Saturday, December 29, 2007

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.



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!).

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Monday, December 24, 2007

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.

NBC logo

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