We hear disembodied voices all the time in movies, commercials, or even on hold at your bank. These are called voice over and they make up a large portion of the content in videos we watch every day, whether it’s entertaining or informative. They impact the tone and style of a video, so getting them right is crucial. In this article, we’ll explore what is voice over, how it is used, and some tips to help you create professional voice overs.
A voice over is a narration that does not appear on camera but that’s heard in a video production. It can be prerecorded and inserted later, or recorded live over the filming of the video. The most common use of voice over is in filmmaking, but it can also be found in other media, such as radio, theatre, and presentations. The narration is typically read from a script that provides the narrative for the video.
The audio quality of a video is greatly affected by the microphone and room in which it is recorded. Having the proper room treatment and limiting noise can dramatically improve the quality of the recording. This is often done by removing any hard objects in the room, adding absorbent material to the walls, and lowering the overall ambient sound level.
It is also important to consider how a potential voice actor will pronounce your company name, and any other words that might be difficult or unfamiliar to the average person. This could lead to a pronunciation error that can be a real turnoff for viewers, especially in a business video. If you’re worried about a word not being pronounced correctly, you may want to include it in a “glossary” style section of the video script or contact the voice actor directly and ask them to say the word a few times to ensure they have the correct pronunciation.
The voice over must be able to sync up perfectly with the video, and it is very difficult for someone who is not trained in acting or audio engineering to achieve this. This is why it’s often a good idea to hire a professional voice over artist. They will have a lot of experience working with different types of video content, and they’ll be hyper-aware of how to get the tone, style, and cadence right. It’s important to listen to samples of their previous work to see how well they do in these areas.
Once the recording is finished, it will be edited to remove long silences or other bloopers. It will also be adjusted for volume to create a polished, professional product. After the final edit, it’s ready to be exported!