Help! Waaaaay too much copy for a :30! What to do?

Maxine Dunn · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 675

Hi all,

I could really use some suggestions please on how to handle 1:15 of copy, crammed into a :60 commercial. Or like today, :45 of copy, crammed into a :28 commercial.

Oh, and the direction was “warm, conversational, real, read.”

Of course when you’re trying to cram in :45 of copy into a 30, how is it possible to sound warm, real, or conversational when you’re speed-reading like a used car lot ad? How can you sound warm and friendly when you’re reading as fast as your lips can possibly move?

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to handle too much copy for the time constraints, but yet still make it come across as interesting and conversational, and reduce the “used care salesman speed-read” feel of the delivery? Are there any tricks of the trade you could help me with?

Thanks! This keeps happening! Why do clients try to cram as much information in the form of a laundry list into an ad….instead of trying to intrigue or move the listener in an emotional sense? (Always a more effective form of advertising it seems.) And even use silence or pregnant pauses sometimes?

Thanks for any help!!

Xoxo
Max

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Diane Havens · **Voice Talent** Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 1281

What I'd do is read it once the way it should be, hang the time. Then a second sped-up read to fit.
Let them decide what they want -- all the copy, or the proper read. My guess is they will trim it down.

J.S. Gilbert · Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008, 01:08 (GMT) Post subject: 45 second 30's and such

Ah Max, another topic near and dear to my heart. This is an issue I have to face usually a couple of times per week, as a voice talent and as a copywriter/ producer.

First, I should mention that this phenomenon of overwriting seems to know no bounds and is often lurking regardless of the size of the ad agency or client or the budget.

As a writer/ producer, I am usually asked to fit the entire history of the company along with every product feature there is into a lovely little 60 second envelope.

As a voice talent, I stand and stare at copy that says it is a 60, only to realize that even that speed talking guy from the old FedEx commercials would need about 78 seconds to get all of the copy in.

Ahh what are we to do. I've often that the remedy should be for radio stations to just sell 74 second spots and for t.v. stations to sell 42 second spots, but alas I am alone here.

So from the writer's standpoint - I write out a really nice 60 second spot (58 seconds read at an apporpriate pace)which gets turned in and then the marketing department ads a few descriptive words, some additional adjectives and a conjunctive paragraph. Next the legal department whacks the spot apart and removes all of the really nice parts and replaces them with "conversational legalese", which in fact could be Klingonese as far as the effectiveness of the commercial goes. And in many cases, this legal hacking of the spot is absolutely unwarranted and unenecessary, but provides needed bliiable hours to the legal department.
At this point, the 58 second radio spot is now closer to a mini-series and so the dance of a thousand creatives begins and we can't get final approval on the script, so we send it out for audition and wait for somebody to interpret our mess in such a way as to have it sound brilliant.

Then the 3 month torturous ordeal ends in a 72 hour frenzy of actually trying to really write a spot that will please everyone and yet still be something that can be performed reasonably within 58 seconds. (we're talking radio spot here)

Against what might seem like insurmountable odds, we manage to find somebody who is not on vacation or too liquored up on the client's side to (at the very last minute) sign off on it.

We then actually set up the record session and the chosen talent now looks at the copy and reads it and it comes in at 1:03 and thus the recording tweaking takes place. We somehow manage to get it to work. The spot wins a bunch of awards; the company sells tons of whatever it is that it sells and 6 months later they get a new ad agency. (Apparently this last part has a lot to do with the new agency being able to get them Lakers tickets courtside)

The talent has it much easier. When you are auditioning, do not pay any attention to the timing and simply make sure that the words sound absolutely appropriate and brilliant.

To judge the copy usually means you don't book it. To look for whatever spark of brilliance there may be and to push that to the forefront - that is what gets the booking.

Oh, and if the writer/ clients/ agency/ whomever didn't realize their spot was too long, because some ding dongs don't really time them out, they'll get a clue when they hear back all of the auditions and realize they have to make some "adjustments".

When in doubt, do remember that most things in advertising are designed to move along at a brisk clip, but that doesn't mean you have to be off to the races.

Jacob Ekstroem · **Voice Talent** Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 721

Max,

If you can't do it, you're not the right voice for the job! Period!

.... but you know me well enough to know I wouldn't leave you with that, right? Wink

And yes, I get this all the time, too! So what do I do?

