Voice Over 101 – Assignment 1: Commercials

Assignment:

  1. Choose a script to practice from the list below.
  2. Most of the examples on the list will have three versions: a 15 second, 30 second and 60 second version. Practice all three versions, and bring in a printed copy (with all three versions) to perform them in class next week. 
  3. If you don’t have access to a printer, email me your script up to one day before class day, and I will print it for you.

COMMERCIAL PRACTICE SCRIPTS

Choose any of the scripts below, and practice it. You can read it from a printed copy or a device. Practice all three versions to perform in class. If you don’t already have a script, choose from the list below:

  1. Health and Beauty Commercial Scripts
  2. Food and Beverage Scripts
  3. Tech Industry Scripts
  4. Car Commercial Scripts
  5. Sports and Entertainment Commercial Scripts
  6. Events and Special Occasion Commercial Scripts

Need some non-commercial scripts?

  • If you have zero interest in commercials, it’s fine to choose something different like an audio book or an anime script.
  • To fine a huge number of scripts of different types, go to this link – Edge Studios Voice Over Practice Scripts

Tips for Practicing

  1. Memorization is a part of stage and screen acting but not of voice acting. So you do not have to memorize anything. You’ll be reading “live” from a script.
  2. It is important though to practice.
  3. After your practice session, I’d recommend recording your practice sessions and playing them back. If you have a professional mik or sound booth use them; otherwise it’s fine to just use your phone.
  4. When you play them back, listen to to them critically. Ask yourself if they sound natural and professional. Even though you have a script in front of you,you shouldn’t sound like you’re reading from one. You should just sound like a person talking. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

When practicing, be aware of:

  • Your state of mind. Before practicing, take a moment to get centered, come into focus, and let go of any tension.
  • Your voice and throat. Make sure you’re hydrated. Sip some room-temperature water before starting.
  • Your breathing. Do some warm-ups and belly breathing. Hum a tune. Fake a yawn (or do some real yawning) to relax your vocal cords.
  • Your posture. Stand if possible. If you’re sitting, make sure you are sitting upright, to support breath control.

Practice Making Different Choices

  • Ask yourself, who are you in the scene? What makes sense for the piece you’re reading? How might your delivery change if you made a different choice?
  • Even if your character is “only a narrator,” try to define them more. Is he or she an expert? An authority figure? A bumbling nincompoop? Young? Old? Gung-ho and excited? Laid back? Conspiratorial?
  • Shifting Objectives: Try different character motivations (e.g., is your character’s goal to sell? To convince? To inspire, or intimidate, or reassure, or frighten, or seduce the person(s) they’re talking to?
  • Keyword Emphasis: Stress different words in a sentence to see it affects the delivery and impact.
  • Improvise: If your performance is feeling canned, try adding some unscripted words to it to shake it up a little, then return to the script.
  • Try reading the lines with different emotions and levels of intensity to see how it changes the delivery.
  • Who is your character talking to? A friend? A rival? A large audience? Their son or daughter? Create a scenario in your mind in which your character may even get some pushback and have to really work at it to get their point across.

Want feedback?

  • If you would like feedback on your performance, Study and practice your script, get as good as you can, then record yourself doing a short piece up to 30 seconds long and email it to Rekindleschool@gmail.com (attn. Nils)

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