- This topic has 1 reply, 1 voice, and was last updated 1 year ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Script writing is a really important part of that process and we take that part of our process really seriously.
When somebody comes to us for a voice demo, we take any existing audio and our script writers build up a picture of their voice so that we can tailor make scripts to suit that voice and to help bring out their strengths, their personality, their tone. So each script focuses on different strengths of the voiceover. Obviously we want to bring out what makes them unique to our industry. As we know the industry is quite saturated with voice talent, which isn’t a bad thing, but it’s kind of harder for people to stand out in that crowd now. So we want to kind of anchor down and focus on what makes that voiceover unique.
we tailor make those scripts and say for a commercial demo, we will choose brands and products that will highlight the strengths and the talent of the voice artist and kind of attach them to different brands and products. As with the gaming demos, our gaming writer will sit down and listen to audio from the voice talent and come up with characters or collaborate with the artist and come up with characters and scenes. For the gaming demos that will highlight all the strengths of the voice artist. It’s important that you choose scripts that are suited to you and your voice and that are going to bring the best out of you and also show and highlight your talent and your versatility as a voice artist.
Another part of the important part of the script writing process is highlighting different technical skills that the voice artist will use on that demo. So whether it’s a natural conversational type read or whether it’s an announcer read or whether it’s getting the voice artist to play a character and really imagine that they’re based within the scenario of that script or using visualization, you know, all the different kind of techniques that we use as voice artists to help bring a script to life. Each one of those scripts is dedicated to a different technical skill so that you’re showcasing your ability as a voice artist to be able to use different skills in the booth.
What you don’t want to do with your scripts is to duplicate performances within your voice demo too. So you want to try and steer away from the voice demo sounding the same all the way through. Even if it means that the voice reel is shorter,try not to repeat yourself on that reel with the same scripts. And as far as duplication goes as well, you have to look out for that using libraries of scripts as well, because obviously Other voice artists might have gone and used those scripts from that library. So there might be multiple demos out there in the market using exactly the same scripts.
Another part of the script writing process is whereabouts in the market is the script going to be? Is it going to be a radio ad? Is it going to be a TV commercial? Is it going to be a Spotify? Is it going to be YouTube pre-roll commercial? Is it e-learning? Is it corporate? Whereabouts in the corporate sector is it going? whereabouts in the market would the script be used in a real life situation?
And that’s what we focus on as well with our scripts so that the voice artist is, gets as much guidance and as much information as possible as to where this will go in real life. With a voice demo, I think it’s really important that the voice artist is given as much guidance as possible as to. where this script is going in the real world so that they can prepare themselves a little bit.
I don’t like to over prepare my clients with their voice demos. I just like them to just have a scan and get a feel for the script. But this information that we put on our scripts gives them just that extra bit of help and guidance and support. And that when we go into the voice session, I myself as the voice director can pick up on this information that the scriptwriter has passed on to us and we can get a good idea and a clear idea of how this might sound.
Also when it comes down to like script length, we tend to aim around the kind of 15 second mark for a commercial and then I might edit that down to about 12 seconds. And also it depends what kind of performance it is. If the scriptwriter wants to bring out a comedy style read and we need to set the scene, then we might need a little bit more time for us to be able to do that. So I might take that to like 15, 20 seconds so that the voice artist has enough time to really get that performance.
If you went to VOX this weekend you will have heard how important the human touch is to our creative industry. We were approached by a few voices after Hugh’s talk as people know that we have a script writing team and are always aiming to pull out the best performances with scripts that highlight the talent, skills and personality of the voice. It was nice to hear that what Hugh had to say resonated with people that we work with.
Each script serves its own purpose and we want to highlight the strength of the voiceover. We want to highlight technical ability and we want to highlight what kinds of products and brands and characters the voice would be good for. The scripts have lots of direction and information to give you an idea of what the scriptwriters vision is and also what kind of technical skills you’ll be using.
Also whereabouts in the market the scripts are targeting. That might be on a local, national, or international level. You’ll also find information on there as to where the script would be placed. So whether it’s a TV commercial, radio commercial, a Facebook ad, a Spotify ad and with the gaming scripts there are YouTube links so that you can listen to Frankie’s voice reference.
The process all starts with the scriptwriters listening to your audio and building a picture up of your voice and where they feel your voice would sit best in the industry to help gain you work. We always target your strengths and what makes you unique to the voiceover industry. We highlight your current skill set, but we also try to push you to do things that might help gain you more work in the industry. What we don’t do is highlight what you can’t do or what’s not going to get your work.
We now have a team of 9 writers that we can turn to so we get lots of variety in the scripts. We also cater for the US market and have 2 writers based there to ensure the US scripts match that market.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.