We were lucky to work with Norton 360, a cybersecurity suite that protects your devices from viruses and malware.
They wanted to create a commercial for their security product that would be translated into 6 different languages. Their advert would feature in English, Italian, French, German, Dutch, Swedish and Polish. They first wanted us to start on the English version and localise it to the additional languages.
The client wanted us to audition voices by getting them to record the script in several different ways: this was so they could hear versatility in their voice.
The commercial itself is about security for their customers, and so the client wanted it to hold a serious tone and they wanted the right voice to be able to deliver the end product in the way they had envisaged.
Listening in on the auditions gave them the opportunity to make sure they selected the right English voice to create the first commercial, which will be the guide for the other territories.
The audition process was lengthy, with selecting the voices for each language because the client wanted to hear the different versions, including cut down versions, as well as asking the talents if the script fit the length of the videos they were creating.
With assistance from the talent for localisation, they were able to select the right voice for each language and proceed to the recording stage.
Whenever we booked in Norton 360, we made sure that we had the up-to-date scripts and up-to-date videos that the voices would be working with.
We then scheduled in the talents and the studio and moved onto the recording.
We ensured that the client listened in on the sessions, to make sure they could have input into the recording. With the client being based in the US, we made sure any recording was made towards the end of the day and that it lasted between 2-3 hours.
Once the clients were happy with all the takes and got what they needed, we shared all the audio files with them, and they proceeded to create the commercial. The client then was able to do all the mixing on their end, once we delivered the audio files to them and any alternative takes they did in the session.
When it comes to commercials, we charge the client usage. This is because the commercial will be aired on TV in the relevant markets. The UK usage is based largely on TVRs/impressions, and so we need to know how many times the commercial will be aired, how long the campaign will be running and ideally which channels they will be airing on.
Once we get this information we are then able to calculate the costs for the commercial being aired. It is imperative that this is discussed before the final delivery as the client cannot air a commercial without payment. After this is discussed we invoice the client, and the voice artists are paid a lovely fee and, after all their hard work, get to watch their commercial being aired on TV!
Overall, it was a pleasure to work with Norton 360 on their commercials! It was great utilising our talent for such a big project and for international commercials.
If you are looking for voiceover talent and recording studios to complete your project, then give us a call on +44 (0) 203 744 3558 or contact us via our website here.
