Feedback Forum

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  • #15468
    David Goldberg
    Edge Studio Staff

    The Edge Studio Feedback Forum is the best place for you to post a recording and get feedback from the community! Record in your home studio, upload the file, and see what people think. This is a great place to get some advice on your technique, on your home studio, or to ask for people’s opinion on your reads. Remember, that this is a community forum, so please remain positive and encourage your peers in helpful ways. If Edge Studio feels that a user is too negative, or antagonizing other members of the community, they will have their posts deleted, and risk being banned from further communication. 

    Stay positive, listen to each other, and have fun!

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  • #68976
    ericazetti
    Participant

    Hello! More commercial homework, any and all feedback is welcome. Thank you! 🙂

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    • #68986
      rogue1
      Participant

      Hi Erica! Wonderful reads! Lots of great energy and inflection–very appealing performance for both scripts. If I were to suggest anything, perhaps look at smoothing out your Cherrios read just a bit. The middle is smooth as silk but, to my ears, the beginning and endings sound like comma pauses are becoming period hard stops. “Whole grain oats. Cinnamon. and Cheerios. All rolled into one.” sounds a touch halting to me, whereas “Start your day with the deliciously satisfying crunch…” is natural and smooth. Keep up the amazing work!

    • #68979
      suecat
      Participant

      Hey Erica, both reads were great. I thought the Kaye could have show just a ‘tad’ more excitement since I could save 60%. The tempo, and tone were on point. Your voice is warm and inviting. and I enjoyed listening. Keep it up!

  • #68942
    suecat
    Participant

    Hey Everybody,
    Looking for your suggestions, critiques, and any tips you’d like to share — Thanks

    Arthritis Foundation
    There’s something you can do — right now — that will ease the pain of arthritis in years to come. By remembering The Arthritis Foundation in your will, you can help us find ways to stop this serious, often crippling disease. A disease that affects one in every seven Americans. Call THE ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION, at 1-800-552-HAND. It’s time we took arthritis seriously.

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    • #68974
      TimDKietzman
      Participant

      I think you read at a great tempo and it sounded quite conversational. The words you hit were also very fitting and I don’t think you overemphasized any of them. Although, I think your pauses were a little too long and I was real distracted by how you were pronouncing the “s” sounds. Every one of them sounded as if you were whistling which no voice director enjoy. Finally, you need to work on your recording setup, it sounds echoey, as if you’re in a bowl. Hope this helps.

      • #68975
        suecat
        Participant

        Hey Tim,
        Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m so glad you said that about my ‘s’ I feel the very same way! I’m working on getting out of the bowl — And I honestly appreciate your critique! A really BIG help!

    • #68945
      rogue1
      Participant

      Hi suecat! Another solid read. Warm and approachable, yet appropriately serious given the subject matter. You might slow your tempo just a bit to increase the gravitas (you seem to speed up on the second half of your opening sentence, after “There’s something you can do—right now”). You also might take a look at your pronunciation of “arthritis”. A few times it sounds as if you’re adding an extra syllable and saying “artheritis” (though I don’t hear it in the final mention). Minor quibbles. Keep up the great work!

      • #68949
        suecat
        Participant

        Hey Rogue, Thank you for your feedback and you’re probably right about the ‘artheritis’ as I am a country girl. I’ll be mindful of that slip, in addition to paying closer attention to my speed. And those are not minor – as I just lost that job! Thanks!

        • #68984
          rogue1
          Participant

          Nothing wrong with being a country girl–that beautiful accent is a gift! 😊 I’ve got a bit of a Virginia lilt myself, just feel there are times when a client would embrace it and other times they might prefer a more “accent neutral” read. Sorry that particular job didn’t come through, but there are many, many more where that came from!

  • #68925
    Oktober10
    Participant

    Hi everyone, uploading some files trying out my mic. I’m not as concerned with the audio quality as I am the performance at this point. I appreciate the feedback!

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    • #68961
      TimDKietzman
      Participant

      You have a great voice and the way you brought these to life was well applied. In each script you sound natural and the tempo remains smooth with no pauses midsentence. I did occasionally hear a mouth noise though and there were some small problems in each recording.
      Always: I don’t you emphasized “Always” very well. I barely caught that that was the client you were promoting.
      Ambien: Very smooth, but not much variety between the phrases. Try emphasizing different ways or incorporating another tone at some point.
      Burts-Bees: Same as before. The list items sound exactly the same and it’s especially important to make variety in those. Also, you didn’t sound very interested in the product when it came time to promote it.
      Mr. Coffee: Fantastic performance, though I would suggest considering the “spirit” of the script. I don’t think your tone quite matches.

    • #68947
      rogue1
      Participant

      Hi Oktober10. Beautiful reads, your voice is warm and approachable, yet trustworthy and authoritative. The one thing that struck me is that I occasionally hear a bit of splash on some of your “s” sounds–for example, the 2nd track at the :09 mark “balance”, and the 3rd track at the :08 mark “boss” (This is something I have to work on myself). While all the performances are great, I think the 4th read for Mister Coffee is my favorite–very conversational with a dash of playfulness. Keep up the great work!

