A scratch vocal is a vocal performance that a singer records to provide a reference track that music producers and

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

s can use as they craft other pieces of the recorded song. Most of the time, the singer ultimately re-records the vocal performance after production is complete. However, there are a number of exceptions to this rule, such as " The Piña Colada Song" by Rupert Holmes, where the re-recording lacked the desired energy and spontaneity, or " Superstar" by The Carpenters, where the scratch was so well performed that a re-record was deemed unnecessary. Scratch vocals are also often used in the production of feature-length animated films to bring

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, i ...

s to life as "animatics," in which storyboard frames are synced to the relevant dialogue, together with a rough soundtrack generated on a

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

. Animation directors "hire temporary voices to help find their way through various script revisions, visual renderings and other steps of the process." Scratch vocals may be obtained from professional voice actors (who may or may not be well-established in the voice-over community but are generally unknown to the general public) or from anyone around the studio willing to chip in a line or two (as well as friends or family members). For lead roles of animated films, scratch vocals are nearly always replaced in the final cut by vocal tracks recorded by bankable stars or experienced

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

s. However, in the rush to meet deadlines, if the scratch vocals for a minor role are good enough, the director may skip auditions and simply use the actor who recorded the scratch vocals in the role. This is how many animation studio employees (and their friends and family members) end up with minor credits as cast members on their studio's products. If scratch vocals for a lead role are exceptionally good, the studio may approve casting of the scratch vocalist in the lead role—as occurred with Pixar's '' Turning Red'' (2022).

References

{{reflist Music production Musical terminology Film sound production