acting

VO Tips for the Non-VO Pro: Sing-song

Today’s topic is sing-song reads. What are sing-song reads? They’re when you go up and down in your cadence, giving a rhythmic and musical sound that doesn’t correspond to targeted emphasis or conversational flow. In short, it sounds more like singing than talking.

Match your pitch and pacing to the content and audience:

Your cadence should alter with the script, the topic, and the intended audience. You might go faster and higher pitched when you’re excited and slower and quieter when you’re more serious or reflective. You could even change up your pitch and pacing in a single script if it calls for it.

Sing-song reads are a very normal way that people read text out loud early on—kind of like the read-y reads I discussed in the last video. It’s perfectly fine… unless you want the listener to think you’re just talking. This habit was one of the hardest for me to break when I first started out in voiceover but with lots of practice it’s now something of the past.

What does sing-song sound like?

So what does it sound like? Pam Beasley in the Office does a nice version of it, albeit a bit exaggerated, during a holiday episode when she describes the Scranton coupon book “worth over $1500 in savings.” Here’s a little sample of what it sounds like: The other day I went to the store to bring back some cookies for my little sweetheart. She didn’t like the kind that I bought and made me go back for more. On the way I ended up eating them all because I was so upset, and when I came home with nothing left she made me go out again.

It sounds a bit like a nursery rhyme, right? The cadence starts low then goes high then goes low at the end. It’s great for kids because it’s so musical! But for most voiceover work it’s better to be more dynamic and natural with your reads.

Sing-song is very hard to get past. So if you’d prefer to hire a freelance voice talent with lots of experience then email any time: joe@joepassaro.com

 

VO Tips for the Non-VO Pro: Read-y Reads

This is the first video on VO performance, and the topic that I thought would make the most sense to start with is what is known as read-y reads.

What are read-y reads?

They’re when you can tell that someone is reading a script. You hear it all the time in the news when someone who isn’t used to presenting to live audiences gets up to a podium and reads a speech. The speaker tends to over articulate each word, and their cadence is very staccato or broken up. It’s very difficult to listen to because it sounds so unnatural and forced. When you hear read-y reads in a corporate presentation, eLearning module, or even on commercials, you immediately focus on the how bad it sounds. Worse: you overlook the message they’re trying to communicate.

How to avoid them:

People tend to pay attention to the message when the words flow. This is especially true when they have emotion embedded somewhere in the read. Like right now, the emotions I’m conveying are a combination of happiness, optimism, excitement, and kindness. Right? I’m being helpful, friendly, and I’m pretty content, which makes what I’m saying easier to pay attention to.

Think of any great speakers or storytellers: they sound natural, as if they’re talking to you, and actually care about what they’re saying. Read-y reads almost sound robotic and emotionless by comparison. For the amateur, it’s hard to move away from this type of read because you’re used to reading to yourself not to other people and your mind doesn’t need to perform for itself. (Thankfully!) The easiest solution is just to relax and pretend you’re talking to a single person who might care about the material. For instance, I’m actually reading this script right now. But I’m imagining I’m speaking to a friend of mine who is thinking to try audio book narration. I genuinely care about this person and want to offer advice. So, I’m just talking.

Compare read-y reads with natural reads:

Now let me show you what a read-y read sounds like and I’ll read that exact bit I just did and go in and out of “read-y-ness” and naturalness to compare. For instance, I’m actually reading this script right now. But I’m imagining I’m speaking to a friend of mine who is thinking to try audio book narration. I genuinely care about this person and want to offer advice. So, I’m just talking.

The contrast is exaggerated a bit here. But you can hear the over articulation and the staccato rhythm pretty clearly when juxtaposed with the natural read. Ready-reads can be more subtle in their nuances, but our ears can hear it and tell something is off. It’ll take time and a good amount of practice, but once you can distinguish the differences in your own reads then it’s even easier to improve on.

So, as promised in the very first of these videos, this video is actually short which means you can watch another cat video and not feel guilty. Well, not TOO guilty.

And if you need any help with your reads or you’d just prefer leaving it to a millennial voiceover talent like yours truly, then email me any time: joe@joepassaro.com