×

Customers

USA: +1 332 2131 466

UK: +44 (0)203 603 3676

sales@voquent.com

Talent

USA: 1 332 2131 466

UK: +44 (0)203 603 3676

talent@voquent.com

Ideas

The Voice-Over Jargon You NEED to Know in 2021 – 13 Top Terms Explained

Paul

Paul

1 February 2021

The Voice-Over Jargon You NEED to Know in 2021 – 13 Top Terms Explained - Voquent

How well do you know your Voice-Over Jargon?

Okay, but how well do you really know it? The stages that a recording goes through to end up with the final audio can be numerous.

Pieces of voice-over jargon like Buy-Out and ADR can make your head spin if you are not intimately familiar with this industry; it can become a bit much if you aren’t an expert.

So, let’s make you an expert.

Writing, recording, editing, producing, delivering; these are all fundamental elements to which we can attribute to the process of voice-over production – however, these are still far too generalised terms to fully explain what is happening behind the scenes.

This blog demystifies the most common jargon and clarifies what goes on under the hood. We’re going to keep you in the loop and make doubly sure you’re using and paying for elements you actually want.

We are also working on a definitive list of terms you need to know; stay tuned!

Let’s take a look at the top 13 terms YOU need to know:

1. BSF (Basic Studio Fee/ Basic Session Fee)

Some jargon cannot be ignored. The Basic Session Fee is precisely what it sounds like. It is the base cost paid to the voice actor for the time they spend in the studio session.

This does not literally translate to a fixed rate based solely on time. Not to mention this fee will vary from artist to artist. An actor with more experience, or a project for a more prestigious client, will demand a higher cost than someone new to this industry or for a less established business.

What is important to remember with the BSF is that this is arranged before the booking. A BSF may be a minimum set rate or is made according to the duration of material or the script’s word count.

You can explore BSF in greater detail here >

 

Voice Actor Tim in a studio session
Pictured: Voice Actor Tim is always ready to rock a session.

2. Rights/ IP (Intellectual Property)

On the marketplace of ideas, products/brands and inventions, IP is essentially a declaration that “I own this.

How this pertains to an actor’s voice is a matter of some contention. Still, it is certain that the use of one’s voice in a commercial capacity, particularly in the case of electronic devices or toys, is the Intellectual Property of the artist unless these rights are purchased in whole under contract by a customer.

The ownership of your own vocal audio performance means that it must be licensed by you. This makes the artist privy to certain assurances, i.e. entitled to reimbursement for its use and reuse, after licence expiration.

3. Usage/Licencing Fee

Another essential piece of voice-over jargon for the business side of things. This refers to a business’ access to the rights to use voice-over audio over periods of time.

If a voice is licenced for two years, the recurring usage of that voice in the project after that agreed upon time period will require renewal. This renewal will remunerate the actor again for their extended services as a continued proponent to the extended success of the project.

This is relatively common for ventures that have larger audiences. There is a trend for customers trying to own the audio usage rights in perpetuity, but we always recommend against this. Any respectable business should, in turn, respect the rights of the artists they are hiring.

Learn more about usage fees.

4. Buy-Out

Another “business” term! This one is simple, though. If you do not wish to renew a licencing fee for a performance, you can obtain a buy-out.

This gives you absolute rights to the voice-over performance in the project in perpetuity. This means the audio is yours, to do with as you wish, for all time.

Educational or internal videos with small, specific, professional audiences can benefit from this; however, it can come with some ethical concerns of exploitation if mishandled, as we discuss in this article here!

 

5. Microphone (Yes, this is a big one)

While a microphone may not seem like voice-over jargon, the elements that make up these mics’ specifics certainly are. To break things down, first and foremost, you want to have an XLR Microphone.

Overall, it boils down to how the microphone connects to an interface being superior to some plug-in-and-play microphone that may connect to your PC via USB. These are a necessity for high-quality audio production and will be a go-to in any voice-over recording space.

To use one, you will need a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), which you can see further down our list of explained jargon and an audio interface.

Beyond this, there are all sorts of mics on the market, but the two that concern us are Condenser and Dynamic mics.

A Condenser mic is sensitive, with a thinner diaphragm, capable of picking up tremendously low volumes and high frequencies in detail. This is an excellent microphone for voice recordings as it will record every nuance of the voice actors performance.

