Learn to provide great directions to our voice actors
by Tara Tyler
1. Inspire the crowd
I’ve seen several VoiceBunny projects that state something like, “Please read in a casual voice, not like an announcer.” This is very open to interpretation as “casual” means something different to everyone. Remember when your teacher would say “Show, don’t tell!” when you were learning to write? In this case, audio is worth a thousand words. Provide a link to a YouTube video or another voiceover that you feel demonstrates the style of read you want. Most importantly, explain to our voice actor WHY you like that voice. Is it the perky, bubbly attitude or the laid-back sense of confidence? Try to pinpoint what makes that voiceover resonate with you.
2. Don't leave voice actors in the dark
Just what are you doing with this anyway? You speak very differently in a crowded room than you do a library. Voice actors need to know who they are speaking to and how that audience will be listening. Instructions could be, “This is for e-learning software aimed at children age 4 to 6.” or “This is for a PA announcement at a trade show.”
3. Get voice actors in the mood
Our voice actors don’t just read stuff for money with their amazingly sexy voices, they are actors! Set the scene, give them a little something to work with. For example, the line is “Where is the car?”. An example of instructions could be, “You just walked out of a store with your wife and realize your car is missing. The parking lot is empty. You are not angry, just puzzled.” Or “You are asking a 3 year old child to point to the picture of a car.” Same line, two very different ways of saying it!
This was the read I got when I provided no instruction:
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and here is the read received when I provided these instructions, “You come out of the store and the parking lot is empty. Someone must have stolen your car! You begin to panic and you are confused.”:
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4. Provide pronunciation for tricky words and names
Does everyone pronounce your last name wrong? Chances are the voice actor recording your phone greeting will too. Please, provide some good pronunciation help. For example, “Cape Girardeau is pronounced “Cape Juh-RAW-dough” (yeah, I know I’m butchering the French language but I’m from Southeast Missouri, and, darn it, that’s how we say it!) . Or better yet, record yourself saying it and provide a link to the audio!”
This is the read with no instructions provided:
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The read received when I provided the pronunciation of Girardeau as “juh-RAW-dough”:
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5. Listen objectively and trust the crowd
Yes, you hear it a certain way in your head. Maybe you didn’t think about pausing in that part of the script or emphasizing that word, but listen to it again. Let that little voice in your head take a coffee break and just listen with an open mind…uh, ear. VoiceBunny voice actors are professionals. They have voiced hundreds, perhaps thousands of scripts. They have worked with coaches, directors, taken countless classes, they have studied the art of voiceover and made it a career. The voiceover may not be exactly what you heard in your head, it may be way better.
For fun, I asked the voice actor to read this line in a “normal tone”. This can be interpreted a million different ways. The read is still good:
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But then, I asked that same voice actor to read it like famous radio DJ, Wolfman Jack, and provided a YouTube link so the voice actor could hear what I meant. Now this is more like it!
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I used both the brackets within the script box and special instructions in the “remarks” box to be very descriptive as to what I wanted. I was very happy with the result!
It’s easy to request revisions to your reads because we know it’s necessary sometimes, but revisions cost time and money. Providing great directions will help you get the perfect read right away!
