There are several factors that determine the success of a voiceover recording. One of those factors happens to be the voiceover script itself. A script that has been well-written makes the recording process so much smoother and the voiceover artist’s task much easier.
However, in actuality, this doesn’t happen as often as one would want it to. Most script writers end up getting a lot of things wrong. Speaking of things that go wrong with a script, punctuation seems to be a major pain point that needs to be addressed.
Punctuation marks are very important in a voiceover script. They help voiceover artists read, phrase, and basically, interpret the content properly. Using the right punctuation marks allows a script to gain structure and present it itself in an organized fashion.
So, if you’re creative director/producer who has been tasked with the duty of overseeing scripts, you might want to learn more about punctuations and their purpose. Here are a few examples of how certain punctuations can impact the quality of the narration.
Period
Period, also referred to as a full stop by the English, is a dot like mark used to indicate the end of a logical sentence or though. The only time it isn’t used is when the sentence is a question or an exclamatory statement. A period tells the reader to pause after the sentence before moving on to another to convey the end of said sentence.
As you might already know, knowing when to pause in a narration is very important and that completely rests on the proper usage of this punctuation mark.
Commas
One of the most important punctuation marks in a script is the comma. Commas, like a period, also indicate the need for a pause. However, they do not indicate the end of a statement or sentence. Rather, they indicate a change of inflection.
In a voiceover narration, this could mean alerting the artist to change the pitch, intonation or modulation of his/her voice. You could say that commas add life to the sentence. For instance, they could indicate a contrast in a statement. For example, Paul tried his best, but he failed. You see what the comma does here. It points out the contrast in Paul’s efforts and his results.
Prioritize Natural Narration
Punctuation marks are definitely important. But, another aspect of voiceover narration that is equally important is rhythm. Your voiceover artist might choose to ignore a punctuation mark to make sense or to add more emotion and depth to the character he/she is voicing.
So, pay attention to punctuation, but, let it not ruin the genuineness of the narration.
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ABOUT ROBERTA –
Roberta is a Professional AND award Winning International Voiceover Actor, as well as an accomplished on-camera actress and spokesperson. She lives in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area and is the owner of Roberta Kennedy Voice Talent and RK Productions, Inc.
She voices for companies around the world using her state of the art, broadcast quality studio. She’s hired for commercials, web demos and explainer videos, product infomercials, documentaries, promo/imaging, political ads, e-learning videos, podcasts, guided real estate tours, telephony/IVR projects, high profile corporate presentations, video games and character animation.
Her voice is described as: playful, contemporary, compelling, commanding, inviting, sultry and smooth. A hip edge with sophistication, bold, warm, interesting and engaging are also commonly used adjectives to describe her voice.
Her home studio is equipped with ipDTL, ISDN and phone patch capability with lightning fast turnaround times! A voiceover talent with over 20 years of voiceover acting experience, she offers a full range of voiceover services at highly competitive rates & will work with your budget to help you promote your business to new levels of excellence!
To request a personal quote or audition and/or to review more of her credits & demos, feel free to visit her website: www.robertakennedy.com – or mail her atroberta@robertakennedy.com. You can even give her a call on (408) 313-7202.