All posts by Overnight Radio

1 Dollar Voice-Overs?

June 13, 2016Commercials, Generalannouncers, audio production, Commercial, commercials, creative radio, radio, radio account executives, radio sales, radio scripts, radio stations, scripts, voice over artists, voice talentOvernight Radio

It’s a new world…and everyone is invited…even people that don’t know what they are doing.

That’s why whenever the floodgates to an industry are opened, everyone already involved gets scared. Like when the internet broke the previous music industry. It did indeed break the model that was then the way to make money with music. But inevitably, if a product is good enough, people will pay for it. And while there is an amazing amount of music available now because of the internet, it didn’t remove the money available to the talented people who seriously make a living at it…the ones who tour, licences their music, have youtube clips worth watching, t-shirts, and the like. They are STILL able to do this, despite the flood gates opening and letting a zillion more people in to compete with them.

Why? Because more people does not necessarily mean destruction for all. Because with a level playing field like the internet, of course comes of that new competition of yours, BUT it also comes a whole new population to market too. Yes there is more competition, but there is more buyers too. So the equation stays the same as it did before – be good, stay good for a long time, and buyers will find you.

It is the exact same thing with the voice-over industry. There was one before the internet, and now there is one after. There were challenges with the old system…you needed expensive equipment, you needed to have existing connections in the industry to get any work, you needed to work very hard and often it cost you more than you made to keep your business open.

Now, post internet, equipment costs are negligible, you can be set up for $300 or less. . You can have a website up and running for almost nothing.

All you need now are clients. So what do you do?

You can get a profile on voices.com or other voice websites, and apply for jobs though those sites. Done and done.

Except of course, that’s not the end of the story.

While these websites make you feel like you are part of the industry, the reality is, that you still have to work hard, make connections and be great at voice-overs.

Uploading your demo and trying out for jobs on these sites seems like a great idea…except that literally hundreds of thousands of people had the same idea. The field is now level…of course, the field is now FILLED with people.

In my opinion, if you only use these sites, you will probably have the same amount of luck as you would have before the internet. Probably very little.

While it’s great to have a profile, all it is in the real world of voice-overs, is a place holder…or something else on top of other items on the internet that point to your website.

Anecdotally, I have heard stories about people paying a lot of money to be represented on websites without any return on investment. It’s not to say that it’s the websites fault, it could be many things. Maybe your read is not up to par, maybe your demo was poorly produced, maybe you just aren’t different sounding enough.

All of those things would have been corrected along the way to success by doing your homework, ie: making cold calls to potential clients, getting involved at local radio etc.

Because when you are actually working at a goal, you can’t help but get better.

Jumping in to voice-overs via a website that looks like it’s going to solve your business problems is not the answer. It’s a great side-dish, but it’s not a meal.

To prove my point, we used a site promising voice-overs at almost NO cost. Amazing right? What a deal.

Of course, you always get what you pay for…and what we got was, A) poorly read, B) a distorted recording and C) a waste of everyone’s time.

Clearly this was someone’s who’s demo was produced somewhere legit, uploaded it to a voices site and assumed everything would take care of itself. He had no idea how to edit, no idea about gain, length of read and other basics of the industry.

There is a reason that voice talent see little gain from these voice broker sites, it’s because for the vast majority of voice talent on them, there is little to nothing for the customer to gain.

Best to just call the professional voices you already know and stick with them…because prices can be negotiated…talent cannot.

Precise Goals = Disappointment

March 29, 2016Commercials, Generalaudio production, Commercial, commercials, creative radio, music beds, production music, radio, radio account executives, radio production, radio sales, radio spots, radio stations, script writing, scripts, targeted advertising, voice over artists, voice talentOvernight Radio

To get anywhere, you need a goal.

When you are young, goals can be very precise ” ‘i want to be a race car driver in nascar”.

As you get older and see more of the world, your goals tend to broaden: ‘i want to be a race car driver”.

And then go even broader: “i want to work with race cars”…and finally, ‘i want to work with cars’.

The last one is a cup half full/half empty situation. Some people would see it as a loss (no longer heading to nascar) and others as a gain (you have so much more opportunity to find your true self with a wide net).

The same is true when it comes to radio commercial scripting and production. When you have an idea in your head for a client…it sounds and feels a certain way. The proper way of course – (like the nascar dream).

Then when you see it in script form, you realize that there are barriers to your idea, timing, length, word restrictions, all things that whittle down the idea.

After you get through all that, your idea is finally on the page and although it’s not as good as the one in your head, it’s still pretty good (you are still a race car driver) and it looks like a winner.

Now, comes the production. You of course had a voice in mind, and are there for the session to make sure it goes exactly like you planned on the script. Of course, the voice over artist says things a bit differently than you do, or the cadence that is natural for them doesn’t quite match the initial feeling of the script. So you change it up a bit to match the talents strengths, and the parts that didn’t change, sound different from how you voiced it in your head…but it’s still a great spot.