 

German Voice Actor Henrike pictured with Microphone

Pictured: German voice actor Henrike posing with her beloved condenser microphone.

 

Conversely, a Dynamic microphone is less sensitive. It is not as detailed or precise, with faint noises and quieter frequencies unlikely to be heard in recordings.

Dynamic microphones can be useful for concerts or busier environments, as they are less likely to pick up unwanted sounds. A Condensor would pick up all the excess sound, due to its increased sensitivity.

Although, a Condenser microphone is more professional and generally better for voice-over. The added clarity and quality are an undeniably worthwhile trade and will produce a better end product.

Just make sure to prep your environment for recording!

Learn more about Microphones for voice-over use.

 

6. Pop Shield

Ever wonder what the Pop Noise is in a recording? We don’t hear them when talking in real life, so what gives?

Well, the reason you hear this is because of a thing called “plosive” sounds; these are essentially the blasts of air that occur when someone says a B or P or some other plosive sound into a mic. This can be a particularly nasty incident when using a Condenser mic, as they are more sensitive.

The counter to this problem is the Pop-Shield. A Pop-Shield or Pop-Guard is a pretty simple device but is absolutely essential in the voice-over business. It is just a typically circular piece of nylon that sits in front of the microphone.

The sound high-end sound frequencies travel through the nylon and remove any of the plosives as it travels through, with minimal quality sacrificed in the process.

Think of it like a sieve but for sound (In fact, you could use a sieve, but we don’t advise it!)

 

 

7. Audio Interface

These handy little devices are pretty much a must if you are planning on taking any audio-based work seriously, voice-over included.

The essential role for this device is to be the conduit through which all your input and output connections run. Professional microphones, instruments, speakers; all of these will run through the Audio Interface into and out of your PC to record and reproduce sound.

This is a necessary piece of equipment for using any of the mics with the XLR connectors we discussed earlier.

 

Focusrite Octopre for Voice-Over Preamp

A Focusrite Octopre. Learn more about Preamps in this article by Alex, our Sound Engineer Expert.

 

In addition, any quality Audio Interface with an XLR input and phantom power will come with an integrated Pre-amp which will serve an important role in voice-over production.

The pre-amp amplifies the electrical signal from the microphone before being converted into a digital signal. This ensures that less digital noise or interference is transformed into a digital signal and recorded.

Read more about Interfaces and Pre-amps >

 

8. DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)

The centre of command. The DAW is the pivotal hardware/software element that pulls everything together.

The functions of the DAW are primarily to record, edit and mix sound for the processing of audio productions. This is a vital element to the voice-over.

 

Engineer using Digital Audio Workstation

DAWs can be acquired in standalone and software forms. While there are instances where an isolated unit for the DAW would be useful, it is more typical to utilise a software DAW.

The basic design is usually formed of a multi-track timeline and editing tools to manipulate the audio appropriately.

You can learn everything you need to know about DAW’s here.

 

9. Frequency, EQ (Equaliser) & Compressor (3 terms for the price of one!)

Frequency

This is where the voice-over jargon gets a little bit science-y. Sound moves in waves; these waves are structured as waveforms that move through the air to reach our ears and produce heard sound.

The amount of ‘waves’ within a set time is called frequency, visualised in the form of the peaks and troughs. This is measured in Hertz (Hz).

Various frequencies in Digital GUI

 

You can learn more about sound frequency here.

 

 

EQ

An EQ is a plugin for your DAW that allows you to alter the volume (technically known as amplitude) of selected ranges of frequencies. This will enable you to cut (lower) and boost (raise) the various frequencies in the audio clip.

In voice-over, this can be necessary when editing a clip, which will result in a superior end product when done correctly. Proper (and minimal) use of EQ when recording will allow pre-emptive adjustments to be made in preparation for editing.

In essence, the more you think about this before editing, the less work you have during the edit.

Compressor

Compressing audio is a helpful tool that can sparingly be employed in voice-over recording. The act of compression is, put simply, to make the loudest sounds quieter and to make the lowest sounds louder (reducing the dynamic range).

By bringing these sounds within the same volume, the clip will sound less variable (dynamic) and more even to the ear. After all, imagine hearing a whisper and scream in the same audio track. If the sound is not compressed, then the difference in the dynamic range would be unsettling.

