Feedback Forum

  • This topic has 10,049 replies, 725 voices, and was last updated 3 weeks ago by G Cobb.
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  • #62623
    CYeschenko
    Participant

    Almost finished with my vocal booth build, so I’ll have more time for posting on here with continued practice and exploration of different copy! All comments are appreciated, especially those focused on performance and delivery. Thanks!

    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.

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  • #62606
    katelyndawnvo
    Participant

    I auditioned for 3 jobs today – man I gotta figure out a way to reduce the amount of time I take per audition – any tips?
    These are for 3 different jobs.

    1) Young student enthusiastic and passionate about the topic for eLearning
    2) Didn’t give direction but I thought based on the script they were going for storytelling and heartwarming for a corporate video
    3) Didn’t give direction but based on the script I had some fun, and gave 2 versions – internal video

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    • #63312
      DenaDahilig
      Participant

      I love the natural joy in your voice… that quality and your “I don’t take myself too seriously” deliveries will take you far, far, far!

      In narration reads like the 3rd one, the casualness can work against you on words like “climate” which can sound like cli-md or “grade” instead of “great” and even “prohibided” instead of… well, you get it. Who are your listeners? Perhaps English isn’t their first language, so articulation (in the midst of a casual read) becomes super important.

      I also want to give you some feedback on your slate (and I’m saying this with love, love, love!!). You have a great name but you say it as if you were saying “Well, pits.” Katelyn, Dawn. If you sounded like you enjoyed your name and infused it with that natural friendliness you’d have a killer slate.

      I love that you posted three auditions! If you wouldn’t mind, next time could you type out the scripts and post the recordings separately? That would really help you get better, more specific feedback. Thanks for posting!

      Dena

    • #62734
      Skinnydog351
      Participant

      Hi Katelyn,

      You have such a great natural read. Try to work on more diversity in your delivery. I didn’t hear much difference in tone or emotion between the samples. You sound young and naturally positive and happy You’ve got that nailed! So try to take your voice into areas of gravitas, empathy or even fear, as an actor would. You have tons of natural skill, explore it!!

  • #62598
    bvalashi
    Participant

    Hello! Please let me know what you think! I’m definitely trying to keep it friendly without making this sound too much like pitch for “why you should visit these theaters”. Thanks!

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    • #62610
      katelyndawnvo
      Participant

      Nice professional and welcoming tone to your voice for this read 🙂

    • #62602
      Bill Anciaux
      Participant

      You come across as a friendly supervisor, training new staff on the company mission. It doesn’t come across as salesy to me. I wouldn’t have hit the work “or” so hard, but otherwise liked your controlled inflections. Thanks for sharing. Bill A.

  • #62585
    dkosoy
    Participant

    Hi. This time… a travel commercial for Sandals. Feedback appreciated. Thank you!

    Daniel

    Sandals
    Somewhere in the Caribbean, there are 5-star luxury resorts where it’s all-inclusive, all the time. Sandals, where love is all you need. Because everything else is included. Call 1-800-Sandals.

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    • #62626
      dkosoy
      Participant

      Thanks all for the feedback! 🙂

    • #62611
      katelyndawnvo
      Participant

      Really nice work on this! It felt luxurious and tantilizing. I want to go lol but cant 🙁

    • #62601
      Bill Anciaux
      Participant

      You had me at Caribbean. Seriously, I like the way you delivered the opening phrase, kind of documentary-like to my ears. Made the reveal of Sandals stand out too. The playfulness in the second half is in keeping with the venue and the activities one might engage in there. Nice work!

    • #62593
      bvalashi
      Participant

      Hi Daniel,

      I really like the feeling you’re giving off with this. I can easily see a relaxing day at the beach based on your tone and pace. I really liked the way you said “where love…”. It brought another element to the second half of this that really made it work. Nice job!

      • This reply was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by bvalashi.
  • #62568
    mkell755
    Participant

    Hi everyone! I re-did this one from a few days ago, hopefully improving this time. I put the old one in there also, which is longer and has a lead-in. Notes were to speed it up, work on the uptalk and improve on the pauses and word emphasis choices. Let me know if it sounds improved to you, or not. Be picky!! Thanks as always for listening and offering feedback!! It is very helpful.

    Mary

    Domino’s Pesto Crust

    Only from Domino’s, new pesto crust pizza. Sweet basil, parsley and garlic, baked right into the dough. Then sprinkled with romano cheese all around the crust. Call and get a large, one topping, just 9.99. Get the door…it’s Dominos.