Then it’s off to production, where the music choices just don’t have the perfect beat, the bass line, or feel you were looking for, but they open your mind to adding a sound effect that perfectly compliments the script addition you made for the voice talent earlier.

The spot you have created is an A-1 commercial, ready to air and garner results for your client. This is the part where you realize your nascar dream, turned into a real goal of working with cars.

Instead of being disappointed that it’s not the same sound as inside your head, you realize that nothing stays the same from birth…including people…i certainly don’t look the same as i did when i was a baby, and to expect your creative idea to be exactly the same as in your head as when it is finally finished, is to put unrealistic expectations on your baby/idea.

Going into the process knowing your idea will grow and change will help you realize your goal. The goal is to be a success, whether it’s to work with cars, a baby, or your script.

Know that being in the world changes things, and usually for the better. Because it’s only in the real world, that results can happen.

Broaden your expectations for your creations…you can’t get results from a dream.

Pronouncing Brands

January 13, 2016Commercials, General, Musicannouncers, audio production, Commercial, creative radio, production music, radio, radio account executives, radio production, radio sales, radio scripts, radio spots, radio stations, script writing, scripts, targeted advertising, voice over artists, voice talentOvernight Radio

Talking to a car salesman who doesn’t know how to say Laredo is jarring. It gives you the sense that they do not know what they are doing. And when someone is involved with taking your money for something…like a car…it puts you in financial danger. As in, they could be selling you a lemon, because clearly they don’t know anything about it, not even how to pronounce the name.

It’s the same with voice overs.

If you are in the voice over industry and you don’t know how to pronounce Mercedes, Laredo, Impala, Mitsubishi or Hyundai, you need to do your homework.

For me, I don’t guess on pronunciations. I hear them once and store them away in my mind for future use. And if i don’t know, I look it up. Because I know how bad it looks to be in the advertising business and not know how to pronounce a brand name. It looks really bad. And it shakes peoples confidence in you.

I am not saying you can’t make a mistake, I am saying, be knowledgeable about the brands you may have to say in the future.

Now I realize there are territory issues as well. Americans say Sportage as “SPORR-tigg” (soft ‘g’ as in porridge) and Canadians say “sporr-TAWGG” (like garage). But even that piece of knowledge should be known by a voice over artist in either country.

But even within ones own country, the knowledge of at least the large brands should be a prerequisite. Everyone is voicing things on every corner of the continent these days, so it shows you’ve been around the block, took note and have more knowledge because of it.

A working voice talent should know that in Ontario, Fiat is pronounced FEE-yit. But say in Colorado, it’s pronounced FEE-yawt. You know that Porsche is pronounced ‘porsh’ in most small markets in the United States, but ‘por-SHAH’ in large markets. And Volkswagen is pronounced as “FOAKS-va-gun” in Germany instead of “VOAKS-wagon” in America…and anyone of a particular age should know that Renault is pronounced as ruh-NOH and not ‘ruh-NALT’.

Knowing your brands shows you care about what you do, it puts others at ease when their futures are in your hands, whether you are selling the car to them, or selling it on the radio FOR them.

Although I have focused on car brands, this advice obviously extends to all brand names too of course…because knowing that ‘Nike’ does not rhyme with ‘Mike’ and “Versace’ is not vur-SAW-kee will keep you working long after the others have driven home in their chev-roh-LETT.

Why so many voices?

January 13, 2016Commercials, Generalannouncers, audio production, Commercial, commercials, creative radio, production music, radio, radio account executives, radio production, radio sales, radio scripts, radio stations, script writing, scripts, targeted advertisingOvernight Radio

Radio spots are like cooking…too many ingredients…and you spoil the meal.

So when you received a script to produce with multiple voices in it…99 percent of the time, it could have and SHOULD have been done with one voice or two. The radio is already chalk full of voices already, asking the audience to do way too much in the way of paying attention to their spots.

Multiple voices, (more than one or two) for the most part, equal clutter.

So when you have your own 30 second spot packed with voices, asking the audience to discern between female 1 and female 4 in a fast paced frenzy, you are literally asking too much. In my opinion, you are asking the audience to tune out.

Usually it’s one of 2 issues:

1) Neophytes: It’s easy to see why you would add so many voices when you first start out, as with anything, you just throw it at the wall and hope it sticks. But, once you become good at script writing, you realize that the less ingredients the better, because it shows how much more you can do with what’s perceived to be so little.

2) Client interference: I’ll admit, there is not much you can do about this…BUT it really is the same issue as #1…as the client is a business person, not a creative person…and certainly not in a position to see their shop from a potential clients point of view. Having the client involved is akin to having a beginner work on your script.

The only way to avoid the first one, is time…you will get better, you will find more tools in your arsenal than just more voices. You will find spacing, nuance, interesting conversational words, and hopefully, a voice or team of voices that can translate your beautiful script into a beautiful piece of audio that helps get the client more sales or puts them at top of mind for potential customers.

