Making a voice-over for an animation might seem like hard work. But we’re here to make it easier. Read on to learn how to do voice-overs for animated videos.
Doing a good voiceover for an animated video, commercial, or video game sounds a bit complicated, but it doesn’t really need to be. The first thing you need to do is lay out your options and consider your needs, budget, and preferences, which are generally the things you need to consider when undertaking any important project. But what are your options, and how do you know which option to go for? Well, that’s what we will go over today.
Three options to choose from
As we’ve already mentioned, there are options to consider when deciding on your ideal pick for your animated video voice-over. To be more specific, there are three different options that you can choose from. You can do the voice-over yourself or hire a professional talent, or you can, perhaps, use text to speech software.
Now, each of these options comes with its own pros and cons. But what are they? And how can they make or break your project planning? Let’s discuss it.
If you’re looking for quality and don’t have budget limitations, professional voice talents are the way to go. Aside from budget limitations, the only downside to this is time sensitivity. Voice actors might take a little more time to be able to produce the voiceover recording for your project.
If you can’t afford to hire professional voice-over artists, you can always do the voiceover yourself. That usually saves us a lot of money, but it will be very time-consuming. Also, it also isn’t for everyone. Some people aren’t interested in dubbing their own projects, and some simply aren’t very good at it.
Luckily, that’s where the third option comes in place. Getting an AI voice generator to do the voice-acting for you is a good alternative since it saves both time and money. Now, an AI voice won’t be the same as a high-quality voice-over done by a professional. However, many TTS software comes with a vast array of voices to choose from, and they’re often very natural-sounding. In other words, they might be a perfect choice if you’re trying to save both time and money.
Use a text to speech (TTS) software
A text-to-speech software allows you to convert various text templates into audio files. Many of these TTS services have a vast collection of voices you can choose from, complete with demo reels you can listen to and review for free. Thanks to e-learning, text-to-speech technologies are constantly improving, which also brings along a significant improvement in AI voice quality.
Using AI-generated voices for video projects or indie animated films is an excellent choice for a beginner video maker and can be a viable alternative for professionals looking to save money. Plus, it can be great for storyboard artists trying to pitch ideas and who want to bring some life to their projects.
Hire a professional voice artist
Hiring a professional voice actor is obviously the best option since it brings along an irreplaceable quality factor, especially if you’re arranging a high-budget project.
However, if a project is time-sensitive, this may become a problem. Holding castings and looking for a specific type of voice may be time-consuming since it may take weeks or even months to find the perfect voice for your animated project.
Create a voice over yourself
Certain situations simply require you to rely only on yourself, which can be great. However, it can also be very tiring, not to mention time-consuming. Trying to dub an entire video by yourself can be stressful, and it also requires a lot of skill and patience. But it is often a good option if you’re at least somewhat skilled at voice acting and if the animation script isn’t too extensive.
Text to speech
If you opt to utilize TTS technologies to make voice-overs for your videos, you’re in luck. There are plenty of options to choose from, as well as a rich collection of voices, which guarantees that you’ll be able to find the right voice for your animated video in no time.
Speechify
Speechify is probably the best TTS service you can use for your voiceover needs. Its collection of voices and languages is extensive and will provide you with the perfect voice for your video production without you having to worry about pricing problems. Speechify is extremely affordable, too, and can fit right in your pocket because the app is available for Android and iOS (plus, there’s also a Chrome extension).
Speechify also allows you to turn all templates of text files into audio recordings, including Google docs, articles, emails, PDFs, and even scan actual hard-copy documents. Plus, if anything gets confusing, the Speechify website has an educational and informative tutorial that can help you in figuring things out.
Hiring out
If you decide to hire professionals for your video project, be it a tv show, a video game, an animated explainer video, a youtube channel video, or a social media project, there are easy ways to contact the aforementioned voice-over artists.
Blend
Blend Voice allows you to easily contact professional voice actors from all around the world. With just a few clicks, you can choose to listen to demos of any of the thousand voice artists available on the platform.
Many of these voice actors have professional experience in different areas of voice-over work, such as voicing characters in video games, tv shows, commercials, etc. Blend Voice is also multilingual-friendly and simple to use.
Creating your own
Sometimes, the only person you can really depend on is yourself! But you don’t have to do it all completely alone. There are still tools you can help yourself with if you’re planning to use your voice-over.
Biteable
As we’ve mentioned, you’re not alone in this because Biteable is there to help. Biteable can help you create your own videos, and it is specifically tailored for making animated explainer videos.
However, it can be extremely viable for other purposes as well. But since it comes with a free trial, you can check it out yourself. It’s very simple to use and is actually used by many notable companies, such as Google, Disney, Amazon, Linkedin, and more.
FAQ
How do you get into doing voices for cartoons?
There are several factors that can influence someone’s potential to become a professional voice actor. A popular misconception is that you need to take acting classes. Sure, they can come in handy. But they aren’t a necessity. Just like with everything else, practice is key. Listening to professionals and trying to emulate aspects of their performance can help you improve your own voice-acting skills. Once you feel more secure in your skills, you should try recording a demo and applying for auditions. Persistence can take you far.
How do you animate voiceover on TikTok?
You can make your TikTok voiceover by using TTS tools, or you can record it yourself and then edit it accordingly.
What are some hints for voiceover?
If you need tips in order to improve your voice-over skills. Here are some:
- Put your mic in the correct position.
- Try using a music stand.
- Use a pop filter.
- Make sure the background noise isn’t distracting or damaging to the voiceover quality.
- Try using sound effects.
- Pre-read your script.
- Make sure to follow your script.
- Warm up your voice.
- Keep your mouth hydrated.
