The concept of a cheap voice actor is tempting, but it could cost you…
It’s all too common for costs to overrun throughout the development of a project, and one could be forgiven for optimistically hoping to finish bang on budget. But how often do things ever really go to plan in the world of production?
The concept of a cheap voice actor is a temptation that has proven irresistible to many an unsuspecting Production Manager, and with disastrous consequences that may not always be immediately apparent.
The question is then, are you saving money by hiring a cheap voice-over? Or are you costing yourself in another way?
Why you shouldn’t be frugal
Voice acting is an art, a profession, something that actors study for years to cultivate the necessary skill level.
Of course, natural aptitude is there at the core, but the proficiency and expertise a voice actor or narrator strives to achieve are taught and crafted over time.
A quality piece of voiced audio stretches beyond the spoken words; many elements go into the recording process that we may be unaware of as ‘non-voice actors’. An understanding of:
- mic technique
- breathing
- enunciation & diction
- finding the natural rhythm in the script
Are all vital in the practical outcome of a polished, professional voice-over job.
Suppose you hired a professional camera operator to film your piece or a sound engineer to master your music. Why would you not hire a professional to provide the film narration? Furthermore, a less experienced voice-over talent doesn’t have the depth of knowledge accrued over many projects.
A professional has to intuitively hit those critical tones, pitches, pauses and pronunciations that mark the difference between drawing out emotion in an audience and losing their interest entirely.
Voice-over is most certainly not just speaking politely into a microphone – it’s a performance. Our job as the creator is to change the behaviour of the audience and evoke a reaction: sadness, happiness, anger or any other human emotion.
You take away something as simple as the pronunciation of a phrase or a well-timed pause. Then you risk losing the message in the mix. We must trust the talent to interpret a script correctly.
Voicing direction will always be provided in the scripts. Still, the performer’s ability to interpret the text truly sets the professionals and amateurs apart.
Voice is an extension of the brand – businesses are meticulous in choosing all other aspects of branding (visuals, straplines, values, etc.). They must also take the same care over the audio element.
Commercial voice acting is a skill, and this is where an inexperienced voice actor may lack the know-how to use their primary tool – their voice – in a marketing capacity.
We want to engage our audiences to fulfil business objectives and provide some valued ROI. Poorly delivered voicing may cause the material to fall flat and lead to a lack of engagement with promos, guides or explainers.
Inappropriate or lacklustre voice acting can obliterate immersion in video games or make a program so farcically implausible that it loses its meaning and authority.
Beyond the voice
As much as the voice actors are essential, so too is the technology used to produce the work.
An amateur charging much less than a professional is unlikely to be using professional industry-standard equipment. Most USB Mics on the market are unfit to achieve the standard of production of the calibre you required for professional products.
By allowing the voice actor’s software to record, you become reliant on the individual being competent from a technology perspective. You run the risk of the individual not having a proper understanding of critical functions, such as being aware that open source applications like Audacity have a higher noise floor, leading to an inconsistency in sound.
All this makes it that much harder to insert the audio into your content – wasting time and resources.
Poor quality audio takes more time for sound engineers to clean, edit and master to ensure that it’s prepared to a broadcast standard.
While sound engineers can make significant improvements to an audio recording, they aren’t magicians. Some material is so poorly recorded that you can waste a lot of time trying to rescue it before ultimately abandoning the recording altogether, thus forcing you into going through the process all over again!
Buy one, get one…for a further cost!
Much as with day-to-day lifestyle purchases, buying cheap often means buying twice.
Amateur voice artists charging much less than the industry rate may at first glance seem inviting. Yet scratch a little deeper, and we start to see the underlying/consequential costs come to light.
The saying time is money has never been more relevant – we live in a world where everyone and everything seems to be moving at a million miles an hour. Jam-packed schedules are the norm, with ever-increasing pressures put upon us to deliver. It is, therefore, natural for us to want to look for ways to alleviate this stress wherever possible.
During our business endeavours, we welcome time-saving with open arms.
In the production stages, you will most likely book studio space by the hour. A booked studio session can overrun or be cut short when talent cannot perform under the direction or in the manner you originally anticipated.
Therefore, those pennies you initially thought were tucked firmly in your pocket may well find themselves exchanging hands once more. Whether it comes to re-hiring new talent, paying for more studio time or having to fork over cash to dedicate more staff to the project, you will often end up more out of pocket than initially intended.
Cheap or Cost-Effective?
Ultimately, you and your team are all working toward the same goal – yes, price is important, but there is much to be said to focus away from cost alone. Going back to brand reputation, it begs the question:
There are potential benefits gained by shifting the focus from purely ‘price’. When you eliminate the fixation on keeping costs as low as possible, your focus can shift to assessing the quality of work delivered by the professionals in the industry.
Your output is only as good as your input. So, by hiring someone well-established in their profession, you negate the worry of uncertainty throughout the whole process. You can relax in the sound knowledge that your product is safe in their hands.
Support the industry
The more professionally trained voice actors are priced out of the industry, unable to compete and being undercut by untrained, cheap voices available on freelancing platforms.
Yes, we can churn out cheap, quick results, but in the long term will we start to lose the art altogether, replacing it with sub-par alternatives.
It is worth remembering there is a massive difference between cheap and cost-effective.
Cost-effective means commissioning an experienced voice-over actor at a fair industry price.
At Voquent, we provide a service that is of excellent value, with access to the world’s fastest-growing database of voice-overs in the world.
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