Background Music - Yes Yes Yes or No No No !!

Richard Williams
Voice Over: English

Hi Folks

You may be aware of this but I am always happy to care and share as I love this community

I get differing advice and views on whether or not they should be backing music with Sound Reels and I always heed thoughts of those more experienced than myself. Have a listen to my May 2021 Sound Reel and you can judge for yourself. However, the reason for writing this is to give you a heads up regarding a very nice site which has royalty free background music. It's clever and there is an opportunity to donate but essentially it's very well compartmentalised so is able to pinpoint the dialogue you are looking to enhance.

Royalty Free Dialogue Voice Over Background Music https://bit.ly/3swqQBU

I hope that you find this useful but more importantly.......
........ have an awesome weekend ahead.

Cheers

Rich


  • 2 years ago
  • 689
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Kasper Michaels
Voice Over: Canadian

I've been in the business for over 10yrs, which actually isn't all that long. I am going to throw my hat in the ring only because I hope some advice may go a long way in aiding yourself or other voice actors. Your reel is very good. It sounds professional, but calling it a "sound" reel is confusing. It's your Voice reel. I can't think of a professionally produced voice reel that didn't include music. The whole point of the reel is to come across as professional as possible. How many ads on the radio or television don't have music? Every promo reel sounds better with music. It shows you can punch your voice over top of the existing sountrack and possibly that you can master as well if you did it yourself.

Now if the client asks for a custom demo, that is totally different. those should almost never include music, as the client more than likely already has music chosen and will probably play the music with your voice to see if it fits. Where your royalty free music site would come in handy is an alternative method of "watermarking" demos that "require the full script". Far less intrusive than a click or spoken word.

Hope this helps. Keep the music for your actually demo, and consider renaming it "commercial" or "corporate". They are tried and true for a reason. Sound demo gives the impression you are demoing sounds, not voice.

Well done though. still sounds great.


  • 2 years ago
  • 1
Richard Williams
Voice Over: English

Hi Kasper,

Many thanks for taking so much time to write a very comprehensive overview of your thoughts. It's always very helpful to hear from the experts in this type of forum and your time is very much appreciated.

Thank you so much and keep well

Best wishes

Rich


  • 2 years ago
  • 2
Kasper Michaels
Voice Over: Canadian

Hey, no worries. You've got a great sounding demo. Just want to make sure it gets out there to the right ears. This will sound a little harsh, but always assume the client does not know what they are looking for, or where to find it. Feel free to fire any questions at me if you have them.


  • 2 years ago
  • 3
David Huntington
Voice Over: English

Ooh well this is interesting because it's something I have only recently started to experiment with myself. I agree with Kasper wholeheartedly Richard but was trying to add a point of difference to the reads of scripts I have been sending. However I don't do it with every submission, for instance if I have offered multiple reads with differing intonation or character then I send only a voice version. With others though if I have only one version to send I will include a backing track but also include the exact same vocal without. It very much depends on what I get from the brief, sometimes they're very exact and others show a little more room to offer something more creative.

I think it's important to try different approaches and find what you get the best results with, to find your own way. I can't say as yet if it has made any massive difference but I'll repost here with any feedback or change in results.

I'm all about trying different approaches in marketing whether with Mandy or any external clients I want to work with. My advice would be try it and see what results you get because you could probably poll a dozen employers and get as many different responses.

A very interesting topic, thanks for posting!


  • 2 years ago
  • 4
Richard Williams
Voice Over: English

Thanks David

Really valid and useful thoughts from someone with loads more experience than me.

I think I might try two versions as you say with and without music. At least then it shows how we individually see our voices being perceived but also a version for the employer to have a blank canvas

I think these forum chats are quick and helpful. As a newcomer I've been hugely impressed and grateful to more experienced contributions that are value adding. Thanks to all the contributors

Best wishes to all

RICHARD


  • 2 years ago
  • 5
David Huntington
Voice Over: English

Thanks for replying Richard it is great to interact and feel some sense of community. Although I would say I may be older than you but I’m probably no more experienced :) just trying to find my way the same as many of us! Good advice is always great but it’s only ever someone else’s opinion. A very wise woman once told me that.


  • 2 years ago
  • 6
Richard Nash
Voice Over: English

As a guitarist, I can have all the vintage character I want but on it's own the sound is somehow plain. Add some synths, strings, a bass etc. and suddenly the guitar jumps out while being part of a bigger world.
So adding background music is a very good idea - I have a long background in 3D animation and companies watching showreels with switch the sound off. In VO you have the luxury of them not being able to do that! LOL
So use background music as an emotive support for your voice, it need not be much either and if you play keys there are a lot of seriously good free orchestral libraries now, check out Spitfire Audio's BBC Symphony Orchestra - just fill in a questionaire, wait two weeks (or pay £49) and its yours for free!


  • 2 years ago
  • 7
Kasper Michaels
Voice Over: Canadian

David makes some great points. I'll share my strategy. It might be different than others, or maybe not. With auditions and demos, you will often get the whole script. particularly if it's for a 30 or 60 sec ad. What do you do to watermark your intellectual property without making it unpalatable?

For those unfamiliar with the term, watermarking is a term from digital photography, in which the creator has some type of logo inserted into the image so the client or viewer is aware the image belongs to someone. You can them contact the creator who will have the clean version. With VO, you can watermark your reads a number of ways. One would be to change the wording so that the client gets the jist of it, but you will obviously have to record it again.

You can record only a portion of the script. The is fine for longer demos, but for shorter ones, it is hard to justify.

Adding a sound effect like a metronome or some people even add their own voice quietly whispering this is a demo, which will make the demo unusable but sometimes unpalatable.

A further option, and the one I tend to use, is to grab some royalty free music from the internet. (Google, young grasshopper, Google will find it). You have to make sure it's royalty free or you could get in trouble for copyright. I will then lay the track underneath. Again though, this has pluses and minuses. You need to be certain the music matches the feel the client wants. You have to make sure the music doesn't obscure your voice. The other issue that might arise that you aren't aware of is occasionally the client already has music picked out, and often just plops your voice demo over top to see how it sounds. Tough to do if you already have music.
But if I have time and I like the demo, I'll do a little extra. It's fun for me and I keep saying, if I'm not having fun, why am I doing this? If I'm not enjoying it, why am I doing this? So make sure you enjoy everything, especially the demos. Get creative. think outside the mic...er box...

on a side note, a great use for music is to help you do a better read. Or a different read. You'll need close backed headphones with the sound not too loud that it bleeds into the mic. Got a dramatic read? Throw on Carmina Burana and go to town. Or some sad banjo, or happy banjo, whatever will get you in the right space to do an awesome read. It can also help with the tempo of your read.

hope someone finds a useful nugget.
Cow Bella


  • 2 years ago
  • 8
User Deleted
This profile has been archived

Thanks so much for sharing the music site. Always great to add resources to my list.


  • 2 years ago
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David Huntington
Voice Over: English

Happy to announce that I managed to get shortlisted for 2 jobs since my last posting, using both a backing track and the identical dry vocal. So there’s something in it and whilst opinion may be divided I still think it can work, with the huge caveat of only in certain circumstances. And Kasper your idea of listening to music while you record is a marvel and revelation. Any more tips like that? Keep ‘Em coming ;)


  • 2 years ago
  • 10
Richard Williams
Voice Over: English

Thanks David,

Great feedback which I'm sure everyone's extremely grateful. Selectively I've also started putting in submissions with/without music and introducing that fact at the beginning.

Time will tell and I will share my failures and successes

Best wishes


  • 2 years ago
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