blue967fm
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Hey everyone – just for comparison’s sake, here are my old recordings of these ads. The NJ Transit ad was originally recorded in February 2016, the NextRadio ad in June 2016, and the RI SPCA ad in April 2017 (which I compressed much more heavily than the other two). I also tend to pronounce Annika differently upon first glance than I did back then (although I never did figure out the correct pronunciation for this context).
(As you may have heard, I amplified the new recordings of these ads but didn’t process or compress them.)
Hey everyone, and happy Mother’s Day! I thought this may be a fun comparison. I took some ads that I recorded 4-5 years ago for a friend’s former experimental Internet stations (which gave me great practice back then) and rerecorded them. I’ll send both recordings for each to compare, starting with the re-recorded versions.
I no longer have the emails with the scripts on them, so I wrote up a transcript for each ad based on my old recordings.
I would love any feedback that you may have! Thank you so much!
New Jersey Transit
Need a better way to get around? Need to get somewhere faster? Need a service you can rely on 24/7? New Jersey Transit trains get you to your destination on time without delay or hassle. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery of New Jersey throughout your journey. If a train is not necessary to get where you need to be, try the NJ Transit bus. The bus will help you get to your destination without delay or stall. New Jersey Transit – the way to go. Learn more at njtransit.com.NextRadio
Have you been listening to the radio online, where it just seems to do nothing but buffer? Don’t you wish it would just play the music? Well, with the NextRadio app, you can listen to all FM music and talk stations in your area right over the air! No buffering or payments required. You can even call or text station DJs straight from the app. Get NextRadio today! Downloadable from the Google Play Store. Check your local phone carriers. If you can’t get NextRadio, call your carrier and ask them to turn on the FM radio chip in your phone. Start listening to local radio on your smartphone today!Rhode Island SPCA
Do you love pets? Ever wish you had one of your own? Have you checked out the Rhode Island SPCA yet? They have all kinds of adoptable pets from dogs to cats and everything in between. Meet Annika. Annika is a four-year-old pit bull terrier who was brought in because her owners lost their home. She spent the last few months of her time with them living in a car, and they thought it would be fair to bring her to Rhode Island SPCA. The owners say that she is very loving, gets super excited, but can be anxious. Annika loves to play, she loves car rides, and she also loves snuggles from her favorite people. To learn more about Annika, and to adopt, visit rispca.com.Thank you so much, SuperLuke! I really appreciate your kind words!
I actually used to host a podcast that I created a while back, and I kind of had that type of voice in mind. I now own a tiny radio station in my apartment (where my username comes from) which I do a morning show on, and that has given me amazing practice. My friend who is sometimes my voice coach is in fact the imaging voice of my station, and I am now gaining production practice experience by making imaging pieces for the station. (If you search Blue 96.7 on SoundCloud, you can feel free to hear what I’ve done with my station!)
Thank you so much again for your feedback!
Stuart
Thank you so much for your kind words, Brad! I decided to give both of your notes a go, just for the fun of it. Thank you again!
Hey Michelle! I really enjoyed your read. Nice use of pauses and great audio quality. You also have a nice voice for these types of ads.
The only thing I’d say is that the first sentence could have a little more inflection – perhaps in the same way that you read the second sentence (which I like as far as your character here – emphasizing that a high fever is no fun at all). Other than that, great work! Keep it up!
Stuart
Hi everyone! This is my first time posting in the feedback forum. I’m a complete amateur when it comes to VO, but I do have fascinations with speech, accents, dialects, and the like. I do have a great friend who sometimes acts as my voice coach, and he has given me helpful tips for VO on an occasional basis over the past few years.
I’m far more experienced with radio imaging and promos than commercials/spots, so for starters, I went into the script library and found a radio promo and a TV news promo (I’ve never done anything like the latter before). I would love any and all feedback that you may have!
I should also let you guys know that I do have an unusual way of saying the CH, SH, J, and soft G sounds in my natural speech. I’ve had them all my life, and I’m still trying to work on that over time.
Thank you so much!
Stuart
Hi Jorjiecat! Welcome to the forums! For being completely new to VO (which I am as well), you have a great start! I love the story you tell with your voice. There is a relaxing quality to it that makes me think that you would do well with audiobook narration, perhaps with some coaching.
I wanted to ask what you use to record the audio? There is a lot of background noise (perhaps cars passing by?).
In Peet’s Coffee, the biggest thing that I noticed was that I detected an East Coast accent on the first syllable of “character.” I only bring this up in case you didn’t notice, and because that word comes up quite a bit in the script. The accent was a lot less present on the second syllable of “America,” though.
Your History Channel spot was my favorite! Your tone was great for this type of ad, and I enjoyed your choices of where (and for how long) to pause. I think it sounds like you’re going below your natural low range at times in this ad (especially on “before our time” and “a thousand lives”), which you may want to work on.
I loved the energy in the Honey Bunches of Oats spot! When you described the ingredients of the cereal, I had a vivid picture in my head. In the end, however, I thought maybe you could try to work on your inflection on “a cereal my whole family loves” – perhaps not breaking it up in the middle and ending in a more downward inflection, but without losing the energy that you already have.
I hope my notes helped! Again, great start!
Stuart
I enjoyed your reads, Markus! You have a nice voice and great overall pace in both scripts. I did feel that you kind of lost your energy on the word “deodorant” in the Adidas commercial, though. Your Spotify Premium ad is spot-on! The only thing I have in this ad is that the last two sentences seemed a bit rushed, especially compared to your earlier pace. You also lost your energy in the last few words. Other than that, keep up the great work!
Great reads, Brad! My favorite was the Georgia Aquarium read. I love the sense of humor you gave in that one. I also love the recording quality of your setup and microphone.
In your Foxwoods spot, I’d probably not over-accentuate the word “rooms” as much since it’s not as important as some of the other words in your script. I do love the overall delivery of that ad, though!
For Steak-Ummm, I love the contrast that you have in the three “Steak-Ummm” examples. I did notice a few mouth sounds in your pauses, though. I also probably wouldn’t have paused as long as you did between “and win” and “on Facebook,” but overall, nice reads! Keep it up!
Stuart
