How to Get a Voice Reel?
With a professional voice reel, you can quickly bolster your career. Getting taken seriously by casting directors for voice-over roles, it’s a vital step, but you may be asking yourself how or where to get a voice reel.
The demo reel production is simple in concept. It’s a matter of recording a short compilation of scripts and editing them together. But to land the top roles in TV, video games or business content, you need a reel of outstanding quality. Here at Voicereels, we offer an exemplary service worth considering, which includes everything you need, from scripts and advice to top-quality recording and engineering.
However, there are other options available, and in this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons of each to help you decide.
Let’s dive in! 🤿
What Options Are There For Creating a Voice Reel?
Most actors or performers looking to obtain a voice reel choose from three options:
- Do it yourself in a home studio
- Do it yourself in a local studio
- A professional voice reel production service
Before embarking on any option, it’s always worth investing time in vocal coaching and daily practice to strengthen your voice. We can help with this when you order from Voicereels.
Let’s take a deeper look.
1. Do it Yourself (Home Studio)
A home recording studio can be a considerable investment of time and money. It also requires valuable real estate. For a full-time voice actor, it’s a vital step in offering rapid recordings. However, it may be better to look into option two for an actor or performer looking to supplement their income with part-time voice-over work.
Of course, if you invest in a home studio, you have the freedom and privacy to record anytime you want. You can also edit to your heart’s desire with the right engineering skills. Unfortunately, a home recording space may cost you the experience of meeting with studio professionals, who can often give you essential feedback on your strengths as a voice actor. What you miss is any outside influence. A director and producer can offer essential feedback and engineer your reels to the next level.
Pros
- You choose the recording equipment you want
- Take all the time you need to edit and master the audio
- Create more reels for no additional cost
Cons
- Lower-quality production (in most cases)
- Lack of direction or support
- Uses up space in your home
If you decide on this option, please invest in the best microphone and pre-amp you can afford. Acoustic treatment is also vital. And don’t skimp on the audio software. There’s a reason professional engineers avoid freeware apps like Audacity.
2. Do it Yourself (Local Studio)
Most performers without a home studio will need access to a local studio to produce recordings. For this reason, it’s always worth meeting with a local studio to understand more about their equipment and staff’s experience producing voice-over. The local music studio might know how to make outstanding records but won’t necessarily understand the quirks of voice-over.
Most local studios won’t know how to produce a voice reel that casting directors want. Their expertise is in capturing the performances and potentially mixing different kinds of instruments. So don’t expect any advice or support. Likely, you’ll still need to source all your scripts and music. You will also need to decide how these should be edited together so you can brief their engineer. Expect to pay an hourly rate. It is unlikely they’ll give you a fixed price for the production unless they already do regular voice-over work.
Pros
- No investment in studio equipment or know-how needed
- You are in control of the production
- You record in a professional studio environment with experienced engineers
- Get a quality mix following your direction
Cons
- Lack of voice-over casting expertise from studio staff
- Lack of direction or support over simple editing
- No help with script or music selection
If you decide this option works best, be prepared to spend a lot of time on script selection and ensuring the audio engineer understands your needs. Giving them examples of other reels you like as a reference is very helpful.
3. A professional Voice Reel production service
No ifs or buts; the best quality reels are produced by technically qualified and experienced producers working in the industry.
Professional demo production services come in all shapes and sizes. Many studios, voice actors, and even vocal coaches offer reel productions to supplement their income. They may have some skills, but be wary. They undoubtedly lack the customer perspective and arguably don’t cast voices themselves. Whilst they may have some technical know-how, it’s unlikely they’ll have the same engineering experience as someone with a degree in music technology or with years of experience creating voice-overs for various mediums.
The downside is the cost. A quality reel takes a significant amount of time to create. If someone is offering reels for just s few hundred dollars, take a deep breath and think about that for a second. It probably means minimal setup or editing time. You get what you pay for, and you’ll end up with an average-sounding reel at best. Our philosophy is to go BIG. Get the best you can afford, and you’ll quickly see a return on the investment. That’s the whole point of a reel; after all, it’s a marketing tool. Do it right.
Pros
- Support and advice from industry professionals
- Expert direction to get the best out of your performance
- Best quality production service
- Maximum chance to get an ROI
Cons
- Costs more than the other options
- It can take a few weeks from start to finish
- Limited availability of reliable services
Where Voicereels Comes In
We’ve explained the different ways to get a voice reel, and it’s over to you to decide what works best for you.
Voicereels are ideally suited to assist you in putting together your reels and Samples. We offer various packages to suit large and small budgets. The goal is always to land top-paying voice-over roles, and we designed our packages to give you the best chance of success.
