The Voiceover Gym Class

"Her voice makes PAINT sound SEXY!" - Mike J, describing Susan G...

VO:

There are theories that color holds power over us.

Well, those theories . . . are now fact.

Connect to the truest, richest paint we’ve ever created.

Color at its most electric.

Valspar Hi-Def Advanced Color System.

Connect to the power in color.

Valspar.

(The time to paint with Valspar is now.)

How much attention should you pay to specs, on auditions your agent sends you? Listen to our discussion at 12 minutes in to find out.

VO:

At this point in the game, you've worked hard.

You've accomplished a lot.

You're an expert at doing what you love.

But when it comes to making healthcare choices,

you might need a little help.

That's where AARP Health Care Options comes in.

Designed by experts to keep you covered,

so you can do what you want to do,

now and in the future.

For nearly 50 years,

AARP has brought premier health insurance options to its members,

selecting from the nation's leading health care providers.

You'll get one-on-one customer service geared to help you choose just the right plan.

Everything from dental and health insurance,

To discounts on prescription drugs as well as eyewear.

Learn more now.

You don't have to be a member to call or click.

You're the expert at living your life.

For your health care needs, trust the experts in life after 50.

Let's look at two spots in this BareMinerals campaign.

The eyeshadow spot has a difficult line in its opening beat, so as you listen to the podcast, you'll hear us start with the foundation and work upwards. You know, just like you put on makeup in real life.) Here are YouTube links and the scripts for both spots:

Spot #1: BareMinerals Eyeshadow :30 TV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW3i4EvC1a8

VO:

With just one look,

You can silence a room.

But why on earth would you want to do that?

New BareMinerals READY Eye shadow.

Solid mineral technology delivers vibrant, blendable, lasting color.

BareMinerals.

Be a force of beauty.

Spot #2: BareMinerals Foundation :30 TV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMdV2l78piE

VO:

They'll notice you,

Not your makeup.

Get flawless coverage with a natural look and feel

with BareMinerals foundation.

BareMinerals.

Be a force of beauty.

Listen in for our great discussion of how to picture a tagline like "Be a force of beauty." This is going to be something different for every listener. Figure out what it is for you in order to deliver this line convincingly.

VO:

From nature, comes Greenworks.

Natural plant-based cleaners

without harsh chemical fumes or residue.

Since Greenworks products are made by Clorox,

they clean with the power you’d expect.

And they’re made from natural ingredients.

Now there’s new Greenworks natural dishwashing liquid.

It removes grease and baked-on food,

leaving your dishes clean and shiny.

Greenworks.

Naturally.

• This is a spot where the imagery is more interesting than the copy. As a VO, your job is to give energy to boring copy.

• The PLATITUDE OPENING that nobody can disagree with... "To do well, kids need to eat well." No need to convince the audience of this...it's an obvious yes.

• The Long Awkward Unrealistic Line with lots of information crammed into it ("Did you know it's the only leading line of kids' cereals . . . " To make it less awkward, make it more spontaneous, like thought.

• In this read, you're addressing someone one-on-one at arm's length, putting the performance out in front of you, BEYOND THE MIC. Your read can sound spontaneous and "like thought" and conspiratorial across-the-fence-to-your-neighbor....without being INSIDE YOUR HEAD on something as fun/light/casual as a kids' cereal spot.

• "Did you know" means you're talking to ONE PERSON.

Listen to Mike's pickups at 14:56 and 15:16. Just a little turn of the dial to make it less announcerish and more matter-of-fact makes it a better and more believable read.

VO:

To do well, kids need to eat well. And eating well means getting enough whole grain and calcium.

And General Mills Big G kids cereals can help.

Did you know it's the only leading line of kids cereals with at least 8 grams of whole grain and a good source of calcium?

Cereals they already love,

like Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Give your kids more of what they need to be their best.

Grow up strong with Big G kids cereals.

• Comment On The Action. You're always responding to something on-screen. You're never just existing as a disembodied head in a vacuum...you always have an opinion and point-of-view on the situation. You are reacting to it in real time. We don't get to SEE you in VO, so we have to HEAR your opinion and point-of-view. Go TOO far . . . we'd rather pull you back. Give me the COMPARE-AND-CONTRAST on "the LEADING spray mop."

• You can "shrug" without actually walking your pitch up every time . . . that can get a little too singsongy when EVERY line in the spot is a shrug (The REAL VO on this spot falls down that trap.)

