YOU GROW UP LOOKING TO YOUR PARENTS AS YOUR PROVIDERS AND PROTECTORS. THEN ONE DAY, SOMETIMES QUITE SUDDENLY, THE SHOE’S ON THE OTHER FOOT. AS YOU YOURSELF GROW OLDER, HOW CAN YOU BE ASSURED THAT YOU WON’T BE FORCED TO DEPEND ON YOUR OWN CHILDREN FOR YOUR CARE AND SECURITY? IT’S SIMPLE. WE’RE THE FRANKLIN DISABILITY INSURANCE COMPANY. WE’RE CONTINUALLY LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE, SO YOU’LL BE PREPARED WHEN IT GETS HERE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT YOUR BROKER. HERE’S TO A LONG LIFE.
AT ALMOND BREEZE, WE ONLY USE CALIFORNIA GROWN BLUE DIAMOND ALMONDS IN OUR ALMOND MILK. AND WE’RE PROUD OF THAT. BUT THE WHOLE CARING AND NURTURING PART? THAT IDEA WE BORROWED FROM NATURE. BLUE DIAMOND ALMOND BREEZE, THE BEST ALMONDS MAKE THE BEST ALMOND MILK.
Very nice job. The pacing is excellent and the delivery quite natural. The only criticism is with the word disability, which was a little awkward. I only mention this because its the title of the company. Other than that, great job.
Hi, everyone! I would love to get some feedback on this documentary-type read about beavers. Thanks!
Script: The b****r builds its lodge out of intertangled twigs and sticks; as freezing weather nears, they plaster their lodge with mud, making a concrete layer that no predator can break through. During the early nineteenth century, the b****r pelt was the single most valuable commodity; the pelt being used for robes, coats, clothing trims, and top hats.
YOU’RE SO GOOD!!! Teach me your pacing ways!!! Your read was super clear and easy to understand. Even if you were explaining something complicated, your pace and diction were so clear that I had time to think about what you were saying as you read. I think you would also do well as an audiobook narrator.
That’s very kind of you. Thanks 🙂 For this particular script, I pictured myself inside the b****r’s lodge and pictured myself explaining it to someone, while we were watching the b****r do things. I looked for a bit of a hushed tone (so the b****r couldn’t hear me :-), and I find that I purposely slow my pace down for others, to help them absorb everything.
I thought you handle a challenging script adeptly. I agree with Steve that you could slow down a little bit. The one thing I wonder, however, is how you feel about Newton’s accomplishments. I think a little bit more “you” could help. Nice job.
I really like this read. I think your pacing was very good, and I would say just a smidge slower would make it even better. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it. It sounded exciting and engaging.
I tried posting earlier but it seems to not have successfully posted, so if this is a repeat, I apologize! If not, here are a few reads for my HW. Any comments, criticisms, notes of any kind are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
– Max
AMSTEL:
Hey… if life were perfect, magazines would never smell like perfume, dogs would walk themselves, and algebra would actually come in handy. Well, look on the bright side, at least there’s AMSTEL LIGHT. It has only 95 calories, but you still get real imported taste. Who says nothing’s perfect?…Amstel Light.
HONEST TEA:
Open a bottle of Honest Tea-and discover an honest world. Filled with real brewed organic tea leaves and delicious organic honey.
Or you could just take a look at the label.
Honest Tea. Refreshingly honest.
CRAYOLA:
Crayola Color Wonder Markers color only on special paper. So your kids can express their creativity more often…in more places…with less mess. Crayola Color Wonder. It starts with Crayola.
AMERICAN EXPRESS:
Do you know me? Probably not. In my business, recognition is always important, but when I’m buying goods online I prefer a little privacy. With Private Payments from American Express, I get the security of a unique number created for each business transaction I make. Because my private information is my business, and American Express keeps it that way.
Hello! One thing I’ve picked up during my brief tenure in this community is that if you want feedback, it’s best to have short clips (which you have) and to post no more than one or two at a time. People tend to get overwhelmed and keep scrolling if they see too much of a time commitment in someone’s post. With that out of the way:
I think all four reads are pretty good. While your enunciation is good, your delivery could use more of a natural, conversational character at times — more “flow.” Also, all four reads feature very similar energy levels. I wonder how much you can tailor the energy of each read to suit the script/product.
