"Overcompression" in auditioning to join VoiceBunny

Hello anyone,

I'd like help regarding a rejection due to "overcompression."

This is my second attempt to join VoiceBunny.  After my first, I promptly went out and bought more material to treat my space (in order to correct for noise, as mentioned in the rejection).  I have taken these and all other reasons for rejection to heart and appreciate them as a tool for improvement, as compared to hoping and wondering.

Regarding the "wondering" phenomenon, I do have some "wondering" to report.

I wonder about this phrase:  "Overcompression, you can hear it clearly throughout your recording."

I am aware that there are many dishonest people in the world, and many more who consider themselves honest while still occasionally telling white lies, etc.  I try very hard indeed not to be either of these people, but rather an honest person.  When I read the audition requirements (twice now), I was taken aback (yet impressed) at how intense the standards were, and I also looked up things I didn't understand in order to do my part to understand them.  Again, I found the standards to be stringent, but I also figured that's just how professional/top-notch VB must be.  So when it said "no compression, noise reduction...", I took it seriously, even though I find it quite difficult in my current abode to produce a recording with a noise floor of -60db WITHOUT the use of noise reduction, etc.

To summarize, I did NOT use ANY compression (nor other effects of any kind) in my take.  If I were a liar, non of this post would matter very much.  Since I am not lying, I find the phrasing quoted above ("Overcompression, you can hear it clearly throughout your recording") to be...puzzling at the very least.

If my recording SOUNDS "overcompressed" (or "compressed," as was already prohibited in the requirements), that is cause for concern, indeed.  More on that later.  But claiming that it is, when it isn't, is just, to put it mildly, unprofessional.  So that's my first "complaint."  (By the way, when I say "complaint," I mean that I'm trying to do something productive--to offer a suggestion to VB to HELP their clients--lifeblood--that VB staff would use language which is sufficiently humble to avoid criticisms of accuracy.  I don't see how adjusting the language to "Your recording sounds overcompressed" etc would hurt anything, and it would certainly help the displeasure of me and anyone else in my situation in the future.)

Now, assuming that it IS "overcompressed," the simple correction of that would be to...follow the audition requirements...and "turn off" any compression plug in.  Am I missing something here? (not sarcastic)

Now back to the assumption that it SOUNDS "overcompressed."  We now have the slightly more complicated situation of inquiring possible ways that something might sound a certain way while not actually being that way.  Again, I did some research--including looking up what compression is and what "overcompression" might be--and I found a post here in the Help Center relevant to compression with plenty of interesting ideas, such as backing away from the mic (which I was doing but found the resultant signal-to-noise ratio less than ideal), using a pop screen (which I always have), softening plosives (which I try to do but may still be failing at), and turning up the playback volume very high to listen for small distortions (which I will do more of from now on).

Apart from these corrective measures--all of which could be cataloged and offered to an applicant upon rejection nearly as easily as sending the phrase quoted above--I'm not sure what else can be done with my recording.  I suppose I will be auditioning again soon (I clicked to audition again as soon as my first was rejected), but the lack of clarity in the feedback I am getting reduces my interest in auditioning again.  I do not mean to be mean or insulting, and I am aware that life, people, businesses, etc aren't perfect (and neither am I), but this type of communication seems like something ripe for improvement in VB.  This is not my "personal vendetta" in response to getting my feelings hurt; it is a sincere (if forthright) attempt to help VB improve, in exchange for the help VB is offering ME to improve.  I may not be the only one with such a grievance.  I have met many people in life who have a clear problem with something but don't speak up, for the discomfort at confronting it they feel, or the belief they have that reporting their grievance won't help very much.  So please consider that more people than you're hearing from are also rightly frustrated at the lack of clarity or direction.

Please also understand that I am aware (as an entrepreneur and a tutor) of the difficulty in anticipating and quelling the concerns or frustrations of all the clients one may come across--and I'm sure VB has a huge number of clients.  On the other hand, I imagine VB agrees with me that integrity, clear communication, and constant improvement are critical to any business seeking long-term success, and articulate complaints from clientele are quite the vehicle for uncovering "weak spots" in policy.

Finally, and to be succinct:

1  Please adjust the feedback language for auditions to avoid presumptive (and therefore, possibly untrue) assertions.

2  Please be more thorough in providing possible reasons for whatever issue makes a recording unacceptable.  This isn't necessarily easy, but is better, I think, than inviting flabbergastion and helplessness in your recording clients.  It can also be made easier and easier by growing a database of relevant information (which VB already seems to be doing, in the form of this Help Center) AND pointing a recording client DIRECTLY to material relevant to his or her recording problems.

3  If VB would rather not be in the business of carefully correcting their talent (which would be quite understandable, given the difficulties of such an endeavor), please make this clear on your website and/or in emails to your talent.  An example would be:  "We cannot accept your audition at this time.  Please try again later.  We do not offer feedback as to why you were rejected."  (I do not mean this sarcastically.  If it goes against the grain of culture, perhaps our culture is too "nice" and dishonest.  I have seen many signs in public places saying "NO LOITERING," which isn't exactly "nice," but it is clear, and no one would have a legitimate complaint by saying, "I thought I was allowed to loiter here.")  I get the impression from VB that it either does want to help its talent, or it wants to SEEM that it is helping its talent, or some combination of both.  If there is, indeed, a legitimate goal of VB to provide direct, clear, specific feedback regarding how to join VB (in other words, "fix this stuff and you'll get a good 'grade'", as any respectable teacher might say), please consider points 1 and 2 above as my sincere, respectful suggestions for your service.

4  Any help anyone (staff or not) can offer in response to my long-winded post would be appreciated.

Thanks for serving, and for the opportunity to serve,

Erik