What You Should Know About Voice Over Work
Voice overs are quickly becoming one of the most important elements of any marketing strategy and advertising campaign, and are a valuable way to persuade your target market consistently, and effectively. By adding a human element to your marketing messages, you can encourage people to pay attention, boost sales, and most importantly, create a positive brand connection with all customers.
If you’re considering adding a voice over element to your business’s marketing plan, here are some of the key industry terms, definitions, and terminology you’ll come across:
Audition Tapes: Prospective voice actors and actresses will submit their audition tapes as they apply for the job. In addition to allowing you to judge the abilities of each actor, these tapes also can be kept on hand to help you keep track of the numerous applicants you will be interviewing.
Demo Tapes: As part of the interview process, you will want applicants to, in addition to submitting an audition tape, complete a demo tape recording of a sample script that you have picked out. If you choose the right sample script, these demo tapes can be a great help in picking the right actor or actress for the job.
Recording Studio: In order to obtain a demo tape, audition tape, or other vocal performance, you’ll need a studio in which to records. If your voice actor or actress has a recording studio setup in his or her, you may be able to save on renting a space for your project.
ISDN: ISDN recordings, which have greater clarity than recordings produced by the average recording studio, are generally used by professional voice actors and actresses.
Commercial Voice Overs: Intended to push a service or product, commercial voice over scripts take a direct sales approach. With the right actor or actress, a commercial voice over can make your campaign much more effective and memorable.
Narrative Voice Overs: These often accompany a film, video, or story and are scripted to entertain and inform, rather than sell. However, you may require a narrative voice for a portion of a commercial or sales segment.
Impressions: These are the types of voice overs that impersonate a famous person, celebrity, or imitate an historically famous personality. Impressions are a great way to make your message stand apart from the competition, and you can find many royalty-free scripts with this distinguishing feature in mind.
Performers’ Unions: Voice actors and actresses are often part of these professional organizations, which assist them in developing their craft and negotiate market rates. The Screen Artists Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) are the unions you will most frequently encounter in working with voice talent.
Actors: The voice industry is full of actors and actresses with a knack for drama, who entered the field because of its unique nature and potential profitability. The voices provided by professional talent can help give your marketing a human flavor.
No matter what the project is that you are hiring for, you should take an organized approach towards searching for talent. Knowing the lexicon used to discuss voice acting affairs will help you fit in with professionals and find the right fit for your job.
Author Terry Daniel is a Professional Voice Over Actor from Minneapolis, MN and Has Been Providing the Voice Talent for Hundreds of Companies and Agencies Since 1991.
