The ultimate guide to voiceovers

Voiceovers (and voiceover apps) have become all the rage among content creators, especially those working on video essays, documentaries, and review videos. However, voiceovers are not just a ploy to help attract more subscribers with fancy voice acting and sound effects—they serve a pragmatic purpose, too, helping those in a pinch get a lot of work done in a short time without having to resort to recording studios and professional voiceovers. Let’s see what voiceovers actually are and how they work, as well as how to find the perfect voiceover solution.

What is a voiceover, and what does it entail?

As you can probably guess, and judging by the very word, voiceovers are a kind of dubbing. Unlike traditional dubbing, which basically boils down to translating the original audio in a video into another language, voiceovers are original recordings used to merely narrate or explain a piece of content. In other words, you won’t see any actors on the screen, and you won’t hear those original voices underlying the new voiceover audio. Instead, you will use voiceover work to provide additional information about what they are watching or interacting with.

How to find the right voiceover artist for your project or business?

Finding the right kind of voice actor can be tough. Really tough. Depending on the type of content you’re creating, there might be a time when you’ll need not only top-of-the-line voiceover talent working on your project but also a professional recording studio. Not to mention, that budget might become a problem should your workload grow out of proportion. Of course, you can always look around on freelance sites such as Fiverr or post ads locally since there’s always someone looking for gigs. Most importantly, though, take care you check out your potential employees’ portfolios to see whether they’re legit. Naturally, try to be as perspicuous with what you want as well. That is, be specific with what kind of accent you want, what kind of role it is that they are supposed to play, etc. If you can’t find anyone who fits the profile, or you can’t afford voiceover actors, you can always turn to text to speech (TTS) tools. Speechify, for example, can help you create custom-made, natural-sounding voices and use them to narrate your scripts. What’s more, apps like Speechify support dozens of languages and language variants, so you can easily come up with just the best voice for your project.

Most common voiceover genres and styles

If you’ve got a script ready to go, you probably have some idea of what kind of voiceover styles and genres there are. If you’re still figuring things out, we’ve got a handful of suggestions that might come in handy:

Commercial

While not the most creative of things, advertising is important, especially online. If you’re looking to pitch something or sell an idea, it’s wise to have a good ad posted on social media and video-sharing platforms. Needless to say, a professional voiceover can dramatically increase the quality of your sales pitch.

E-learning

Now, e-learning is where your creativity can truly shine, especially if you’re a teacher running out of ideas for the classroom. For example, you can use voice cloning and voiceovers to create new lectures and have your students learn directly from some of the more famous historical figures.

Gaming

Indie game developers know how hard it is to find a good voice artist who can bring their vision to life. Fortunately, with TTS tools like Speechify and a few recording sessions, you can create your own digital home studio and transform your project into something otherworldly.

Documentaries

Documentaries are probably what most people think of first when they hear the word voiceover. Just recall those old documentary movies on nature, space, and dinosaurs. They all had some kind of voiceover explaining everything on the screen, often even telling a story. If you’re making similar content (even if it’s some kind of simple explainer video), you won’t go wrong with a high-quality voiceover recording.

What to consider when budgeting for a voiceover project or service

We’ve already mentioned budget being a potential problem, but we ought to expand upon it a bit before moving on. Namely, professional voice actors can cost a lot. Even a few lines can cost you a fortune if you’ve got your eyes set on a real pro. If this is your first time dabbling in voiceovers, it is much better to try some voiceover demos or go for a TTS tool with voiceover options to see how it all works, especially if you’re working on something simple. Take Speechify, for example. It comes in both free and premium options, so you can play around with dubbing and voiceovers for a small fee and save your money for other projects!

How to ensure that the finished product meets your expectations and needs

Further, when you are working with applications such as Speechify and Audacity to do your voice work (maybe even in your own voice), you have total control of everything. You can reduce background noise just the way you want it, choose the exact type of voice that you like, save those audio files for later use, etc. What’s more, you won’t have to spend a lot of time learning the ropes. Speechify comes with tons of tutorials, so there’s no way you can get lost in all the adjustable settings. All you’ll need is some kind of USB microphone, some patience, and a bit of creativity, and you’ll give those big production companies a run for their money.

FAQ

How do you master voice over?

Just like everything else, voiceovers require time to master. With a lot of practice, you’ll become a force to be reckoned with. You can also become a voice over master with the help of Speechify.

What is the best way to learn voice over?

The best way to learn voiceover techniques is to experiment. Practice whenever you can, and don’t be afraid to think outside the box when working on new projects. When in doubt, you can always use a text to speech tool like Speechify to create your natural-sounding voice overs.

How do you know when you are good at voice overs?

The answer here is that it is subjective. However, you can say you are good at voiceovers when you become satisfied with your content and reach your goals.