First time in 30 years I've been called "Flat and Monotone"...!!!
After 30 years in the industry - for the first time - I've been called 'Flat and Monotone'. A revision request was made, I rerecorded, and again, told I was 'Flat and Monotone', and told to do it again.
The voice I was using is described as colourful, vibrant, and mellifluous by my several agents over 30 years.
As the only way to colour this project up is to sound like a cartoon character, I had to flag it.
I'll obviously get penalised, and it will be months again until I see any jobs from VB. But, only an idiot keeps doing the same things over and over again and expecting a new result.
I sent the recording to my engineer, and had another artist recording in the studio listen to it - "Not Flat and Monotone" was their response.
I am trying to engage with you. I'm trying to live by your rules. But, you're making it very difficult for me - not for the first time.
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While I'm here - looking at my stats - I'm down for days for a revision in the red - When has it ever taken days to revise anything? I work in a recording studio - my full time life is in here. Revisions are within minutes.
In all fairness, my stats are hookie as heck. :-/ May explain why I go for months without even a sniff from VB. :-(
Point of interest - the project was then rejected. Reassigned to another artist, whose tonality was flatter and holding less tone. It was however, accepted - by another QA agent.
I see this is a repeated theme in the comments. Maybe it's luck of the draw over who QA's?
Artists will always react to criticism, especially when we feel it's unbalanced and unfair.
When a recording isn't to a clients liking, an explanation of such will suffice. A rejection based on opinion that it doesn't fit the project is acceptable. Defamation of talent is something else though. In my early days, constructive criticism was a good way to improve. This latest kidney punch though is like meeting a girl in a bar and as your eyes meet, saying to her "Your nose is too small and your breath stinks", and then drinking her drink, and walking out.
Hi Gary,
Thank you for reaching out to us!
We understand your concerns regarding the rejection of your deliverable, and we want to assure you that we take this matter seriously.
We are currently in the process of checking with our QC team to get more insights into the reasons behind the rejection. We value open communication and transparency, and if our team agrees that your deliverable does not exhibit a flat/monotone characteristic, we will promptly remove it from your stats.
It's important to note that our QC team consists of multicultural agents, and interpretations of intonation and voice fluctuations may vary slightly among them. We appreciate your understanding in this regard.
We've also looked into your stats, and your Revisions currently sit at 16 minutes and 44 seconds. However, for the system to calculate your stats and ranking more accurately, it requires participation in at least 5 projects of each type. This ensures that the system reflects your ranking correctly. Your current revision time is not concerning, and it shouldn't impact your ability to receive invitations.
We will keep you updated on the progress of reviewing your rejection, and if you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to let us know!
Best regards,
Gabriela Schneider
Hi Gabriela,
Many thanks for the explanation. Understood about multicultural staff on QC. We also have a diverse prime language set of staff here, with English as their second, or third languages.
Tonality is important. Hopefully, a review, may point towards my favour. If I can help with this, please let me know. "Flat and Monotone" is not a great label to give someone - especially when they're not.
Quite hard to up the stats sadly when there's no offer of work for months on end. I understand back end system adjustments, seasons etc have an impact. I'm expecting several weeks with nothing again, followed by a day or two of non stop speedies. :-( It's such a shame. We've spoken for some years you and I. I really am quite passionate for VB :-( But VB throttles the carrots quite often on me :-(
Hi there, Gary!
How do you do?
After a thorough reviewing of this rejection with our team, we will be removing this rejection from your stats.
However, there are a few points the team has shared that could lead to some improvement. Your deliverables are great, but our team keeps track of overall performance of all Pros per category.
Please note that rejections are also determined if a client has previous feedback with us for a specific issue, so if a client has complained about plosives, for example, chances are that any deliverables with slight plosives may get rejected.
For example, our agents have agreed that your deliverable is of a great quality, but there are still some plosives here and there. For a pickier client, our QC agents may reject it.
In any case, we apologize for this situation, and we'd like to extend our thanks for your cooperation and understanding. We are constantly striving for a better support, and in some cases, this requires some back and forth between our team and our Pros.
We've removed the rejection from your stats, but our team request that you pay extra attention to avoid any plosives in the future. =)
Kindest regards, and count on us!
Gabriela Schneider
Hi Gabriela,
As always, thank you for your positive and helpful answer.
I've taken the points on board, and thank you for your attention and action.
Happy New Year!