VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD! Forum Index VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!
Where A.I. is a four-letter word.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

OT: Is it just me?
Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD! Forum Index -> Chat
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Mike Harrison
M&M


Joined: 03 Nov 2007
Posts: 2029
Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 8:33 am    Post subject: OT: Is it just me? Reply with quote

I have to know what others think about this.

It's true that, in noisy environments, I have trouble understanding people trying to speak to me. But I firmly believe, when an audio message is produced (whether married to video or not), that the message - the words... the very reason the piece was produced - should be easily understood and easy to listen to. And I feel that way NOT simply because I do voice over, but because I believe, like all creative things, that listening should be a pleasant experience; one that doesn't require effort to appreciate.

Increasingly, there seems to be a belief among those, experienced or not, who are responsible for producing audio that mixing means all elements should be as loud as possible. Now, my point: background music should be just that: background. Yes, it should support and even enhance the message, if possible, but it should never fight the message; it should never compete with the voice over.

I need to know if others find the music in this video as overly loud as I do. I find it not only distracting and annoying, frankly, but it forces me to "squint" with my ears, so to speak, to be able to make out what's being said. I consider this aural assault. The notion of subtlety is, apparently, dead. What legitimate reason could there be to have the music as loud as it is?

Comments?
_________________
Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.



Last edited by Mike Harrison on Mon Sep 02, 2019 4:12 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Bruce
Boardmeister


Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 7921
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 9:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

First, congratulations on your 20-year old female read. You hit it spot on.

More than volume I found the music itself terribly annoying. That piercing piano made my sweet wife of 20+ years threaten to throw one of us out of the house if I didn’t stop the torture. I think the producers of the piece wanted the “traveling through time” and “we’re everywhere” feel to their music, but they missed the 538 better choices they could have made.

And yes, it was too effin’ loud.

B
_________________
VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Karyn OBryant
Cinquecento


Joined: 23 Jul 2013
Posts: 561
Location: Portlandia-adjacent

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 10:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Please. Make the piano stop.
The repetitive mini-scales are like tiny hammers.

I agree with Bruce -- not the best choice for background.
_________________
* * * * * * * * * *
Pretending to be other people since 1986.

www.karynobryant.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Lee Gordon
A Zillion


Joined: 25 Jul 2008
Posts: 6843
Location: West Hartford, CT

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree, the music is way too loud. And I stopped watching before I could figure out if the voiceoverist was a non-native English speaker with a very slight accent or just someone with so-so diction.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Bob Bergen
CM


Joined: 22 Apr 2008
Posts: 937

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 10:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The mix didn’t bother me.

That said, one of the reasons many veteran voice actors have their demos professionally produced, rather than using real work, is because rarely is the finished product mixed to the actor’s advantage. Especially Class A commercials.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Kim Fuller
DC


Joined: 29 Jan 2011
Posts: 639
Location: Portlandish, Oregon

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd put money on her being a non-native English speaker rather than a case of bad diction - as it's Renault, they may have just liked that bit of hard-to-define difference.

Last edited by Kim Fuller on Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:58 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Jack Daniel
Cinquecento


Joined: 23 Jun 2016
Posts: 574
Location: SoCal

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 12:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mix is fine for me. Easy to understand the words, and the music did seem to support the point of the spot, which I took to expand Renault's brand beyond metrics and reliability and into our emotional core, as advertising does. The young woman reading sounds very daughterly and full of that uncorrupted joy that girls, especially, are able to convey. The slight (Middle European?) accent adds both a touch of sophistication and just enough distance to keep things from getting too cloying.
_________________
Jack Daniel
Narrator / Man About Town
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Bob Bergen
CM


Joined: 22 Apr 2008
Posts: 937

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The varying opinions here make an important point. Talent and (or) what works is subjective. A mix is subjective. There is no right or wrong. Our job is to do the best acting we can do. It is out of our hands if we get hired. It is out of our hands how the finished product is mixed. I myself would never negatively publicly criticize a spot as I’ve seen too many damage their career by doing so as we never know if/when a buyer gets wind of what we say in print. Gotta assume everyone sees everything. And there’s no way of knowing if someone on this forum has a connection with that spot.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Mike Harrison
M&M


Joined: 03 Nov 2007
Posts: 2029
Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 4:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I respectfully disagree on one point: there CAN, indeed, be a right or wrong. And I'll take the onus off everyone else here by stating (regardless of what kind of content) that it is my opinion, as someone who has been producing audio for over 40 years, that this spot was mixed extremely poorly. (Horrors... did I say that?) And this is not at all the first example of bash-their-heads-in mixing I've heard, but it is so far the worst.

This kind of "hot" mix is suitable for songs. This piece is not a song. I happen to cherish dynamic range; audio that does not constantly assault my eardrums. Those who enjoy everything loud all the time will, in due time, be asking others to speak louder. I wish them well.
_________________
Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Bob Bergen
CM


Joined: 22 Apr 2008
Posts: 937

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 4:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

.....to your ears, Mike.

Listen, I’ve seen actors clutching a golden trophy crying, “I’d like to thank The Academy” wondering how they ever got into the business, let alone nominated.

What works is subjective. One person’s over produced is another person’s dynamic presence. There is no right or wrong when it comes to a listening opinion. Or artistic opinion. I saw a movie recently which I thought had a horrible ADR mix. But many producers and studio executives obviously disagreed with me as they released the film as is. Hey, they are entitled to their opinion and they have way more say and clout in this rodeo than I.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Mike Harrison
M&M


Joined: 03 Nov 2007
Posts: 2029
Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 6:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, it's just a shame that the thing we specialized in at one time is now being done by what appears to be those who, with little or no talent, buy a computer, software and outboard gear and proclaim him or herself a producer (or illustrator, or writer, or any number of other creative professions). And, why not, when many of the buyers are of the "that's good enough" mindset?

A real shame.
_________________
Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Bob Bergen
CM


Joined: 22 Apr 2008
Posts: 937

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The film world said the same about Roger Corman. The theatrical animators of the 60s said the same of Hanna-Barbara. Everyone has their definition of standards. Scooby-Doo was once considered trash. Now, some call it a classic. Again, everything is relative and subjective. Hey, I hated Citizen Cane. Some call it the greatest film ever made, I call it pretentious. All a matter of subjective opinion. I also hate Sondheim. My theater friends hate me for that.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
todd ellis
A Zillion


Joined: 02 Jan 2007
Posts: 10479
Location: little egypt

PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 5:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

it didn't particularly bother me - i agree with bob - it's what the client wanted and that's that. i picture them in the booth saying, "that's good, but turn the music up a bit more ..."
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Karyn OBryant
Cinquecento


Joined: 23 Jul 2013
Posts: 561
Location: Portlandia-adjacent

PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 11:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Indeed.
In the end, it matters not a jot what I think, but what the client likes and wants.




I still don't like the music. Wink Ninja
_________________
* * * * * * * * * *
Pretending to be other people since 1986.

www.karynobryant.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Frank F
Fat, Old, and Sassy


Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 4421
Location: Park City, Utah

PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, it is NOT just you. That said, the client got what they paid for. Quality, NO. Professional mix, no. VO, meh,

Production was most likely created - Fast. Not good or cheap.

F2
_________________
Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD! Forum Index -> Chat All times are GMT - 7 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group