If you’re interested in performing this genre, approach production companies. This work is mostly NU. Producers move around so connect with them on LinkedIn.
ACM sends Carin the most auditions (she gets 3 a month).
True crime is formulaic.
- Networks: TLC, ID, Lifetime, Oxygen
- Documentary: History, National Geographic, Animal Planet
Pay is $1k-$3k per episode NU, with 8 to 30 episodes per season. Sometimes you get a session fee and a pickup fee. Sometimes you get a flat rate per episode including pickups because there’s a lot of rewrites.
You’ll work on 5 episodes at a time.
Audition Tips
- Understand the feel of the show
- What is your role? Observer, part of story as a character, and what is your feeling about what’s happening onscreen. As the narrator, you move the story forward and give context.
- Look up the show, and network to get familiar
- Make a choice and let it go!
Script Structure
For a 1-hour show, a story is in 6 acts or 3. Each act ends with a cliffhanger.
- Exposition – Get to know the characters on the show and the background. Then a DEEP TEASE (promo for whole episode).
- Discovery – The problem or conflict is presented.
- False resolution – Use your acting chops to pretend they know the suspect.
- Discovery of the resolution
- Resolution
- Wrap-up
In scripts, pay attention to how punctuation may trail off into a sound on tape (SOT).
Recording sessions
- 2 hours, recording in your home
- Split files
- Multiple takes
- If directed, use Source Connect
- Ask for a pronunciation guide
- Fast turnaround times, within a few days
- Always read the whole script before you start
This is my favorite VO genre and I love true crime! To watch my performances during this session, watch the video below (it starts at Carin’s session, not at the beginning).