Commercial audition practice that respects the clock
Commercial copy is a timing exercise wearing a scene costume. Thirty seconds is thirty seconds, the client wants the product name clean, and the read has to sound like a person rather than a page. All of that is rehearsable.
Copy is a timing exercise
Most commercial reads fail on length before they fail on choices. Practice by running the copy against a clock until the natural version of your read fits, rather than speeding up a read that was always too long.
Mark where the product name falls and protect it. Whatever you do with the rest of the copy, that phrase needs air on both sides of it.
Book the spot by sounding like a person who happens to be on time. Both halves of that take practice.
The slate is part of the audition
Casting sees your slate before they see your read, and a warm, unhurried slate buys goodwill that a rushed one spends. Rehearse it in the same session as the copy, out loud, on camera, in the clothes you will actually wear.
Keep it short and specific: name, height if they asked, agent if they asked, then a beat before you start. The beat is the part everybody skips.
Dialogue spots need a reader
Plenty of commercial sides are two handers: a couple in a kitchen, two coworkers, a parent and a kid. Those are scenes, and rehearsing them alone means guessing at the rhythm you will have to play against.
Run them with a voice on the other side, and the timing you rehearse is the timing you tape. Paste the spot, pick a voice that fits the other role, and work it until the exchange sounds like two people rather than two turns.
Common questions
How do I practice a commercial audition at home?
Time the copy, rehearse the slate on camera, and run any dialogue spots against a reader so the rhythm you practice is the one you tape. Then watch it back and cut whatever you added out of nerves.
How long should a commercial read be?
Match the spot length you were given, usually fifteen or thirty seconds. If your natural read runs long, find the cut in the copy rather than talking faster.
Can Actor Reader read commercial copy with me?
Yes. Paste the spot, assign the other role a voice, and run it as many times as you need. For single voice copy, use it to hear the read back at a steady pace before you tape.
More audition prep
Run the copy
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