KapitVAHays, if you want an unfair advantage as a voice actor in the Philippines…
Then make a demo reel! DIY man, o paid!📼
Sa States, discouraged ang paggawa ng DIY demo reel because the production standards are very high, and they assume that voice actors can’t mix, and many other factors.
Pero sa Pilipinas… it’s not normal to have a demo reel!😀
Kasi dito, studios only expect dry “samples” and raw recordings.
So the moment that you have a mixed demo (with about 5-6 spots, between 45-90 seconds total)…
Astig ka na!🙌
You’re doing something the vast majority of voice actors aren’t doing.
People don’t create voice acting demo reels demo reels simply because:
1) They don’t know if they’re good enough.
The high standards set by the international VO market mainly apply to Los Angeles.
They don’t apply to us who are just looking to get some work online, in smaller markets.
Sometimes this is also their way of making sure you book coaching with them before you get a demo.
Which is fine: coaching accelerates your growth, but it isn’t mandatory for a demo for a freelancing context.
Personally, I wrote, mixed, and recorded my first 5 demos myself.
This was enough to book me regular clients, at least for local to regional level work.
Then when I had invested more in coaching, I hired some pro demo producers, using the money I earned from booking work with my first DIY demos.
But for a Los Angeles context wherein you’re competing with the top 0.01% of voice actors in the world, please get a professional demo produced!
Hint: Take ALL the acting classes and coaching you can get before entering this scene.
2) They don’t know how to make them.
Demo reel writing, recording, and mixing can be intimidating… especially since guides for them in a voice over context are scarce.
But here’s a general rule: mimic what’s out there, and reverse-engineer it to make it your own!🧠
My survival concept was,
“If I can see the finished puzzle, I just need to put the pieces together.”🧩🧩🧩🖼️
Of course, if you don’t want to have to figure the puzzle out, and just want to work with those who’ve already solved it, feel free to hit us up at the Demo Reel Forge.
3) They’re afraid of bad demos giving them a bad reputation.
It’s true! Most agents in the LA scene don’t want to waste time with budding talent.
They want to work with people who are already professionals.
They’re not looking to get people jobs.
They’re looking to take commissions from jobs done by talent, so they only want to work with the best.
They want you to help them, not the other way around.
But!
Thankfully that’s the LA scene, which is significantly smaller.
So it’s much easier for word to get around. Your reputation in this space is something you want to protect.
For the rest of the world? 🌎
A DIY demo will do!
It’s a much bigger market, so there’s more room for error.
Even if your demo is “sub par”, and someone in Singapore doesn’t like it, potential clients in London won’t know about that.👌
So there you have it!
Demo reels are your unfair advantage in the Philippines.🚀
If you’re more of a DIY person and you have more time to invest, you can study making your own demos.
If you want to take a shortcut and want to skip the trial and error, consider getting more training and working with pro demo producers.
Happy demo producing!🥳