As the country’s top-rated experts in audio production services, The Great Voice Company understands that no matter what you’re recording or where you’re recording it, you always want to make the task easier and more straightforward for the narrator to ensure a high-quality recording. Let’s take a look at the best ways to plan, prepare, and format your voice over script to get the best results from your narration.
Point Out Pauses
If you need a narrator to take a pause or a beat at some point in the script, you should indicate it. Although it may be subtle and almost indistinguishable to the untrained ear, these pauses can be essential to the tone and delivery of your script. Use an ellipsis (three dots) or write the word “pause” in brackets to point out these brief moments of silence.
Provide the Correct Pronunciation
Voice overs for the medical industry or scripts with technical vocabulary and other unique terms can create pronunciation challenges for narrators and can bog down a recording. Find a way to communicate their meanings and pronunciations in the script. You should be discussing this with the narrator prior to the recording, going over any acronyms and indicating if they should be spelled out or pronounced as an entire word. Additionally, use brackets to write out the phonetic spelling of the term in the script.
Indicate Your Preferred Intonation
Each narrator will interpret the tone, pace, and emphasis of certain words in your script differently. To ensure their intonation is the same one that you intended, add emphasis to the script using formatting like bold or italics. You should also be discussing this with the narrator in the pre-recording meeting.
Triple-Check for Errors
Although this should go without saying, it is critical to check not once, not twice, but at least three times before recording. Just about every single script will have recording errors, whether it’s a misuse of grammar, incorrect content, wrong tense, or anything else. Not only can this stop the narrator’s momentum, but it can create a preventable and unnecessary loss of productivity. Make sure you go over the script with meticulous detail and read it out loud. Additionally, ask others to review it for errors as well.
While there is a wide range of unexpected issues and problems that can arise with any voice over narration, by properly preparing and organizing your script, you can ensure a stress-free and smooth recording.
For more information on scrip preparation or our professional voice over services, call us today at 866-957-2807 today.
