VO4TA: Tempo — No.1

From the Best of VO4TA 

Tempo of a read (faster or slower) is controlled by the pace of the cadence of its syllables and by the length of the spaces between sentences, phrases and words. It’s an invisible art and so very effective at changing the emotional intent of a read. A “hard sell” can become simply “authoritative”. A “romantic” read can become “passionate”. A “bright and perky” read can be “friendly”. And tempo is rarely described in the spec of a copy. Yes — we can be told about the length of a spot — (:15 or :30) but that is time. Not tempo.

But the truly intense things happen when the tempo changes in the course of a read.

Sometimes we pause… For emphasis.

Sometimes we-just-say-things-a-little-faster: And we pause before reaching our point.

Sometimes. We wait. Inbetween. Moments.

Ask yourself: “Okay. They are asking for conversational, authority and a ‘non-announcer’ read…

How can tempo make a difference?”

Hugh P. Klitzke blogs at at least twice a week at voiceoverfortheactor.com.

Writing about sound is like miming about flavor — but you can get the idea.

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This is a personal weblog. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own and are not those of any of my employers.