Selecting a Voiceover Artist For Your E-Learning Project
Many elearning projects make use of voiceover to enhance the learning experience. Selecting the right voice for your content is just one thing to think about!
Ensure that you understand who owns the copyright and get your contracts in place
Before you sign any contracts make sure that you are clear about who owns the recorded material and how it can be used. You should be really clear about where you can use the material, how often and for what purposes.
Have you selected the right voiceover artist?
At the start of the project talk to your client about the type of voiceover artist that they have in mind. If possible email the client some sound clips so that they can listen to some examples of voice styles. Most voiceover artists have sound samples that you can use. It is best to include the client in the selection process. If you are requesting voiceover samples talk to the artist so that they can provide you with a good range that you'll be able to listen to.
What will you get at the end?
Do you want mp3, wav, DAT, CD? It's best to agree with the voiceover artist how you will receive your final files. We work with a superb artist who provides all of our clips in mp3 or wav so that we can use them right away. Think about specifying the filenames of the clips, it might cost a little more but if you've hundreds of clips called 1.mp3, 2.mp3 it is going to be difficult to sort them in the future.
You can divide your script and provide your requested filenames, this makes it even easier for the studio.
Make sure your artist understands your acronyms and abbreviations
Do not assume that your voiceover artist will have worked in every business sector! You may have a certain way of speaking abbreviations that you need to get just right. Talk to your artist over the phone or provide them with an example sound file that they can listen to if you have any tricky words!
If you have a section which you think may provide some problems ask the voiceover artist to provide you with a few variations so that you can select at a later date.
Make your script easy to read!
Before you start recording make sure that your voiceover artist had had time to read your script. The voiceover artists that we work with all offer their advice and opinions to ensure that we get the best recording. Take time to listen to their views, what looks good on paper often needs changing before recording.
Simple things like double line spacing and making sure sections do not go over onto a new page will all help your voiceover artist.
Finally let your voiceover artist actually see the project that you are working on. If you can let them have access to project materials it will really help them understand exactly what you are looking for.