The Demo Dream Team
Have you been thinking about recording a voice over demo? Perhaps you are newer to voice over and have done the study required to perfect your skills in a particular genre and are ready to record a demo to show the world your mad voice over skills. Or maybe you’ve been in this industry for a while now and your demo library could use some updating (MySpace spots anyone?). Wherever you are in your voice over business, when you need a voice over demo, you need the Demo Dream Team.
The Dream Team Professionally Produced Demos
Demo Dream Team “A La Carte”
Who IS the Demo Dream Team?
The Demo Dream Team is four friends uniting to collectively bring decades of professional writing, producing, engineering, coaching, and acting expertise to the world of demo production! The members of this fab four are:
Michelle Sundholm
Project Manager, Director
Steve Sundholm
Producer, Engineer, Mixer
Melissa Disney
Coach, Director
Ryan Paul James
Writer
Highlights from Michelle Sundholm’s successful career include voice over for such brands as Mastercard, Sony Pictures, CMA Foundation, HGTV, Boston Celtics, Microsoft, USA Today, Intel, Seagate, FDA, CDC Foundation, Nintendo WiiU, Estee Lauder, and Honda. She is part of the elite Pandora/SiriusXM and iHeart Radio roster as well.
Michelle is a professional singer and songwriter and has added her sweet harmonies to projects with Kenny Rogers, Jim Brickman, Cloverdayle, Sam Martin, and Nightingale Music Licensing. Michelle is also a 5-Time Voice Arts Awards (SOVAS) Nominee for Best Commercial (Superbowl Chevy Cruze), Best Movie Trailer (The African Survivors, SONY Pictures), Best eLearning (L.L. Bean “How to Snowshoe”), Best Radio Promo (Trump vs. Biden) and Best Corporate Narration (Jumio).
When she isn’t recording in the booth or making her handmade vanilla caramels for her clients, Michelle manages and directs her two sons Everett and Ashton Sundholm (The Sundholm Brothers) in the vocal booth, helping make their dreams become reality through creativity, dedication and hard work.
Steve Sundholm’s had a long career in audio production, with engineering credits on projects with such artists as Carrie Underwood, JET, Pink Martini, and Forest Whitaker. Other production highlights include collaborations with Jim Brickman, Kenny Rogers, and John Oates. Steve has written music for Disney, Mitchel Musso, Cloverdayle, and Jim Brickman among others. And Steve’s mixes have been used on advertisements for CBS, Tampax, and more, as well as TV shows like The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Dawson’s Creek, and America’s Next Top Model. His mixes have also been on national radio and the Billboard Charts. And just when you thought the list couldn’t get longer, he’s also done audio mastering for the likes of Merle Haggard, Lady Antebellum, Yoko Ono, The Pretenders, Machine Gun Kelly, and Joan Jett.
Melissa Disney is a 3-Time EMMY Nominated Actress whose numerous credits include Live Announcer for the Oscars, Emmys and the Billboard Music Awards, promos for NFL, HGTV, The Young and the Restless, ABC, CBS, Fox, On-Demand, as well as the voice of numerous radio stations across the U.S. On TV she is the coolest queen of the nerds, Ginger Foutley from Nickelodeon’s “As Told By Ginger” as well as starring AS the newest Marvel Superhero -American Dream, The Simpsons, Jakers! with Mel Brooks, Superman, and other currently top secret video games. You’ve definitely heard her in campaigns for brands such as McDonalds, Lexus, Sprint, Doritos, Ford, Hallmark, and the viral Motherhood commercial for Similac. Musically, she has been the singing voice of Snow White and has been the voice for numerous toys, dolls, and albums, Voice of new Star Wars characters on Disney theme park rides, as well as the voice of the Carousel in Shanghai Disneyland. She has performed Sketch comedy on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O’ Brian and worked with Anne Beats of SNL.
