Feedback Forum
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Hi! Upload your recordings, and get feedback from your peers!
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Hi Friends, back again. I’m struggling with this narration script and I recorded it over and over again and second-guessed myself, but I’m sharing 2 takes with you. Hoping for feedback as it relates to my vocal delivery (not technical – no professional equipment yet). I’m struggling to figure out what words to emphasize and sound natural and not so methodical with micro-pauses. Feel like I’m missing something – I tried standing up and breathing deeply, doing the “lead-in”….any thoughts or suggestions? Thank you!
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Hi Lorraine,
I liked the second take the best. Your tempo was good compared to the first, which felt a little slow. Your tone in the first seemed a little too somber, but the tone in the second was still serious but felt more inviting. I would also suggest pitching the last word, “needs” of the script down rather than up. (I honestly, can’t tell exactly why. I haven’t been at the VO very long. 🙂 Still learning.) I feel pitching up at the end makes it sound more like a question. Also, I have definitely felt myself second-guessing how I am reading a script. When I hear it in my head it sounds a certain way and then I record and it sounds very different to me. You are not alone! I think this is a very natural part of the process. You’re doing great!
Theresa-
Hi Theresa,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful words and feedback. Yes! I get in my head and it’s probably best sometimes to take a break and then come back to it! Thank you for the suggesting on pitching down – I totally see your point and think that makes sense. I am quite new as well and agree, sometimes I just don’t know what exactly but know when something sounds right or a bit off haha! 😀 I go back through my notes from Technique 101 and make sure I’m using the correct terminology because I want to get comfortable in knowing what I’m talking about makes sense to me! Thank you!
Lorraine
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Still just as new to this but gonna drop a second one in here for critique. again.I have done minimal editing. Open to the comments on what I should be starting to become aware of, and what I should be working on. thanks for your input.
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I am brand spankin new to all this. but I am gonna take a crack at it. I have begun recording and I am getting used to editing and all the other fun things that there are to learn. I am open to all comments. I did not do any editing on this piece, just picked the one I thot was best. I will be working on the editing side, and learning those tidbits. so any suggestions are welcomed.
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Hello! My name is Hennessey and this is my first time posting to the feedback forum. I thought this was a great 10 second tid bit to practice with as I am training in the narration catergory.
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Hi Hennessey!
Thanks for sharing and welcome. I’m fairly new as well! I’m just getting used to listening to voice clips and learning a lot from others too. Your voice sounds crisp, clear and friendly. What I might suggest which is something that I’m working on as well is to try to focus on someone you know and tell them what I need to say – tell them the “story” – even using a lead-in word. You already have such a natural sounding voice that’s pleasant to listen to. Not sure if that helps but great job!
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Hello, folks, this is my first time posting here. I’ve got two commercial clips here, and I’m looking for technical feedback as well as vocal feedback. I’m particularly working on eliminating micropauses for a smoother flow, and also, well, the acting part isn’t comfy yet, either! Thanks in advance! –Mel
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Hi Mel! I enjoyed listening to your voice in both reads; I think your overall tone sounds good – just some minor tweaks. You do a great job adjusting pitch between the 2 reads as one of them is focused on a more serious topic. In the Afghanistan read, you seem to emphasize the “right” words to make it something of importance, which I think makes sense and the pace is just right in my opinion; i think the only suggestion is to add a little inflection in that read if you can- not much, since it’s a little longer. Maybe play around with that to see? The Coffee read makes me want to definitely try the coffee! But maybe a tad bit slower pace. Thank you for sharing and great job!
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Hi Mel,
Copper Cow Coffee – The tone of your voice is very nice- clear, crisp annunciation. My suggestion for improvement would be to slow your pace a bit.
Afganistan – You did a nice job changing pace and tone between the two recordings. Your tone here was more serious and appropriate for the topic. Congrats on your first post!
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Hi all! Amanda here again, would love your feedback on this week’s narration. Gave some E-Learning a go this time. Really working on my conversational tone, breathikng in the right places and pace (I tend to go too fast sometimes). Thanks!
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Hey Amanda! Great seeing you here again 🙂 You have such a friendly and believable manner of speaking in your read. Definitely conversational and clear. The only thing I noticed throughout the read is that it seems like towards the end of each phrase, your voice sounds a little scratchy. Not sure what the term is but it seems you start at a certain pitch range, and at the end it is lower – the last word drags a tad. Not sure if this makes any sense! I’m still learning and practicing myself so I’m glad we all have a place to come to, to help us! I’m working on my micro-pauses and sounding more conversational. Thanks for sharing!
