The overall standard this year had shown definite signs of improvement over last year. There was a greater sense of maturity and confidence shown. We decided to level out the playing field by asking that entries were not mixed with music or effects. Whilst this ‘unplugged’ approach is quite unorthodox in the ‘real’ world of advertising, allowing each voice to stand entirely on its own merit, nonetheless proved to be very helpful in the judging process.

 

It was appreciated that what we had before us was ‘raw talent’ and the finer skills of voice work were likely to be absent. This proved to be the case as the majority of entrants failed to ‘connect’ with the script. This is entirely understandable as it tends to becomes innate with experience and practice.

 

Less understandable was the tendency to give us what they ‘thought’ we wanted as opposed to their true selves. Many recordings sounded like an audition. It’s a common trap that novice voice artists tend to fall into. They have yet to discover their true selves and so end up ‘mimicking’ a style. This in itself is not a bad practice as long as what is being mimicked is authentic and natural. All too often it’s not. All too often the piece being imitated was read by a local radio DJ, altogether the wrong type of style. I will embellish no further as the comments by Sue, one of my fellow judges and herself a voice artist, make for interesting reading on this subject.

 

The only other observation I had to make was a sense that some of the final pieces for entry were recorded in something of a rush? Whilst we advocate that an inordinate amount of time should not spent on each piece, there is a happy compromise to be reached.

 

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Dan Neal

Firstly I think the Hobsons Prize is a fantastic idea, and a really useful tool for all drama students thinking about getting into voiceover work.

The standard was good, as we had many possible entries for the final - but it was very apparent that insufficient time and direction had been given to most students, and hopefully this will improve as the prize becomes more established.

Another thing that became clear is that a lot people who recorded an entry did not take/have the time to understand what script would be most suitable for their voice. The more carefully the materially is selected, the stronger the entry. Also we heard voice reels that committed some voice over sins; non-authentic US accents, DFS style shouting and most crucially a failure to understand the script and connect with it. It’s great for students to realise that these are no go areas when making a voice over reel, and that people want to hear your natural voice (‘conversational’ reads are often asked for) and so it will hopefully help their future careers.

It was excellent working with the four finalists in the studio, they had different levels of confidence and natural ability, but all had fantastic potential. I hope the three who don’t win the prize, as well as the eventual winner, are encouraged by the experience, and go onto record many professional voiceovers.
Firstly I think the Hobsons Prize is a fantastic idea, and a really useful tool for all drama students thinking about getting into voiceover work.

The standard was good, as we had many possible entries for the final - but it was very apparent that insufficient time and direction had been given to most students, and hopefully this will improve as the prize becomes more established.

Another thing that became clear is that a lot people who recorded an entry did not take/have the time to understand what script would be most suitable for their voice. The more carefully the materially is selected, the stronger the entry. Also we heard voice reels that committed some voice over sins; non-authentic US accents, DFS style shouting and most crucially a failure to understand the script and connect with it. It’s great for students to realise that these are no go areas when making a voice over reel, and that people want to hear your natural voice (‘conversational’ reads are often asked for) and so it will hopefully help their future careers.

It was excellent working with the four finalists in the studio, they had different levels of confidence and natural ability, but all had fantastic potential. I hope the three who don’t win the prize, as well as the eventual winner, are encouraged by the experience, and go onto record many professional voiceovers.
 

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Sue Elliott Nicholls

The first time we met as a panel of judges to listen to all the audio reels I was really struck by the choices made, both good and bad. It cannot be stressed enough how much people want to hear your natural voice. Most actors worth their salt can put on a good R.P voice, lower their voices an octave and “do lots of different voices” generally, the client has picked you because they loved your voice-not the many different voices you can put on, but your own voice. The voice you use at home for Christmas-out with your really good old friends-your own voice. Having said that-a slightly “straighter” version of your own accent can be good to include in one of your pieces, particularly if you are dealing with a weighty issue-but I can’t say this enough-it’s predominately your voice people are interested in.

The choice of material was interesting as well, a way to find something that will probably suit your voice may be to choose something that grabs you; be that cars, glossy magazines, or more weighty issues like knife crime. If you’re interested in the subject you will probably do a better job.

Particularly with the narrative, but often even with the voice over’s they were sometimes a little “acted” The main thing about voice over’s is that (unless you are asked otherwise) they should sound really natural. It helps me sometimes to visualize someone sitting just in front of the mic’, if the style is a girl talking to her mate-visualise your mate sitting right where the mic’ is, if you’re selling Clarks shoes to mums-imagine someone you know with children is there. The more relaxed and conversational reels were by far the best.

