photo credit: re_birf

How do you write good copy for voice over?

Writing for the spoken word can be dramatically different than composing a piece that is meant to be read.  Take a magazine article or newspaper and read it out loud and you will quickly see what I mean.  You have to think about the context, the target audience, the speaker’s point of view… and on and on.  A lot goes into good VO copy.

I referenced good copy in my article “How to Hire A Voice Over” to some extent with the intention of addressing copy later in a separate post.  Digital Newsgathering has beaten me to the punch with a great  piece called “Say What? Best Practices for Writing Voice Over Copy” that you should read before sending that script off for the VO.

Its all good stuff but pay particular attention to the section on timing.  It can be very hard to condense your message into 30 seconds and keep the pacing at a good speed but it’s critcal to having a great voiceover read.

It is also good practice to read your script out loud after you have written it.  You’ll find things that may seem clear on paper but don’t translate well in speech.  We also tend to write rather formally and your VO may call for a more informal approach.  For example I might write  “We are all going to the store”.  However you might not say we are in casual conversation, you might say we’re.  It’s those little details that can really bring out the character and enhance your message in great copy.

In addition to being a professional voice actor Brian Hart also offers copywriting consults and services.

Multi Track Mix in Adobe Audition 3.0

Panning

Let’s be technical for a bit – and I’m going to use tech terms and jargon in this posting so be prepared if you’re new to the production game.  This post is for all you creative services directors, production directors – whatever it is you call yourselves in radio these days.  Me?  I prefer prod guy (or girl) or if I’m feeling particularly cocky: prod guru.  Yesterday I was working on a piece with a very high production value.  Lots of compression, reverb, EQ, various whooshes, stutters and gizmos.  You get the idea.  I decided to spice it up a bit more with some creative panning and that’s when I broke one of Hart’s rules:

Hart’s Rule #214

“Never pan a track more than 30% out of center”

I was playing with a plugin I’ve got that has some pretty neat panning effects and it sounded great in the studio.  Just awesome.  So I finished the piece up and ftp’d it on out into the ether.  On my way to pick up my son at daycare I decided to listen to it on my iphone because; boy I just really nailed that one.  Hmm, where’s that cool panning effect?  Yeah, couldn’t hear it at all.  I plugged the phone into the truck’s sound system.  Still couldn’t hear it.  That portion of the VO had vanished faster than  Bernie Madoff’s golf buddies.  That  reminds me of another of Hart’s rules:

Hart’s Rule #3

“Listen to your mixes outside of the studio”

But that’s a topic for another post.  Back to panning.  When you are playing with stereo effects in your mixes it’s generally a good idea to mix for mono compatible stereo.  Don’t pan a track more than 30% out of center.  Your vocal track or effect or whatever it is will stay nicely in the mix if you have to convert to mono at some point in the future.   And there are reasons you might.  If you happen to have an AM stick in your cluster you know what I’m talking about.  Sure some AM setups will handle a stereo file but what if the sum gets reversed somewhere?  Engineers do make mistakes occasionally despite what they may tell you. That beautiful commercial or promo you produced either sounds like crap or is unintelligible over the air.

Believe it or not a small percentage of your audience still listens to your FM in mono too so a mono compatible mix keeps them happy as well.  For that matter I know quite a few FM talkers that broadcast in FM mono to help out the signal footprint.

Mono files work best for phone systems and some internet applications too if you plan on playing the station or a set of promos through your phone system for example.  So it’s generally a good idea to keep your panning at a reasonable level.

Like most rules this one IS meant to be broken:  There’s a PSA about driving out right now where the VO only speaks in the right channel for a bit.  It’s cute, it’s clever and memorable, and it emphasizes the point of the PSA very well.

I’ve heard some killer imaging where the stereo field is wider than Kevin Smith’s butt.  And there are times when I too follow the sage words: Go Big or Go Home.  Just make sure you know the final destination of your mix and that it doesn’t need to be mono compatible for sure before you break that 30% threshold.

Now the savvy among you are saying, “But wait, Brian you played your mix in stereo devices so it shouldn’t have mattered.”  Right.  It shouldn’t have but it did. So I investigated today.  The new plugin I was playing with sounded great in the multi track mode but after I ran the mixdown through a multiband compressor with the brickwall limiter set it royally screwed it all up.  Yet another lesson – pay attention to how your plugins interact with each other.

So there you have it.  Hart’s rule #214

Agree?  Disagree?  Leave a comment below.

-Brian Hart is a prod guy guru and voiceover  actor.

photo by loop_oh

My wife was looking at my website and noticed all the links I have to other voice actors and she asked me “Aren’t you promoting the competition?”  Excellent question.

I suppose that is one way of looking at it, that yes I am promoting the competition but I think that’s a little too simplistic and here’s why: 

The Competition

Most of the time I don’t really think of other voice actors as competition.  They are colleagues and some are true friends.  There are some voiceover artists I admire greatly and some I am very thankful they take the time to mentor me.  Others are not as far along the professional curve as I am and I try to take the time to help them when they ask.  So no, in my mind they are not competition.

