Week 4

Activity one

Below is the link for my second attempt at news reading:

https://soundcloud.com/user-235036193/week-4-newsread-attempt-no-2

Activity two

From reviewing this week's recording, it is evident that there is massive improvement from the first recording I did of the news script. In the first one, I talked very fast and mumbled my words. In the second recording, I made an effort to pause more and emphasise words of importance, such as places and people. I also emphasised words at the end of most sentences. The main technique that was used in the news reading was performance. Performance is an individual's use of language (Ames, 2016). I noticed that I was able to turn my performance voice on and do my best to sound professional, as I am now aware of the techniques involved.

Source: 123rf, 2016

I also tried to enunciate my words a lot more and cease mumbling. Ames (2016) states that articulation is using all the components of your tongue, mouth and lips to create sounds that are clear and distinct from other sounds. I have found that my articulation is improving a lot, now that this concept is in my head and I try to remember it whilst speaking. I have also tried to lower the deepness in my voice this time. This is because Re, O'Connor, Bennett, & Feinberg (2012) explain that it is important to have a deeper voice in news reading than a high pitched voice. Another key technique that Ames (2016) discusses is projection and resonance. I find my projection to be quite good, as I have always been able to speak loudly. I also believed my breathing was more controlled and not obvious. In my first recording, my breathing was not concealed and could be easily heard. I believe my recording this week was much more professional and put together. I was less nervous as I knew the script better this time. However, I still feel that my voice is not 100% ready and is still very rusty in certain aspects.

Activity three

In a World is an independent film that showcases a young female vocal coach competing with her father for the voice-over trailer of a high budget movie. In the film, the director has used the world of voiceover to explore how society has accepted stereotypical gender roles (Henderson, 2013). Particularly, the domain of voice-over is seen to be a man's world and is not meant to be for women. The story is more about how the use of conversation and speech has made up identities, rather than the story of a daughter challenging her father for the voiceover. The movie demonstrates that Carol's voice is very professional and is trained well. She is able to provide voices for any type of trailer and is very adaptable. She can also effectively turn off her regular speaking voice and turn on her voice-over speech when required. Throughout the film, there are various techniques that have been used to alter the sound of a voice-over. An interesting technique that was used was Carol's diet where she would eat certain types of food to help her voice. Another technique that I was aware off before watching the film was to gargle warm water in your mouth. This clears the throat so there is no croakiness in the voice. Some other techniques included screaming with a wide open mouth, pronouncing vowels while moving the lips and jaw and also with a cork in her mouth. In the real world, everyone uses their voice in some way. Whether it be for a voice-over job on a trailer, or just speaking to a friend. These techniques used in the film can be applied to everyday life and can help improve the quality and effectiveness of speaking.

Source: Cerritos, M 2013

References:

Ames, K 2016, Study guide lesson 4 - performance, course notes, COMM12033: Speech and Script, CQUniversity e-courses.

Cerritos, M 2016, In A World, digital image, viewed 29 March 2016, http://www.hypable.com/in-a-world-lake-bell-interview/

Henderson, O 2013, In a World movie review and film summary, viewed 1 April 2016, http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/in-a-world-2013

Re, D, O'Connor, J, Bennett, P & Feinberg, D 2012, 'Preferences for very low and very high pitch in humans', PLoS ONE, vol. 7, issue 3, pp. 1 - 8.

123rf 2016, news presenter, digital image, viewed 1 April 2016, http://www.123rf.com/stock-photo/news_presenter.html