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Demo Chic
There are as many ways to present your work as there are composers and sound designers. You can let loose your creativity to display your creations the best light and let them stand out. There are no hard and fast rules to be applied - just make it sound great. I've heard demos which use music, sound effects, and narration like a radio commercial to present an audio product. Most producers I spoke with, however, agreed that such presentation styles distracted them from getting to hear the music or effects and the quality of the tracks. Producers prefer to hear music either presented as a montage or as numerous short (1:00 to 1:30) selections in rapid succession. Five full-length pieces of various styles are also acceptable. The demo montage makes the strongest impact over all. Five to seven minutes worth of music, fading from one selection to the next, blended together to sound almost like one song will definitely keep them listening. Include only the best sections of your work to take them on a musical expedition full of surprising twists and turns. It's unbeatable. I normally include two montages: one with a harder edge, full of intensity, along with a softer, more emotional montage. I also include a few longer tracks of songs done in their entirety because a montage does not completely show your musical thought process or prove that you can hold a listener's attention with a single song idea. I do this just in case producers are curious and wish to put me to that test. Shortened minute to a minute-and-a-half selections are another surefire way of presenting your pieces. With only seven minutes on stage, you have to make it fast and this is a great way to showoff your musical dexterity. One thing I've noticed when listening to these types of demos is my urge to hear more. And because I can't immediately hear more of a track, I end up playing the whole tape/CD over again. It's a trick that has been used in pop music for many years. By keeping a song short, it's requested again and again in order to satisfy the hungry radio listener, invariably making it the number one requested song of the week. Chart toppers are usually just good songs marketed wisely. If your demo is of this style, be sure to include a few longer pieces, too. The demo with five complete selections of music also works well. Pick the current popular game music styles: Alternative/Rock jam, Orchestral, Ambient, Sports, and Playful/Quirky. A spread like this will cover the bases nicely. Make sure that each selection is 100 percent perfect, something that you would be proud to call your own. This is no place for half finished pieces or excuses. They should all be polished. A sound effects demo can stand out equally well. I don't recommend just playing one sound effect after another. It's boring and it shows a lack of imagination. Remember that if you want to impress the producer, make it impossible for him to look anywhere else. Make your effects shine. If you choose to put sound effects tracks on your tape or CD, I suggest creating an auditory scene. Forge an action-packed audio journey by using your original effects and Foley sounds. (Download a short audio example of mine to see what I mean.) It doesn't have to be long or totally outrageous, your effects demo only needs to demonstrate your sound design and production skills favorably. Producers are most concerned that you have the knowledge and ability to do good sound effects before they hire you. Another method for presenting your sound design achievements could be via videotape or as a computer movie file (.avi, .mpg, .mov, and so on.). If, for example, you've done audio for any multimedia presentations or game intro sequences, these would be riveting ways to stage your efforts. Nothing quite has the force of project-specific sounds that you created for a moving picture. Narrations are another breed of audio cat. If you want to advertise your abilities to record superb voiceovers, consider adding a track of narration on its own or between audio tracks. I don't recommend sticking a microphone in front of your face and talking about whatever comes to mind. Either you or (preferably) some experienced vocal talent should perform from a well-crafted script. You could talk about the music and sound effects included on your demo, and add an intimate touch or raise the excitement level. Alternatively, you could include examples of some previous narrative project. Make sure you add some subtle sound effects or a musical bed behind the speaker in order to give the narrative piece continuity and keep it interesting. |
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