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Past Script Reading Contests!

For the current contest, click here. 

There’s a lot to learn with past contests:

  • Hear all entries
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  • Read our breakdown article Why Some Voice Actors Won … And Other’s Didn’t
  • And watch our Contest Video-Reviews of David Goldberg selecting winners

Select a past contest
FedEx: December 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
KitchenAid Stand Mixer: November 1, 2021 - November 30, 2021
Spirit Halloween Store: October 1, 2021 - October 31, 2021

FedEx

December 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
Contest

Voice Direction:

This is a simulated audition for a 10-second radio spot for FedEx. We’re casting a friendly, cheerful read that encourages listeners to trust and use us.  No slate. One take only.

Script:

Sending packages this holiday season? Choose the shipping service that you can count on to deliver your gifts on time. FedEx. We live to deliver.

Analysis: Why the Winners Won ... and Why Others Didn't.

Congratulations to our winners, Shaquana Bell, Suzanne Ellis, and Michael Flemming. They delivered what the Director asked for: friendly, cheerful and trustworthy.  That path has interesting boundaries. “Friendly and cheerful” may seem at one end of an emotional spectrum, while “trustworthy” (especially if mistaken for “authority”) might seem to be somewhere else.  Our winners brought these qualities together by being natural. The lack of artifice and a warming smile say “trust” to any ear. Here’s are some ways to do that yourself.

Edge Studio VO Tip #1
Enunciate. It’s not as unnatural as you might think. In everyday conversation, most people aren’t focused on clearly pronouncing every word. And – surprise! – in voice-over, you shouldn’t be focused on that, either. Good diction should be a matter of habit.Remember that, unlike a conversation, in voice-over your listener can’t ask you to repeat. You can’t see their face, which might tell you they’re confused. And they may not have a personal commitment to listening to you at all.  Every time a listener has to puzzle over what you just said … even if that takes just a second … they are not thinking about what you’re saying. And you are inviting them to put you out of mind altogether.
Some people slurred or “swallowed” their vowels. For example, “sending” came across as “snding.” “Can” became “cn.”  “Deliver” turned into “Dihliver.”  A few entrants even read the entire script woozily, sounding as if they just woke up. So here’s the tip: To become a person who is habitually careful about pronunciation, practice by overdoing it a little. Move your tongue, jaw and lips a little bit more than feels natural. If you’ve been slurring, likely this exaggeration feels unnatural merely because you’ve been neglecting this. So take the exercise to the extreme; exaggerate even more. After a while, you’ll be able to dial it back to the point where you’re able to habitually pronounce words fully and properly, while still sounding like your natural self.
Edge Studio VO Tip #2
Slow down to a natural pace. This being a 10-second commercial, some people might ask, “Who can get all the word-sounds out in such a short time?” We’ll answer that by referring to a classic FedEx commercial from 1981.  It featured fast-talking actor John Moschitta, talking a mile-a-minute, yet viewers can catch every word he says.  Thing is, at that pace the listener can’t think about what he says.  So, use all the time allotted.
You won’t handicap yourself by slowing down a bit. To the contrary, it’s an opportunity to stress certain words, and to more effectively express emotion.  You’ll also be showing the audition screener that you can hit the mark, which is a mark of a professional. Our winners came in at roughly 9.1, 9.3 and 10.1 seconds.  Some people were done by 9 or even 8-1/2 seconds. And often they sounded rushed.
Professionals develop an internal clock and can judge pretty well when they are reaching the target time.  You may want to use a stopwatch when rehearsing and practicing. (A clock app on your phone is handy for this – and silent – and your DAW will show time precisely.) But don’t get fixated on split seconds while recording. You’ll usually tighten up the read in post anyway. In fact, if you delete or minimize breaths, and tighten some brief pauses, you might shorten a minute read by several seconds. A professional audition screener understands this. But if you can deliver a great natural read and you hit the time target within a second or two (per minute), so much the better.
Edge Studio VO Tip #3
Be yourself. We say that often, yet can’t say it enough. So let’s add this: In order to be yourself, it helps to know yourself. What’s your natural tone of voice? Do you tend to convey an attitude? Are you naturally happy? Do you naturally talk in a monotone?
And what’s your natural pitch? Is it relatively high, or do you sound like James Earl Jones/Kathleen Turner?  Many people forced themselves into an unnatural pitch. In this month’s contest, some went a note or two lower, some went higher.  Different people do this for different reasons.  To some people, 10 seconds may have seemed like a high-powered, unnatural situation, so they favored an “announcer” sound.  Some may have been subconsciously nervous. Some may have had a particular prototype in mind, unsuited to them. And some may have thought they sounded “more professional.”
All of those reasons are wrong. Casting pros have an entire world of talent available to them, so if you’re trying artificially to sound like someone else, the client is more likely to choose “someone else” who naturally sounds like that.  Yet, there’s no one else in the world who sounds, thinks and behaves exactly like you. So take advantage! Get to know your vocal range and personal tendencies.  With practice and coaching, you can probably expand your range of pitch and your range of emotion, while correcting undesirable aspects. Being yourself will also give you more flexibility as to emphasis and inflection – because you won’t be forcing yourself into a pattern.  Smile. Relax your body and your throat (coaching can also help with this). And with the benefit of professional guidance, have confidence in yourself.
Edge Studio VO Tip #4
Emote as requested!  Many entrants — even the 3 winners —  did not have enough “friendly and cheerful” in their voice as requested in the Director’s Notes.  Some had none.  Most entrants sounded stilted, stiff, or artificially happy.  When requested to use a happy voice, the solution is often as simple as this: SMILE!   Smile before you begin, and smile as you read. We don’t mean to sound demented; just smile.  Like a laugh is contagious, the smile will become part of you, you’ll actually be happy. When you’re having fun, it can be heard in your voice.
Winners

