Quite honestly, I can say I really enjoy having the chance to record audio for TV commercials and when I have the chance to record a radio spot. It’s the chance to focus your energy on one thing and really put some love into it, working with the sound tech offering enough input to help but knowing when to shut up and trust them because they do this kind of stuff on a daily basis. Really, nailing a funny radio spot is a chore since often times clients would rather something hardsale than something that speaks to the target as human beings rather than a target.
I’m a copywriter so this is where my input is most valued and where an anal ear drum can be the difference between pitching a word a specific way or another and though a bit bullshitty, such nuances are the touches that make a spot better than it already is. The dynamic of linguistics is a pain when you translate it into a voiceover because though you can easily read many things, copywriters such as myself are at times predisposed to come up with some of the shittiest tongue twisters you can imagine and the main problem is that you probably had that text approved so changing anything last minute so it’s easier to say is not really an option.
But that’s fine, those are things that happen and I’m cool with that. Now having a client tag along, though saving time on the approval process can try on my nerves. Things don’t flow, everyone’s tense and moronic suggestions hatch with every creaking of their mouths. Seriously, if your client company’s name were Crodo, you could find yourself with something like this:
“Wait a minute, do you think it’s sounds better putting more emphasis on the ‘cro’ or the ‘do’. You know like…. Croooodo… or crodooooo, Or maybe if you put a lower pitch in the center syllable of the word (even if the word doesn’t have a center syllable since they’re two syllables and emphasis there would be a proonged pause).
Then they pull off the visionary move every wannabe creative does where they put their hands in a makeshift picture frame so they can ‘visualize’ and start repeating the name until you want to gag. Then Brian Eno and his faerie bunch decide to fuck with you further, suggesting “better” words than the ones you chose, in essence shitting on the radio that’s already approved because some synapses decided to fire within their candyshell brains and put you in the situation of having to bear with an enlightened lama, not the Dalai Lama, just the furry stinky beasts that linger in Chilean mountains or Nepal. Then comes stock music…. The tragedy of scoring a commercial if you happen to have your client there. They will always know the best song to put to the commercial even though it costs 300K to use and it’s always some top 40 bullshit “the kids will relate to”. heaven forbid personal taste of someone outside the target interferes with the selection of language, tone, manner or music of a spot.
To up the ante, I once actually saw this, they touch the knobs. Or well I should say he touched the knobs. Some dipshit client exec that took an audio class in college and thought he knew shit about shit… I never thought an audio tech could be that close to murder someone in front of me. It’s probably like going to a friend’s, friend’s, friend’s mom’s funeral and walking up to the corpse to tweak on her nipples. It just would even come across any sapien’s thought pattern, but there he went, tweak, tweak, tech’s response, awkward silence for an hour, finished spot and the explicit instructions to never admit the client anywhere near the technician ever again (rightfully so I must agree).
Then there are the last minute revisions after the thing is approved and recorded. The client suddenly realizes that they don’t want to say a specific thing or that the telephone number was wrong and if the talent can come over to re-record the voice-over. Funny thing is when they expect it to be free and throw a bitchfit because of the extra bill.
But regardless of client interference or not, radio is a medium that has been overlooked for some time and it’s piss poor executions have prompted clients to shy away from them since people can hardly stand to not switch the channel when some fucking jingle for a peppermint flavored sausage blasts with N’Sync hip hop beats to cater to the younger extreme audience. Woohoo…
I’m one of those who thinks any medium can still be potentially effective if executed correctly and without the client’s interference. Hell most advertising could at least be more entertaining without client bullshitsms, but we don’t live in Adtopia, and our daily lives resemble a hell of a lot more a place I lovingly call Job-job.
For now though, here’s to good radio spots and marijuana smoking clients that give us the mandatories and leave the rest up to us.
Peace, love and maki rolls.
Joker
0 comments:
Post a Comment