I have done thousands of commercials for colleges and universities all across the country. College voice over and a millennial sound is my bread and butter in terms of voice over income. However, there are always a few college voice over commercials that stand out above the rest. Franklin & Marshall College is one of those colleges that takes a lot of pride in their historic stature. Pride. Pride is the one word I kept hearing during our live voice over session. The creative directors needed the voice to have a sense of dignified pride. But, not as teacher or authority figure, rather, as a student. The typical college voice can be skewed in many directions. Some spots make the voice too laid back or cool, some make them way too enthusiastic. My point of comfort is the inspired student- the student who has a purpose. This purpose reflects in the sound and energy of their voice.
Franklin and Marshall College had a great team of creatives that allowed me to bring a poetic and spoken word quality to the read. They provided me with the music bed ahead of time so I could vibe to its cadence. Once I reviewed the script with the music playing under, it was a lyrical spoken word piece and no longer just a “regular” commercial. “Spirit” is vital to prideful college voice over projects. To have the right spirit, a talent must find that place inside of them that accesses the door to the most exciting time they can reflect on. Along with having the right spirit, the college voice must now also sound like the authentic voice that everyone can relate to.
The Franklin & Marshall College voice over project is a great example of what happens when the right elements of a production come together and a vision is clearly executed. The right music plays a big role in this. Often times, I have seen creatives ruin spots because of the wrong music bed. In this case, it was perfect. Everything from the tempo to the hook, the music bed is vital for the voice over talents judgment of tone and pace.
This commercial voice over was one of my favorites and definitely one to remember. Much love to the historic Franklin & Marshall College, and thank you for working with me.
Kabir Singh
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