Discovering the Right Voice
If you’re looking for a voiceover artist, you’ve probably wondered about what the best criteria are for selecting one. So how do you choose the right voiceover artist? With looking for a qualified person in any industry, the first thing that would be worth considering is experience. If you’re working with someone who’s done the job for a long time, you’re more likely to get quality service. Nonetheless, beyond experience, there are many other factors you should consider before hiring a voice artist. Here are some tips on how you can select the right voiceover talent.
1. Know What You Need for Your Project
Before you consider any of the qualifications of the voiceover artists you’re considering, it’s important to know what kind of project you’re looking to get done. Voiceover artists tend to have certain specialties that they specifically offer their services. Some voiceover professionals specialize in acting. They know how to bring characters to life by using their voices well to show emotion and personality. You have other voiceover artists that specialize in announcing.
They tend to work for radio shows, movie trailers, and advertisements. Narration is also a very common specialty. A voiceover talent that specializes in narration can draw audiences in and be authoritative when it comes to telling stories or doing explainer videos. Once you know what kind of project you’re doing, you can narrow down your selection to people who specialize in the type of voiceover work you need done.
2. Determine What Your Audience Wants
It’s helpful to determine what kind of voice the audience you’re targeting will enjoy listening to. It largely depends on who your project is geared towards. Whether the project is targeted to men, women, or children, you want your audience to be able to relate to the voice they hear. An example would be if you’re making an advertisement for a shaving kit for women, they’ll probably be more receptive to hearing a female voice tell them about the product. Another factor you may consider for appealing to your audience is the accent of the voiceover artist.
It’s good to go with a voice that has an accent that’s similar to the regional area of your audience. If it’s a project that will primarily be shared in the south of the United States, then it might be useful to hire someone with an American accent from the south. The age of your audience is another factor worth considering when hiring a voiceover talent. Younger people tend to relate to voices that are upbeat and expressive, while older people tend to relate to voices that are deep and more mature. Determine all the vocal traits you need for your project in order to most appeal to the audience you’re targeting.
3. Review the Voices
After you’ve narrowed down the candidates based on your project and your target audience, then you can begin to review the voices. Listen to a variety of each candidate’s sample voiceovers. It’s good to listen for how each candidate can adapt and be flexible with their voices. Make notes of what you like and dislike about each one. Think about if you can imagine the voice that you’re hearing saying the same words that they would say in your project. If any of them immediately stands out to you above the others, you can feel free to get in touch with that voiceover artist to discuss setting up a recording session.
4. Inquire About Recording
Unless you have a big project that requires a voiceover talent to go to a studio, they’ll likely be recording your project remotely. You should ask the voiceover artists if they can give you the audio in the quality and format that you desire. The demos will usually be indicative of the kind quality that you can expect to get. Nonetheless, it’s good to be assured that you’ll get that same quality, so ask the voice artist about what kind of equipment they use for their recording. Inquiring about their recording abilities now will help you avoid being disappointed about the project later. You may even want to ask if it’s okay for you to listen in on the recordings by phone. Listening by phone can allow you to give real-time direction about how you want the voiceover to sound, rather than sending files back and forth.
5. Request an Audition From the Voiceover Artist
If you’re still unsure about which voiceover artist to choose, you can request an audition to hear how each of your final candidates will sound doing your project. Generally, most voiceover professionals will be happy to provide you with a sample recording of part of your script. You can send some direction notes to see how well they follow how you want the script to sound. You could also choose not to send direction notes and see how they bring your project to life in their own unique way. An experienced voiceover artist might perform the script in a way that could be much better than you imagined. After reviewing each audition from the final candidates, you can decide on which one you feel best delivered your script.
The Right Voiceover Talent Wrapped Up
Selecting a voiceover talent can be a simple process. It just requires knowing what you want, knowing what your audience wants, and knowing what the voiceover artist can deliver. Following these tips will help you find exactly what you’re looking for. If the project goes really well with the voice artist you chose, be sure to keep them in your contact list for future projects. Otherwise, feel free to follow these tips all over again if you need a different type of voice for your next project.
How to Choose the Right Voiceover Talent by Kate Marcin