• "Hairpin turns" or "U-turns" in the copy often happen in the first beat, or transition from first to second beat, when we go from Problem to Solution, and hear the product for the first time. The product/solution line is often a non sequitur...something pretty darn random and unrelated. Instead of being fed that Solution off a teleprompter, let's hear you think of it for yourself. (If you need to pause for a beat, think and PICTURE IT, I can always shorten the pause later in editing...that's what's great about VO. You're not playing to a metronome click, you can go at your own pace.) Give yourself time to think of the product/solution. You can't choreograph it ahead of time--it's got to sound like spontaneous thought. "Come to think of it...this idea just occurred to me..." is always so much more compelling than someone reading a pre-determined script.

Put another way: Who's more interesting, A) the guy in the bar who feeds you the same pick-up line you've heard 10 times or B) a guy who makes a wry observation that just popped into his head? Probably B! Now with voiceover, you don't have to be a writer and come up with wry observations on your own...but you get to breathe life and energy into a flat-on-the-page script. Make it your own by making it spontaneous.VO: Every time you clean with the leading spray mop,

it costs you.

So try Reveal from Rubbermaid.

The bottle's refillable – you use whatever cleaner you like.

The reuseable microfiber pad cleans deeply –

then just toss it in your regular wash.

So why waste money on costly refills?

Reveal saves you $50 dollars per year.

Try Reveal.

Only from Rubbermaid.

• When giving a list of related ideas that build on each other, you can give each idea its own space. When that Lexus car commercial says "Escape convention, escape definition, escape compromise," those ideas build upon each other, but they all deserve to be treated as their own separate thing. We don't want to hear that you're rattling off a list . . . we'd rather hear each idea as it comes to you. We don't know what's coming next! Same goes for something as ridiculous as kiddie pools full of grease, water coolers full of grease, and bird baths full of grease. You can consider each one separately as the image comes to mind. (Eww, gross.)

VO:

In one year, U.S. restaurants can produce up to 1.4 million pounds of grease.

Enough to fill 3300 kiddie pools, over 33,000 water coolers, or 111,000 bird baths.

[Over a burger on-screen]

Of course, a lot of it ends up right here.

Skip the grease.

Go for the breakthrough taste of the new Subway Oven Crisp Chicken.

Always baked, never fried.

Merely 7 grams of fat,

and the newest part of a Subway Fresh Fit Meal.

Subway. Eat Fresh.

Another great example of a COMMENT ON THE ACTION spot.

VO:

Hairstyles come,

And hairstyles go.

But to get the most our of every style, you've gotta have hair.

Hair that's full and thick.

Excess buildup on your scalp can leave your hair looking thin.

New Head and Shoulders Hair Endurance for men

has a hydrating formula designed to remove buildup

and help restore your scalp to health,

Leaving you 100% flake-free hair

that's fuller and thicker-looking, guaranteed.

New Head and Shoulders Hair Endurance

Respect the scalp. Get the hair.

If you're listening to the podcast, try and stick with me on this one! It is a serious triathlon, with all three of the ladies working out their skills on some VERY FORMULAIC copy...starting with opening with a QUESTION ("Ever wear your clothes in the shower?") eliciting the unspoken NO, all the way down through repetitive words (even the product name has the word "Moisture" in it TWICE.)

VO:

Ever worn your clothes in the shower?

If you’re using other moisturizing body washes,

you might as well be.

You see, their moisturizer sits on top of skin,

almost as if you were wearing it.

Only new Dove Deep Moisture has Nutrium Moisture,

a breakthrough formula with natural moisturizers

that can nourish deep down.

It’s the most effective natural nourishment ever.

New Dove Deep Moisture, with Nutrium Moisture.

Superior natural nourishment for your skin.

• This "SUGAR SITUATION" spot is a perfect example of the Problem-Solution-Satisfaction formula. Instead of emphasizing the repeated word "sugar," emphasize the words that FLANK the repeated word. Using the comedic rule of 3 to BUILD that opening beat in its 3 pieces WITHOUT pausing after "that means..."

• "But it's not sugar" is a SECRET that you are letting us in on. And it's a GOOD THING, too.

• Use INTERNAL THOUGHT, thinking out loud . . . let us HEAR you come up with a clever way to say something. A line like "It's a win-win and a yum-yum" only works if it's delivered in a way that sounds like YOU THOUGHT IT, not you read it off a flat page.

• Instead of emphasizing the word AND, which is SELLY . . . find the important words, and emphasize those instead, and the big selly AND will go away on its own.

VO:Ah, breakfast.

That means sugar in the coffee,

in the cereal,

and the grapefruit.

The day has just begun,

and already you have . . . a Sugar Situation.

The sweeter solution:

Splenda No-Calorie Sweetener.

Made from sugar, tastes like sugar, but it’s not sugar.

And with no calories, it’s a win-win, and a yum-yum.

What a way to start the day.

Splenda.

Imagine life sweeter.