Voice-Over Success

When it comes to voice-over work, the talent of the artist is everything. Every voice will fit some video projects, but not all video projects can use any voice. Can you imagine Danny LaFontaine trying to voice a cartoon character? It’d never work. To truly bring a script to life, you must match the voice with the intended audience. We’re going to discuss each facet before making a choice.

Many factors go into selecting the right voice artist for a project. Age, race, accent, sex, experience, inflection, tempo, and acting skills are all important considerations. It’s not just about finding a voice for the project; it’s about finding someone who can bring creativity and energy, from the information they received from the client.

That’s where good creative direction comes in. When working with a voice artist, it’s important to provide clear guidance and feedback. The more information provided to the actor, the more precise your result will be. This includes everything from the desired tone and mood to the pacing and voice tempo. Inflection during key points in the script will also help improve viewer action.

A talented voice artist works better with a conversational script. In other words, the writing of the script should sound natural and engaging when spoken aloud. This requires a different approach to writing than if you were crafting a document to be read. In normal conversations, we use lots of contractions, however in formal education, we’re taught to write without contractions. This is a very common mistake for those not familiar with the psychology of scriptwriting.

A great example of this is:

For Reading: 1) Where did you and Bryan get the boat everyone is talking about?

For Listening: 2) Where'd you and Bryan get the boat everyone's talking about?

Build Trust

If you have an artist read the first one for a script, your audience isn’t going to convey trust in your video, because it’s foreign to the ear. We help you avoid these defeating obstacles. We know how to pair your video with the right voice.

As an example, I want to call out two voice-over artists we use regularly, but for different reasons. They are both phenomenal artists and they know how to evoke emotions. If you’ve ever watched TV, listened to an audiobook, or listened to the radio, then you’ve already been exposed to their genius.

The first artist is Dean Wendt. We’ve worked with Dean for many years now and he’s never failed us. He’s perfect for big brands and small alike He has a gift of adjusting his style, which is formal, friendly, believable, to many different applications. In some cases Dean is also a character voice actor…wink, wink.

The second artist is Jason McCoy, who has also partnered with us on several projects. Jason has a way of bringing the right emotion into the project. It’s hard to watch our Haiti video, without tearing up. He is perfect for explainers, big brands, and conveying technical information to the masses.

We hope that this post is helpful in your intro and journey into the world of voice-over artists’ choice. Give us a call if you need further information on choosing the right artist.