First Crack at a Narration Demo

ricevoice · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 33

Greetings! I'm back for more (and many thanks to Robert and Scott for your feedback on my commerical demo).

I'm in the process of putting together my first narration demo and need a little guidance. I've assembled a rough draft, one which I know is probably too long with too many cuts, but that's why I'm asking for help.

I'd like to know which cuts you think I should include and whether the cuts themselves are the proper length, or whether I should simply scrap it and start from scratch. Thanks for your time and help!

Thanks for listening!

Tom Pagnotti · **Voice Talent** Joined: 18 Jul 2007 Posts: 220

Wow! I really like your stuff. You've got a youthful voice, “honest” energy and a great read…

I hate you! Laughing

I think you're bound for great things.

Tom

Jodi Krangle · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Oct 2007 Posts: 65

Love it, Chris! I'm with Tom. Wink

I could *so* hear your voice on something like a Home Improvement network or announcing Trading Spaces or the like ... Or that Re-Inventors show?

Keep up the great work!

ricevoice · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 33

Thank you both for listening and for your kind words! I think the "honest energy" thing comes from how much fun I had doing these reads, which kind of surprised me because I had never really given much thought to narration as a viable option for me until recently. Coming from my radio background, my brain is kinda pre-trained in the short-form stuff like commercials and promos, but I found myself really enjoying stretching out with the longer-form copy. Glad to hear I'm moving in the right direction with this!

Thanks again!!!

Melba Sibrel · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008, 00:05 (GMT) Post subject:

You've got a great sound. But since you have one very solid sound with not much variation demonstrated, you could probably cut your demo down just a tad. It felt a little long -- I didn't put a clock to it, but I'm guessing 2.5 to 2.75 minutes or so. You could cut :45 to a minute off so you've got a tidier, smaller file for emailing. If I was cutting something out it would be the logging clip after the number of homes built, and the walrus at the zoo thing and the Colorado man running through the woods. Love your voice and your edit and mix are very clean.

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

Yeah, kinda one-dimensional, but real nice, with the exception of one read that sounded a little like you might have lost some focus. But it was pretty good for me, dog. Cool

Clinton Nobles · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Posts: 197

ricevoice · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 33

Thank you all for listening and offering your feedback.

After spending some time away from the demo and going back to it, I can now hear the sameness of a lot of the reads. After working on it for a couple of days I started hearing nuances and differences in the reads that really weren't there.

Time to work on a little variety! Thanks again for all your help!

Lance Blair · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 01:51 (GMT) Post subject:

It's good, I like it.

Perhaps work on this:

The first words of every sentence come out rather quickly. It makes all of your pacing seem samey. Quick thought. Pause. Quick thought. Pause.

Maybe the first three words in some of the sentences aren't quick. Maybe some are. Maybe the pauses become less noticeable, and the drama comes from the shifting of gears rather than the full stops.

Maybe...just some ideas.

Still very good, and I like your voice. I'll remember it.

ricevoice · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 33

Hey Lance, thanks for the kind words. Excellent point on the pacing. I never noticed the first-few-words thing... I'm guessing that's probably how I talk normally and it just carried over. I'll work on mixing it up a bit, hopefully that'll help me show a little more variety in the reads as well.

Thanks for taking the time to listen and provide feedback!