It’s no secret that voices have an emotional impact on us.
Babies’ first experiences of sound include voices heard in utero. Alzheimer’s patients’ memories are sparked by certain singers from their past. Our voices are the means through which we communicate our stories.
This is why voiceovers are so important in animations – they create emotional experiences for the viewer.
So why use a professional voice actor?
You want nuance.
Depending on your intonation, the same statement can be said as a question or command, as sarcastic or affirming, as dreamy or grounded. The best scripts are clear, but nuanced. A pro can convey complicated emotions with ease, using intonation, tone, stress, tempo, pause, timbre, and rhythm to say the unsaid.
You want your message to stick.
A lot of what we understand has to do with how something is said. A script is like a piece of music. There are choruses that get lodged in our heads, crescendos that stick in our hearts. Voice actors know how to work with animation to make your message sing.
You want your audience to relate.
The type of voice you choose has an unconscious (or conscious) effect on listeners. Imagine Harry Potter as read by Gilbert Gottfried or Daffy Duck voiced by Diane Rheem. Certain speakers are lodged in our minds as powerful, funny, or smart. Voice actors know how to access emotions and pull in the audience you most want to speak to.
Voice actors know how to breathe.
Voice acting should take your breath away. Literally. De-breathing is a technique that removes breaths from a voice recording to make it smoother. Actors know when to breath to create the best flow and make editing easy. More than that, they know how to make a commercial sound like a commercial and how to make a training sounds like a training. Believe it or not, there are different intonations associated with television and radio and everything in between.
Pro voice actors have pro equipment.
Professional voice actors are experts at what they do, and they have the equipment to prove it. Recording a high-quality voiceover requires way more than just talking into your computer mic. Professionals have recording studios equipped with everything needed to make a voiceover sound clear, crisp, and impactful. Plus, professionals know how to edit a voice over to make it the best it can be.
This is why we encourage all clients to go pro with their voice actor, rather than DIY-ing it. We have a roster of all-star voice actors who can elevate your animation and get you the most impact. Trust us, it just works better.
