Since things went Corona Crazy, voiceover forums have been inundated with questions and comments like:
‘My Grandma’s podiatrist said I have a nice voice, so I’ve decided to be a voiceover. Where do I get clients?’
and
‘I’ve borrowed Fido’s blanket and hung it over a dining room chair, so that’s my studio sorted. Look, I’m now a voiceover’.
or
‘Day 5 of isolation. Bored. Might as well be a voiceover. It’s just talking right?’
So yes, the internet is now crawling with newly-hatched voiceovers.
Good luck to them. We all gotta do what we gotta do to get by in these ‘unprecedented times’.
I’m sure a few of these hatchlings are wonderfully talented. A few more will be someday. Others might be hugely successful if they get themselves a proper recording set-up. And the rest? Well they’re out there and offering to voice your thing. Often for cheap!
I get that these unprecedented times may have gobbled up a good chunk of your budget and you have significantly less cash to throw at your project than you’d like, but hiring that cheap ‘voiceover’ could end up being very expensive.
Say you have a magnificent new product that you have spent years researching, creating and perfecting. You want to tell the world about it! An explainer video seems like a great way to do this. You’ve hired superb writers, directors and animators and look… Fido’s dad with the nice voice will record the voiceover for a bargain price. Super!
What a pity when that beautiful-looking, perfectly targeted video comes back sounding like it was recorded in Grandma’s echo-y bathroom, by a weary sleepwalker with a mouthful of dry Weet-bix.
To protect your precious product video (or ad or business phone messaging or whatever it is that needs a voice) from such horrors, you’re going to need an experienced voice artist. And right now -again with the unprecedented times- your experienced voice artist is going to need their own recording studio, ideally one they haven’t just cobbled together this week. Because, like most things at the moment, dedicated recording studios are closed and voiceover artists, like most folk at the moment, are not supposed to roam free.
In the simplest terms, you want an experienced voice artist with a fully functioning (and ideally well-established) recording space.
Here is where I cheesily wave and point out that I have worked as a full time voiceover from my trusty studio for more than 12 years. So we can just end this right here and you hire me right now. But I understand my voice might not be your cup of Ovaltine, and that while I can offer a lot of different styles, I’m yet to perfect the sound of the male voice. As such, here are a few tips to help you sort the flapping hatchlings from the wise owls when it comes to hiring an experienced and well-equipped voiceover for your important project.
- Your voiceover artist will have their own website, not just a vague presence on a gig site or similar.
- If you are searching on a gig website, check the voiceover artist’s feedback and how far it dates back
- Listen to their voice demos. And yes that should be demos plural, not singular. This indicates your voiceover artist has a wider body of work than just one demo that has been quickly thrown together.
- Is there a TeRRiFIC amOUnT of EEEnUNciaTinGG oCCuring in the demo? There’s a rookie tell. Unless you’re casting for Eliza Doolittle’s role in ‘My Fair Lady’.
- Is the voiceover reading or interpreting the words? Anyone can read, but an experienced VO will read into the message you are trying to convey.
The last thing I want to do is disparage new voices. Many will bring genuine talent to the industry. But, as with most things, buyer beware. Shop around for the right fit. The voice you choose will be YOUR voice to the world. Don’t be seduced by a low price. Insist on the highest quality, because what you say and how you say it will reflect on your brand. There is a huge difference between simply having a great voice, and knowing what to do with it and how to get it out there sounding stellar.