Article 3 - Producing That Perfect Voice Over Spot
One of the things Australia voice over masters are frequently asked to do is to not only lay down voice recordings, but also fully produce the commercial or promo themselves.
It’s not that tough to be a production wizard with the available software and music/sfx libraries that are out there today. You just have to know what sounds good and what kind of sound the Australia voice over client is looking for.
Today’s Sydney voice talent can spend tons of money on a good music and sound effects library (worth the cost if you have the $$$), but another way to go is getting stuff for free on the web. Simply Google it and you’ll find a swath of sites where you can download royalty-free background music and sfx for your Sydney voice over project.
When laying down the tracks for, say, some Australia voice over client, you may find yourself a “one-take Johnny,” but it’s much wiser to lay down at least three versions of the copy. That way, you can pick and choose the best cuts from each version, and you’ll be able to cover mistakes, which can often happen to an Australia voice talent if you do just one take. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve laid down one track, thought it was great and found that half-way through, I’d skipped an entire sentence.
Don’t worry about taking too many breaths while you read. When extracting cuts and placing them into your multi-trac editor for the mix-down, you can always cut out the breaths for a seamless transition between thoughts. Find the appropriate background music and effects for your spot and place into the multitrac accordingly. Make sure your Australia voice over is on top as far as volume goes. Try to keep your music (and some effects, but only when under the voice) at about 40-60% volume while thevoiceover tracks remain at 100%.
Regardless of whether the Australia or Sydney voice over project is a :30 or a :60, always leave at least ½ of a second of dead space at the end. In other words, a :30 should be no more than 29.5 seconds, and a :60 no more than 59.5 seconds. This allows radio and TV stations time for an “automation trigger” signal, which automatically tells the station’s computers or devices to start playing the next element.
Finally, don’t “junk up” the voice over product (the spot) with too much sound. That’s right, “too much sound.” Sounds counter-intuitive, but too much noise can detract just as much as not enough. Use sound effects and special bits only when you really need them. Don’t throw stuff in just for the sake of packing it.
Using the above tips can help you, the Sydney or Australia voice over talent, easily become a production king as well!
