Briefing checklist for booking a voice over

A voice over production stands or falls with a good briefing. Here you will find out which information matters to a voice over artist before the recording.

Tone

So that I hit the tone you want straight away, it is essential that you describe precisely the mood and the emotions that are to come across.

I always ask my clients to name a piece of work on my website that comes closest to the tone they want. On the one hand there are many examples in the blog, all of them tagged, so that productions in Bernese German, for instance, can be found easily. You will of course also find examples on the product pages — here is the link to TV commercials as an example. If none of them fits, you are welcome to send me a different audio sample. Alternatively, a layout recording can be made. If it matters to the client to influence the emphasis, the intonation or the tone of my recording, they can dial in live, via Skype for example, and be there at the start of my recording session. For radio and TV commercials, the client can also be present throughout the whole recording.

Pronunciation

So that I read your script the way you imagine it, instructions on pronunciation are very important. These can be given in writing (for example Website = Uebseid). A layout recording is even clearer: with a smartphone recording, for instance, the client can settle the desired emphasis in advance.

Dialect

So that I speak the right dialect, you should also name a piece from my portfolio that comes closest to the dialect you want. In principle I offer German (CH), Zurich German and a slightly softened Bernese German. Audio samples of the three dialects can be found on my ‘Dialects’ page. If you are not familiar with Swiss dialects or with the language culture in Switzerland, the article ‘Swiss German’ offers interesting insights into it. In it I explain when which dialect is used in Switzerland. Incidentally, the script has to be supplied in the language or dialect in which it is to be voiced. A translation by the voice over artist is possible for an extra charge (see the price list).

Availability

You can see free slots for a production in my availability calendar. For full-day absences, an entry marked ‘abwesend / absent’ or ‘limitiert verfügbar / limited availability’ is added to the online calendar.

Important: as a part-time voice over artist, I am not automatically bookable all day on days marked as available. I usually have other appointments during the day that are not visible in this calendar. It only means that on that day I have the scope to find a recording slot.

How a job runs

For a recording without a live stream, the script including the briefing has to be delivered by 4 pm on the agreed recording date. The edited audio file is usually delivered on the next or the second-next working day. If that delivery deadline is missed, the finished audio file may be delayed not just by one working day but, depending on the workload or on absences, by additional days.

File format

Please let me know in advance whether you need the recording raw (for individual further processing by a sound engineer) or compressed and frequency-optimised (ideal for all clients who do not have an audio specialist). You can also specify the file format if you wish. I offer AIFF, WAV or MP3. For an uncompressed format you can choose between 16-bit and 24-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz.

A detailed briefing therefore saves you time and money, because if you ask for corrections to the tone after the recording, these are charged on top at the correction rate.