      • #68955
        Oktober10
        Participant

        Thank you so much for your feedback! Very helpful details that I will work on. 😀

    • #68941
      Isaac M.
      Participant

      First track: good stuff. I’d play around a little more with the pitch/inflection/tone of some of the words, but not much more, just to enhance some of the variety that’s already there. but that’s nitpicking, overall it sounds good.

      Second track: well done. nothing to say here.

      Third track: also great. I’d change up the tone a bit at “Introducing”, just to add bit more of a musical quality to it all, and I’m talking a tiny bit, simply because while the fluctuations are great, it can start to feel a bit monotone, especially towards the end. So if there’s a way to make it a little, and I mean a little less monotone without sacrificing the natural quality of the delivery, awesome.

      Fourth track: Here the delivery, at times sounds over-affected, so I’d try to make it sound more natural, less forced.

      So, the performance/technique was great.

      Watch out for some of the unwanted noises made between words, like especially after “I’m a boss” on the third track, but you can hear what sounds like a clicking noise from the inside of your mouth as you formulate your words at other intervals in that track. Regardless of the audio quality that will come up in a recording.

      Excellent work it was a pleasure listening to you.

      • #68956
        Oktober10
        Participant

        Hi Isaac, Thank you so much for your comments. They are very insightful and helpful. Thanks for taking the time to listen.

  • #68916
    Isaac M.
    Participant

    Two tracks here, for two different scripts. The first track has two different takes for a “Home Tour.” Which one do you think works better? What are the pros and cons of each one?

    The second track has just one take for a script on Italy. How would you describe the tone? Do you think I’m hitting the right words or should the emphasis be changed?

    Thanks again for all your help!

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    • #68944
      rogue1
      Participant

      Hi, Isaac. Very crisp and clear reads as always. Your Home Tour performance feels a touch rushed to me. As you are describing such an elegant manor, perhaps your read might breathe a bit (like a fine wine). Try romancing the words a bit more as you linger on the home’s finer features. You also might experiment with what words you emphasize. For example, “Nestled in the rolling hills of the river VALLEY” doesn’t feel as natural as perhaps emphasizing “rolling hills” instead. Enjoyed your Italy read very much. Good pacing and solid choices on where to place emphases. Keep up the great work!

      • #68957
        Isaac M.
        Participant

        Great feedback, thanks!

    • #68930
      nettipo1
      Participant

      Hi Isaac, the second take of the Home Tour reads sounded a little smoother than the first for me…in the first take, the first sentence emphasized words that may not need it. If the important part of the sentence is the “gracious home is a rare find,” then I feel like the phrase leading up to it is not as important (but plays a supportive role) and maybe shouldn’t be enhanced as much. When reading lists, you might want to make sure your inflection on each item has a slightly different feeling, and give each item some space, because the lists in the Italy read went quite fast. It sounds like you are hitting the right words, but I think some of the emphasis could be changed in the sense that rather than emphasize the word, change something else about it – say it slower, say it with an up inflection, or say it with a certain emotion.

      • #68940
        Isaac M.
        Participant

        Thanks a lot for the feedback!

  • #68914
    Isaac M.
    Participant

    This is for an “educational explainer video for real estate”. I’d love to get some feedback on it. Thanks a lot!

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    • #68946
      rogue1
      Participant

      Very nice, Isaac! I feel like you are talking to me directly and not reading a script. Agree with nettipo1 that you seem to pick up a bit too much speed at the end after a very well-paced read. Great work!

    • #68932
      nettipo1
      Participant

      Hi Issac, this read is very nice and conversational! I don’t have much to say but be mindful of going too fast on the last sentence.

  • #68911
    Isaac M.
    Participant

    Hey everybody,

    Got some more stuff to get feedback on. Here I have three takes of the same copy, one in the first track, and two in the second. Let me know which takes you think are best, or the pros and cons of each one.

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    • #68959
      TimDKietzman
      Participant

      I would say the third take is the best. (The second recording in the file marked “21”) It sounds much smoother than the other two and you say everything clearly yet naturally. It also has a suitable pace for a promo and you brought it to life in the way a promo should be: a happy blend between conversational and announcer. The first take was too slow and I think the second take didn’t have enough variation between the adjectives.

  • #68909
    rogue1
    Participant

    Happy Wednesday, everyone. Quick one this evening—-three takes playing with variations on emphasis. As always, appreciate any and all feedback. Thank you for taking the time to listen!

    KFC

    The most delicious union of all time is back. Kentucky Fried Chicken and Waffles, for a limited time at KFC.

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  • #68879
    rogue1
    Participant

    Hello, Forum Folks. A new read for Pure Leaf Iced Tea (very appropriate due the sweltering summer weather!) Appreciate all feedback–thank you for taking the time to listen!

