Voice over services have now become one of the most essential elements in digital marketing with companies allocating substantial amounts of their marketing budget towards creating videos and adding voice over services to reach out to their target audience in their native languages. Companies like Netflix, Amazon, Disney and many other online video sharing platforms and production companies rely heavily on voice over services.
Traditionally, companies providing voice over services would book voice over artists and a studio to record voice over for their clients however during the pandemic, the landscape totally changed within the industry. With limited access to any professional studios, voice over artists started setting up their own in-house studios to cater growing requirements of their clients. Whether a voice over artist is working in a professional studio or in a home-based studio, it is essential that the voice over quality is kept to the highest standard at all times.
Before we jump into the specifics of the voice over services and the importance of the audio quality, it is necessary to know what is voice over and why do companies require these services.
Introduction to voice over recordings
Voice over recordings which are often referred as voice over is a process in which a person is speaking but not seen in the video – often describing, highlighting or providing additional context to the viewers. As a common practice, voice over is read from a script by a voice over artist and the audio is then synced into the video. The main purpose of voice over is to maximize the impact of the video campaigns by adding personality to any given message.
In today’s world, voice over services are often used in various different formats such as product commercials, documentaries, movies etc. Voice over artists are known to have a good speaking voice, ability to read the script in a fluent yet creative manner by adding required emotions to the voice.
Although there is no formal education required to become a voice over artist, this job still requires a lot of practice and enthusiasm in order to deliver exactly what is required. The most essential element in voice over is the recording of the voice over which needs to be carried out in a professional studio in order to produce the best output on any given project.
Factors impacting voice over quality
Environment plays a key role when providing voice over services which is the reason why recording voice overs in a professional studio is the basic principle to be followed by any voice over artist.
Professional studios are designed to record voice overs without any distractions. Moreover, they are equipped with advanced recording equipment such as microphones that often help produce decent audio quality. Without a proper recording studio, it is highly likely that the overall quality of the audio might not be as good as it is required to be.
Equipments such as headphones, microphones and recording software are also commonly used by professional voice over companies to fine tune and improve the audio quality of a recording. Without the above-mentioned elements, it is likely that the voice over quality would be impacted.
How clear and distinct should the voice recording be in an ideal situation?
Providing voice over services is an art and requires regular practice to ensure that the delivery of the script is relayed in a perfect manner with the right style and tone of voice. Voice over artists have to make sure that they are using the right equipment, audio splitter and recorder. They also have to place the microphone carefully and speak loud and clear. As a standard, the ideal audio level is between -10db to -20db.
How can we ensure the voice over recordings are of high quality?
Voice over requires constant practice and the voice over artists have to go over the script multiple times to make sure that the delivery meets the given requirements. Below are some of the commonly practiced tips for achieving decent quality when recording voice overs.
- Using reliable equipment when recording
- Make sure there is no noise during recording sessions
- Practice reading the script to improve overall delivery
- Control breath sounds
- Place the microphone at a right place
To conclude, voice over services will certainly be something that will be used frequently in years to come therefore it is crucial that companies providing these services ensure that the recording standards are frequently achieved in order to produce high quality deliverables to their clients.
Please feel free to contact us so that we can help you communicate with the better voice-over recording quality and become your brand’s most valuable asset for both internal content and external marketing.