Red Flags in Project Details

One of the most frequent requests I get from talents is,'I am not sure about this project. What can I do about it?'. Project details sometimes contain what I consider to be 'red flags' that let you know a project may be more trouble than it is worth. From my time as a talent with Voice123, and now being an employee, I feel I should share what I call 'red flags' with you to give you more confidence when looking at each project.

Voice123 SmartCast has indeed made it easier for me to find them. Compared to the old Voice123, the current version 2.5 gives you statistics to make educated choices on what projects may be more trouble than they are worth. Although we screen all voice seekers, there are always those projects posted that raise concern, and require a little more thought before getting involved. Below are possible 'red flags' you can spot, as well as, questions and solutions on how to address them:

Will a voice seeker listen to my demo?

• Simply go into Project Details.
• Scroll to the bottom of the link 'Click here to learn more about this voice seeker'.
• Look at the info behind the seeker and see if they have a history of listening to demos.
• If you find that the person has a low percentage of opening demos, this maybe someone you are wasting time on. Please note: Even if the seeker deletes demos, the voice seeker interface requires that you must still first open it. They will see your budget quote, profile, and remarks.
• Voice123 still remains the only voice over casting site, that provides you with the info as to what actually happened to your demo after submission.

Is this an experienced voice seeker?

• Look at Team Comments at the bottom of each project.
• See how many projects the person has posted, and again, how many auditions they listen to on average. Note the seeker ID, too, as many re-post projects.
• Watch for spelling and script Writing!
• Are there numerous bad spelling errors? Is the script written poorly?
• Of course, being a creative industry, scripts are written poorly on purpose sometimes, but the way the project description is written can give a clue as to whether it was intended.

Did Voice123 make contact with the voice seeker?

• Scroll to the bottom of the project details.
• Indicated there is how we have made contact with the voice seeker.
• We do have many returning voice seekers, but there are new voice seekers everyday. If you see a first-time user of Voice123, make sure we have contacted them by looking at the 'Team Comments'. We always call a voice seeker and make contact, especially when they first use Voice123.

Bad Gut Feelings?

• Use the Internet and do your own research!
• Learn for yourself, do not simply listen to what everyone says because they are running their own business, like you, but different from yours.
• If you spot anything strange, which creates that nagging gut feeling, remember that gut feelings are formed through your formal education of life experience. A gut feeling comes from sensing something is just not right. Do not ignore it! Research it!
• If you do your own research, and still think something is wrong, make note of what happened, and pass on it. If you wish to report concerns, before and AFTER the project is complete, at the very top of the project details page there is a link to let us know what has happened, or what if you have found to be inaccurate!

As I was writing this, I began to think, 'Wow, this sounds like a lot to consider!' However, I must never forget that the main purpose of Voice123 is to not only provide job opportunities, but to give voice over talents the unique opportunity to be their own business, finance manager, and self-director, by giving them the tools to make educated decisions from 'knowing the score'.

We certainly hope this helps, and if you have any suggestions on future topics you would like to know more about, please let us know! Do not forget that I do Voice123 trainings every Thursday at 1PM EST! All the details can be found in our Voice123 Resource Center.

Thank you as always!


Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager