0191 – Marking Up For… Tone Marking up for… tone (more on tone later) It is usually straightforward to record a commercial voice over in the correct tone, because you will have had a chance to read it in advance, rehearse aloud, and focus on that single say, 30 seconds, before the recording starts. Trickier is newsreading when you have story-after-story, all of varying content, and even though you will have read each one ahead of time, you need to hit the first few words of each news story with ...
Jul 09, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 191
0190 – Marking Up For… Questions Marking up for… questions Do you know how question marks are used? Of course, you do! But I wrote that sentence to illustrate how, when you read it aloud or in your mind, your tone of voice rose when you spotted that ‘ ? ’ at the end. In English intonation, sentences usually rise in the middle, and end on a downward note. Sometimes called ‘uppers and downers’, they are signposts to the listener, showing the way the sentence and the thought is progressing. When th...
Jul 08, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 190
0189 – Marking Up For… Inflection Marking up for … inflection (more on the inflection, later) Where emphasis is the basic ‘thumping’ of a word, inflection is the gentler (and often more effective) tonal-lift. This is sometimes within a word. The former may be marked with an underlining, the latter perhaps with an arrow above, indicating the direction of the inflection. {Stewart’s Big Holiday Weekend Sale!} It’s so big – we need three days to fit it all in. Ends holiday Monday at midnight. And so...
Jul 07, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 189
188 – Marking Up For… Emphasis Marking up for … emphasis (more on the emphasis later) Usually, such terms are either written in CAPITALS, or underlined. A double underlining, or a CAPITALISATION that is also underlined, will usually mean something needs to be stressed (I dislike that word too – see later for why!) even more. The product name – mark this in some way. The ‘rules of intonation’ state that this is one of the most important words in the script – people have got to know the name of th...
Jul 06, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 188
2021.07.06-0187 – Phrase Markings: A Practical So you could spit a sentence into phrases, or cluster phrases with an elongated circle or bunch the words together by-hyphenating-them. Marking up your script in this way shows you at a glance that everything within the oblong has to be said as a complete thought. It’s less often used than some other mark-ups, and difficult to show in print but you can perhaps see how it may be useful in a situation such as these. It’s back! It’s big! It’ll save you...
Jul 05, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 187
2021.07.05-0186 – Marking Up For…Phrases Marking up for … a phrase Your script will have punctuation for sure, but of course, that’s an ‘artificial articulatory construct’ – in other words, we don’t speak using punctuation. We adlib stories, conversationally sharing information as inspiration strikes us. And as very often a sentence carries more than a single message you need to be aware of where each one starts and ends as well as what the key points are within each. For example look back at th...
Jul 04, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 186
2021.07.04-0185 – Dashes and Ellipses in… Scripts But in scripts for news or commercials, they (or dashes --) are likely to be used as a more eye-catching alternative to a comma. They help break up a sentence more obviously so the reader can see a series of phrases, and where a slight pause may need to be taken, either for a breath or for effect. Take the sentence: The leader of the council has resigned, after just three days. You probably read the four words after the comma almost running on fr...
Jul 03, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 185
2021.07.03-0184 – The Full Stop/Period and Comma The full stop / period This indicates: · Where a breath may be taken · A half-beat’s pause in the read-back · A change of idea (and likely then, a change of tone) · Or all of the above. You may circle a full-stop or indicate it with a ‘double slash-mark’ // in the script. So you may have a ‘/’ (a ‘virgule’) where you need to pause or take a quick breath, and a ‘//’ where a larger one needs to be taken. The comma A comma is put in to: · Separate id...
Jul 02, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 184
2021.07.02-0183 – Now *You* Mark-Up For Breaths Transatlantic flights from the UK to the United States could take longer because of climate change. Researchers at the University of Reading say that global warming is likely to speed up the jet stream slowing down planes heading for America. Transatlantic flights from the UK to the United States could take longer because of climate change. //Researchers at the University of Reading say that global warming is likely to speed up the jet stream / slo...
Jul 01, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 183
2021.07.01-0182 – A ‘Marking Up’ Practical Here’s our raw script. New data has revealed car production in the UK fell to its lowest September level for a quarter of a century. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said just under 115-thousand cars rolled off production lines last month. The industry says uncertainty caused by the pandemic and a potential no-deal Brexit is undermining confidence. Mike Hawes, the society's chief executive, says the overall outlook for the year is bleak. M...
Jun 30, 2021•9 min•Season 1Ep. 182
2021.06.30-0181 – Marking Up For… Phrases and Breaths Marking up for … phrases and breaths In copy written by someone else, full stops (or ‘periods’), commas and other punctuation (such as dashes and ellipses…) will, obviously, already have been included. They show the author’s intended or suggested way of reading, but don’t necessarily follow it to the letter (!). After all, the script is unlikely to have been written with you specifically in mind, so there is usually some leeway for you to rea...
Jun 29, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 181
2021.06.29-0180 – ‘Marking Up A Script’ Tips Making annotations on your page will help you communicate your message. Normal punctuation will only get you so far, commas giving a basic idea of phrases within a sentence, and full stops showing you the end of a complete thought. To help you interpret copy to be read aloud, particularly for broadcast and particularly to make it sound ‘conversational’ [1] then you need to get out your pen and mark up some additional punctuation. Marking up a script w...
Jun 28, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 180
2021.06.28-0179 – If *You* Don’t Understand It… It may be at this stage, or certainly after you have read the item a couple more times that those questions are still unanswered. It is rare to go on air and reading something that you do not understand yourself. You are the conduit of the content from say, a reporter or a copywriter to a listener. You have to understand the story or the message to be able to inject it with a tone of natural relevance. If questions are raised in your mind, then the...
Jun 27, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 179
2021.06.27-0178 – Basic Script Analysis You may think it’s easy to ‘read out loud’ from a script. But converting copy to authentic audio is a skill. After all it may not be written the way that you yourself would have written it, perhaps with different phrases, sentence length or rhythm. This is where we start to explore such issues. Now read it: · What is it about, its main theme or reason for being written? Does it make sense to you? You may naturally have questions rise in your mind from what...
Jun 26, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 178
2021.06.26-0177 – Marking Up A Script This is where we start to turn a bland page of text into something more resembling a musical score, giving us directions of how to say each word and phrase, in a polished and conversational style. If the script has been written by someone else, a one-second glance will tell you: · Whether it’s ‘easy on the eye’, broken up into sentences and paragraphs or whether it is one large speech block. When reading short news scripts with a bit of pace and punch, I pre...
Jun 25, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 177
2021.06.25-0176 - Writing A Script To Be Translated Writing a script that’s to be translated Foreign languages may be, literally, all Greek to you, in which case don’t rely on auto-translators. They’re increasingly accurate but they miss the nuance of a language, and you could end up being an ‘idiom idiot’. Instead hire a professional translator who’s not only studied that second language but also has ‘lived it’ and knows how it’s spoken in real life in that country – a native speaker perhaps. T...
Jun 24, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 176
2021.06.24-0175 – Your Written Direction The written direction The script should match the content, and the audience, and the reader and their tone. Let’s go through that!: · The script should match the content – it would sound odd to have a script about a modern music festival with formal, business-like language – unless that was part of a deliberate creative · … because the target audience is likely to be young people who will better connect with the script if it’s written and presented in ‘th...
Jun 23, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 175
2021.06.23-0174 – Proof Reading Proof reading Done your script? Now proof read – read it out to test it out. Yes, if you or someone is going to read it out loud then that’s the process you have got to go through first – to hear it in your ears and not just your head. Check for the things we’ve been talking about: grammar, spelling and flow (so, the pace and the rhythm of the piece). Layout One of the skills you will need to develop is knowing how to work with scripts that are unhelpfully structu...
Jun 22, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 174
2021.06.22-0173 – Unintended Scripted Jokes Unintended jokes Ambiguity offers the audience a rich source of humour at the newsreader’s expense. Orchestra musicians at the Royal Opera House are threatening to strike next week, if the management turn down a 10 per cent no-strings pay rise. Teams of traditional dancers from various parts of Kenya exposed themselves to world scouts’ delegates in a grand performance. About 50 students broke into the college, smashing glass and chanting, ‘No cuts, no ...
Jun 21, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 173
2021.06.21-0172 – Typo Tragedies Typos I was once left a story to read on-air “ A woman has died after falling from her house ” after a slapdash colleague had meant to write “ horse ”, but the first sentence looked entirely plausible at first glance. It wasn’t until the second line (“ the animal had to be put down ”) that the mistake became obvious (and I had to find the original source material to double-check that the “ animal ” was indeed a horse). = Audio recording script and show notes (c) ...
Jun 20, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 172
2021.06.20-0171 – Sing-Song Scripts Sing-song scripts Sentences of varying length will help you avoid a sing-song rhythm and incorrect intonation (with the emphasis on the repetition of a beat rather than where it’s meant). That means that longer sentences like this one, are often made up of a series of phrases which can be subtly read as a ‘unit’, as long as the correct intonation is kept. Read this story and see if you can spot a problem. A fire has torn through a factory in Manchester. Thirty...
Jun 19, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 171
2021.06.19-0170 – Similarly Spelt Words It may be that the writer has incorrectly spelled a word, or that you know from your own experience that your eye-to-mouth co-ordination on some words always catches you out. I am always worried about reading “was arrested by an uninformed police officer” rather than “a uniformed police officer” (or something similar) because I have ‘word-blindness’ when it comes to those two similar spellings. Here are some more to watch out for, and maybe highlight on yo...
Jun 18, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 170
2021.06.18-0169 – Rhyme Time Rhyme-time These are invariably unintended and are only realised when a script comes to be read aloud: Mr Grimes said at the time he didn’t mind the fine, Defence Counsel Simon Gee said the jury had to set the men free on their not guilty plea.One defendant, a stocky Croatian, yelled no justice was done in this nation. For disturbance in court, the judge said he ought to serve six further months on probation. == Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 Peter St...
Jun 17, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 169
2021.06.17-0168 – Can I Quote You? Quote marks It is rare that you will have a direct quote in a script, news or otherwise, but if you do, it indicates that the words must not be changed. That’s usually for a legal reason: He said he had “absolutely and categorically” no knowledge of the attack on his colleague. Or to distance yourself the reader personally from the words you are about to say: And called the judge “a complete cow”. A quote may be in a script to make the line more dramatic or iro...
Jun 16, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 168
2021.06.16-0167 – Problematic Punctuations Punctuation A good script should be properly punctuated… to be read aloud! So that may not stick strictly accurately to the grammar and structure were taught at school, but whatever works to help the reader make sense of the sentence, where to place inflection or where to pause. All the dots and dashes are there for a reason: to help the reader read correctly so they can better communicate with their audience. Commas Not only do commas indicate a slight...
Jun 15, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 167
2021.06.15-0166 – Problematic Pronunciations Pronunciations Check any word of phrase you are not familiar with, or with which you just know you will trip up over: · The engineering company Thales is actually pronounced ‘tar-les’ and not ‘thayles’ · The word bombardier is ‘bom-ber-DEER’, but when it refers to the French locomotive company it is ‘bom-BARDY-AY’ · A colleague once referred to the city of Middlesbrough as ‘middles-BRUFF’ rather than ‘middles-BURRA’. It may be that you can omit the wo...
Jun 14, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 166
2021.06.14-0165 – Initially Speaking Initialisations Beware of initials of organisations that are said as individual letters: · The RMT Union · The BBC And initials which are said as words (acronyms) · NICE, NATO, AIDS And abbreviations which make no obvious logical sense, but we know how to say them, almost instinctively. It would look odd to see “ missus ” in a script rather than “ Mrs ” for example! There are also initials which may look as though they are a word! So put a full-stop, or hyphe...
Jun 13, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 165
Brackets / parenthesis In broadcast scripts, words or phrases in brackets are usually not to be read out loud: · A direction to a presenter “(TURN TO CAMERA 1)”, (READ WITH PASSION”) · Additional information “(Source: Metropolitan Police)” · A guide to pronunciation “ Henry St John-Stevens (pron: SIN’jn stevens) says it’s a great opportunity .” Words in brackets are usually omitted from automatic timings of a script or show. == Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 Peter Stewart Through...
Jun 12, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 164
0163 – All About Alliteration A little alliteration (try saying that out loud!) may occasionally be acceptable, but sometimes several similar sounds spoken aloud sound stupid, while a series of superfluous hissing s and c sounds sound senselessly sibilant. == Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 Peter Stewart Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better sc...
Jun 11, 2021•44 sec•Season 1Ep. 163
0162 – How To Say ‘100’ A copywriter once showed me a script: “ This bed is now only 126.99 that’s down by 259.06! ” And said: “If it’s the price you’re selling it’s ‘a hundred and 26-99’, not ‘one-hundred’, because ‘a-hundred’ sounds cheaper than ‘one-hundred’... And if it’s the saving you want to promote, say ‘one-hundred’ because it sounds bigger.” == Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and proje...
Jun 10, 2021•1 min•Season 1Ep. 162
