Unlike on-screen actors, who can use their face, body, and voice to convey emotion, voice actors can only use their voice, which is a real talent in itself! This is why choosing the right professional voice actor for your project, whether that be a commercial, corporate video, animation, podcast, or audiobook, is integral for a perfect finished project.
How do you find the right fit though? With so many different voice actors out there, it can seem overwhelming – female or male, English to Dutch, young to old, and everything in between – so here are the most important factors to consider when scouting the perfect talent for your project.
Brand
Businesses spend a lot of time thinking about their logos, messages, and anything else that represents how the brand looks, but how many think about how they want their brand to sound? If they haven’t thought about this, they could be missing out on a whole medium or could pick the wrong person for the job. Having a voice-over could give you the opportunity to make your brand more human and personable, which is hugely beneficial when trying to sell a product or service!
Target Audience
Before you start contacting voice actors, you need to think about what kind of audience you want to target. You want to be able to resonate with them, so using a male voice actor to promote feminine hygiene products probably won’t work.
Think about gender, age, dialect, and language, as all of these are vital in finding the perfect voice for your project.
Tone of Voice
Ask yourself: what is the tone of the project? Is it funny, serious, sad, or exciting? Do you need an older male with a deep rich voice to talk about a new cologne, or a female with a higher pitch to explain why Iceland is perfect for the working mum? All of these questions need to be answered before delving into the voice-over industry to pick someone.
Try a Couple
If you’re not sure, it might be worth selecting a couple of different voice actors and asking them to read the script. This means you can get a feel for how they would convey the message you are striving for.
Alternatively, it may be a case of asking one voice actor to read the script in different ways, to get a sense of what they can achieve.
Male VS Female
As we mentioned previously, female and male voices are used for different products and services. A good guideline is that the voice should match your main target audience, but obviously, there are always exceptions.
As a rule of thumb, male voices are perceived as more authoritative and trustworthy, and female voices are more emotional and comforting. According to various studies, we subconsciously trust a male voice more, which is why they are used in, for example, commercials for insurance or a political ad. However, overall, people seem to prefer female voices.
Memorability
If it’s not memorable, then is it worth it? You’ve probably spent a lot of money on your project, so make sure your audience remembers you (for the right reasons)! A voice can do just that – it can evoke emotion and spark a fire, all by choosing the right voice-over talent. Some of the best examples of a memorable voice-over can be seen in supermarket advertisements – we all know the chirpy tone of ‘that’s why mum’s go to Iceland’ and the seductive, sophisticated voice of M&S: “It’s not just Salmon, this is succulent M&S Scottish Salmon”
Standard Practice
There are a few standard practices when it comes to voice-over work. This includes clarity of speech, ability to read the script and be able to portray the tone and emotion desired by the client.
Experience
In general, you want to make sure your talent has some sort of experience in this field. This will make sure you have a high-quality finished product. They will also understand your requirements and will work with you to produce the perfect piece of work.
In Conclusion
Choosing a voice actor isn’t a quick job and may not be as simple as it initially seems. It takes time to research what you want, and then find the person who fits the bill. When you get it right though, it should fit perfectly, and it will have been worth your time!
Make it a Reality
Chatterbox Voices has over 1000 voices covering over 80 languages in all continents, ranging from English to Irish to French to Chinese. We also have voice actors ranging from 5-61+ years old and have completed over 5,000 projects.
Our specialisms include:
- Commercials
- Corporate videos
- Animation
- Games
- Podcasts
- Audio Books
- Audio guides
- Bespoke castings
- E-learning
- Language courses
- Inflight Edutainment
- Text to speech
We also have 3 of our own state-of-the-art recording studios and post-production facilities in central London (and another on the way!). We really are the one-stop shop for all of your audio project needs.
Drop the Chatterbox team a message and we’ll be happy to chat through your requirements.
