Calm Guided Meditation
Voice Direction:
This is a simulated audition for one in a series of 52 half-hour long guided meditations by the Calm wellness app. Delivery should feel warm and comforting, with clear diction as to deliver instruction to the listener. Your voice should reflect the tone of the words. No slate.
Script:
Welcome to the Daily Mindfulness Meditation. Let us start by finding a comfortable position lying down, and allow your body to relax into the floor. We will begin by taking a deep breath. Inhale...exhale. Very good.
Congratulations to our winners, Brian Sanford, Stanley J, and Kanako Hiratsuka-Earle. They made us feel warm and comforted without putting us to sleep. This was an unusual audition, because – like so many VO genres – it required a “conversational” tone, but, being a guided meditation, it was hardly a typical conversation. Nevertheless, the script is a sort of conversation between the narrator/guide and the listener who is performing the actions. Here are some tips on how to bring your listening partner farther along.
Remember to enunciate. This is rather ironic. Often, people fail to enunciate because they are speaking quickly, often too quickly. In this case, some people failed to enunciate even as they spoke really, really slow. For example, “let us” often sounded like “lettuce,” “start” like “star,” “to relax” like “tahrelax,” and “daily” something like “dalee.” Of course, given context, the typical listener will likely understand these words, but enunciation is often an important concern. And in this case the Director’s Notes even included a reminder: “with clear diction.” Thus slurring words will work against you in the casting process.To catch mispronounced words, we strongly encourage you to review auditions (before submitting them) from the perspective of the listener … otherwise, your ears will likely hear what your eyes see, rather than what your listener will hear.
Make enunciation a habit, in all your speech. As you practice VO, try exaggerating your mouth, lip and tongue movements. If you’ve been sloughing words, your “exaggeration” might not sound as exaggerated as it seems. In any case, as the extra care begins to feel natural, you can pull it back to a truly natural level of enunciation. Then, when you read a script at any speed, and your thoughts are focused on other aspects of your performance, you’re much more likely to pronounce everything fully and correctly.
Edge Studio VO Tip #2
Before you begin, think about the tone. What clues are there in the script and direction? Many people had trouble with the tone. Some were too cheery, or even over the top. Others were so “calm,” they sounded lethargic. So how do you find the sweet spot, somewhere in the middle? Have a conversation with your listener. In this case, it isn’t a typical chat, but clearly it’s a very personal, 1-to-1 communication.The script and Notes offer clues as to where to take that: “warm and comforting,” “clear diction” (see above), “reflect the tone of the words,” and “Very good.” The words involve actions, such as lying down, and taking a deep breath. You’re giving encouragement. In other words, this is calm, but not about inducing sleep! What’s more, the direction says that the job will be a series of 52 half-hour recordings. To sustain a consistent tone over so long a time (and not all recorded in one session), you will need to center your delivery on the real you. And, in any case, if you start out super-cheery or robotic, or downright sleepy, at some point it may be boring or inappropriate to what some other segments are saying.
Edge Studio VO Tip #3
Pause logically. Not just for the sake of pausing. Some people paused after the first word, “Welcome.” That’s a common habit, especially among VO novices. But “Welcome” doesn’t really tell your listener anything interesting, does it? And notice – there’s no period or comma there. The complete thought is “Welcome to the … Meditation,” so say what you’re thinking, to draw your listener in. This is important for another reason: Connecting words within a thought is something that professional casting screeners listen for. In fact, in a real-world audition, a busy screener, faced with maybe hundreds of good auditions, might just move on to the next one as soon as they hear choppiness – never even getting to whatever other unnatural pauses the talent included later.
1st place winner: Brian Sanford
Judge's Comments
Wonderful in nearly every way! Clear, well-paced, warm, natural, comforting … exactly what was requested. Except for one thing: clear diction. Unfortunately, most of the examples listed in Edge Studio VO Tip #1 above occur in this audition. Also, the first word “welcome” is said a bit faster than most other words. It would be preferable if it instead set the pace and tone for what follows. And he pronounces the article “a” (in both instances) with a long-A sound. That is usually not desired. In this case, it’s arguably acceptable; indicating precision in his persona. But still, we’d argue against that choice, especially in an audition. Recording quality is good, except there’s lots of mouth noise – and some mouth noises are present as he begins and ends words, which makes it a challenge to edit them out. This could make us think twice about hiring him for 52 episodes, as it would be a lot of extra editing in post. And his first word, Welcome, sounds like “Velcome.” Maybe it’s upcut (edited the slightest bit too tightly at the start).
2nd place winner: Stanley J
Judge's Comments
Overall, a very good job. His voice has wonderful warmth, and we really like its naturally scratchy quality. However, it’s too scratchy on the first word. This could instantly cause a casting person to be concerned that the whole read will be like that, and he’s overly scratchy in a few other places. Being that the job entails 52 episodes, this would magnify that concern. Also, some random, unnecessary pauses make the read choppy at times. And in one case, he pronounced “a” as a long A sound, in the other case he uses the more conversational soft A. The recording’s technical quality is good, except that an edit after “meditation” is a tad cut off. (It’s easier to hear on headphones and when listening for it.)
3rd place winner: Kanako Hiratsuka-Earle
Judge's Comments
Overall, a terrific voice and performance. But occasionally she veers from it. The words “let us” are a bit rushed, the word “and” (in “and allow”) is waaaaay too fast, the “very good” at the end is too loud and fast, and the word “deep” is too long. But we really like the energy level and special personal quality in much of her read. Technical quality is good.
