Video content is valuable in this digital era. If you do videos, there will be times when you need to record voice-overs.
If you are wondering what are voice overs used for, a voice-over is an element in videos used in films, commercials, TV shows, video demos, tutorials, and many more. Media voice overs are prevalent in all kinds of content.
In fact, a background voice for video is what you need to keep it from being on the dull and boring side.
However, some people are horrified at sharing their own voice to the world and resort to using software that voices out whatever they type for the video. The thing is, most of these software are obviously robotic because of their flat monotone voice.
Hearing this type of audio on videos can immediately turn off people. We all prefer to listen to someone real. If you knew the right way to do voice-overs, you could make your videos work their purpose!
Most people know what's a voice-over - Morgan Freeman's voice is a favorite. However, not everyone knows how to do it well.
A voice-over is a recording of a person speaking but not seen in the video. The voice-over often narrates, describes, highlights, explains, or provides additional information to the visuals that the audience sees.
A lot of newbies confuse voice-overs for narration. A narration is a type of voice-over. So, all narrations are a voiceover, but not all voice-overs are narration.
Narration is a specific type of voice-over describing the on-screen action. Non-narration voice-overs are those that you hear on educational videos, instructional videos, and commercials.
Elements of a good voice-over
Pronunciation and enunciation
When you pronounce and enunciate each word correctly, the message becomes clear. This is important when you are doing a video that will be launched internationally.
Local and regional accents are acceptable within their areas, but it could be confusing for other people from other locations.
Pacing
A good voice-over should have a natural and deliberate pace. This is why you have to make sure that the pacing is correct.
When you talk too fast, the audience may not be able to get the message clearly. When you speak too slow, the audience is more likely to get bored.
This is the reason it is best to have a script so you can practice it. Remember, the right pacing is also about doing the right pauses-the right timing and the right duration.
Vocal tone and inflection
Inflection refers to the intonation or pitch in the voice. Like pacing, vocal tone and inflection are more about speaking in a pleasant and natural manner.
You have to sound engaging and friendly, but you should not sound fake or like a hyper game host. The more natural you sound, the better.
Audioclarity
A clear voice with a comfortable volume is needed for a good voice-over. Otherwise, the voice-over will be hard to understand.
This is why you need to pronounce and enunciate well. If you talk clearly, the audio will be clear as well.
Volume
If your voice-over's volume is too low, it will be difficult for people to hear it. And if the voice-over volume is too loud, it could be annoying.
You need to find just the right level of volume to deliver the message quickly.
Why is voice-over quality important for your video?
You might wonder what’s voice over got to do with your video and why is it so important.
The audio part of your video is just as important as the visual part of your video.
You can have a visually pleasing video, but your viewer is more likely to stop watching it if it has terrible audio.
Yes, the visual elements are the major components of your video. Still, the audio is actually what helps people understand clearly the message that you want to deliver.
A low-quality audio track has the capacity to ruin your entire video. Muffled, garbled, low-volume audio makes your viewer strain to understand.
Instead of engaging your audience, you end up irritating and annoying them. They can decide to turn your video off or do other things, and the message is not delivered.
To avoid this from happening, you should make sure that your voice-over quality is just as good as your visuals. Never compromise one for the other.
How can you plan your video to work with your voice-over?
The first step in making a video with voice-over is to write a script. Your voice over dialogue should also be written into the script.
It is basic knowledge that a script must be ready before you start shooting anything-even if there is no need for minimal dialogue. A script can give you a clear vision of what you want your video and audio to be like. You can just do an outline of the concept and visuals you want to see.
Voice over lines should always be written ahead of time as part of the script. This way, you can film the corresponding visuals that would appropriately go along with the voice-over.
For instance, you may be shooting many nature and landscape shots just to find out that the voice-over is all about how affordable a product is. Or you have done a lot of shots in a company setting when the voice-over will be about the importance of your customers and your contribution to the community.
Being clear about your voice-over in the script will help you identify what type of footage you need. This does not only save you time and money but will also make everything more comfortable during the post-production phase.
How to identify if a scene needs a voice-over?
The voice-over must be important to the narrative. If the voice-over is simply describing what the viewer sees on the screen without adding new details or context, it is useless.
A good voice over don should be clear, concise, and emotionally communicate to the audience what the video is about, whether it's asking the audience a question, rallying to act for a cause, or merely a narrator
telling a story.
Your video should have a purpose, and your voice-over can help deliver that message clearly. You can use the voice-over script to emphasize the critical points of your message.
But if you know that your visuals can clearly deliver the message, there is no need to emphasize it with the voice-over.
Not all scenes in your video need a voice-over. For instance, when the scene has actors talking, a voice-over is unnecessary-unless a narrator is required to emphasize a point at the end of the video.
Another example is
creating a video for a lifestyle show, and you need the audience to feel a certain vibe or emotion along with the video. Inserting a voice-over might prevent that from happening since it would divert their attention from the visuals.
here are also instances when the script does not have a voice-over, but you realize that your video needs a voice-over. For example, you were able to shoot a lot of good footage, and it would be a shame to waste them. You can add them to the video and do a little voice-over to incorporate it into the script.
Basically, you need to be able to assess which communicates your video's purpose better. Is it your visuals or your voice-over?
How to pick the right voice actor?
When you choose a voice actor, do not immediately go to someone well-known. Prioritize the voice's tone and feeling.
Yes, there are talented and epic voice actors like Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones. Since you might not be able to afford them, you might be looking for someone with a voice of the same caliber.