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    • #62605
      Bill Anciaux
      Participant

      Mary, I agree that some phrase and sentences are great – warm and evocative: “baked right into the dough.” I found your delivery of the three ingredients not so effective. Love those words too. The falling intonation on sweet basil in the first take and the basil, parsley, and garlic in the second take didn’t excite me about the pizza. I would slow down and let us savor each descriptive phrase. It’s not fine dining but I would pretend it is. Good recording quality. Thanks, Bill A.

      • #62851
        mkell755
        Participant

        Hi Bill, thanks for the feedback! Good tip on slowing down to savor those ingredients, which I really do like! Thanks for listening!

        Mary

    • #62583
      dkosoy
      Participant

      Hi Mary. This is a big improvement! The energy level and variation in tone displayed at “right into the dough” is great. The “Dominos” is way better too. You could probably use even more tone variation in other parts of the segment. On the recording, listening very carefully, there’s an unwanted click at the very beginning, something again between “with” and “Romano”, and again just at the start of the “a” at “get a large”. Not sure whether it’s mouth noises or background interference. Finally, I think there should be a small pause between “large” and “one topping”. Hope this helps.

      • #62850
        mkell755
        Participant

        Thanks for the feedback DKosoy! I’m glad it sounds improved. Yes, I am working to get rid of unwanted background noises, new setup is going to get dialed in, in the next few days (new equipment)! I think I took out the pause between large and one topping in an attempt to speed things up. Thanks for listening and the tips!

        Mary

  • #62563
    Bill Anciaux
    Participant

    Thought I would share some practice work. I listened to the actual Silverado commercial and tried to deliver a similar performance. Going for the tough attitude without making it too overblown. My early attempts sounded more like imaging for a rock radio station. Perhaps I should have bought a Silverado myself, because I’ve gotten stuck three times in the past week in my F150 4×4. The snow here in WI is crazy deep this winter. Oh, I added some music and processing to the second clip for a more finished sound. Thanks for any feedback. Bill A.

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    • #63293
      DenaDahilig
      Participant

      Hey, Bill! So, my brain just exploded, and now I’ll try to explain why. When I listened to your dry take everything up to the very last line sounded like one note – minimal inflection as dkosoy mentioned – and I had a difficult time following the text. And I listened to it five times. Five. And then I listened to it with music… and it all made perfect sense. And THAT I cannot explain. So what you have here is an expert case study. I’ve been taught for YEARS that you don’t have to over-inflect when there are visuals (especially in this kind of commercial), and I do that, but I’ve never really heard them side-by-side. The rhythm breaks the text up somehow enough to give it context. So… bravo for that! The only feedback I have is that I’d love to hear the “d”s in “advanced” and “and larger”. Thanks for posting!

    • #62621
      Bill Anciaux
      Participant

      Thanks, Daniel and Mary. I appreciate the feedback. Daniel, good point about inflections. Several of my other takes had more inflection range but, for some reason, I went with this one. Guess it sounded a little closer to the original to my ears. Anyway, I appreciate the careful listen.

    • #62584
      dkosoy
      Participant

      Hi Bill. This is really excellent! It’s hard to find things to comment on. If I’m searching for something, I’d say you use more vocal inflection in the final “The only truck that can compare…” than you do in the first ¾ of the script. That inflection in the punchline really conveys the message well. I do like the steadiness of the first part, however I think you could insert some of that emotion in a couple key spots earlier in the ad and I suspect it would work great. The audio track background is great and it definitely has a authentic finished sound. Looking forward to hearing more of your work!

    • #62571
      mkell755
      Participant

      Hi Bill, really nice work! Both of them sound really good. You have a nice clean, warm voice that is perfect for this genre. Definitely not overblown, it sounds very commanding and confident. Keep up the great work!

      Mary

  • #62555
    CptAmerica757
    Participant

    Hi all!

    I have recently built my newest DIY soundbooth, and recorded two quick commercial reads and was hoping to get any and all critique and feedback! The reads were in my “normal everyday’ style voice, well at least an attempt at that lol. This is my first time using a condenser mic and a pre-amp as well, so if the audio quality is bad and it might be because I didn’t set the hardware up correctly, please let me know! 🙂

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    • #62735
      Skinnydog351
      Participant

      Room sounds fine! If there’s enough room, try mic’ing in different areas and listen for any subtle changes. Mastering you audio chain can take patience and perseverance. Keep at it!