Number 2, client involvement, has only a couple of possible fixes, but even those are hit or miss. First, (and this is my choice)…you need to do more work. Ie: create their spot as best you can. AND create a BETTER spot with less clutter to present to them as a value added bonus. It seems like a lot of work to do, but in my experience, if you don’t do this, the only other way around it is…

Teaching the client: Some people are great at this. More power to them. I am not. But if i were, I am sure i would have been able to avoid producing multiple cuts of the same spot. Guiding a client through the process and teaching them the in’s and out’s of airing a commercial on broadcast or satellite radio is a tedious gig, and sometimes it doesn’t pay off at all.

Which brings me back to my first fix – provide multiple versions. It could be one extra version, or three. Whatever you think it takes to show the client that their over-crowded spot would be much clearer, much more to the point and probably much more classy as a one voice (or even bring it down to 2 voices) production. If you are a creative director, this means writing an extra script. If you are a producer, this means producing another spot.

Even if you think it might not reach the client after the account exec gets a hold of it, it’s still a weapon for the sales team to use in case it’s needed.

To be clear, I am not saying ALL multi-voice spots are clutter…i am arguing that a lot of them are…but for reasons beyond anyone’s control, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Moreover, providing an extra mix or script really goes a long way for your team AND you.

It could be for so many other reasons beyond voice numbers. The spot could be too long (even with one voice)…or the music the client chose is copyrighted, maybe they voiced it themselves and they need to hear something in comparison before they waste their money…whatever the case, it’s worth it to provide the extra work.

Because if worse comes to worse and corporate cuts your stations budget – who would want to get rid of the producer that actually helps out the sales team? Who would want to cut the writer whose extra script saved the sale that one day because they KNEW that the 4 voiced spot was just too cluttered to make any dent in sales.

Not me…i would fight for their survival…I would voice my opposition to corporate on their behalf. With one voice of course. Anything more is just clutter.

Original Music Beds

September 8, 2015Commercials, General, Musiccommercials, jingle, music beds, original music beds, production music, radio, radio production, radio spots, televisionOvernight Radio

Music. What could be more important?
Ok, lots of things…like oxygen, water, food, family, friends etc.
But beyond those 5 base ingredients for life, you must add flavor…and music tastes fantastic, in all it’s forms.

In advertising, music plays a major role – everyone is aware how important it is across any active media. The music we use, provides a reflection of the soundtrack to our lives, either currently, or nostalgically. The message is king of course, but with the addition of the right music, the message is enhanced exponentially.

Picking the right music is an art form itself. While producing a spot, you can start to hear the music you will need in your head as you put the voices/sound effects together. You already know how it should sound, unconsciously if not consciously. You might know which styles to avoid, but not which to look for. Sometimes it’s like a carving…you whittle away the parts you don’t need to find the statue inside.

Other times you know the exact style/tempo/genre you want and you know where to find it. Those are miraculous times if not few and far between.

Then, there’s the time you can’t find anything that suits. Nothing. BUT you can hear it in your head.

That’s when original music creation comes in.

This is such a specialized talent, that when someone does emerge with it, they are coveted almost immediately…as there is a never ending amount of need for new and original music in the advertising world.

I graduated from the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College in Ontario with a group of amazing musicians, producers and audio engineers. After graduation, some of us went directly into bands, some into producing bands, others into audio for video, and some into radio commercial production (like yours truly). Very few however, went into creating original music for television and/or radio commercials. But the ones that did, are some of the most successful, with their music being broadcast in commercials all over north america and the world.

Creating original broadcast ready music is not easy. It takes years of first, knowing the basic process of recording, playing multiple instruments, creating great sounds from said instruments, mixing audio (totally different from recording), editing, treating and finally, the social skills to put that music into the world of advertising.

When we create jingles, we use an original music creator from a studio called “Hard Left Productions” http://www.hardleftproductions.net/ that is able to adapt to all genres without prejudice, create them in a very timely manner, and on top of that, able to add vocals when needed with the proper rhythm and cadence the client wants. Sometimes the process is long (a week) other times, fast (a couple days). But in all cases, a piece of beautiful and more importantly, USABLE music emerges.

This is not small. I have worked in radio production for 17 years now, and this is the first time we have had a stable flow of original music to work with.

Knowing your gear and your work flow greatly enhances your chance of making a living at creating original music. But what really helps, is experience. Write, record, mix, write, record, mix…repeat until death. It’s the only way to get to a place where your music will be accepted as you have done it.

I have been asked for advice by younger people just starting out in the industry on how to get something going, and the answer is always the same.

DO.

Just do it…start recording, making music. Even if no one is asking for it. ESPECIALLY if no one is asking for it. This will give you the chance to build up your library of music. You need this library to be big. In order for it to be good, you need to do a lot. And people can tell right away if your stuff is broadcast ready or not immediately. So create your massive library of music beds. Even if you work for someone else in a totally different field.

IF YOU DO SOMETHING, YOU ARE SOMETHING.

In other words, if you create music, you are a musician. Eventually, by the time you get great, someone will have found you and will pay you for your skills, and they will be happy to do it.