VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Mike Sommer · Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:51 pm Post subject:

Yes much better.

I think you can take it to another level too.
Understanding the opening line, and understanding that it is a hypothetical
question will help you get there.

"Did you know, that more than 80 million Americas are nearsighted?"

Hypothetical questions are really a statement disguised as a question.
So reading it as a statement rather than as a question, will put more
energy behind your voice. But you still need to keep the question in your
voice. The writers can get a little touchy sometimes.

Also talking to someone will help focus the energy even more. So try putting
a "Hey Bob!" or whomever you are taking to in front of the opening line, and
rehearse it a few times to get that "sense memory" built into the read.
Then you can just read the the "Hey Bob" silently, to get you there, before
you read the actual copy.

What follows, is nothing more than a laundry list of statements,
so they need to be read as if you're counting them off on your fingers.
Some of the items can even be read as what I like to call "Wholly Crap!"
moments; the, "THis is great!" or the "My God I didn't know that!!"
moment. I would not do that with every line, but the Air Force statement
is an impressive point.

Over all, this is good stuff Chirs.
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

It drives me nuts when directors (not usually the good ones) demand that I go to cartoonish lengths to make it obvious that I'm asking a question. I've had to teach myself to give 'em what they want. Doing things wrong can be the hardest skill to master. Wink

There is such as thing as the persuasiveness of rhetoric, but it's lost on some directors.
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tokyofan · Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:05 pm Post subject: re:

Thanks guys! In Tokyo we do so much English education stuff that clients expect ALL yes/no questions to have a rising intonation and WH-questions to go down. So, yeah, awkward to read it 'wrong'.

Mike: I have lists of 'lead-in' questions and will try to make use of those more. It's a great technique.

Lance: I didn't even realize the transformer was engaged on this...sometimes buttons get pressed and I don't even notice. I usually dis-engage it. I still need to learn what the Speck can do. Thx!

Notes taken and will keep working on this! Smile

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tokyofan · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:23 am Post subject: re:

Here's another version...this time reading questions as statements.

Storm Eye Institute
http://www.chriskoprowski.com/mylinks/StormEye.mp3

And this is another spot I'm working on (if I hit my quota you can skip it.) Wink

West Law Next
www.chriskoprowski.com/mylinks/WLN.mp3

Thanks again for the feedback!
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asnively · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 9:45 am Post subject:

Well, since we're being picky...

If I were directing you, I would point out that the sentences that end with "near sighted," "South Carolina," "Air Force," and "available" all hit the same notes. I'd love for you to find a little variety so that each of those sentences has their own personality.

Also, this kind of spot is all about "We know they're your eyes, and you're nervous. But you can trust us!" Which means that, instead of the industrial narration vibe you've got going on here, I'd recommend going into "Your pal Chris" mode. I'd love to hear this in your most natural, comforting-but-not-sleepy vibe. Relaxed, natural, reassuring, with a little bit of the sparkle that comes with knowing the solution.
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tokyofan · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:12 pm Post subject: re:

Thanks! And be picky, please!

asnively · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 11:27 pm Post subject:

You can be 'educational, authoritative and compassionate' and natural, too. I think it's easier to get really natural, really conversational, and then add a little authority than to add friendliness to an industrial read. Seems like a good exercise, anyway.
Smile

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Mike Sommer · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:33 pm Post subject:

Indeed, you can be all those things at the same time, and conversational.

This kind of direction is superfluous, because the copy is already doing the heavy lifting for you, i.e. it already has the education and the authority built into it. All you need to do, is be compassionate and warm.

With medical copy that's all that you need be: warm, compassionate, friendly and caring.
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Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.