Some observations during this last casting....

Firstly, don't read for characters that are not requested. Like, how do you read for a character with no sides? Or read for all the male/female roles knowing you're not a fit (IE: 30 female VO reading for a male of the same age...)

Also (mostly) women who do not vocally sound 20-30 submitting for roles who request that age. All around lack of reading (sides, booking email, etc) has been very prevalent in recent castings. THIS. IS. A. PROBLEM!

Especially with remote castings becoming more and more common, reading of details is EXTREMELY important. Be it about home specs, comfort levels in-studio, or even accents + ages (like needing to cast adults for children's VO, not actual kids) GET. BETTER. PLEASE!

Another observation.... this casting had an animatic. I can tell in the audition who viewed it and who didn't. If I notice this, the client who developed it will DEFINITELY be able to tell. You have a better chance to book if you use all available resources in your audition

Also, accents... it's funny how many people submitted saying, "I can do accents" when we specified we were looking for authentic and natural accents. This client is British and the last thing they want to hear is an American doing a bad impression.

As authenticity is important to many clients now-a-days, noticing whether the breakdown asks for an "authentic" or "exaggerated" accent is crucial. Maybe you have a light accent or something in-between that could be just what they're looking for!

BUT! Through all the headaches and face-palming, we got so many incredible and talented VO that I'm so excited to work with. I'm really hyped about this project and can't wait to share more with everyone once I can! <3

Something else that happened that I'm curious about people's opinions... I had a talent that submitted who mentioned they had terrible social anxiety, so much so that they couldn't do live sessions or observations during recordings. I'm curious about this because...

...while I understand social anxiety is a very real thing (I have it myself) I'm curious how this person actually plans to make a career of VO? Most sessions I know of are at least supervised by an Engineer; have you had a different experience?

I just can't think of many clients that would allow self-recording with absolutely no supervision in something like AAA Titles or Original Animation. Maybe I'm wrong here? Would be curious on your thoughts...