Wow, that actor got cast! How did they get so lucky?

Have you ever heard of the following quote:

Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.

I’m pretty sure you have. But what does it REALLY mean?

We just finished working on a project. The kind of project you would be proud telling your mom about. We needed actors. FAST. The client needed us to start recording almost immediately.

So how do we cast a project that requires over 25 parts when we literally have no time at all?

We send out auditions requests. To voice over agents. To actors we know. To anyone who would listen. (ok maybe not this last one)

We are RUSHING. We have a million other things we need to do to prepare for the project.

We have a story for you:

Say it’s Monday 10 am. You get an audition request from us or your agent. It says: “Deadline: Wednesday by 6 pm”. So you wait, until Wednesday 5 pm to send your audition.

Here is the news you don’t want to hear: The role you’re auditioning for may have already been cast.

“But that’s not fair!”, you might think. “I had until Wednesday to send it!”

Yes, you did. But the other 20 actors we requested an audition from sent us their audition back on Monday. And we fell in love with at least 5 of them. So now, we have enough options to send the client. And we can start recording.

Are we going to keep your audition? Absolutely. If the client hates all of our choices, you may still be in the running. But why risk it? If you want to work, you have to be ready to go at all times. That’s how you go from envying actors who get cast to becoming the actors who get cast. (assuming you do great work, of course!)

“But I have a life!”. We get it. We really do. But if this is the career you really want to have, you have to treat it as such.

Ok I want in. What can I do?

The good news is: we are here to help!

Here are a few things you can do to be prepared:

1. Have a home studio test ready. We may start recording in studio again soon, but we are foreseeing more work from home in the future, so you want to make sure your sound is up to standard.

Prepare a sample with the following requirements:

-a wav file, 48khz, 24bit in which you say a few sentences at normal volume, wait for 2 seconds and then say a few sentences very loudly (practically shouting).

Save it in your drafts so it’s ready to be sent at a moment’s notice.

2. Your demos should be good to go.

“I’ll get them to you when I get home” can sometimes be too late. So have those with you at all times.

We will still ask you to audition for the part we are currently casting, but how much easier would it be to get that one file to us, as opposed to needing to create a home studio test, and scrambling to find your demos?

3. If we/any other casting directors need the audition quickly, and you really don’t have access to a studio for a while, the last resort would be to record it on your phone in the car. This is not the ideal scenario by any means, but it would be better to send a good audition with a mediocre sound, than waiting for days to be in the perfect environment and possibly missing out on the role. Use this as a last resort ONLY.

Another option would be to check in with your rep and see if you could come and record at the agency. Obviously, this doesn’t work if you don’t have a voice over rep just yet.

Booking a voice over job truly is when opportunity meets preparation. So be prepared.

Help us help you. Then we all get to live happily ever after.

How awesome is that?

Said with love,

Stay safe and healhy!