VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

donrandall · Guest

More Brain Stuff . . ?From Cambridge University.
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?O lny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.
?
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?cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty ?uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The
?phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig ?to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,
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it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ?ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ?ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll ?raed it wouthit a porbelm.
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Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ?lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas ?tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if
?you can raed tihs psas it on ?!!

Tom Greenlee · Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 7:53 pm Post subject:

Don....I love this. I've seen this before and I talked about it for a long time. I couldn't believe that I read right through it with no hiccups at all. It was as if everything was as it should be. I didn't even have to strain. I was blown away by it, and couldn't stop telling people about it. Thanks for refreshing my memory. This is really cool.
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anthonyVO · 14th Avenue Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 1470 Location: NYC

A major part of it has to do with the shape of the word - that's why ALL CAPS HERE ALWAYS HARDER TO READ and why posters and flyers (or any other form of ad/publicity) shouldn't be in all caps.

NOW IF I CAN ONLY GET SOME COPY WITHOUT ALL CAPS

-Anthony

Frank F · Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:38 pm Post subject:

I think that is written in the "new English" being promoted by Cambridge U. to be taught to out children and those of foreign descent who do not speak or write our language - and most copywriters.

Isn't it great what the human mind can perceive and achieve?

Frank F
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dhouston67 · Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 10:03 pm Post subject:

Holy spam. Is this thing still being passed around the interwebs?

*sigh*

Folks, folks, folks. This isn't an outright lie, but it is a bit of a con.

Yes, the human brain is more than capable of interpolating the "correct" word, but its ease in doing so is facilitated by the strict rules posited by the article: not only does each word have its first and last letter firmly in place, but even the "jumbled" middle letters are arranged in deliberate order. (Note how repeat words use the exact same misspelling.) Take each word and rearrange its letters in a completely random fashion, and the brain hits a few speed bumps:

"Goacnridc ot screrehahc ta Agibmercd Eytiiunsvr..."

Contrary to the article's assertion, the correct first-and-last letter position is not the only thing that we use when reading text. If this were true, you'd never immediately be able to tell the difference between pairs of words like "salt" and "slat". In that instance, the only hope for determining the correct meaning is to be sure of the context in which the word is used. (Even if the reader's brain makes this correction immediately, why make it jump over yet another hurdle?)

I could go on, but suffice to say that correct spelling is more important than the "Cmabrigde" report would have the reader believe.
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tammymcd · Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 10:41 pm Post subject:

I've seen that one before and also read right thru it....in fact - I don't know what y'all have encountered, but some of the demo scripts I've read don't look a whole lot different. The really funny ones are when it's obvious that English is apparently not the writer's first language...and I always wonder - do I read it they way they wrote it - or read it the correct way? I can't help it - when it's really bad I have fixed their mistakes in my reading....What do you Pro's do? Bitchin

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dhouston67 · Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 10:50 pm Post subject:

Tammy,

Always contact the client ASAP if you have questions about copy. No sense wasting their time or yours; a few moments spent getting the copy straight will save a lot of editing, or even re-recording an entire piece.
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Frank F · Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 10:52 pm Post subject:

Tammy,

I don't know what the Pro's do, but I fix the copy - especially if it is sent to me before-hand in a Word document or even as 'html' in an email. I find it easier to read that way. it does get difficult when you are dealing with acronyms though, like SIP, VOIP , JDM's, WWDBD, or - well, you get the idea...

If there are grammatical errors - and depending upon the client - I will point them out and let them decide what to do with them...

"...and that's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it". The Pro's may have other ideas on this subject.

Toodles, er - tdloos, er - oh well...

Frank F
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Deirdre · Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 6:41 am Post subject:

I love it when Frank says "The Pros" as though it's someone else.

Ask Mike Rhys about grammatcial issues in translation sometime.
Things are so fractured in the production stream in Japan that they're relying on the last guys, the reader and recording producer, to DO THE TRANSLATION to English.

Whole scripts in ALL CAPS r teh suXX0rz.
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Hart · Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 7:46 am Post subject:

Which is interesting because I was trained to type (well, yeah type on a typewriter) scripts doublespaced in all caps.
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Deirdre · Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 7:49 am Post subject:

The notion of ALL CAPS is to keep the WORD COUNT within a commercial script TEMPLATE consistent.

The templates are crap, and word count is not a way to guage how long a commercial is.

It's only a way to determine how much sh1t you can pound into a 30- or 60-second bag.
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Hart · Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 7:54 am Post subject:

Agreed.

I also agree it's much easier to read a script that's not all upper case.

None of that was ever a consideration when I was being trained however. It was all about hitting your word limit while making sure you gave the business name at least three times, the phone number at least twice, and the address at least once.
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Deirdre · Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 9:00 am Post subject:

MOST OF THAT

oops

Most of those criteria are crap, besides mentioning the client's name.
The phone number mention is only worth it if it's a really easy to recall number combo or a word. People listening in their car are only RARELY going to pull over to write down Titterington's Bakery phone number "1-800-670-9959!"

The most memorable phone number is sung.

I think Dan O'Day has all these non-rules listed and explained or debunked.

I subscribe to Dan O'Day's newsletters even though I'm not doing radio procduction OR writing ads. It's just helpful as heck to know how to explain the really effective way to do radio advertising.

Dan O'Day's Newsletters sign-up
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tammymcd · Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 9:58 am Post subject:

Thanks for the great advice y'all. It makes sense of course. Many times I am unable to contact the client. For instance when you're answering a demo request for most of the V123 things - they usually have that 'client info not given' thing going on. But from now on if they do provide that info, then I'm definitely going to contact them to see if they really mean what they've written.

As always - you're all my Gurus - and I'm so grateful that you're there.
cool

Tammy
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Hart · Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 10:10 am Post subject:

yeah, I get Dan O'Day's newsletters too. The phone number thing really cracks me up. Mind you my "copy writing training" took place in Tuscaloosa, AL way back when. A lot of the stuff I was taught is either wrong today, or no longer applicable yet you still hear it all the time, especially in small markets. 14 years of radio experience has taught me far more than classes and internships ever could.
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