But not every video needs to have an epic voice. The type of video you are creating should dictate what voice actor you get.
Of course, it helps if you hire someone who already did a voice over so they already know what is required from them. But you can also hire someone who has no experience if you think they have the right voice for your video.
For instance, if you are doing a fitness video, you might want a macho and gruff sounding voice. If you are working on a commercial for a kid's toy, you might want a soft motherly voice or the voice of an actual kid. If you are doing a nature video voice over, you might want someone with a cool and soothing voice.
When casting voice actors, focus on the tone and attitude of their voices. You have to make sure that they do voice that captures the emotions in your script.
The production process of making a voice-over video
If this is your first time to do a voice over video, you may find it confusing how to put everything together. Here is a step-by-step guide on how you and a production team will do a voice-over video.
1 . Write a script
People think that you should shoot the video first then do the voice-over. The truth is, it is better to start with a script.
A script gives you and the videographer clear directions for your video. It should indicate what you want to see and what should be said so that the dialogue and visuals can deliver your vision correctly.
2. Record the voice-over later
People think they save time and resources when they record the voice-over while they film the video. This could result in low-quality audio. It is better to record your voice-over later after the filming is done.
3. Save the voice-over as a separate audio track
When you record the voice-over, you have to save it as a different audio track from that of your video's. Then, you apply the audio track over the visuals while editing and putting clips together in the post-production process.
Otherwise, your editors would have difficulty editing the videos because their moves will be very limited.
4. Hire a voice actor and rent out a recording studio
Now that you know how to record your voice-over and save the recording, it is time to do the recording itself by hiring a voice actor and booking a
recording studio. If you know of a good quiet place, you can also do the recording there with a high-quality microphone and an audio recorder.
But some recording studios have an advantage as they will be high-tech enough to allow the voice actor to see the video while recording. This means the editor and director can sync the video and audio in real-time. These recording studios are more expensive, but they will do a faster and better job.
5. Work on the final mix
Once the recording is done and synced the voice-over audio track with the video, it is time to work on the final mix.
This is the phase where you adjust the sound levels of the soundtracks used in the video. This involves the voice-overs and other soundtracks like actor's dialogue, background music, and special sound effects.
6. Finish your video
Once the audio is done, you can now work on the title screens, end credits, and subtitles. This task is the last step in making your video with voice-overs.
How to record a voice-over by yourself?
If you are a one-man team, do not worry. You can record a voice-over all by yourself.
You do not need to know
how to do movie voice
to be a voice actor! You may feel awkward hearing your voice on record for the first time, but people have been hearing that voice from you all your life.
It’s not a big deal! Once you accept your voice and find the confidence, you can do the voice-over for your video yourself.
1. Find a quiet place
You should look for a place that is quiet, meaning no distracting noises and no interruptions. Microphones can easily pick up any background noise-even the faintest ones.
2. Use an external microphone
Do not rely on the microphones of your computer or smartphone. An external microphone will always work better.
You should also consider using a pop filter. It is a cheap solution to help minimize any distracting sounds and helps with the pronunciation of hard consonants like the letters "b" and "p."
Also, you should be mindful of where you place your mic. It should not be too close to you since it will capture many air puffs and mouth noises. The mic should be about 6 to 8 inches away from your mouth, in a position below your chin.
3. Set your volume levels
Although you can adjust your volume levels while editing your audio, it saves a lot of time to deal with it while you are recording.
If you are using audio recording software, they usually have indicators to let you know if your audio is too loud or soft.
4. Do a test recording
Before you do a final version, do a test recording first. This will ensure that all your equipment is working fine and that your mic is not picking up any distracting noises.
You do not have to do the entire script on your test recording. A few paragraphs will be enough to test if you will be able to produce clear audio.
5. Check your test recording
The best way to check your test recording's audio quality is to listen to it through headphones.
Headphones allow you to listen clearly to the audio track-it can help you hear background noses better than computer speakers.
6. Make adjustments
If you find something wrong with your test recording, make the necessary adjustments.
You might want to change the placement of your mic or transfer to a more quiet room.
Do another test recording to make sure you improved the situation and get a better audio track.
7. Do the final voice-over
Once everything is better, you are now free to do the final version of your voice-over.
If you make a mistake, just pause and then go back to a sentence or two. You can cut off the error later when you are editing the video.
Remember to speak your words clearly. Make sure to enunciate every word but do not focus so much on it that you sound fake or robotic.
If you find that you are struggling with your script. Take a break and see if you can rewrite it.
8. Edit the audio
Once you have your final voice-over, the next step is to edit it. Even if you did not make any mistakes, check if there are dead spaces you need to trim.
9. Sync your audio and video
Once you are done with your audio, you can now sync it with your video footage. Make sure that the timing of your audio goes perfectly with the video and make the necessary adjustments when combining with other audio tracks of the video like background music, sound effects, or dialogue.
For instance, in behind the music voice over, you should make sure that the voice-over can be heard clearly despite the music in the background.
10. Finalize your video
Now that you are done, you can work on the finishing like captions, subtitles, and end credits.
Last thoughts
You can do a voice over for any type of video. Voice-overs are an essential element that could make your video better.
Adding voice-overs to your videos can help you bond better with your viewers and get your message across! It is a very simple way to engage with viewers and turn them into customers.
Now that you know what is voice over, their value, and how they work, you can easily use them to your advantage.
A s you can see, you do not need a professional setup to add voice-overs to your video, but working with a
production team has its benefits too.
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