Amstel Light: good list reading. “But you still get real, imported taste” sounds less natural than the rest of the read.
Honest Tea: There are some mouth clicks there that you’re going to want to clean up. You could do with fewer glottal stops overall – people don’t use them much in natural speech. I know there is a lot of vocal fry in the VO world these days, but I’m personally not a fan of the vocal fry. But that’s more of a personal choice than anything.
Crayola: What I like about this read is that, of the four you presented here, this one shows you doing the most stretching, in pitch, tone, energy, etc. Of all four reads, this one sounds the most polished, professional, and relatable, in my opinion.
American Express: Keep practicing this one. At this point, it doesn’t quite sound like you’re relating an actual personal experience. To my ear, of the four clips you posted, this one sounds the most like you’re reading. Maybe try to match the tone and energy of the first four sentences of this script with that of the last.
JustJohn, thanks so much for your thoughtful reply and feedback! I really appreciate you breaking down each one and generally what you said about tailoring the energy of the read for each script.
Hi all,
Another round of homework for my commercial demo. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris
American Cancer Society
It’s tough to quit smoking. Just ask any of the 50 million Americans who continue to puff away, even though they know the toll it takes on health and longevity. When it comes to breaking this lethal habit, the most effective tool is willpower. The American Cancer Society now offers a free video for those smokers who feel they can’t quit alone. Call the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY today, at 1-800-575-2424
Motivational informercial
Listen in as we share the research-proven formula for success. Plus, athletes, stars and trainers share their motivational tips! All coming up in the next 30-minutes!
Ziplock 2
Only Ziploc brand bags have a unique interlocking zipper to lock in freshness in a way no other bag can. When it comes out this fresh, you know it went in a Ziploc bag. Ziploc. We’ve got a lock on freshness.
Hi Chris,
Nice voice!
ACS – I would suggest more conversational, adjust the pitch, relax a little and connect with that type of audience who struggle with this habit. A little less emphasis on 50 million. It sounds like you loss some breath during the sentence …toll it takes on health and longevity. Let the copy breathe, move punctuation around so it sounds more natural.
Ziploc – good read. I would suggest here also to relax just a little and speed up the read just a tad. Try a lead-in, who are you telling about these ziploc bags? Think about, is this how you would tell them this.
Homework time! If anyone has time to provide feedback on the following narration reads it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
R/
Ryan
Cosmos
Welcome to the planet earth. A place of blue nitrogen skies, oceans of liquid water, cool forests, soft meadows; A world positively rippling with life. From the cosmic perspective, it is, for the moment, unique. The only world on which we know with certainty that the matter of the cosmos has become alive, and aware. There must be many such worlds scattered through space, but our search for them begins here, with the accumulated wisdom of the men and women of our species, acquired at great cost, over a million years.
Social Security
Whether you’re young or old, male or female, single or with a family – this video is for and about you. That’s because Social Security has programs that affect everybody. This presentation was prepared by the Social Security Administration and tells you what you need to know about Social Security while still working and what you need to know when it’s your turn to collect benefits. It also provides an overview of Medicare and Supplemental Security Income benefits.
Hi everyone, I’ve attached a couple of readings; one an eLearning script and the other a museum audio tour script. The most common critiques I get from coaches are about my pace and conversational tone. If you could take a listen and give me feedback about the pace, e.g. am I too fast, too slow; are there places in the script where you think I should slow down, etc. and the conversational tone of these reads. It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Bruce
Hello Bruce!
Both reads have great tone. the student loan pacing was on target, not too fast or slow. It was just right for the information presented. The pacing allowed the reader to understand the information all while sounding conversational. The Jackson P*****k did sound more like reading rather than conversational.
Hi,
I listened to the Nike read. Overall, I liked your tone; relaxed and conversational. My main critique is that this copy starts with a list “it’s a mindset, a focus, a deepseated…”. I would have liked more differentiation between the items in the list; to me they had similar tone and pace. There is a list again at the end and you raised the pitch on the second item, so I liked that part better.
Hello Jimmy!
I listened to advil and it is a nice read. I would suggest the pace to be tighter and more connected. Who is your audience? lean into connecting with them and how great of a pain relief that advil can be for them.