The horizon of voice acting has changed over the years. Voice actors no longer have to go to professional studios to get their voices recorded as many of them have studios at home. If the mindset of the director isn’t communicated clearly to the voice actor, there will be delays and the cost of the project can go up. Here are 5 basic tips directors can use when they are directing voice actors online.
1. Describe the purpose of the project
The first and most important step when directing voice actors online is to give them the purpose of your project. They need to know details such as the theme, the mood, and the tone that is required for the project. Also, give them details on about the audience you are targeting. This way, the voice actor will be prepared and they will be able to perform better.
2. Share additional materials
Share all additional elements that are associated with the project such as illustration, animation, and filming. It will help the voice actor to get into character and create a voice that suits your project. If you want to keep these elements private, you can always ask your voice actor to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
3. Provide pronunciations for difficult words and numbers
The voice actors you hire won’t know if they should pronounce 2020 as ‘two thousand and twenty’ or ‘twenty-twenty’. Think along the same lines when there are certain words that are difficult to pronounce such as colonel, choir, sixth, karaoke, and Audi to name a few. Always spell out the difficult words and numbers next to them.
4. Give descriptions when necessary
It’s necessary for your voice actor to have as many descriptions as possible so that they can understand the scenario for certain dialogues and get into character. Provide clear and concise directions and descriptions so that the flow of the read doesn’t get disrupted. It will become easier for the voice actor to connect with the script.
5. Furnish specific examples
If you tell your voice actor to sound like a certain character, there is a possibility that they may not know who that character might be. Rather than causing confusion during the time of production, it is better to provide samples of voices that you like. It will give them a general direction on how their voice should sound during the project.
Following these 5 simple tips will work wonders when you are directing voice actors online. The whole process will become easier, improve communication and everyone involved in the project will enjoy the production.
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 at roberta@robertakennedy.com. You can even give her a call on (408) 313-7202.