First, I swear. A lot. Then, I consider calling the client in case the task is totally mission impossible... but not before having at least a go at it.
So, I rehearse. A lot. Take notes on where to breathe, which words can be spoken faster than I would normally do etc. Then I rehearse again, this time keeping track on the times. When I'm getting close, I record multiple takes, 10, 20, whatever it takes.

For each time you do the read, you learn it a little better, thus doing the read faster everytime. When you're finally of the impression you simply cannot do it any faster without ruining the read completely, you are either there, or hopefully close enough to edit out pauses and breaths that aren't that important to fit it in the frame.
But I never, ever use digital time-compression. If I feel time-compression is needed to get the job done, THEN I would call the client and tell them straight: I can't do it, maybe someone else can. Haven't had to yet, knock on wood...
But, I often deliver both the 0.28 and the 0.33 (or whatever) to give the client an idea of what they achieved by making the copy too long.

Good luck, Max.

Maxine Dunn · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 675

Hi Jacob ~

Thank you for your thoughtful post! I did this job at a recording studio, not from my home studio, and the client was present, so there was not the luxury of fiddling around with it on my home system.

Let’s see….uummm….I (apparently) was definitely the right voice for the job as I nailed it – multiple times perfectly in :29 and the client was very pleased. (Even though I don’t appreciate a fast read for such a product.) But, yes, I was able to deliver. I just didn’t think it did the product justice and sounded fast.

And before we got it down in time, it was obvious to the client that the script, as it was written, was in no way possible going to come in on time, so we spent a fair amount of time whittling it down and deleting words and sentences.

Then, you mention the word “rehearse?” Aaahhh what a beautiful luxury that would have been! So rehearse what? I walked into the studio and as I was putting on my cans, the script was handed to me. Had about 30 seconds to read for levels then we’re off to the races. Rehearsal was out of the question.

I can read super fast with the best of ‘em, (but don’t like to), and I guess I was just asking if anyone had any “techniques,” (like Pat’s smiling to reduce popping of your “p’s”), that might better facilitate a speed read….but with feeling and warmth and emotion. Hahaha. Probably an impossible task, but there are all kinds of tricks out there, and I thought I’d ask for help.

Xoxo

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Lance Blair · Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008, 02:42 (GMT) Post subject:

Unfortunately, more and more peoples' idea of a conversational pace is speed reading. The art of conversation and of listening is dying while people rattle off their machine-gun-paced streams of consiousness to each other (lost in the mind-set that they're posting to a message board I presume). Smile

I just was given a narrative piece that was timed at 3:30 from an actual test read by the clients. The director agreed that it needed to be slowed down a notch. A full 3:30 at that clip was just annoying. Of course, everything needed to be paired with animation...

We agreed that 5:15 was a good leisurely pace, and in the end I gave them a 4:10 read that they were very happy with.

For a commercial, that's a different beast. :28 has to be :28. What can you do? I've always found that the less I worry about trying to make things fit the more I can just relax, minimize my breathing, don't over-pronunciate, and everything works out fine. Focus on being efficient, not quick, and you'll end up saying more in less time.

Kara Edwards · **Voice Talent** Joined: 26 Oct 2006 Posts: 347

Another trick is to read the first and last lines at normal pace...then speed up the middle. The listener is tricked into thinking everything is at normal speaking speed, when it is not. Plus- the meat of most copy is at the beginning and end...usually. So, that's the most important. I've used this trick many times, and the client is always happy!

Maxine Dunn · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 675

Hi Lance and Kara, and thank you so much for such great advice!

Lance, I almost melted when you said the words, “4:10.” I suddenly felt all calm and luxurious and relaxed. What a lovely long time to voice anything in! Then I came out of my dream back to reality and realized it was animation you were talking about…. Darn!

I loved your idea of just NOT worrying and minimizing my breathing, (as when I have to speed read at a ridiculous pace, I notice that my breaths become more audible), and just focus on being efficient, not fast. This is obviously a skill I’m going to have to master at a higher level, as more and more I’m presented with insane amounts of copy that has to be read in a minimal amount of time. I appreciate your feedback SO much!

(Or maybe it’s our clients that we need to gently educate on the idea of how to nuance copy instead of ramming it down our listener’s throats at high speed?)

And Kara, how lovely to hear from you too! What you’ve suggested is a great idea. I’ve tried that in the past but I should have been practicing it more in my off hours, as I needed that honed skill today, in a big way.

