0934 – If It *Does* Go Wrong

2023.07.23 – 0934 – If It *Does* Go Wrong

IF IT DOES GO WRONG

The Number One Rule

Never swear anywhere near a studio. By keeping to this, the chances of you swearing on air are greatly minimised. It is not just main studios that have microphones and the ability to ‘go live’ - many production booths where producers answer phones can also be put to air, so do not let down your guard.

Live-read fluffs

Sometimes, you simply get something wrong. It might be your fault because you mis-read the copy, or someone else’s because their mistake was not seen in time. If you know as you say it that something is wrong, an immediate correction is best: “...that should be forty-two thousand ...”; or “...I’m sorry, that should be Watford football club ...”

If you trip up over a word, just carry on as though nothing has happened. Only in the most serious of stories, where a mispronunciation would render the story incomprehensible, should you apologise. On most occasions dismiss the fault immediately and move on with the same tone of voice as before. If you sound worried or thrown off your stride, the listener is likely to take it more seriously too.

Many trip-ups come from speaking too fast, so if you’re not live the first step might just be to take a breath, reset and slow down. Breath, smile and concentrate.

Recorded read fluffs

No need to keep apologising profusely if you slip up over a word in a recording session. There’s no need to point it out or give a running commentary of what happened, everyone knows you’ve done it, just stop and take a breath and start over again at the beginning of the sentence or phrase in which you made it. Make sure when you do so that you keep the melody, pitch, pace and tone the same through, so there’s a flow in the edit.

“I’m sorry, let’s go again on that” is fine. (Hear episode #618)

Sometimes people will do a perfect record and then near the end of the session say “I’m sorry that was rubbish, can I do that again?” There’s a balancing act between wanting to give your very best performance (and giving a few versions for the client to listen to and choose from or edit together), and coming across as lacking confidence. Try not to convince other people that you are not as good as deep-down you know you are. Do: smile. Don’t: whine “is that OK?”, or snivel “this doesn’t usually happen…”. Show you’re a pro, with no drama. (Well, yes, drama if you’re doing animation or gaming acting, but… you get it!)

We all have good days and bad days, but the trick is not to let the studio staff know which is which! Try and identify why you’re having an off day and try and fix it. It may be that there’s underlying stress that you have to dig deep to identify, say having to do the home decorating this weekend that you’re not looking forward to. Or it may be really obvious – that the cat was sick on the carpet just now.

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