Mistake 1: The two-line brief
"Warm but professional, 30 seconds" tells a director almost nothing. The fix is a five-field brief we send every client: audience, placement, reference reads, words to stress and words never to stress. Sessions booked with it need half the takes.
Mistake 2: Skipping the audition approval
Approving a demo reel instead of a custom audition is how projects get re-recorded. Insist on hearing your exact script read three ways before the session is ever booked — it costs a day and saves a week.
Mistake 3: Rewrites after the master
Last-minute copy changes after mastering mean reopening the mix, the timing and the licensing paperwork. Lock copy at the pickup deadline written into the quote — and budget one contained pickup round for the inevitable small fix.
The process that prevents all three
Consultation, custom auditions, directed recording, unlimited revisions: the order matters. Each step exists to catch the mistake the previous one missed, which is why skipping steps is the most expensive option on the menu.
Want the five-field brief template?
Start a project and we will send it with your free consultation.