Announcer read versus natural read in voice-over.

I’ve been noticing as never before that television and radio newscasters have an unnatural vocal delivery, and I wrote a short article about it last month for the monthly newsletter I send to all my clients and contacts. The topic resonated with many readers and I got a number of emails in response from people with whom I shared a virtual chuckle about the antics of “announcers” on radio programs and the television news.

Voice talent will be told, if they aren’t already giving this sort of delivery, to avoid the “announcer” sound and go for a natural vocal style – to speak as if they’re talking to a friend or neighbor. The script will frequently include an announcer role, e.g., “man”, “woman” and “announcer” might be the parts required for a commercial; nevertheless, we’re asked to avoid the artificial sound that the term “announcer” connotes. From the sound of it, newscasters are being given the opposite instructions these days – to the point where I, for one, can hardly stand to listen to them.

In the days of the Big Three newscasters – Peter Jennings on ABC, Dan Rather on CBS and Tom Brokaw on NBC, Peter Jennings consistently received the highest ratings. He was known for his natural style of delivery and none of us who were glued to the television in the days following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 will forget the way Jennings helped us through that terrible time. It’s surprising to me that so many emcees and newscasters - at least the local ones - are adopting an artificial style, although I admit that even after all the excitement over at Peter O'Connell's blog, I still haven't heard NBC nightly news with Brian Williams.

Here’s an example of what I'm referring to, followed by a more natural delivery of the same line.

The Yankees will play the Red Sox on Saturday.

What do you think? Have you noticed this? Does it bug ya? Can you give me an example that’s even more annoying than what I’ve recorded, whether by posting a link to an online example on youtube or recording one of your own? Or, better yet, a clip of a really good newscaster (and yes, it can be you!).

Meet and Eat.

My Chamber of Commerce hosts four breakfasts each year. I enjoy these events tremendously as they give me a chance for relaxed conversation with people I’ve never met and in greater depth than is usually possible at the monthly Arrive @ 5 events. The December breakfast took place last week at the Delaney House, a local restaurant and meeting center with a very pleasant ambience. The guest speaker was Jud Hale, editor-in-chief of Yankee Magazine and The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Mr. Hale is only the second editor Yankee Magazine has had since its inception in the 1930’s and the 12th editor of the Almanac since 1792!! I was quite impressed to learn this. Mr. Hale gave a delightful talk full of stories and impressions about New England life, and he mentioned that New Hampshire is the only state he knows that has a road-kill auction. I spoke with him afterwards and told him how much I enjoyed his talk, and I also told him that road-kill used to be quite an important part of my life in my days as a museum curator.

People were always bringing dead birds to me that they had found on the road or elsewhere, and if the specimens were usable, I prepared them as study skins or skeletons – or if they were fresh and in very good condition I “pickled” them for use in dissections (sometimes in my own research on the evolution of limb musculature).

One time, in my early days as a graduate student at the University of Arizona, I needed to revive a defunct colony of dermestid beetles. These are flesh-eating insects that do a wonderful job of cleaning skeletons, and many museums use them as unpaid laborers for just that purpose. A thriving colony at the optimal temperature and humidity can clean a songbird skeleton overnight. The Arizona colony had been wiped out by spiders and I was hoping to get it going again, so I drove out toward Phoenix and stopped when I found a coyote carcass. Crouched over roadkill with a jar and forceps, I attracted the attention of a state trooper who stopped to question my intentions. My story seemed to satisfy him and he left me to continue picking dermestid larvae from the dead canid.

Well, I didn’t bore Mr. Hale with this story, but I did tell him that I had carried the experiences of my past life into my new career as a voice artist – to some extent – and when I needed material to create a “commercial” as part of a homework assignment for Charles Michel, I drew upon my days mucking about with road kill. You can hear that commercial for Buzz’s Pemmican here. Mr. Hale reported to me later that he enjoyed listening to it.

I may have mentioned that since joining the Chamber of Commerce and the Ad Club of Western Mass, my luck has turned. I've gone from being one of those people who "never wins anything" to one who carries many door prizes home. This time I got a gift certificate to the Delaney House, courtesy of H. L. Dempsey Co., and am looking forward to taking my family there for brunch - possibly next month when I am no longer tired of eating!

Jud Hale of Yankee Magazine
Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce
photo by Cat McGaffigan

This is NBC nightly news with Brian Williams....

NBC News has a new voice, which is being criticised as "lacking in gravitas". You can read the opinions of viewers here.

My friend and colleague Peter O'Connell doesn't like to complain without offering solutions. He suggests that other voice talent could do the job better than Michael Douglas, who made his NBC voice-over debut last week. Voice talent from around the globe have offered their takes over at Peter's blog. Check them out!

Here's mine.

Chicken voices bring holiday cheer.

A few years ago, voice talent David Fuller and animator Daisy Church created a yuletide fowl extravaganza that is posted at David's website. Do visit and listen!

"Cluck of the Bells" by David Fuller and Daisy Church

While you're visiting, check out some of David's voice-over demos. His "Yahoo Hot jobs" is a scream.

Ad Spending Growth "Abysmal" for 2007.

Robert Coen, director of forecasting at international ad agency Universal McCann, has revised his projections downward for ad spending in 2007, with local advertising being harder hit than at the national level. You can read the article at Crain's New York business.com. Slightly improved growth is predicted for 2008 but even these slight gains are not expected to continue in 2009.

It remains to be seen whether this state of affairs will be significantly felt by those of us at the end of the food chain in ad creation - the voice actors - but it can't be good for the world of commercial voiceover. I for one intend to make sure my portfolio of voiceover clients remains broadly diversified. The demand for the recorded voice seems only to be increasing so as long as we don't put all our eggs in one basket we should remain busy for the foreseeable future.

My thanks to the vigilant bloggers at Agency Spy for bringing this article to my attention.