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jrodriguez315

I just turned down an opportunity to create fully-produced radio spots for a client because I've never done it before. Does anyone know where I can learn how to do this? Any tips will be greatly appreciated.
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Joe Rodriguez, Bilingual Voice Actor | The Voiceover Thespian Blog

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:22 pm Post subject:

depends on what you mean by fully produced. I did a simple one where they wanted music added. I adjusted the levels and boom, radio commercial.
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Jeff
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jrodriguez315 · Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:04 pm Post subject:

Well, as I've never done a fully produced spot, I really am no sure what that means. If it's just ading music, I am certainly capable of doing that though I haven't done it, I'm sure I can figure it out. I just wouldn't want to put myself up for a gig and then not be able to deliver. then again, there's no better way to learn how to do something than by doing it.
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Joe Rodriguez, Bilingual Voice Actor | The Voiceover Thespian Blog

Bruce · Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 5:45 am Post subject:

A fully-produced radio spot means "ready to go on the air" which means voice mixed with music, or jingles, or sound effects (you'll need multiple channels, enough for each audio piece that's running simultaneously), adjusting volumes so the voice is clear and the other stuff is "present", cut to a full 30 or 60 seconds as required, and then adding some effects like compression or EQ to make it sound richer and fuller than a dry read.

The amount of effects can go anywhere from light on a soft, quiet commercial to really heavy on a screaming car commercial. Just don't overdo the effects...radio stations use compression in their audio chain too...just make it sound "nice"...that's a qualitative measure I have no way of describing here. Make sure the the overall volume stays around -6db (compression helps to keep the peaks from getting too loud).Take the results and "bounce to disc", labeling as indicated below.

Label the commercial in a way that will make sense to the end user as in DairyQueen_Blizzard_30Radio or DQ-BananaSplits-30 and convert the commercial to an mp3 at 192 kbps. Deliver.

I've just compressed XX years of knowledge into 200 words so it's just a primer, but when you have free time start playing with all of these elements in your editing software and see if you get results that sound right to you. Have fun!

B
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I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

Andy Bowyer · Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am Post subject:

...and forgive me if this is obvious, but when adding music and sound effects, be sure that it's all licensed for broadcast use. Nothing says "whoopsie" like copyright infringement...
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JimRon · Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 8:19 am Post subject:

I second what Andy says. There are a lot of sites that offer royalty free music that's not too expensive, and doesn't sound like someone composed it on their Casio keyboard.

You'll also need a decent audio editor for mixing. Pro Tools or Audition are perfect. So if you've got either one of those you're one step ahead.
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flaspots · Contributore Level V Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Posts: 191

Let me humbly offer some business advice:

Avoid using the word "no".

If you don't know how to handle it, make a few calls and get someone to handle it, then pay them and take a brokers commission for yourself.

Be honest with your customer. Tell them, "that's not my bag, but I know who to call." As long as your vendor supplies you with good work, they'll be happy, you'll be happy, your customer will be happy - and everyone makes money.