Voiceovers (VOs) are one of the hardest things to record, because there are lots of gaps between syllables and words and problems with the room acoustics as well as noise, both electronic and acoustic, are going to be very obvious so do the best you can.

1 - Script Style

Writing for reading, for either off the page or off the screen is a different style to writing for listening. the real test is what it sounds like not what it reads like.

2 - Preparation

Get the right information from the client, as well as a copy of the script, don’t share a script, you need to be able to mark up your copy of the script ready for the edit session.

3 - Mouth Clicks

Mouth clicks can be a real problem in VO sessions. Have water available but suggest the VO artist only takes sips. The other solution is for the VO artist to eat some apple, a tart apple like a Granny Smith tends to work best so have one ready just in case.

4 - Backups

Have at least one backup. Don’t just depend on Pro Tools. Record onto another machine as well so if Pro Tools does fall over you still have the session. Afterwards, make sure you backup the session onto another drive too as well as the cloud.

5 - Delivery Format

What format does the client want it delivered in? 48/44/1 sample rate, 16 or 24 bit depth etc. How are you going to deliver it?, CD, hard disk, pen drive, or via the cloud using services like Dropbox, or Gobbler.

See part 2 for the remaining 5 ways to improve a VO.