0388 - Talking To Time

2022.01.23 – S2023 – 0388 - Talking To Time

One of the skills of a broadcaster is being able to talk to just the required length of time to ‘hit a junction’ (for example, a news bulletin or commercial break), up to the vocals in a song introduction or before a ‘music bed’[1] runs out.

Similarly, a commercial voice over artist must be able to talk to time, to fit the approved copy into the time allowed for that commercial, while keeping correct characterisation, inflection, phrasing and pausing and so on. In a script that is a minute or two long that may be less of a problem than trying to hit 29 seconds with a script that has 39 seconds worth of words in it!

If you or a director tries to cram too many words into not enough seconds, the listener just hears a “wall of sound”.

OK, the scriptwriter may want to put everything in a script – whether it’s a news one or a commercial, and it’s tough to know what to leave out - but a script which has room for the copy (and the reader!) to breathe, and place the correct inflection and pauses, is more effective.

[1] A music bed is an instrumental piece of music, used either as a theme to introduce an item or as a mechanic to get from one feature to another without the presenter speaking ‘dry’ with no music and therefore no momentum.

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