Xoxox

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

I have a number of clients who routinely give me over-stuffed copy. Fortunately, I have longstanding relationships with them so I pretty much have carte blanche to just trim some excess verbiage from the copy.
In the case of new clients, particularly those "long distance" ones that come from here or Voices, I will generally give them three different reads. One will be their copy verbatim, read at the pace I feel is appropriate, irrespective of the time. The second will be their copy read as fast as I have to do it to squeeze it into the desired length, after which I'll edit out all the breaths and, if necessary, use the "Change Tempo" effect in Audacity to time-compress it the rest of the way. And finally, I'll do what I do for my regulars: remove the extraneous/redundant stuff from the copy and read the shortened script at the pace I used for take 1. And if that one is still too long, I'll give it a bit of a nudge in Audacity.
Of course, part of my stock in trade is the ability to squeeze 10 pounds of doo-doo into a 5 pound bag, so in some ways I welcome over-stuffed spots. If it's an audition from one of the services, I will occasionally point out the fact that I managed to fit their copy into the desired length, whereas some of the other demos they received might not have done so.

Maxine Dunn · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 675

Lee....you crack me up!! Squeeze 10 pounds of doo-doo into a 5 pound bag?!!

lachtot

xo

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Todd Ethridge · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Feb 2006 Posts: 214

Anybody else notice that J.S.'s post about copy being too long...... was really long too? Wink

No offense, just struck me as funny. Smile

Bill Campbell · **Voice Talent** Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 106

Max- you had the client and a producer/engineer there? Why would you have to make the decision on what to do? That's their job. Either you fly through the copy, or they cut it down. Their choice.

I worked with a very talented guy who would just STOP at :30 or :60 whether he was all the way through the copy or not!
He'd look at the director and go "what do you want to do?"

He would not comporomise his "read" to get through their copy in time.

Kara's approach is a good one. At least breathe the warmth and emotion into the first 10-15 seconds - then, put the pedal to the metal.

Allison Scussel · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 928

In radio: I just give the copy back to the copy writer and tell them to "fix it" before I turn blue. Laughing

However; in this case because you were in the studio with the client, I like the idea of starting off smooth, speeding it up, and winding down with a smooth ending. Smooth is what they wanted, right?

As a voice talent, it's not our job to tell the client how the spot should be written. But if you have experience in writing copy in addition to VO, it's hard to bite your tongue with this situation. I've made suggestions to existing clients when the copy is too long and they welcomed it. For new clients, I keep my opinion to myself unless it's invited. Some clients just don't know what's best and appreciate feedback. The key is "SOME CLIENTS."

Gotta take my trash out now. Thanks for the reminder Lee!

~Allison~

Steve Royal · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Posts: 167

The way I deal with excessively long copy is to give the client what they want.

If they want 158 words fitted into 30 seconds, then that's what I give them.

They will then complain that it sounds bloody awful.

Sometimes (but not always), it dawns on them that they cannot effectively get their message across when their commercial sounds like a hyperactive stutterer on speed.

The client then (sometimes) works with me to get the copy sounding intelligible.

Give that a try, Max - it might work!

Please be aware that no guarantee is expressed or implied by this post.

Very Happy

J.S. Gilbert · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008, 23:40 (GMT) Post subject: slight confusion on my part

Sorry All,
I was thinking that Max was referring to auditions where the copy is obviously too long. I generally don't think of it from the standpoint of actually recording the copy and being up the proverbial creek. For starters, 96% of my commercial sessions, both where I am director and talent still take place in a studio where I can see the director or if I'm director, the talent can see me. 2% of my commercial gigs has me on the phone lines directing or someone directing me via phone - again instantaneous ability to make corrections.

Ocassionally I record copy for commercials without having anybody present, and this does seem to be increasing. In truth, I'd prefer to have someone else on the phone line, if for no other reason than to take the burden off of me. Let them pick the takes they like and make the corrections they want and let them sign off on the work, so no matter what I get paid.

If nobody is there and I record by myself, it is usually only after lengthy discourse which would certainly involve the length or timing of the spot.

I'm way too busy to do retake after retake, regardless whether it's viewed as my fault or the client's andthe last thing I want is to have them reject deliverables. I have been known to send "scratch tracks" back to a client in preperation for a gig, for example to get them to approve pace, inflection, pronunciation or if there are problems that need to be addressed.

My previous post was meant to be an entertaining little story with some usable advice pertaining to auditioning copy that is overwritten.. My apologies if it bored anyone here.