Okay, so let's say from an agent, a producer, a roster you happen to be on or a pay to play website, you have chosen an audition that you would like to do. Great. First thing you need to decide is how you're going to look at the script. When you're in front of the microphone. Do you want to just keep printing out Paper Paper, Paper Paper Paper all day, and then recycling it all day. I did that for a really long time.

I mean, it's fine, but it just doesn't feel like very sustainable or just efficient way to go long term. So eventually, I got a screen in front of my microphone. For me. It's just some old laptop that I use that isn't as powerful as the one I have for you. It could be you Your phone, your tablet, whatever. But I'm here to tell you, the paper stacks up so fast if you print it out every single time, which I did for years, I mean no one's judging.

I'm just saying you might want to consider another way. Some terms that you need to know if you don't already. Copy means script. specs means the description of your character or any other details you need to know. And sleep means saying your name and if for an agent, your agency before the read. Personally I'm opposed to slating but I do always do it if the job requests it sleeps are leftover from the days when people were recording their auditions to tape.

That's how old the uses for a slate. It's from when people used to record on tape. And so you needed to know who the next voice that was coming on. So it'd be like Barbara Harris, and then Barbara Harris would go now you click on Barbara Harris mp3 and you hear Barbara Harris's audition so slates are just totally unnecessary and totally dated and I don't know why they are not extinct yet. Anyway enough about slating here is my process Yours may end up being different since what's most important is what works best for you. But this should still help give you ideas and options for developing your audition process.

There is a loose formula for auditions. However, every single one is different. There are often specific labeling instructions requests to slate or not to slate or instructions on URLs to upload your audition to rather than just sending it back by hitting reply on your email. So the first step may sound obvious, but it's really important. Read all the directions of each audition really carefully. A lot of times I will read the audition email multiple times I will do the audition and then I'll read it one last time before I'm about to send it off and I'll notice a detail that I missed You know, and I'll have to change things around right before I send it.

I'm reading those instructions over and over again, because they're all so different every time that you can't just assume things are going to be a certain way. Here's an audition on the right side. This part here would be considered the specs and the copy. Is that a link they provide? Let's look at another one. All right, so the description that's the product, it's 230 second spots.

Here's the rate right here where it says term that another word for that is the usage. People say, what's the usage to help determine their rate? Here's the file naming and then look at these tips that are actually all really helpful for auditioning one. Please, as I was saying, follow the naming to a tee including capitalization and punctuation. A lot of times the files are sent off or sorted or uploaded in accordance with their naming. So it has to be just right otherwise, they're gonna have to rename your file for you.

Also notice their little note in here about slates not required, but this guy recommends it. Keep it brief. It's really common for people to go overboard with their slates if they're going to do it at all. Don't do a big song and dance that distracts from your audition like Hello, I'm Naomi Mercer and I'm going to be reading for you the old base bought today. Here it is in three takes by then the interest is lost. Keep it brief, it should be nothing more than Naomi Mercer for UTP two takes Pump up the volume on your auditions.

I mean nothing you like so that it's distorting, but if it's stacked up against four other auditions and they all have good volume and yours is a low volume, it's gonna make your read sound weak. And lastly, get that thing in as soon as possible because they're casting as the auditions come in. If they feel like they've found the right read, they're gonna say okay, we're done and they don't even want to see any more auditions. So it is a race over here on the right We have the specs which they called the direction here. And then here is the copy. Alright, let's give this one a shot.

Okay, so here's the Adobe Audition. I have funky sized cursors because I use two monitors Forgive me. Before we do anything, it just looks like this. This is an untitled track, just a waveform that we're looking at one WAV file instead of many, many tracks. So if I want to begin and record first thing I need to make sure of is that my microphone is routed to the record button here and routed through this software. All audio software will have something up in their menu that's titled either options or preferences.

In this one, it's called preferences. So you go to preferences, and then you go to audio hardware. And I just make sure that my default input is what I want, which for me is the complete audio six audio interface, so I'm good. And then I press OK. Then I press record wants me to name this. I like to organize everything by date. So let's just say today is like August 26 2016.

And then if I was recording for like a telephone system, they want 8000 kilohertz, which isn't even available in a lot of software. So this is actually why I really like Adobe Audition, they prompt you to record in a format natively, so you're not changing and re rendering the file and having generation loss. So here we go. I press OK. Or I press return and it just starts recording right away. All right. Okay, so here I am in the booth.

This is what this looks like in here. Let me show you There's my screen. So I'm going to pull up the script here. Do everything they say. One little trick that I like to do is I'll read the specs and let them change me. Let them change me into the character.

Okay, so let's see male or female 30 to 50 years old, with an easygoing, approachable, genuine tone. But with a wry, cool edge. We don't want perky. We don't want folksy. We want cool, smart, but not intimidating. This voice should connect with the lover of Old Bay because he or she is sharing something that an Old Bay fanatic already knows.

