Question For Copywriters

Jacob Keebler · **Voice Talent** Joined: 18 Feb 2007 Posts: 329

Any suggestions for coming hitting the :60 mark while writing dialogue copy?

I can't figure out any method to this madness and well madness ensues everytime.

Thanks in advance.
-J

September Day Leach · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 1526

wait, you're actually worried about this?? Just write it out. Then it's the VO's problem Wink

Melba Sibrel · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008, 20:14 (GMT) Post subject:

Approx. 150 - 175 words in a :60, depending on how much you want to hurt yourself. Aim for :58.5-:59

Jacob Keebler · **Voice Talent** Joined: 18 Feb 2007 Posts: 329

Scott Pollak · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008, 20:22 (GMT) Post subject:

Melba's right, Jacob. I've written - quite literally - THOUSANDS of spots over the years and after you've done it for a while you start actually 'feeling' the length. But I don't worry about that at first. Just write. Then trim.

I will OFTEN write a :60 that has 220-250 words. Then I'll go back and find stuff that is redundant or just fluff and start trimming away. Ideally I like to get down to around 160 words if I can, but you can live with 180 if the subject matter lends itself to a fast read. Thing is, you really DO want to avoid wall-to-wall verbiage, though.

Another tip: Always spell out numbers and web addresses to get an accurate word count. Whereas MS Word will see this: 770-555-1212 as one word, it's really TEN words: seven seven oh five five five one two one two. Same thing with URLs: voice-by-scott-dot-com NOT voicebyscott.com

Jacob Keebler · **Voice Talent** Joined: 18 Feb 2007 Posts: 329

Thanks all.

Melba, I look forward to trying out your suggested word count soon.

Scott, That spelliung out numbers is a winner for sure... Soon hopefully this local radio cluster will get the knack for this. Then maybe we'll try to get them to pay for quality work...

Lee Gordon · **Voice Talent** Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1549

Jacob -- This may sound overly simplistic, but it's the way I do it. Just write the spot, then read it -- out loud -- and time it. If it's too long and won't sound good being read faster, take some stuff out. If it's too short and won't sound good being read slower, put some more stuff in.
Oh, and after writing commercials for 20 or 30 years, you'll be able to feel how long a spot is getting, just by looking at the page. It actually shouldn't take you that long to get a feel for the timing, but it will help if you be sure to use the same type style (font), size and spacing for all your work.
Start with a piece of copy that you know is a good, comfortable 60 second read, then type it out so that it fills the working area on a single page -- no more, no less. I like 14 point, medium weight, double spaced, upper and lower case in an easy to read font like Ariel.
By the way, although I agree with Scott's point about spelling out numbers, I hate reading spots with spelled-out phone numbers and such. So, if you can't compensate in your head for the presence of numbers (i.e. write fewer lines of copy when there are numbers involved), I suggest spelling them out and then, once the copy is finished, converting them back to numerals. If you're writing with a word processor that should not be a very difficult or time-consuming task. And it's not just numbers. There should be no ampersands (&) or abbreviations of any kind. If someone means Vermont, they should spell out "Vermont" and not "VT."

Doug Parks · **Voice Talent** Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 227

Lee--

Ah, the voice of reason. Do people actually have time to count words? And you really do have to read the copy for time to find out how it flows.

Lee Gordon · **Voice Talent** Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1549

I almost never count words -- except if I'm working on a book or magazine article. Publishers seem quite enamored of word counts.
Nevertheless, most decent word processing programs have a word counter built in so it is not really all that troublesome to get a count if you need one.
I think there are far more reasons to read a spot out loud than reasons not to. It's not that much trouble. Should take only a minute. Wink

Jacob Keebler · **Voice Talent** Joined: 18 Feb 2007 Posts: 329

Guys,
I think Melba was talking about a Wordprocessor that has a "word count" function. I can't imagine actually trying to muscle thorough a task like that.

Also, I totally get the "feel" thing and I am able to pull it off, but what I really need is a tool to help OTHERS get the timing right. That's why I found Melba and Scott to be really helpful here.

PS Lee, You'll always get my attention when you include Vermont in a post. I do miss those enchanted new england summers...not to mention the smell of spring (out here at 8500 feet nothing smells like antything ever.)

Doug Parks · **Voice Talent** Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 227

Well I'll be...Some goldang newfangled teckanology that counts words for ya. In my day, we wrote our copy DOWN on a piece of PAPER! Had to borrow one of them ballpoint pens from a rich city slicker! That was the only way we knew how to do it. If the pen ran out of ink and we couldn't get another one, we'd find a crayon. 'Course sometimes the crayon would BREAK and we'd be SOL, but that's the way we did it back then and we liked it! ;>)

Jacob Keebler · **Voice Talent** Joined: 18 Feb 2007 Posts: 329

Wait, Doug. I thought you used a quill pen back in the day...
You might want to tell Lee about the "ballpoint" thing...

Tee hee

Melba Sibrel · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008, 22:37 (GMT) Post subject:

Hey, just be thankful we're not all chiseling stuff on stone and strapping it to a pterodactyl.

Doug Parks · **Voice Talent** Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 227

Now that was a good one, Melba!

Melba Sibrel · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008, 22:56 (GMT) Post subject:

Thanks. Even a blind pig finds a truffle now and again.
I'm full of it...er...them...full of them...