Top Ten Tips… for a smooth voiceover recording session

smooth voiceover recording session with Natalie Cooper British voice over actor

 You want a smooth voiceover recording session. But you’ve never worked with a voiceover before.

Here are my Top 10 Tips for saving time and money, and ensuring you a smooth voiceover recording session that gives you great results.

Cue the music…

  1. Let’s start with the script. Have you read it OUT LOUD? Can you read it naturally or are the sentences overly long? Writing for spoken word is very different to writing for reading. Check for typos. Simplify. Use natural patterns. Try to avoid making the voiceover swear or cry. (Hmm, that’s a quite a few tips already!)
  2. Provide pronunciations for any unusual words or brand names. If you won’t be sitting in on the session, a quick recording on your phone sent as a voice message can be really helpful.
  3. Do you know what style, pace or tone you want? Is there a sample on your chosen voiceover’s demo that demonstrates what you need? Let them know, and they can nail it for you much more quickly.
  4. Do you have a set time the voiceover needs to run to? It’s amazing how what you think is 30″ worth of words easily runs to 45″ when there is some inflections, pauses and emotion thrown in.
  5. If you’re working with a video, showing it to your voiceover will help enormously. Most of us are set up to voice to picture, it’s worth asking.
  6. No video? But you have a storyboard? Great. All these things provide clues as to how the finished voiceover might sound in your head. Send it over!
  7. In a live session, and personally, I love to work with you, the client, on the line, don’t be scared to ask for a different take. Let’s get this right.
  8. Again, in a live situation, that sentence isn’t really working for you? Let’s change it. Tell me what you need.
  9. Please dial in on time. Just like you, we’re busy people and sessions get booked throughout the day.
  10. And please be courteous as we will to you. We do this every day and we want you to have a great result. A live session in particular, is a collaboration. Let’s be fabulous together and make sure you have a smooth voiceover recording session.

 And here’s how not to do it…

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/0bYY8m1Lb2I”]https://youtu.be/EtBABTUKJPE[/su_youtube]

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