Melissa is also known as the “1st Female Voice of Movie Trailers”. Winning the Key Art Award winner for Best Trailer– Gone in 60 Seconds with Nicholas Cage, ”Melissa effectively shattered an unwritten ban on women voicing action trailers, And as if that were not enough, she went on to win a Golden Trailer Award (Best Voiceover) for her work on the Warner Bros. Pictures’ 2001 movie Valentine.”
(— Natasha Emmons, Hollywood Reporter ).
You may wonder if there is an award for writing for either stage or screen that critically acclaimed comedy writer, Ryan Paul James hasn’t won (he’s won more than 20 for his work). He’s been compared to Neil Simon, with one critic calling him “The Neil Simon of his generation”. Others have noted, “Ryan Paul James is an American playwright to watch”. Ryan has written ten plays that have entertained audiences all over the world. He’s been recognized in both newspapers and magazines as being one of the funniest writers in theatre. Ryan has also written for television and has created TV shows that have gotten the attention of some major networks, written for documentaries, blogged and written numerous articles. When he’s not writing, Ryan is busy teaching writing and storytelling in Los Angeles.
Why Choose Us?
Choose us for Experience and World Class Treatment. Together, we have decades of professional expertise in each relevant industry field (Writing, Engineering, Producing, Business, Coaching, and Acting). We know and understand current trends in the market first-hand and have a proven successful track record to show for it. We are grounded, innovative, passionate dreamers and we cater to your specific needs and style, getting to know YOU as the voice over talent, and what would suit you best. We also create custom scripts specifically for your voice and stand behind our results.
We are here to help you get to the next level in your career and we understand the importance of a demo as your calling card/business card. It’s your first impression and sometimes the most important impression you will make with buyers or agents. Your demo must represent you and what you do best.
Today’s voiceover market is more competitive than ever and your demo needs to rise above the rest. We will not do a demo with someone we feel is not ready. Each potential client will get a free 15-minute consultation with one of the team members to make sure our collaboration is a mutual fit. We believe in excellence as artists and we will get it done right the first time, or work until you have approved the final demo 100%.
What Are Our Rates?
Audio demo rates vary by demo type so be sure to contact us directly here, for details.
The Demo Dream Team Production Package Includes:
- 1x 30-45-minute script strategy session
- Custom Script showcasing your specific strengths
- Directed Demo Session engineered by Steve at either Melissa and Ryan’s studio in Los Angeles or Michelle and Steve’s studio in Portland, your broadcast quality studio at home or one you’ve booked.
- Production, Engineering and Mastering of your world-class demo!
NOT INCLUDED in the demo package, is the studio fee and any transportation costs needed if you cannot connect directly and record from your home studio (or other studios near you) or meet Melissa and Ryan in LA or Steve and Michelle in Portland in their broadcast-quality studios.
What Clients Say
What a great team to have working with you on a demo! And as I do more and more of these, I’m getting pickier and pickier. 😉 The process couldn’t have been smoother, more rewarding or more fun. Everyone involved knows their stuff and the end result is a demo I’ll be proud of for many years to come. Thank you SO MUCH!
The Demo Dream Team really lives up to their name. From Melissa’s relaxed coaching style, Michelle’s creativity and warm natured direction, Steve’s sound design, Ryan’s writing and the team as a whole being very open to making this a collaborative process. I enjoyed making my Live Announce demo. They were very open to my tweaks and feedback to help me really make it my own and I have a product that I’m very happy with.
Although they were very well produced and effective, my existing demos were extremely old (10 years!), and desperately needed to be redone to reflect the changes and trends in the industry and the market. After evaluating my options (both the “usual suspects” and some newcomers), I was intrigued and impressed by the uniquely experienced talents the Demo Dream Team had assembled. I listened to their work, spoke to them and their clients at length, and decided to trust them with my career path (no pressure!). Not only am I very happy with both the process and the results, equally importantly, everyone at my agency is as well. As a result, I’ve referred several other VO talent to them that are just as pleased. Thanks!
