Let’s say you have some wisdom teeth coming in. The good news is, you probably already have all the items you’ll need to remove them at home! Here’s what you’ll need:
-A hammer
-A drill
-Some pliers
-Something for the pain
-A dark towel
Okay, just because you conceivably could perform DIY oral surgery, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
Likewise, just because your phone or computer has a microphone and you are highly proficient at talking, doesn’t mean that you should record your own voiceover.
More Than a Pretty Voice…
A common misunderstanding is that a great voiceover only needs a great voice. While that is true, it falls short of two other major criteria:
1) Voiceover artists are actually specialized actors
With a trained voiceover artist, there are no throwaway words or lines. Each syllable is pronounced with the intention of getting the message across.
Before recording, we discuss your brand voice with the voiceover artist, so that whether your brand is friendly, fun or flirtatious we’re getting that emotional connection across from the first word.
So let’s say you played Frosine in your small liberal arts college’s production of The Miser, and have always fancied yourself a bit of a performer. You’re still going to need one more thing…
2) Equipment and editing
From physical filters to shock mounts to the vocal booth to the microphone itself, everything about a sound studio is designed to keep the P sounds from popping, the walls from echoing and the airplane overhead from making a cameo appearance.
And even after recording, it’s the post-production editing process that’s going to put the final touch on a great voiceover. It’s the difference between a lighter and lightning, peanut shells and peanut butter mousse, a dirt road and a drive down the Autobahn.
All of this really boils down to one reason you shouldn’t try to DIY your voiceover:
A professional voiceover will make your explainer animation better.
There are plenty of reasons to still want to provide your own audio file, including wanting your video to literally represent your voice and we completely understand. Many scripts are written in the first person, by you, and it’s hard to think of someone else reading it.
Our first recommendation is to talk together and find a voiceover artist who can represent your spirit and voice. We can send over demo samples and you let us know who you like best. Many past clients have been delighted and surprised at how much better the professional recording sounds than their own, while even still sounding like them.
And, in the event that you absolutely still want to provide your own voiceover- we can work with you to figure that out, too. But don’t say we didn’t warn you!
*Unless you’re a professional voiceover artist.