So much can be said in one line depending on the inflection you give the words. Pick out one sentence from a book and try reading it in a lot of subtly different ways. If you can, record yourself and listen back.

I had forgotten, until the studio session what a daunting prospect studio can be when you first start. Everyone else seems to know exactly what they are doing, you are on your own on one side of a panel of glass, and on the other side there are often quiet a few people listening to you and commenting on your performance-often they all have subtly different ideas on how they might like to read to be and may get you to read it a lot of different ways. Try not to be overwhelmed by this, it is daunting for everybody the first time, you are booked for an hour and often directors want to try out a few different reads. If you are asked to alter a little bit of your read-for instance-a little more attitude on the second line-try to keep the performance the same for the rest of the script and just change the second line. If you have questions or suggestions it’s OK to say them but bear in mind there may be a lot to get through in an hour-even if the script is short.

I think though the overwhelming impression this process had for me is how important it is to be yourself-quite hard when your 20 and not quite sure what “yourself” is-I’m still not sure I know what myself is. I suppose the self that is relevant to the subject-the one who’s out with the boys, the one having a serious talk with a friend in trouble-or the one boasting about his new lap top to is slightly envious mate.

I hope this is helpful-were all still learning, even those who have been doing it for some time; I’ve learnt a tremendous amount from this experience and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Good luck!
The first time we met as a panel of judges to listen to all the audio reels I was really struck by the choices made, both good and bad. It cannot be stressed enough how much people want to hear your natural voice. Most actors worth their salt can put on a good R.P voice, lower their voices an octave and “do lots of different voices” generally, the client has picked you because they loved your voice-not the many different voices you can put on, but your own voice. The voice you use at home for Christmas-out with your really good old friends-your own voice. Having said that-a slightly “straighter” version of your own accent can be good to include in one of your pieces, particularly if you are dealing with a weighty issue-but I can’t say this enough-it’s predominately your voice people are interested in.

The choice of material was interesting as well, a way to find something that will probably suit your voice may be to choose something that grabs you; be that cars, glossy magazines, or more weighty issues like knife crime. If you’re interested in the subject you will probably do a better job.

Particularly with the narrative, but often even with the voice over’s they were sometimes a little “acted” The main thing about voice over’s is that (unless you are asked otherwise) they should sound really natural. It helps me sometimes to visualize someone sitting just in front of the mic’, if the style is a girl talking to her mate-visualise your mate sitting right where the mic’ is, if you’re selling Clarks shoes to mums-imagine someone you know with children is there. The more relaxed and conversational reels were by far the best.

So much can be said in one line depending on the inflection you give the words. Pick out one sentence from a book and try reading it in a lot of subtly different ways. If you can, record yourself and listen back.

I had forgotten, until the studio session what a daunting prospect studio can be when you first start. Everyone else seems to know exactly what they are doing, you are on your own on one side of a panel of glass, and on the other side there are often quiet a few people listening to you and commenting on your performance-often they all have subtly different ideas on how they might like to read to be and may get you to read it a lot of different ways. Try not to be overwhelmed by this, it is daunting for everybody the first time, you are booked for an hour and often directors want to try out a few different reads. If you are asked to alter a little bit of your read-for instance-a little more attitude on the second line-try to keep the performance the same for the rest of the script and just change the second line. If you have questions or suggestions it’s OK to say them but bear in mind there may be a lot to get through in an hour-even if the script is short.

I think though the overwhelming impression this process had for me is how important it is to be yourself-quite hard when your 20 and not quite sure what “yourself” is-I’m still not sure I know what myself is. I suppose the self that is relevant to the subject-the one who’s out with the boys, the one having a serious talk with a friend in trouble-or the one boasting about his new lap top to is slightly envious mate.

I hope this is helpful-were all still learning, even those who have been doing it for some time; I’ve learnt a tremendous amount from this experience and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Good luck!

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Linda Spinetti

Being a judge in The Hobsons Prize 2009 was a great experience. I enjoyed the whole process from start to finish. Each of the judges came from a different area of the media – agency producer, sound engineer, and voice artist. It was, therefore, particularly interesting to hear all their different opinions during our discussions. 

 

For me, as an agent, it was very important to consider the "whole package" of each finalist, from how they took direction to how they behaved in the studio.

The standard of the entries was high, however I felt that the students tended to give us what they thought we wanted to hear rather than their natural voice. The key is just to keep the reel simple and play to your strengths.