Chippenham Movie
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Video Club
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Video Club
VOICE OVER FOR VIDEOS
Many movie makers tend to fight shy of adding their voice to their videos and rely, instead, on subtitles or just let the images speak for themselves. There’s much to recommend this last approach, but some videos cry out for more information than can be squeezed into a subtitle or left, intentionally, silent.
Often the problem lies in not liking the sound of ones own voice. Many people were horrified when they heard theirs for the first time. But that’s the way the rest of the world hears them every day - and no-one seems to object!
So, how to approach voice-overs? May I offer a few tips? First, learn to breathe! Then get used to the sound of your own voice by reading aloud. Make sure that you have enough breath in your lungs to say what you want to say. Try to make your voice as conversational as possible - as if speaking to just one person. Above all, be natural.
When you’re preparing a script or notes to accompany a video it’s as well to keep the comments as brief as possible. Avoid describing what can be seen on the screen anyway, but, instead, offer more information. For example: ‘Here we see the clock tower of the local church’ could be better covered by, ‘The 16th century tower has a clock dating back to the middle 18th century’.
Phrasing, pausing and emphasis can be decided at this point. Often, the verbal side of the video will come to a climax at about the same time as the video itself, neatly rounding off the piece.
It’s a good idea to practice before recording. A couple of read-throughs, aloud, will often show up any verbal land mines - like eastern European place names for example. You may wish to adjust the text to suit your own personal style. When you feel comfortable with the piece, record and add as appropriate to the video.
Most of the best voice-overs sound as if the speaker ‘owns’ the spoken words. If you aim for this you can’t go far wrong.
Rob Catt
Many movie makers tend to fight shy of adding their voice to their videos and rely, instead, on subtitles or just let the images speak for themselves. There’s much to recommend this last approach, but some videos cry out for more information than can be squeezed into a subtitle or left, intentionally, silent.
Often the problem lies in not liking the sound of ones own voice. Many people were horrified when they heard theirs for the first time. But that’s the way the rest of the world hears them every day -
So, how to approach voice-
When you’re preparing a script or notes to accompany a video it’s as well to keep the comments as brief as possible. Avoid describing what can be seen on the screen anyway, but, instead, offer more information. For example: ‘Here we see the clock tower of the local church’ could be better covered by, ‘The 16th century tower has a clock dating back to the middle 18th century’.
Phrasing, pausing and emphasis can be decided at this point. Often, the verbal side of the video will come to a climax at about the same time as the video itself, neatly rounding off the piece.
It’s a good idea to practice before recording. A couple of read-
Most of the best voice-
Rob Catt