    • #62572
      mkell755
      Participant

      Hi CptAmerica757! I like both reads and how you varied it up for each of them. I’m not fully setup to give feedback on recording quality, but the tone and pacing and clarity of the reads were very good and your voice is good for both genres. I feel like the second read for “We All Belong” sounded more authentic for you. Good job!

      Mary

      • #62592
        CptAmerica757
        Participant

        Hey mkell755,

        Thank you so much for your feedback! Sometimes i find myself over-thinking is my pacing too fast or slow/does it flow consistently, is the tone communicating the message of the script, and most importantly can all of my words be heard and understood lol. So seeing that note alleviated a lot of that anxiety!

  • #62550
    katelyndawnvo
    Participant

    Hi there! Just a couple of practice reads for narration. The one I have posted before for the women’s documentary going on my demo and the second is for an internet video! Thought I would post the 2 different types of reads.
    The women’s doc is straightforward, factual
    The internet one is hopefully friendly upbeat and conversational

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    • #62622
      CYeschenko
      Participant

      Nice work! The difference between the two is very clear- you nailed the pacing of the second read in particular, so perhaps bringing a more conversational pacing to the first on while keeping the factual, straightforward tone would suit it even more?

    • #62573
      mkell755
      Participant

      Hi Katelyn! Good reads! Both are very clear and straightforward, with good pacing and emphasis on key words to help listener understanding. The first one comes across as more factual and the second is a bit more conversational as you intended, really good!

      Mary

  • #62545
    JasonCawley
    Participant

    Hello all,

    Working on a guided meditation bit to add to my demo. Let me know what you think. (I’m not worried about the background clacks/noises)

    Thanks!

    —-

    Find a quiet place in which to take a comfortable seat
    Sit up tall and close your eyes
    Breathe patiently and fully, yet gently and quietly
    In and out through your nose

    Give yourself permission to do nothing
    Give yourself permission to embrace this moment of stillness
    There’s nothing at all that needs to be done
    Other than staying here, relatively still, watching the breath

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    • #62574
      mkell755
      Participant

      Hi Jason, good work! I liked the phrasing for all of the lines except for “…moment of stillness” and “…needs to be done”. The rest of the lines ended in a lower tone, but those two not as much (they kindof lilted up at the ends); just felt like all of the lines / commands should end with a downward tone to keep the relaxed vibe of the entire script. Good work on this one!

      Mary

  • #62539
    jmtarleton
    Participant

    Hello everyone! I hope February is kind to you.

    Here are a few narration homework scripts for review and feedback. I very much appreciate the help!

    All the best,

    John

    Door County Fish Boil
    Even people who don’t like fish, have been known to like this fish. That’s why a fish boil is a must-do experience when you visit Door County. It all starts with a blazing bonfire under a kettle of salted water. People circle around to warm themselves and take in the crisp smell. When the temperature is just right and the crackle of the fire is just loud enough, the boil master adds a basket of potatoes and onions to the kettle. A few crackles later, the mild whitefish steaks, fresh from Lake Michigan, are delicately lowered in. At just the right moment, kerosene is tossed into the fire, exciting the blaze and causing the water to boil over, dramatically carrying off the fish oil that has collected on top. The fish are pulled out and greeted with a generous drizzling of butter. Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served.

    AETNA
    No matter where we live–when it comes to something as important as health care–we all want the best. That’s why AETNA and US HEALTHCARE have joined forces to create a partnership that will set a new standard for quality and caring. AETNA and US HEALTHCARE. Raising a standard for your town, for your family, and for you.

    Advance Technology Inc.
    Welcome to Advance Technology Incorporated and to the excitement and challenges of a growing business. As a new employee, your job is important to us. Your success is an important factor in the success of this company. This software is designed to offer you accurate information about company policies and procedures, benefit packages, performance reviews, training and education opportunities.

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    • #62625
      Bill Anciaux
      Participant

      Hey, John. Your performance on the Aetna piece is my favorite. You inflection/intonation are more subtle (with the exception of “That’s why Aetna and”) and don’t distract me from the script. The fish boil imagery is quite good too. I think you are much too enthusiastic on the Advanced Technology piece and would suggest a tone closer to the Aetna piece would work better. It’s okay to be less perfect with your articulation too; at times it sounds a little too polished and loses some authenticity. Nice work. Bill A.

      • #62672
        jmtarleton
        Participant

        Thank you kindly for listening and for the suggestions, Bill!

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