Mastering cold copy

[nhbmark]

Hi folks!

As a beginner, I was wondering what is good to master cold copy?
I had a thought (and maybe off on this) and please don't laugh.

Would studying speed reading help in any way?

ok, now you can laugh...:rofl:

Thanks!

[BobbyH]

Read out loud as much as you can. It is that simple.

[Scoot]

Hi folks!

As a beginner, I was wondering what is good to master cold copy?
I had a thought (and maybe off on this) and please don't laugh.

Would studying speed reading help in any way?

ok, now you can laugh...:rofl:

Thanks!

Develop your peripheral vision skills and practice reading copy cold. You'll get better, and, over time, you'll sound more natural.

Good luck...

[nhbmark]

Makes sense gentlemen, thank you!

Is it something that should be done everyday?
For 15 minutes? an hour?

Thanks again!

[Bob Bergen]

Study acting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In fact, study acting before ever stepping into a VO workshop!

Most folks with no acting training flounder in a VO workshop. And most who study VO, and then study acting, go back to VO workshops with better results.

The difference between those with solid acting training and those without is, those with acting technique make choices. Those without make guesses.

Your cold reading skills will flourish with a solid acting foundation because you will be making choices with the words, not just trying to get through them.

And yes, read aloud daily! How long??? As long as you can! Your competition who works daily read aloud 3-8 hours a day. The difference is they are either auditioning or working. In your training and preparation you need to commit the same amount of time!

I also suggest improv!

[nhbmark]

Terrific advice!!!
Thanks Bob!!!:afro:

[Melanie]

Just read outloud and record yourself as much as you can. Your ear will pick it up and you'll get better and better. There are lots of available scripts out there on VO sites to practice with. Have fun, see what your voice can do. Get to know your different voices, tones, speeds, etc. Just keep recording yourself and listening.

[nhbmark]

Thank you Melanie!!All makes perfect sense..I'm on it!!

[Julie Williams]

Yes, Read out loud every single day. 15 minutes is good. 30 minutes is better.
It's like practicing an instrument. You will, in time, develop what I call the "navigator." It is the skill your brain does where you are reading one line out loud while your brain is reading the next line and determining where you "go" with it. It helps you stay "in the moment" as you read. Unfortunately, it takes a little time... Fortunately, it just has to be developed. No biggie. It comes with practice and experience.

NO SPEED READING WON'T HELP!

[AlanSimmons]

Study acting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In fact, study acting before ever stepping into a VO workshop!

Most folks with no acting training flounder in a VO workshop. And most who study VO, and then study acting, go back to VO workshops with better results.



I couldn't agree more, Bob! I just attended a workshop recently with Bettye Zoller, and had I had some acting education first, I would been so much better off. I never realized that VO is as much acting as it is speaking. I guess that's why we're called "voice actors". Ah, an apostrophe- um, I mean epiphany...

[Bob Bergen]

You learned the most valuable lesson of your career!! I can't tell you how many people do this backwards. They study VO, having never studied acting technique. THEN they study acting, and THEN need to go back to VO so they can now apply their acting techniques.

I don't allow anyone into my class who doesn't have some kind of acting training. I know they'll be spinning their wheels at the mic. Whether it's VO for commercials, animation, promo, audio books, narration, etc., it's all about the acting.

;-)

[Brad Venable]

Hey, Alan! Glad you enjoyed Bettye's workshop. We were so glad to get to do one in Tulsa. The group was so good and you could really see the wheels start turning once we got reading. :)

If you want to read one of my favorite books about acting, read Stanislavski's "An Actor Prepares." It's not your typical "you can learn to act by doing this" book. It's written in the form of a memoir or narrative, and it really makes you understand the concept of method acting and character motivation, like Bettye was saying about getting inside the character's head.

Bob, thanks for validating such an important part of learning to be a voice actor.

[ScottLarson]

I've found that reading the daily newspaper aloud is great practice. It's generally well written with little or no typographical errors and it will help you read with diction and the type of inflection the writer intended. It will also help you to find the character, if you will of the story. I don't know why you would be reading copy cold though.

I almost always read copy at least 3 times with 3 different reads before I send the audition that I feel will get me the job. If you work in radio as I do, the old addage of "rip and read" is gone, you have a lot of time to find the right read for the right story.

If you're reading copy that was written by an Account Executive; who has no business writing ad copy unless they have proven, effective copy writing experience (which you will soon find out when reading the ad copy). You might have to "cold" read the copy to find where they've made grammatical mistakes (ie; run on sentences). I suggest that you practice, practice and then practice some more with any media that allows you to improve. Whether it be newspaper articles, magazines, or billboards you see driving down the road (I've done that, it's fun).
Hope that helps
Scott:bye: