Your project is nearing completion – it’s looking great!
But it’s lacking something.. it’s lacking a way of communicating with your target audience that feels human and relatable.
What you need is a voice over – carefully chosen to be someone who will embody the brand and help bring the content to life.
But what if your project is a bit behind schedule and you are concerned that adding a Voiceover Artist into the mix is just going to take even longer?
I get it, despite all good intentions, it is pretty common that the voiceover aspect of the production can be left to the last minute. This doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on this key element of your project though.
Let’s explore the key factors in determining how long your VO will take to record..
- Voiceover Availabilty
Once you know the kind of sound you are after, have a look online (or via me – I know LOADS of incredible Voiceovers who I can recommend to you) and check out a few options.
If you are in a hurry (and even if you aren’t!), do look out for professional voice over artists – the people who do this for a living day in and day out.
This is important, not only do you want the studio, recording and performance to be of high quality (otherwise – why bother!!?) but this will indicate that the voice artist is there, in their studio right now!
It’s their job to be there.. they are probably able to respond quickly to you, between sessions, to help you understand if they can help within your timescales.
Speaking personally, the nature of the areas of work I record every day is fairly last minute. I sometimes know what bookings I have 1-4 days ahead but mostly work appears on the day to be recorded that day or the next.
This might sound terrifying to some but I actually really like the mix of confirmed bookings and last minute requests!
In general – give me a shout, I can probably help that day. If I can’t – it’s likely that tomorrow will be good.
- Length of the script
Here I am saying I can probably turn your recording around the same day – or tomorrow… Most of the work I record is corporate and commercial work. These are relatively short scripts that I can easily schedule into my day.
As a rule of thumb, it’s going to take me 3 times the length of the duration of the script to record it. This allows time for me to get familiar with the content, to check any pronunciations, to record it (I record the vast majority of projects at least twice to establish flow, style, pace, tone and to make full sense of what you are needing to get across).
Then I will edit it, clean the file up so it’s sparkling, save it and get it to you in the format of your choice
- Would you like lots of editing with that?
If you would like the file split up into smaller files (for e-learning etc) then give me a little extra time to do that.
Sometimes clients would like me to sync my VO with a guide VO on a video they have sent. This will take a little more time as well, not a huge amount of time – but give me a chance to get it spot on for you – ultimately all these aspects of production and post production that I am doing here WILL SAVE YOU TIME!
- Your script writing
There is nothing (well, not much) that makes me happier than a well written script! I was actually chatting to a fellow voice artist about this very thing last week. We both agreed that a well written script; full of punctuation, spaced out well on the page, in a legible font, that flows well and makes sense, is an absolute JOY!
This extra attention to detail from clients means that we can put our energy (and time, tick tock) into performing the CONTENT of the script and not getting distracted by the script itself.
It sounds obvious but please do think about the fact that it has been written to be read out loud.. how would you like it if it was all squashed up, lacked punctuation and didn’t make a whole lotta sense? Not so much I bet.
Ultimately, we can be FASTER getting the recoding back to you if you supply the right conditions for us.
I feel a whole blog on scripting for voiceovers coming on.. but you’re short on time..
- Got a strong idea about how you want that line to be read
If you have a real need for a script to be delivered in a particular way that might not be obvious, book a directed session.
That means that you can be there in the session, helping us understand what you need. Most VOs can easily work with you on Zoom, Skype or on the phone – you don’t need a posh IP set up.
If you are happy for us to self direct then please be as clear as you can about what style you are looking for.. this means that we are more likely to get it spot on first time.. which saves you time
- Get in touch
If you are wondering if the voiceover artist you are interested in working with is free.. why not pick up the phone and find out?
If we don’t answer, it’s probably because we are helping a client hit their deadline, so please do drop an email.
Voiceover artists in general love recording for clients and we will do all we can to help you out.
If you’d like a bit more information on the process of working with a Voiceover artist – then this blog post is for you!
Must dash!!
Clare.
Please do get in touch if you’d like to talk through what you are after from a Voiceover for your next project – whether you have lots of time or very little, please do send me an email