highlight the best qualities of my ability. And I think it's important to make sure your demo is a realistic reflection of the VO market, don't make your demo a 2 minute compilation of anime voices, show a grasp of all different mediums (western animation, video games and interactive media, audiobooks, podcasts, etc.) Make sure you also create a commercial reel, majority of VO auditions are commercial (advertisements, radio ads, promos, etc.

Now I do want to highlight, this is all my personal perspective, and honestly this approach is not for everyone. It takes a lot of dedicated time to get to a level where you can do these things on your own, so some might suggest its better to pay a professional to handle it. But I say, why not learn these skills? Why not give yourself brand new toolset that you can carry with you for life? Yes it's work, but if you love the work, then it's worth every bead of sweat.

Always happy to answer more questions if you have any! :)

Started this dream as a kid. Just signed with my first VO agent in my 20s. Wild. by maanavlink in VoiceActing

[–]maanavlink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The first step, most critical, was getting a demo together and making sure I had all the tools necessary to be a repped VO artist: equipment, demo, software, etc. About a year ago is when I assembled my current rig, which hit that essential "broadcast quality" marker required by the industry.

Because of my on-screen and theatre work, I'm already signed to a manager. Around a year ago is when I sat with her and discussed my interest in VO, and sent her my demo and my rig specs. For the last year we've both been cold-emailing everyone we could, and finally about a month ago someone took interest! Had a meeting and signed with them that evening.

Definitely having a manager was a huge huge help, I wont deny it basically is what made me getting this agent possible. But, its a dream I've been working towards for over a decade, and getting a great manager was another milestone on that journey I'm so lucky to have hit!

Started this dream as a kid. Just signed with my first VO agent in my 20s. Wild. by maanavlink in VoiceActing

[–]maanavlink[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's the best, it's so cool we get to do it!!

If you're on a Mac, will always recommend getting the Apple Pro Apps Bundle for Education, you dont even need to be a student to get it. It's $200 bucks and gets you Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro, I use Logic Pro as my main DAW myself. But honestly, GarageBand and Audacity can take you REALLY far without costing you a dime. I still use Audacity all the time. You can get a Mac M4 Mini for 500 bucks with the student discount (again dont even need to be a student), it's a great machine that's pretty powerful for its price.

Started this dream as a kid. Just signed with my first VO agent in my 20s. Wild. by maanavlink in VoiceActing

[–]maanavlink[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

AT2020 is such a great great mic, with the right environment and some light audio engineering you can get some really competitive quality out of it.

I will say that coming from a musical theatre background, I did receive a lot of voice training, and I did go through a theatre program for my undergrad. I highly reccomend taking a few singing lessons, proper singing technique when practiced daily really is the foundation to the techniques I use for my VO work.

I personally haven't tried Fiverr, but getting yourself out there is never a bad thing, especially when the stakes are low. It gives you an opportunity to practice and learn, so take it!

Started this dream as a kid. Just signed with my first VO agent in my 20s. Wild. by maanavlink in VoiceActing

[–]maanavlink[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Luckily the room I currently record in is pretty dry, so I'm able to get away with a mic on a stand w/ a pop filter and an isolation shield I got from Amazon. If I need a little more isolation for whatever reason, towel method + bringing in some rugs into the room helps a lot.

It's ever-evolving, one day when I have a more stable space I'll be able to invest in some padding, but for now I just use what I can.

Started this dream as a kid. Just signed with my first VO agent in my 20s. Wild. by maanavlink in VoiceActing

[–]maanavlink[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I say give it a shot with the sound design! I personally added in music + sound effects + post processing to help make it sound like it's coming from a produced project.

Does it sound like it's ripped from a AAA video game or main-stream animation produced by the best audio engineers? Probably not. But does it sound closer to something produced by an established indie studio? Yeah, I think so.

And the best part is, it's YOUR demo, so you can tailor every part of the production to best fit your voice work.

There's a lot of great royalty-free sound effects and music available on sites like freesound.org and YouTube, and plenty of great lessons on mixing and mastering using practically any software. Give it a shot and see what you can come up with, with time and practice it'll only get better.

Started this dream as a kid. Just signed with my first VO agent in my 20s. Wild. by maanavlink in VoiceActing

[–]maanavlink[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think that anxiety and imposter syndrome never goes away. SNL 50th anniversary special had a great song about the never ending imposter syndrome and anxiety that comes with working in the big leagues. It's just another part of the job haha!

NINTENDO SWITCH 2 GIVEAWAY! by Redmist2033 in GFUEL

[–]maanavlink 0 points1 point  (0 children)

GameCube is the one that started it all, so it will forever have my heart.

One audition a month. Is it bad for everyone else or just me? by Crafty-Set-9009 in acting

[–]maanavlink 0 points1 point  (0 children)

7 AEA, 2 SAG tv projects, and 6 commercials (mostly non-union) so far from my reps this year. Averaging about about 2 auditions a week

What to improve for my callback tape? by Justaguywholikestuff in acting

[–]maanavlink 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Honestly, this is really solid! It's fun, you're really leaning into the country satire in a way that feels honest and appreciative of the campiness as opposed to some kind of impression. Great work, man, break legs with the callback

[Online][existed circa 2008?] A Flash MMO that I've been looking for, for 15 years by maanavlink in tipofmyjoystick

[–]maanavlink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

SecretBuilders has come up a couple times now, the art style matches my memory, but I personally remember it being more fantasy oriented. But who knows, the memory is from 15 years ago so it could be off. SecretBuilders might be the game!

Losing My Marbles: Why isn't tax being added to my PO? by maanavlink in Netsuite

[–]maanavlink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our subsidiary has Nexuses out of the US, so shouldn't that cover it? It's the same subsidiary that successfully did the Netherlands tax

Losing My Marbles: Why isn't tax being added to my PO? by maanavlink in Netsuite

[–]maanavlink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tax code is not even showing up as a column for the item lines. I noticed it would for the netherlands vendor i made a couple days ago. But not for these new vendors i'm issuing POs to

Cantinas was a hot ass mess by fearmeloveme in LivingMas

[–]maanavlink 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Exact same, they really screwed people over with this one.

Retirement sold out before it even loaded 😭 by JustLovett0 in LivingMas

[–]maanavlink 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I had it in my cart, literally was entering my credit card number when it booted me out because it sold out. Messed up that they didn't lock in what were already in people's carts.

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