I recently had a session where there were 5 people between the client and agency giving me direction. My page was ALL marked up. We went section by section and I constantly heard, “Go up here, take a pause there, emphasize THIS but not too much, make this more heartfelt, then this more light…” What happens when we receive a lot of technical direction is we tend to lose the most critical part of our voiceover job – TO CONNECT! So, how do you take the technical direction, stay connected and make the copy fresh? Here’s what works for me…
1| Mark the technical direction on your script(ie go up on this word, down on that one, make sure we hear “anD” or go faster there but slower here, etc)
2| Take a moment before your next take and look over the section with the technical direction. Read through it like a map.
3| Now go into your read knowing WHO you’re talking to, WHAT you’re saying and WHY.
Going over the script in your mind before you begin allows your brain to register the technical map, but then allows the connection to take front stage.In this past week’s session (when I had multiple directors), I tried this and it worked like a charm! The connection was still there but my brain had logged in the technical direction as well.Remember…the best voice actors are direct able so the more we can learn how to take direction the better we become.
Mike & Heidi