Why You Shouldn't Use Jim in Accounting to do Your Voiceovers

Jim is great. Jim isn't a voiceover artist though. Sorry Jim.

You’ve spent thousands of dollars getting your advertising message just right, creating an amazing video and targeting the perfect demographic. Now it’s time for the voiceover. It can be tempting to skimp in this area of production. Afterall, it’s just talking right? Seems simple enough. Why not just grab Jim from sales?

Well, we love Jim from sales. He’s great. But he isn’t a voiceover artist.

Here are 3 commonly overlooked advantages that you might not be aware of when it comes to producing a professional voiceover.

Equipment

A professional has access to high-quality condenser microphones, the best acoustic settings and other high-quality gear. This makes the audio smooth, clear and allows it to mix well with your other background audio/visual elements. Microphones that aren’t specifically used for vocal delivery tend to sound tinny, creates a “pop” sound on hard consonants (called a “plosive”) and doesn’t pick up the rich frequencies of the human voice quite as well, leaving the overall sound quality less than professional.

Audio Environment

Acoustic foam is sometimes mistakenly thought of as a way to block outside sound waves from getting into a room. This isn’t true. Acoustic foam is used to significantly lower room echo by absorbing sound waves instead of allowing them to bounce back into the environment. The thicker the foam, the more absorption you get on certain key frequencies. This produces a much more professional, full sound.

Another acoustic foam misconception is to assume that any foam will do just as good of a job as actual acoustic foam. While it’s true that most soft or foamy materials will, by nature, absorb some sound waves, it isn’t designed to impact the frequencies the same way as actual acoustic foam. Put the eggcrate down!

Vocal Delivery and Style

Professionals make a hard job look easy. As a former coach, I can tell you that getting an inexperienced person to sound natural behind the microphone takes months, and sometimes longer. Everyone has their own vocal bad habits that they’re unaware of. This includes regional dialects, over-articulation (common when someone is aware that they are “performing”), not emphasizing the words that are most important to your client, speaking too fast or slow and not being able to deliver the nuances that your client is expecting to hear…just to name a few.

There are so many reasons to hire a professional voiceover artist for any media project. You invested in amazing video and graphics. Finish the project with an amazing voiceover, recorded with high-quality equipment in an acoustically sound environment. Good audio quality makes a difference!

Need a voiceover audition? Have questions? Need a quote for your project? Email me at Michelle@FalzonProductions.com

Thanks for reading!

Michelle Falzon, Voiceover Artist and Audio Producer