Creating a tv commercial remotely

Del Monte is currently on air with their first product-focused TV commercial in more than 30 years, and I’m thrilled to be the voiceover.

Being a woman of a certain vintage, Del Monte fruit cocktail with its bright red cherries was a mainstay of my childhood, and who doesn’t love a tin of pineapple rings for making an upside-down cake?

Recording television commercials from home is commonplace these days but it takes a great team to make it run smoothly. Aside from getting a nasty case of the giggles at the sheer joy of working with such a nostalgic brand, the voiceover recording session was a doddle.

“We are absolutely thrilled with this new TV advert”. 

Martin Tilney, senior commercial director, Del Monte UK.

How we did it

Legendary British voiceover service provider https://www.voiceovers.co.uk booked and ran the session from Plymouth. We connected via CleanFeed to provide their engineer with excellent quality audio for editing on the fly, and the clients dialed in via Teams and phone.

The clients had selected me for the job based on the samples on my commercial demo and they had a clear idea of what they wanted from me. That just left the technicalities of fitting each script to the time available and ensuring that they all had the same tone, style, and pace.

Scripts will often be adjusted during a session and I use an iPad and Apple pencil to allow me to mark up scripts, and re-write sections where needed. My studio is paper-free, cutting down on waste and any unnecessary noise too!

I always record a high-quality audio backup in my studio which I can send immediately after the session. This ensures that those rare digital blips or glitches that could ruin a live take, will never compromise the finished voiceover audio.

The finished commercial

Benefits of a remote home studio

I don’t currently have a webcam in my studio and I’ll admit I really love the anonymity and the freedom to throw myself around with zero judgement. I’m curious to know if it’s something you would appreciate. Other than shaking hands, it’s probably the only thing we can’t replicate compared to an in-person session. That, and you have to get your own snacks!

Sessions can be arranged quickly and flexibly. If you have a last-minute panic, I can almost always accommodate you. There’s no travel time, and with fibre-to-the-studio, even freak weather is unlikely to disrupt things.

Things have certainly moved on since the man from Del Monte said yes, but the cherries remain, and I’m here for that!