By Rick Stanton
I just got off the phone with my dear friend and long-time collaborator Pat Fraley. Pat is to voiceover what Walt Disney was to animation. Genius.
Between Pat and the folks at Bad Animals, both of whom I did hundreds of radio ads and TV voiceovers with, we’ve shared numerous stories about audio sessions gone bad.
For example, in my new book (more shameless self-promotion) How to Sell a Chicken, I recall my experience with an alcohol-altered Hoyt Axton. To quote singer Joe Walsh, “It’s hard to leave when you can’t find the door.”
Spending a client’s money on studio time and an engineer’s expertise—without a clear understanding of what you need to get from said investment—is irresponsible at best and lazy stupidity at worst.
When I wrote spots for the Washington Fryer Commission, featuring another voice master, Pat Cashman, I would read the copy out loud, trying to replicate Pat’s typical pontifical delivery and put myself in the listener’s place.
“Those of us at the Washington Fryer Commission …”
I honestly can say that I never went into a recording session without clear objectives. I knew what I wanted and needed to get to make it work.
That said, I always was open to serendipity—especially with the two Pats. When you partner with people who are better than you, you’d best listen.
I’ve heard numerous stories over the years about agency bozos who use studio time to “show off” to their clients that they’re the next Steven Spielberg. My favorite story is about one such bozo who told a voiceover pro (who shall remain nameless) after take No. 18, “Is is a word. Don’t you understand that?”
In today’s radio advertising, the storytelling is akin to a pandemic victim on a ventilator. Engaging listeners with something that rewards them for their time has gone the way of Kars for Kids and My friends at . . .
Good radio, like a good book, has a beginning, a middle and an end. And at the end, it makes sense and causes the listener to think, to laugh or simply to smile.
Mr. Fraley described the link below as “delightfully disturbing.” As someone who always believed less is more, I would just say “disturbing.” The link contains f-bombs and some other stuff one might hear in a recording session from someone in the room with a brain.
And—if you can’t stand up in a room full of strangers, tell a joke and get a laugh, do not try and write the spoken word. Is that clear?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5chS2lndaJk