As a voice-over artist, whether you are just starting or experienced, you do not want to be taken for granted or labelled as unprofessional or any of other such labels. It’s a constant worry of being considered an amateur due to some technicalities like producing poor sound quality in voice-overs. Since recording in a professional voice-over studio is a bit pricy but at the same time setting up a home studio is also not cheap. Well, producing an excellent quality voice-over asks for effort but the results are definitely worth the effort because good quality voice-overs connect the audience with the video or the content. Voice-overs in any context are meant to grab the audiences’ attention, engage them, and deliver the intended message effectively. Voyzapp here has compiled for you the following often happening mistakes that a voice artist must be aware of and try to avoid for flawless voice-over recordings. To avoid the mistakes that degrade the quality of your voice-overs, let’s get to know them better –
Unfitting Equipment –
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You must have seen gasped over all the fancy equipment and basic requirement for basic voice-over that a professional recording studio has like a proper microphone set up in a room covered with sound-absorbing materials and separated from other parts of the studio the automated computerized workstations, etc. Well, the reasons for studios making such investments are to ensure a high-quality voice recording. A survey recently conducted states that more than 30% of people stopped watching a video due to poor audio quality or bad resolution, as poor quality is an indication of unprofessionalism. So, to overcome the quality issue you need –
- A professional microphone, need not be costly or fancy.
- Always use pop filters to have a clear sound of p’s, b’s & t’s.
- Record in a silent space away from doors and windows.
- A good editing software
Wrong Tone –
There is a tone for every read, you cannot just around in a jumpy cheerful voice and deliver bad news or deliver something serious. Similarly, a monotonous E-learning video voice-over work like sleeping pills or the animated voices delivering medical information will have no credibility. Therefore, a voice artist must know or figure out the correct tone for every read. Determining the type of video is primary for this. After that you need to decipher the tone accordingly, (Funny or Serious, Formal or Casual, Enthusiastic or Calm, Respectful or arrogant or sarcastic) like which tone or combination will suit your purpose best.
Losing Timing –
We all know it gets confusing when the written texts display something and the voice-over says something else. Often time it leads to a viewer switching to other or losing interest in the video. Matching the scenes and voice-over and fitting in the time frame is crucial. The best way to tackle this problem is to create a timeline, write down the time frame and the dialogues or the sentences you have to read at different points on the timeline.
Wrong Delivery Pace –
Imagine an advertisement voice-over with a pace that zooms out, nobody will understand a thing that was said, or if someone delivers a monotone and slow read it puts the audience off to sleep or lose interest and make the video appear boring. Therefore, finding out the correct pace is vital for the effectiveness of the voice-over. To find out the mean pace for the delivery, just use the formula – Total words/Total time. It will give you a mean speed with which you have to deliver the read. However, first understanding the topic and the script is important, as there will be instances where you have to either pace up like for depicting passion, indicating urgency, or excitement, or slow down while displaying sadness, confusion, or importance. This is all about practising the read as much as you can to understand better the idea and emotions behind the words.
Saving in Wrong Format –
So, you recorded a high-quality voice-over but not saving the recordings in proper format could lead to tampering with the quality. Although the extensions and conversions can be confusing for not so familiar but it is vital for the quality’s sake. The most commonly used saving formats are – .wav (WAV), .aif (AIFF), .mp3 (MP3), .flac (FLAC).
In addition to these, a few mistakes also happen in the script that leads to voice-overs being not so effective like the use of non-conversational languages or contradictory script, etc. Professional voice-over actors always make sure that the script aligns with the emotions and the idea for which the voice-over and video are made. Avoiding these mistakes is crucial for impeccable voice-overs. Consistently adhering to best practices, you can master the craft and establish yourself as a seasoned professional. One of the best things about professionals in any field is that they put a lot of effort into preparations and these efforts are what improve their work and set them apart. So, always prepare with dedication and then deliver with professionalism.