1st place winner: Shaquana Bell

Judge's Comments

Hey, she’s pretty good:  smooth, a solid tempo (not too fast, nor slow), natural voice, and she stresses the right words. But one thing is holding her back from dynamiteness: she needs more happiness. With even more smile and looseness, she would have nailed it.  From a technical standpoint, her audition suffers from low volume.  It peaks around -12dB and at times dips to -16dB. (Ideal is -5 to -3dB, but never over 0 at any stage of the recording/production process.) While low volume won’t disqualify a strong performance, screeners are psychologically influenced by healthy volume, and inconveniencing them by making them adjust their listening volume might be considered unprofessional. There’s also a bit of room noise and hollowness in her recording.

Recording submitted by Shaquana Bell on 22 Dec 2021 - 03:46

2nd place winner: Suzanne Ellis

Judge's Comments

She has a pleasant voice, and her British accent is charming. But she could sound looser and more “friendly and happy” in the opening (she sounds a wee bit hesitant at first), and gradually sounds happier as the spot continues.  So we suggest she use a “lead-in” phrase or sentence to warm-up into character, and then delete that lead-in before submitting.  If she already did that, then we suggest a longer lead-in with even more smile. Also, she sometimes sounds hesitant, as just before the word “count.” (Her voice volume dips.) The opening is critically important, because busy casting teams will hit “stop” after the first word or two.  The name “FedEx” is a bit too dramatic – too much “F”  –  and if it were to stand alone, no one would describe this word as friendly and happy.”  Recording technical quality is good, including the volume, which peaks close to -5dB, which is within an ideal range.

Recording submitted by Suzanne Ellis on 29 Dec 2021 - 10:15

3rd place winner: Michael Fleming

Judge's Comments

After a while, he begins to sound rather friendly. But by then, it’s too late. Overall, he lacks enough smile and happy. We recommend the same measures as for our other winners.  The opening lacks energy and he swallows the first word, sounds like “sim(d)ing”.  Recording quality is okay, but he left nearly a second of silence before his first word, which is also almost enough time for a casting person to figure the recording is silent and hit “Stop.”  There’s also some mouth noise before the last sentence, and silence at the end. If someone just looks at the recording’s length, this makes it seem like he went 2 seconds long, when actually he came in at exactly 10.

Recording submitted by Michael Fleming on 14 Dec 2021 - 06:13
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