Many Styles

As a professional I want you to have the perfect voice over.  Hopefully I can provide that to you but if my voice isn’t the one you need for your current project that’s okay.  There are certain styles of VO I excel at and get paid well to do.  Other voiceover actors have styles that they perform better than I.  In that sense we are not competing at all since we bring different things to the table.  I want your project to be a success.  If I can be a part of that success that is fantastic but if another voice is better suited, that’s cool.  Hopefully you will keep me in mind for your next project.

Promoting The Industry

photo by Brian Hart

When I promote another voice actor by adding a link to my site or posting about them I’m not necessarily promoting the competition, I’m promoting the voice over industry as a whole.  When a movie theater puts up several posters of different films on their wall are they competing against themselves?  No, because regardless of what movie you select the theater profits.  When you hire a voice actor the entire industry profits.  So again, while I hope I am right for your project and can work with you on it, I’m very happy to see my friends and colleagues in the industry getting work and gaining exposure too.

Now you know why I feel it is okay to provide links to other sites on my blog.  But I pose the question to you: Am I promoting the competition?

I’m going to see my accountant this afternoon to get my taxes done. So, for those of you who’ve never filed your taxes as a performance artist, let’s cover the basics… (click the sentence for the rest of Tom’s post)

Check it out.

I have done my best to explain the process as concisely as possible but the article does have a good amount of meat in it.

If you find the online version hard to read you may download the PDF version instead:

How to Hire a Voice Over by Brian Hart

Please  leave a comment if you find “How to Hire a Voice Over” helpful,  if you find that I need to clarify or correct any information, or  if you have your own thoughts on the process you would like to add.

The article begins after the jump:

How to Hire a Voice Over

By Brian Hart 02/18/2010

Finding the right voiceover can be a daunting task.  You may feel that it would better to enlist professional help and hire a marketing firm or talent agency when searching for voice talent.  There are also times when you may want to manage a talent search on your own.  In either case, by following these simple steps as you begin your search for that perfect VO will make the process much more efficient, increase the effectiveness of your project and contribute to its overall success.

Assess Your Needs

It is important to assess your needs at the beginning of your project.  The first step is to define exactly why you need a voice over.  Perhaps you are integrating an automated interactive voice response system, also known as IVR, into your company’s automated phone system. As part of your marketing strategy you might be crafting a radio or television commercial. You might be searching for a voice over for a business presentation, a video introduction to your website, or a narration for an audio book.   Depending on your project it is possible you can do the voice over in house and may not need to hire a professional VO talent.   If that is your decision the process ends here.

But you may decide that a professional voice actor would better serve your project.  “The key to obtaining a successful voice over, regardless of application, is hiring the right voice over professional to record your message… in other words, finding the person whose voice and interpretation of your script best aligns with your brand,” says Stephanie Ciccarelli, Chief Marketing Officer and co-founder of Voices.com.   “Remember, the talent chosen for this project will represent you and your company and may serve as the first impression prospective customers receive of who you are and what you stand for.” A professional voice talent can bring credibility to your project and engage your audience.  Ciccarelli continues, “Their voice and artistic interpretation will also need to resonate with how current customers presently perceive your brand.  The human voice is one of the most persuasive tools known to mankind for expressing messages because the voice, when used properly and effectively, can evoke emotional responses in a deeper, more personal and primal way than any other form of communication. “

Choosing the proper voice for your message is critical but how do you determine what type of voice best represents you?

Brian Hart is the owner of Hart Voice Overs.  Brian has been recording voiceovers for broadcast and multimedia applications for over 17 years.  In addition Brian offers post production and copywriting services.

Brian has worked at a variety of radio stations since 1992.  Brian started out as a part time disc jockey on a radio station in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and quickly moved up to full time work as employers recognized his work ethic and natural talent.  Over the course of his broadcasting career Brian has worked as program director, operations manager, and production director at a variety of radio stations and broadcast groups from Alabama to North Carolina.

In 2004 Brian started Brian Hart Productions with an emphasis on producing radio station imaging for small to medium sized markets.  As Brian Hart Productions grew, Brian realized there was a growing need for voice over services in a wide range of areas outside of the broadcast industry.  Brian has built Hart Voice Overs with that in mind, serving a wider base of clients and delivering a broader range of voiceover demands.

Now Brian works full time as a Voice Over actor and audio producer from his home in beautiful Foley, Alabama on the Gulf Coast.  When asked why he chose to live in Foley Brian replied, “Because I am lucky enough that I can.  I’m 15 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico and within shouting distance of some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  Thanks to the internet I can work for clients worldwide while still enjoying southern hospitality and small town life.”

Brian Hart is also an amateur photographer and you’ll find many of his photos sprinkled throughout Hart Voice Overs.  Brian,  his wife Amy and their son J.D. like to go sailing and beach bumming in their spare time.

Contact Brian Hart today to discuss your specific project.