Part 2 of a two-part blog (find part 1 here)
Now that you have found a voice-over actress who speaks English with an American accent and who lives in Europe, what are your next steps?
If the actor or actress isn’t in your city, and flying them in for a recorded session isn’t in your budget, how can you work remotely with them?
Connected Studios with a directed session:
You can use modern software such as Source Connect and or ipDTL to connect your local studio to the voice over talent’s studio by working remotely with . The software will allow the studio to record and be in sync at the same time by linking the two studios.
This means that the studio can record simultaneously while the voice-over artist is recording in their studio. You can think of it as a virtual bridge between the studios. When you record like this, you will be able direct the voice-over artist live.
***A helpful tip – it is always a good idea for the voice over artist to record the session at the same time as the local studio so that you have a back-up if needed.
Directed session via Skype:
Let’s say you aren’t using a local studio, but you still want to direct the recording session.
In this case, the voice-over artist would record and edit the audio file themselves. You can still participate and direct the session with a Skype phone call.
I like the skype interface because it is so easy to use, but if you have another internet calling platform that you like to use, that is okay too!
The voice-over actor or actress records on their own:
Let’s imagine that you need the recording completed, but you don’t have the time or the experience to assist in a directed session. No worries, there is a solution! You can send the voice over copy or script to the talent along with your brief. For me personally, when working remotely with clients, this is the most popular method.
What should you include in the brief?
Here are a few examples.
Time limit: Does your script need to be recorded under a certain time. Let’s say you are recording an instructional video for internal communications, but you want to keep it under 2 minutes. It is practical information for the voice-over actress to have so that she can make sure her pace fits into the timing.
Tone: What is the tone of your project? Is it educational, exciting, neutral, conversational, formal, or calm? It is very important to communicate so that the voice-over artist understands what exactly the right tone from the beginning.
Pronunciation: Do you have technical words and or names that have special pronunciations? The best way to communicate this would be for you or your client to record the words and send a sample to the voice over talent so they are 100% sure of the way you would like it pronounced. If recording the pronunciation isn’t possible, you might want to spell out the word phonetically to ensure right-first-time recordings. Rest assured that if you or your client are not a native English speaker, then the voice-over actress will research the words to get the best possible pronunciation for your project.
Pauses: Imagine that you are creating a motion design video, and you will need the voice over artist to take pauses in certain sentences for your animations. You can signal these pauses by using certain symbols in the text this […]. Here is an example:
In this module, we will discuss how to create a motion design video […] How to publish this video online […] and how to track the number of views. Let’s get started!
Format: Do you need the audio separated into different files? Do you need the file to be in WAV or MP3? What about the sample rate and bit depth?
If you don’t know, that’s ok
because most professionals have a standard-setting that they use. As for me, my standard setting is 48000hz sample rate with a 24-bit depth.
Today, with the ever-increasing advancements in technology and the internet, working in an international environment has never been this easy. There have been weeks where I record for a French client in the morning, work with an Indian client in the afternoon, and then record a project for a client in California later in the day.
I hope this helps your remote sessions and contact me today to get your project started!
Written by Stephanie Matard
Stephanie Matard lives in Europe. In France, to be exact. She is a native English-speaking voice over artist with an American accent. Stephanie grew up in the US speaking English, and today she is bilingual in French and English, as she has lived in France since 2010. When Stephanie Matard isn’t using her voice to help clients communicate, she is helping them with translations and interpretations from French into English. Don’t hesitate to contact Stephanie Matard today for your project!
