Voiceover That Works

In an explainer the voice carries the argument and the picture illustrates it. That makes casting and direction more consequential than almost anything that happens on the shoot day.

Cast for the room, not the demo reel

A voice that is impressive in isolation can be entirely wrong beside your footage. Audition against the actual script and the actual pictures, even in rough form.

Direct the meaning, not the sound

Notes about pace and warmth produce imitations of pace and warmth. Telling a reader what the line is FOR — who is being reassured, what they are afraid of — produces the delivery on its own.

Record for the edit

• Three takes of every line, back to back
• A slate before each section
• Thirty seconds of silence for noise matching
• Alternate readings of anything the client may soften

Leave room in the script

Scripts written to the second leave no space for a pause that lands. Write ten per cent short and let the edit breathe; a voiceover that races is the commonest reason an otherwise good explainer feels cheap.