My promo demo was in desperate need of a refresh. When I met Melissa in a class, I LOVED her coaching style and knew she would bring just the right combination of encouragement and butt-kicking to our prep sessions. Sure enough, coaching with her was an absolute blast – and the recording session was even more fun! The Demo Dream Team collaborated brilliantly to figure out which styles showcased me in the best way, wrote scripts that sound like they aired yesterday (not 15 years ago, like my old demo…), and nudged me into creative and unexpected reads.
My agents and I are thrilled with the end result!
The Demo Dream Team was an absolute delight to work with.
As a former child actor, I chose the Dream Team to help resurrect my acting career and I was scared to death! But the Dream Team made my entire experience easy and fun from the hilarious script by Ryan, to the friendly and inspired direction of Michelle and Melissa, to the magic of Steve’s sound work. We laughed the whole recording session – it was seriously like a party – and now I have this gorgeous demo!
I really feel set up to succeed and will definitely use the Demo Dream Team again.
Absolutely fantastic to work with. From the first meeting to the final product they were all extremely helpful and communicative every step of the way. They really take the time to get to know you and tailor the copy and recording session to your needs. It was one of the most fun recording sessions I ever had.
10/10, highly recommended.
To say that my experience with the Demo Dream Team was good would be an injustice. The amount of time and consideration that went into getting to know me and my style of read and narration was inspiring. Michelle, from the get go, was determined to make sure the demo fit not only my style but also my needs. Her encouragement took my confidence up a couple of notches when I tackle the multitude of auditions I do. If you want to boost your profile and step your game up then beg the “Demo Dream Team” to help you out. I only hope that your demo isn’t better than mine. Thank you Demo Dream Team!
The Demo Dream team blew my mind with the product I received! A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away (prior to life as a mom,)
I worked as a voice over artist. Just thought I’d venture back into that world, basically starting from scratch, and through providence, I found the Demo Dream team. Remembering from long ago, I don’t believe I’ve ever had such a joyful and efficient brilliant on all levels team effort to create, coach and engineer my demo reel(s)! Now, if only they could be my agent as well…. I’m recommending all my actor friends and want-to-do-voiceover friends, alike, to The Demo Dream Team!
It’s one thing to hope your demo will get your work. It’s another thing to know it will. And that’s all thanks to The Demo Dream Team. They really took the time to understand what I needed, were great with giving direction, and weaved together a demo that really brings out the best of what I have to offer as a voice actor. They’re the real deal, guys!
The Demo Dream Team was a dream to work with. I was a bit nervous about having my first demo made, but Michelle, Steve, Melissa, and Ryan’s professionalism and affability made me feel very at ease. The scripts they wrote for me were perfectly aligned with my brand, and I received wonderful feedback on the finished product from my talent agency. I would definitely work with them again!
I found out about the Demo Dream Team through Gravy For The Brain, so I knew going in I was in good hands. And throughout the whole process, they didn’t disappoint. From creating the copy to recording to post-production, the process was one of collaboration, tailoring my demo to my set of skills, but it was also about fun. Melissa and Steve pushed me hard in the recording session, but in a fun, sometimes ‘throw against the wall and see what sticks’ way that breeds creativity. And it led to the creation of a product that I’m ecstatic to showcase for potential clients. I couldn’t be happier with the commercial demo we created together.
It was a real joy working with The Demo Dream Team! They made me feel comfortable and I was able to express myself and have a blast while recording. I’m definitely coming back when I need another demo!
Demo Dream Team Genres:
- Commercial
- Promo
- Animation
- Video Games
- Live-Announce
- Narration
- Explainer
- IVR
- Documentary
- Political
- eLearning
- Automotive
- Jingles
**Booked directed demo session Rescheduling Policy: Please provide at least a 72 HOUR rescheduling of your initial booked session. We realize schedules can be crazy, but we’re working pros as well and need a solid heads up.**
We are ready to meet you, get to know you and create something that brings out YOUR unique signature sound!
~The Demo Dream Team: Michelle, Steve, Melissa and Ryan
Contact the Demo Dream Team
Contact us for a free 15 min consultation.
Let’s get creative and take your demos to the next level.