The Voiceover Gym Class

Even an announcer role has conflict and a problem to solve. When you get a commercial script, look for the line where the "lightbulb" comes on. It'll usually be when you hear the product name, or when we first see the product on-screen and realize what the commercial is actually for. It's where we go from thinking-out-loud about a problem, to knowing and sharing the solution to that problem.

In this Freschetta Pizza spot, for example, we get several questions right at the top. Ask these questions as if you know there's only one possible answer. Make your listener want to know what's coming next. The answer to those questions is the product. Everything from the product on down to the end of the spot is the answer that only YOU have, so we want to hear you letting us in on a secret. Once that lightbulb is on, it remains on and lends its energy to the rest of the spot.

The podcast episode for this spot is rather a marathon at 25 minutes, with both Mike and Heather discovering a lot of new things. Stick with me. As always, you can click the title of this blog post to get to the "real" spot on YouTube.

VO:

Who makes a better-tasting pizza?

Who uses real tomatoes, and all real cheeses,

Dough that rises naturally, with no chemical leaveners?

Who uses only premium meats?

Who makes it taste fresh?

Freschetta Naturally Rising Crust Pizza.

No other pizza tastes like Freschetta,

Because no other pizza is made like Freschetta.

And for a crispy, fire-baked crust, try our Brick Oven pizza.

From the first line of the spot, this AVO is overflowing with opinion and point-of-view. The AVO is dismissive of the idea of a fuel-efficient car as an end in itself. And even contractions like "gonna" and "gotta" show that this AVO is a real person, not a disembodied voice.

Of particular note is the use of the word "and" on the line "One with character, and conviction, and pride..." This is meant to sound like we're naming these attributes as we think of them, rather than reading them off a prepared page.

VO:

If you're gonna build a fuel-efficient car,

The first thing you gotta do, is build a car that's worth building.

One with character, and conviction,

and pride you can notice from down the street.

Then, and only then,

do you put in an 8-speed transmission

that gets 31 miles per gallon.

That combination of luxury and efficiency

only comes from one place in the world.

(On-screen text:

The new, 31 mile per gallon, Chrysler 300.

Chrysler. Imported from Detroit.)

Pretty anthemic for a spot about something as mundane as washing your socks. Check out the "real" version on YouTube (click the title of this blog post to see it). You'll see the time-lapse footage of folks doing laundry since 1913. It's hypnotic.

And it's one of those spots where we don't hear the product name until the very end. Because the "lightbulb" doesn't come on until the very last words of the commercial, the entire spot should sound like thought. Even the last line should sound like a nice, slow, deliberate realization.

VO:

Laundry is not new.

Your mother, your grandmother, her mother,

They all did the laundry.

Maybe even a man or two.

And although a lot has changed...

The machines,

the detergents,

the clothes themselves,

The bleach most trusted to keep whites pure white

is still Clorox bleach.

Another thing you didn't know you needed! This is an example of the rare spot that mentions the brand/product immediately. As Heather points out, "That's because everybody loves Crayola." Most spots take a little longer to draw us in. As you watch TV, pay attention to when in the commercial the brand/product is first mentioned. Very few will drop that name immediately. (Even Apple spots don't show you the Apple logo til the end. Of course, with Apple you usually know you're watching an Apple product spot before you see the logo. But that, too, is designed to make the listener/viewer feel smart, like they're in on the secret.)

Meanwhile, in the Crayola aisle:

VO:

At last, Crayola dry-erase crayons

combine all that kids love about dry-erase,

with all they love about crayons.

Crayola dry-erase crayons are washable,

smudge-proof,

won't dry out,

and wipe away like magic.

Now ideas transform, right before their eyes.

Idea, after idea, after idea.

For back to school,

find Crayola dry-erase crayons and sets

in the Crayola aisle.

I typically don't use pharmaceutical spots in class, because about half of the copy is describing the side effects. I chose this because it's a good fit for Susan's voice, and I want to make sure she gets lots of time on mic this week after missing last week! We omitted the 30 seconds of side effects from the middle of the spot, and just left the "good part."

VO:

If your racing thoughts keep you awake,

Sleep is here, on the wings of Lunesta.

And if you wake up often in the middle of the night,

Rest is here, on the wings of Lunesta.

Lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep.

So you can wake up feeling rested.

(The "legal" (side effects) copy is omitted here)

Ask your doctor if Lunesta is right for you.

Get Lunesta for a zero-dollar co-pay, at Lunesta.com.

Sleep well, on the wings of Lunesta.

When you get a rather boilerplate, generic-sounding piece of copy like this spot, look for moments where you can inject your personal opinion and point-of-view. This will make or break your read! Those first FOUR sentences of this spot are four platitudes, all in a row. Platitudes are sentiments that nobody in the audience should disagree with – which is great, because you always want your listener to say "yes" – but the platitude has no power if it's delivered as anything but an an authentic, honest opinion. A line like "With my busy life, it can be hard taking care of everyone" absolutely MUST be delivered as an honest admission, or the audience will be saying "Give me a break!" Heather delivers an excellent read starting at 7:44. Compare this to her first couple of reads, and hear how much more convincing she is, when she doesn't sound like she's trying to convince anyone.

