VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[swduncan]

So I decided that at least four real scripts to play with per month was worth 7 bucks, and I signed up at voiceregistry.com.

I'm working on one of the scripts from this week's weekend workout, and it says "Radio :30" which I'm assuming means its for a 30-second radio spot. Since I've coming in at :22 to :25, I figure I must be going a bit fast, and I think that was confirmed when I listened to the results.

But that got me thinking - what's the convention? Is it :30 exactly from the start of the first syllable to the end of the last? Is there some amount of slack that's expected? Should I even worry about this at this point?

Thanks!

[Frank F]

For TV (and any automated radio station) the convention is 00:29:.50 or 29 and a half frames. In the old days one could get away with 00:31 but not today.

No, you really do not need to worry about it right now.

Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[jsgilbert]

The problem with the auditions is that it's quite possible that the auditioners are the first ones to actually say the script out loud. Typically, they tend to run a little long. It's not unusual to read a 30 second script and have it come out to 33 seconds. It doesn't mean you are too slow, it just means the spot was overwritten. On my last 20 commercial jobs, where I went to a professional studio, or worked via ISDN line and had a director and agency folks calling the shots, only twice did the copy not have to be trimmed. 18 out of 20 were long.

Usually, the genre of the spot, along with the style and writing choices will let you know the pace it should be read at. If you have a script that times in short, or even one that comes close, it might be because they have a musical intro and outro, effects, pregnant pauses, etc.

It may also be missing a call-to-action or potential live read at the end.

There is a big problem I've seen with people practicing scripts on their own however. How will you know what bad behaviors to correct?

This is a present day conundrum. When I started, we had casting directors, booth directors, clients and lots of folks in the know to provide us with direction and correction.

I've seen quite a few individuals spend massive amounts of time "practicing" poorly. You'll need to find some sort of situation that works for you.

I just thought it warranted bringing up. Although it may not apply in your situation.

Best of Luck.
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j.s. gilbert

js@jsgilbert.com
www.jsgilbert.com

"today is the first day of the rest of the week"

[swduncan]

Hi JS,

Actually, it probably does apply to me to some extent. I know I need to find someone to work with at some point, but before I go looking for someone to hire I need to feel comfortable that I know what I'm hiring them to do.

It's tempting to take one of the evaluations or "get exposed to voice over" classes, but they seem mostly aimed at selling one-size-fits-all training packages. So finding the right person, who will provide real value, is also a challenge.

For the time being I decided to start by recording myself, and grabbed some scripts from Edge. As you pointed out, the flaw is that there's no direction. It's hard to not sound like you're just reading if the script itself is all you have to work from.

I'd come up with an idea to improve this, but then learned about voiceregistry and their weekend workouts, and that's a lot better. For $7, to get 4 chances a month to not only get four 'real' scripts, but more importantly, to hear how 30-40-50+ other people read, and read evaluations of their performance has to be the VO training bargain of the century.

First I just listened to some reads. Then I went through the list of comments on the most recent workout, and picked what looked like the weakest based on the comments - i.e. "It sounds like you're reading." - and listened. Right now I sound more like the reading guy than the people whose comments start with "Nice job..." But it's not night and day. It's more subtle than I'd expected, but it's there. Being able to hear that is pretty valuable in a lot of ways.

I will be able to adjust somewhat, and I will, but it will take someone else to help me adapt what I bring to the table to each script.

[Chuck Davis]

Hi and welcome to the board.

I know the script you're referring to as I'm a WW regular.

What's missing from that script..and most that you'll find on the WW is the left-hand pane that indicates video. That script was on the short side as the producer intends to insert images in such as way as to cause pauses in the audio/vo.

As Frank and JS said the standard for a TV 30 VO is ;29.5 but......this is an audition....performance is the most important thing. Honoring the writers intent, providing a natural unaffected performance...sounding just like it's you telling your story.

If it's the Sears script though...it's a bit of a character. There you have to take "your brand"....and a apply a little football coach attitude, energy and the intent...which is to inspire your team (to buy a big tv)

That said (here comes the snarky part) for producers a TV 30 is 29.5, for VO's it's 29.5, for clients it's more like 40...if you're a car dealer it's around 50 something...but please make it sound slower
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[swduncan]

Hi Chuck, thanks for the insight!

Yes, it was the Sears one, and yesterday my first attempts were to mimic 'that guy' (I have no idea who) who does that voice on a few football related things every year, at least here in Packer country. Of course it doesn't sound right. Anyone who's seen me play team sports knows that me acting the part of a coach is a reach.

Then late last night I imagined how I would say the words on the script to a friend I was trying to get to buy a TV and it was way different, but I haven't had a chance to record it yet.

I'm also trying the Nokia one, which is a different story.

[Bruce]

Yes, :30 doesn't mean :30 in an audition, but it is a guide to your read speed, and again if they overwrite then it's your guess. You'll gain expertise as you study, and one way to study (for almost free) is to read the Voice Registry guest critic's remarks and if they really liked a read, study how it was read.

If you're sending a finished commercial read to a radio station for direct airing, it really should be between :29.5 and :30.0. If you're sending audio to an engineer who will turn your audio into a radio or TV commercial you probably have a second or two of leeway as they will splice and dice your words to fit the music and images. If you're recording while your director/producer is listening in, let them worry about the time. It's their job. They'll tell you to read slower or faster (or they'll cut copy as J.S. and most of us regularly experience).

Heaven for most of us is much less copy than the stated length. It usually means we have all kinds of time to create a mood or an image.

When it comes to voice coaching, a big caution flag to me is a multi-thousand dollar package. As a rule, the better and best coaches don't do that. You might eventually spend 2 or 3 thousand depending on how much coaching you need or want, but you need the option to quit without losing a bundle.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

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

[swduncan]