So I mean, take with that what you will but whenever I have specs, I sort of let the specs get me to that place of where I start. Also, notice how I will use my My own words before I begin sentences, that's because I can cut those words out and it makes it sound more real and authentic to me. So I use words like, Okay, so, or dude. I know but it's just my generation. All right, I'll use words like that. Pick what words work for you words that you tend to say every day in between your words like fillers, you know?

Like, uh, you know what, stuff like that. And I put it in there and then I cut it out and it makes the whole tape sound so much more authentic because it's tied to my real speech. Like this. Alright. Naomi Mercer for UTP. Two takes, by the way, takes, usually I do only one take, if I have a really, really good idea.

If I really want to go out on a limb. I'll do two but not very often at all. Don't abuse that. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who Love Old Bay, and those who have never tried it, people who by accident of birth weren't raised here in Baltimore. But you can do something.

But you can do something about this by helping us can vert them go to pass the old bay.com to help put a can have Old Bay into the hands and mouths of your out of town friends and family. They'll be can verts in no time because no one sells Old Bay. Like the people who already love it. Old Bay, the can that connects us. Alright, I think I'm gonna be a little less theatrical. Let me try this one more time.

You know, there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who love Old Bay and those who have never tried it. People who by accident of birth weren't raised here in Baltimore. But you can do something about this by helping us convert them. Go to past the old bay.com to help put a can of Old Bay into the hands and mouths of your out of town friends and family. There'll be converts in no time, because no one sells Old Bay, like the people who already love it.

Old Bay, the can that connects us. There we go is a little more throwaway. Let's see how that works. So this is how I'll do it a couple reads get familiar with it right. Sometimes I'll go and sit down with the copy. And I'll edit it and I'll get an idea.

And I'll come back in and I'll nail it on the third try. That tends to be my process pretty often, but a lot of times I get it right on the first the first read to I just cut it up, send it off. So let's take a look at this audio now. Okay, so I just stopped the recording by pressing the spacebar. And now here is my audio file. You can zoom in by rolling the wheel up on the mouse or rolling back you can zoom out and when you do that, look up here and see how your perspective IV on it changes.

So now I'm zoomed all the way out. And now I'm zoomed into just this piece right here. Here's my slate. Right here. Naomi Mercer for UTP two takes. So that's obviously the beginning.

I can paint the mouse across all this I can drag it across. And then I can not have this be a bunch of noise. I can right click and say silence and takes the audio out here. Let's paint to about here, and then press the delete key. So that file starts here. Okay, now, all this is a bunch of mumbo jumbo and me talking and blabbing and blabbing and blabbing.

So I think the audition probably starts to okay. of Old Bay because he or she is sharing world. Those who love obey. So I can grab that This painting all the way to about here. Let's go over here and just make zoom up on the mouse, roll the mouse up, you know, make sure that this audio file starts right about here. And then I press the delete key, and then that just cinches it over here.

See there's a bunch of noise instead of silence here. So I'll grab that, right click. Silence. Let's see how it sounds. Naomi Mercer for UTP. Two takes.

That's where long have a pause. So let's take about there are two kinds of obey, sir, for UTP. Two takes. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who love obey, and those who have never tried it. People who by accident of birth weren't raised here in Baltimore.

But you can do something But you can do something about. Okay, so see how I screw up right there? Let's see, do I say it a third time this by helping up? No. So I grab that, go to where I was gonna say it before and press the delete key. Bada bang easy, but you can do something about this by helping us convert them go to pass the old bay.com to help put a can of Old Bay into the hands and mouths of your out of town friends and family.

See how I needed that extra breath there. All I got to do is paint it. Delete key. Let's see how that sounds and and mouths of you're out of town friends and family. Hmm, I want it to be a little more of a pause. So I'll press Ctrl Z undo.

And I'm just gonna go to right about there. Delete key and mouths of your out of town friends and family. There'll be can verts in no time because no one sells All day, like the people who already love it, obey the can that connects us. Alright, I think I'm gonna be a little less theatrical. Let me try this one more time. Okay, next one.

Silence. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who love Old Bay and those who have never tried it. People who by accident of birth weren't raised here in Baltimore. But you can do something about this by helping us convert them. Go to pass the old bay.com to help put a camp.

Let's take that breath out, paint it and delete. Us can vert them go to pass the old bay.com to help put a can of Old Bay into the hands and mouths of your out of town friends and family. There'll be converts in no time because no one sells Old Bay. Like the people who already love it, obey the can that connects us. There we go. All right.

And all the rest I'm pretty sure is me talking to There we go. Okay. So once you've cleaned it up and gotten all the mistakes out of here, you select all so that's Ctrl all and then you press Ctrl Alt s, and that brings your file up to save. Always choose an mp3 file. All auditions are always mp3 files, then you label it. Old Bay score, Naomi Mercer.

Make sure that you save it somewhere where you're going to know where it is. I have a folder that I call auditions in audition and press OK.