Long Copy and “The Zone”

Some voice actors hate long, boring copy.I can understand why: Sometimes we tire ourselves out with short copy, auditions, and commercial reads, and the thought of setting everything aside for a long-form read can be daunting to voiceover artists like me.

I was talking to my colleague Chris Berchtold about long reads yesterday. And we agree–they can be tough. They require focus to prevent one’s mind from wandering. They require good cold reading skills because it’s not really possible to memorize ten pages in a short time.

Connie Terwilliger drops some great tips on great warm-up exercises for long copy reads. These focus on articulation and breathing. These are very important! For me, though, I practice getting into “The zone.”

The Zone is the place I get when doing long reads. it’s a place where the cold-reading skill just takes over in autopilot, and I just go without thinking. This is a tough thing, to be sure, but if you find yourself in a comfortable, quiet place with just you, your words, and the script, you can get there. Just relax and start reading.

This is not without some pitfalls. Upon reviewing, more often than not I find a voice crack or a slight slur of a word and I need to rerecord sections. But I was surprised at how little I actually did need to alter.

It was surprising, and It’s something I’m going to try to hone more in the future.