    PURE LEAF

    At Pure Leaf, real tea leaves meet real brewing expertise. We blend the finest tea leaves and brew them at a lower temperature for smooth, delicious, real brewed iced tea. Pure Leaf, our thing is tea.

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    • #68899
      hharris
      Participant

      Hi rogue1 – your voice is well suited for this type of ad. Calming, soothing, and rich. It sounds spot on from the intro, but I do agree that the shift on the descriptive words does break up the tempo a bit. Maybe play around on which descriptive words to focus on – one or two each read. Your voice and tone are so well done, I think a read with few inflections would still work well. Thanks for sharing!

      • #68905
        rogue1
        Participant

        Thank you for the insightful feedback, hharris. Will definitely work on my tempo and inflections, as well as experimenting more with what descriptors I choose to emphasize in my read. Appreciate your having a listen!

    • #68893
      suecat
      Participant

      Hey Rogue, You sound like a natural. Your voice is smooth and conversational. Once again, you knocked it out the park! Great performance!

      • #68906
        rogue1
        Participant

        You’re far too kind, suecat. Appreciate the encouragement and your taking the time to listen!

    • #68889
      Isaac M.
      Participant

      This was spot-on, the delivery and technique coming off as effortless and professional. You might want to tone it down a bit, but just a bit, on words like “expertise” and “finest”. And while I really like the acting at “smooth, delicious, real brewed,” slowing down the tempo that much feels a little forced as it sort of breaks the flow you’d skillfully developed until then. Overall, I’d say the tone, fluctuations in pitch, and quality of both the voice and the recording are on point.

      • #68907
        rogue1
        Participant

        Thank you for the encouraging feedback, Isaac. I definitely hear that change in tempo you and hharris mention when I start “romancing” the quality of the tea. Will look to make that rhythm flow more more naturally in future. Thanks again for weighing in!

  • #68862
    Mike
    Participant

    Hi! I’m Mike and I was told to upload my homework here for feedback. I hope you can spare the time to listen and give me notes. Thanks.

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    • #68960
      TimDKietzman
      Participant

      Well Mike, I can honestly say you’re on the right track. Each of your takes sounds different and your tone of sounding embarressed, aggravated, or defensive remains consistent in each of them. Although, I think you should work on making your voice sound more natural. You sound more like an announcer to a crowd and voice acting is meant to be conversational. You may be trying too hard to make them sound different. Also, you pause midsentence. Be sure save pauses for commas, periods, or other full stops. I hope this helps.

    • #68883
      rogue1
      Participant

      Hi, Mike. Great exercise! You definitely emphasized the words in such a way that the tone and emotion subtly change each time in your delivery. Keep up the great work!

    • #68865
      nettipo1
      Participant

      Hello! It’s interesting how it does change the emotion slightly when you emphasize a different word. Around when you emphasized “stole” or “my,” I could hear a slight change from maybe a frustrated emotion in the beginning, to a lighter almost playful tone.

  • #68859
    Isaac M.
    Participant

    Trying out some more narrative pieces here, this one with a more storytelling edge to it. Looking to get some feedback on it.

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    • #68962
      TimDKietzman
      Participant

      You brought the script to life so well, I would agree though that it sounds more like an audiobook than a movie narration. An audiobook generally sounds the same from beginning to end with a consistent pace, but a narration like this I think would have more feeling for each moment it’s describing. I hope that helps.

    • #68897
      nettipo1
      Participant

      Hi Isaac, I think whether this is an audiobook or movie narration, the narrator still needs to help paint the characters and the story for the listener by giving descriptive words more color, and bringing out the moments–and when the moments change–in the story. Words such as spoiled, selfish and unkind, and shining castle, could be knit together and given some flavor so that the listener will connect those together and quickly get an idea of who the prince is. Same thing with the woman; I think words like “beggar” or “haggard” could be colored in more to show the contrast between her and the prince. Then, for those moments when she turns into an enchantress, and when she turns him into a beast – these are definitely changes in the story that could be brought out more..I’m not sure how, but maybe a slight pause after something happens, or a change in inflection on “enchantress” or “beast” because for the first-time listener, these are unexpected things. Sorry if I’m going on too long in what I’m saying…Your voice has a really nice tone and clarity that is nice to listen to, and it has a nice amount of gravitas in it, so all that I’m saying here may amount to just a couple of additional choices you could make on what to play up on.

      • #68904
        Isaac M.
        Participant

        Thanks a lot the feedback!

    • #68886
      rogue1
      Participant

      Hi, Isaac. Your slate says movie, but I have to say I found your read to be a solid audiobook narration (I could hear the Menken score playing in my head while I was listening). Well done keeping the energy flowing and holding the listeners’ attention through such a long script.

      • #68887
        Isaac M.
        Participant

        I appreciate the feedback. Yeah the script is called movie narration, so I guess I’ll need feedback from my coach (but you’re welcome to provide any insight) on how to distinguish between audiobook reading and a movie narration.

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