On the flip side, one should be careful not to over-compress, or it risks the audio sounding pinched with the peaks in the waveform flattened out completely. If you’re not sure how to use a compressor, it’s best not to use it.

 

 

10. File Formats

There are many different audio file formats. They can be categorised into two types; Lossless and Lossy.

This all comes down to file size and data compression; Lossy files, such as MP3 files, delete seemingly insignificant audio data elements to create smaller files.

On the other hand, Lossless files do not delete these small data elements; they remain fully intact, with no (or very little) data being lost. 24-Bit 44.1kHz Wav files are an excellent example of lossless files. For the layman, this is not a particularly big deal. The data loss in a Lossy file is not going to make an audible impact on them.

The average person probably won’t tell the difference. However, in professional voice-over for video games or commercials, this becomes a critical consideration.

For production purposes, keeping files in Lossless formats is the best practice. This is because they will be able to be reopened and edited again and again.

You can learn more about file formats here.

 

11. Bitrate

A bit refers to a basic unit of information in digital communications and computing.  Bitrate is the number of bits transferred over a period of time.

A higher bitrate generally means a superior audio quality for voice-over, which then means a better sound for the listener. Most professional recording studios will record in 24-Bit or even 32-Bit, but 16-Bit is still commonly used for the voice-over.

16-Bit is the quality used on professional audio CDs. There are arguments against too high a bit rate. Low-quality headphones and speakers will not use these improvements, and a high bitrate can be bottlenecked via streaming services.

However, it generally makes sense to stick to the higher end of the bitrate options available and making choices about output bitrate depending on your distribution method and file formats.

12. ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement)

ADR can be a long and arduous process for anyone who is not experienced in this field. This process boils down to re-recording audio lines to match the original actor’s mouth movements.

This is intrinsically difficult, as the actor’s original speech patterns can be unpredictable in speed and delivery. The general setup will have voice-over talents watch the film while performing the ADR over the original performance; to ensure the new voice matches the original as closely as possible.

This can be significantly difficult for actors working remotely as their studio will need to be prepared to afford this type of work. Getting experience is paramount for ADR voice-over work. It is a common practice in Hollywood blockbusters, and learning ADR technique is certainly something any aspiring voice-over talent should watch out for.

 

13. Dubbing

The act of dubbing over a voice-over is basically a language replacement technique, usually performed in service of translation and localisation purposes.

However, there are instances where this can be used in a film’s original language. This removes technical faults and provides better quality audio than was available on set. When a dub is employed, similarly to ADR, it is more complicated than simply speaking the translated lines.

The dub’s timing must be in synch with the mouth movements of the original performance. Therefore, the script must also be written to match the timings of the original.

 

So, all in all, that is our list of the top 13 pieces of voice-over Jargon for 2021. This list is just our take, though; we would love for you to give us a heads up on what is on your list.

Have your say and tweet us your #1 terms! Tweet us @Voquent

This is just the beginning. Soon, as-if-by-magic, we are going to build a massive directory of voice-over terms. Stay tuned!

Learn How to Brief a Voice-Over Artist

Portable Voice-Over Studio – What You Need to Know

Paul

By Paul

Paul is our technical director and oversees all things technical at Voquent - he mainly writes about the technical processes behind the Voquent platform to give an insight into our reach and scale.

More from this author

5 Tips for Making an Audiobook

Production

5 Tips for Making an Audiobook

By Paul

16 May 2022

Sometimes we include links to online retail stores such as Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, if you click on a link and make a
purchase, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Read more from the Voquent Blog

YouTube’s New Policy on AI-Generated Content REVEALED

Production

YouTube’s New Policy on AI-Generated Content REVEALED

By Dylan de Koning

26 March 2024

Top 10 Fictional Languages You Can Learn!

Entertainment

Top 10 Fictional Languages You Can Learn!

By Chloe McWhinnie

26 March 2024

Master the Craft: 7 Must-Know Filmmaking Techniques for Independent Filmmakers

Production

Master the Craft: 7 Must-Know Filmmaking Techniques for Inde...

By Michelle Quill

26 March 2024

Top 10 Best Video Game Voice Actors

Entertainment

Top 10 Best Video Game Voice Actors

By Chloe McWhinnie

22 March 2024

Top 10 Best Anime Voice Actors in English Dubs

Entertainment

Top 10 Best Anime Voice Actors in English Dubs

By Chloe McWhinnie

21 March 2024