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Hi Lorraine 🙂 Great to hear from you again, I really value your feedback. (Back from vacation here, hence the delay in response). I hear what you’re saying about the tone drop – I will say I was having some allergy issues that week so I’m eager to see if now that’s cleared up a bit, I can get that fluctuation in order a bit more. Again, thanks for your time and insight! ~Amanda
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Hi Amanda,
You sound so good and much more conversational in this one!
I think your pitch and attitude/tone is a great fit up to the part where you say “ways we can help protect the earth is by recycling,” because from that point on, I noticed the pitch remained pretty much unchanged, though your tone changed slightly throughout. Your personality in this read is great, so feel free, to change the pitch and/tone more as you shift focus throughout the read. -
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Hi Everyone! I would like voice technique feedback on this. Does it sound conversational to you? Any feedback on the pronunciations?
Thank you!
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Hi Grace,
Nice job! YOu have a lovely, deep, rich tone to your voice that is very pleasing to the ear. Your pronunications all sounded spot-on to me. I think you could pick up the pace a bit, and that will help with sounding a little more conversational. But you’re really selling the benefits, which becomes a bit more apparent as you go through the read. As I feel like everyone is talking about here these days, a good trick to start off right away sounding conversational is to do a lead in before you start recording, as though you’re simply having a conversation with someone you know. Also, I’ve been benefitting from using more body language and standing up when I read, in case you have tried those things. HOpe this is helpful, thanks for sharing! – Amanda
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Hi Everyone!
My name is Amanda, I live in Silverthorne, Colorado. I’m just getting started with my Edge Studio coaching and am excited about the possibility of a career in voice over work! I am focusing in the areas of narration and commercial. I’m currently working towards completing my narration demo, so am uploading two narration recordings here that I would love your input on. The first is Documentary and the second is a Corporate/Website Greeting. I would greatly appreciate your feedback, specifically: Is my pace easy to listen to? (Not too fast or choppy?); Am I emphasizing the right words? Am I conversational enough? Am I painting a clear picture for the reader?
Please provide only creative feedback, as I don’t have my home studio set up and am using my phone voice recorder.
Thank you! I look forward to your feedback and providing you with the same!
-Amanda
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Hi Amanda,
I think the Narration script is a good one for a Demo. You don’t sound choppy to me. You also have a great voice that I can easily imagine in commercials and documentaries.
I think the pace should be a little faster, just to come off as conversational. It kind of comes off like you’re reading or like you’re projecting what you think the narration should sound like. That can remove the personality from the read and I’ve been told, you’re personality is really what sets you apart from other voice actors with similar skill and voice. I think visualizing a scene (specifying who you’re talking to, where you are, how you feel, etc.) could make the read more conversational and lively.For the documentary, funny enough I think you should be slower just because there are a lot of visuals in documentaries and you want to give the audience room to process what you say. You may want to exercise visualizing the images that will accompany your voiceover, so it’ll be like you’re responding to the visuals in front of you rather than speaking in a way that you think you should at any given time.
I love your energy towards the end of the read. Though sometimes you portrayed the same emotion for words that have very different connotations. You want the listener to hear the difference between these very emotive words; “Introspective, aloof, unpredictable, affectionate, comical and mischievous.” The difference between these words should be reflected in how you say each word so it sounds more genuine, and less like reading.
I’d also recommend listening to commercials and documentaries, just to understand their pacing and how the final product may look like.
I hope that helps!
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Hi Everyone! I would like voice technique feedback on this. Does it sound conversational to you? Any feedback on the pronunciations?
p.s. I accidentally uploaded the recording twice. You only need to listen to one of them
Thank you!* Sorry I just realized I posted under your post!
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Hi Amanda! love the energy and overall tone in your voice, you seem to have a nice wide pitch range. I agree with Daniel on the lead-in; I learned about that recently and think it’s great to make us feel like it’s more of a conversation. For some reason, I lean towards the corporate read and I know you didn’t ask for a favorite! It seemed more natural – only thing I can think of to critique is the pausing in the listing – perhaps a little quicker. Thank you for sharing!
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Hi Amanda.
Daniel here, in San Diego. Nice work. My sense is that both takes improve in the second half of your delivery and become more conversational and relatable, which is great. You seem to have more energy as you go and more tonal/dynamic range, which ultimately sounds more natural. A suggestion I was given is to use a leader before launching into the script to help get to the right voice and energy. Your pace is very good overall. It might be 10% faster in the earlier parts that seem to display less range, which might help this. In the corporate narration, the pauses between the list of things might be a touch longer than necessary. I think you’re good on word emphasis. My two cents. Hope it helps. Best of luck!
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