My mom's always been there, to take care of me.

She's never let me down.

When her health started changing,

I wanted to make sure she always had her medications.

With my busy life,

it can be hard taking care of everyone.

So I enrolled Mom in ReadyScripts, from Kinney Drugs.

Our Kinney pharmacist refills her prescriptions automatically,

so she doesn't forget, or have to wait.

Kinney will even deliver them for free.

Now, I take care of Mom,

And Kinney takes care of us both.

Kinney Drugs.

Because the vast majority of voiceover work out there doesn't require character voices, I typically avoid training my students on any spot that calls for a dialect or accent. I'll make an exception for Wolf Brand Chili. Although I did applaud Mike's choice to do not an out-and-out caricature Texan, but a voice that was really just a slight twist on the Mike we know and love. Mike's reads felt a bit rushed as he tried to shoehorn all this imagery-heavy copy into 30 seconds, but 4:07 he delivered a read that was at a much better pace. This led to my discussion at 4:45 about how never to deliver an audition that sounds rushed, unless the agent specifically tells you that it needs to come in under :30 or :60.

Script-wise, this copy is about as formulaic as they come. You've gotta love the non sequitur when we go from talking about broad concepts of "work is work" and "play is play" to something as mundane as a mass-manufactured can of chili.

On this spot, we "shot out" the MKH 416T shotgun microphone, vs. the Neumann U87ai large-diaphragm condenser. Both sound excellent...which do you prefer? The U87 sounds more natural and less colored to my ear, but the 416 is wonderfully punchy. Love it!

Deep in the heart of Texas, everything's real.

Our work is work. Our play is play.

And every night, the stars come out.

Especially on Fridays.

So it stands to reason that chili's gotta be real too.

That's Wolf Brand Chili.

A Lone Star favorite since 1895.

Bold, fiesty, seasoned up like it was born with spurs on.

So whether's it's mixed in, heaped on, or straight up, you're getting the genuine article.

Wolf Brand Chili.

Open up a big old can of Texas.

There are two announcer VOs on this campaign. The female (AVO 1) gets most of the imagery to play with, while the male (AVO 2) is doing most of the heavy lifting on the escalation in the second beat.

Disney Parks "Something for Everyone" :30 TV

AVO 1:

What will your Disney memory be?

Will it be squeals and giggles, or screams and shouts?

Evil queens, or mischievous grandpas?

A moment you'll always remember,

or a vacation you'll never forget?

AVO 2:

You can make your Disney memories happen right now

At a price that's right for you.

Like 7-day vacations starting as low as $68 dollars a day per person, for a family of four.

AVO 1:

So let the memories begin

At the place where dreams come true.Heather tried the second spot, and got a little tripped up on the last line. When you get stuck on your tenth take of a line, step back and ask yourself, What am I talking about? Picture something...there's obviously plenty to choose from, imagery-wise, when your topic is Disney World, of all things. And Heather scores a nice little breakthrough at the end when she figures this out.

Disney Parks "No Worries" :30 TV

AVO 1:

What will your Disney memory be?

Will it be smiles that magically appear...or bags that magically appear?

Meeting an enchanted princess, or being treated like one?

Doing it all?

Or doing absolutely nothing?

AVO 2:

You can make your Disney memories happen right now

With room, ticket, and a dining plan that saves you money

All for as low as $93 dollars a day per person, for 7 days.

AVO 1:

So let the memories begin

At the place where dreams come true.

The top beat of this script, with its three questions, throws a bit of an acting curveball. You need to sound impressed and genuinely curious without sliding over into the realm of incredulity. The subtext needs to be "Wow, that's cool" as opposed to "What the F are you trying to do?"

Your task here is to make it sound like you think it's a positive thing! This is a great exercise. How many different ways can you deliver those opening lines? Come up with a mental image for whatever that "idea" is. I imagined my neighbors painting a mural on the side of their garage.

The real spot shows up plenty of projects, but when you're auditioning to do the VO on this spot, you won't have that TV screen to help you...so come up with some impressive creative projects on your own mental TV screen.

Where'd you get that idea?

How'd you learn to do that?

What'd you use?

Every project we finish comes with a story built in.

It's how our rough ideas become . . . "You did that yourself?"

So when we can save more on the projects that let us fix, make, and do more,

that just makes the stories even better.

More saving. More doing. That's the power of the Home Depot.

Can't have a VO class without at least one "DUH read," as I like to call it. I actually chose this spot because the VO's timbre on the "real" spot reminded me of our own Shana's voice quite a bit. The real VO's voice is a bit lower than Shana's...or maybe it just seems that way because her low end is emphasized in processing. I really think it's on purpose, so the range of the VO doesn't compete with the kids singing "Put a smile on your faaaace" in the background in their high kids' register . . .

Watch the "real" spot on YouTube and tell me what you think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECZTIHEDMu4

VO:

Want more smiles for your dollar?

With Kraft Mac and Cheese, you get 3 bowls for about a dollar.

And that's a lot to smile about.

Kraft Mac and Cheese. It's the cheesiest.

For online savings,

and to help donate a million boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese to FeedingAmerica,

visit ShareALittleComfort dot com.