So what makes a great voice over? A great voice over is the one that works for you. There’s no magic formula or list of things a great voice over has to do or not do. There are tricks of the trade great producers and directors use to understand what the client wants and how to translate that into the booth and coax the best from a voice over artist.
Tia Perkins has been producing commercials and films for top brands for the last 13 years. With brands like IBM, Verizon, Chantix, Estée Lauder, Amex, Lululemon, Schick, and Cartier, she’s been around the world, creating some of the best spots out there. We talked recently about great voice overs; questions and answers were edited for clarity.
WHAT MAKES A GREAT VOICE OVER?
Tia: Some clients come to us, and when they want a voice over, they want something that is not too distracting from the amazing film that they’re putting the voice over over. They don’t want to make sure that it kind of blends in with the music and really is suitable and doesn’t detract from the main film. And that’s kind of like one category, I would say for a voice over. There are other people that will come to us and say, “we want this voice over to boom, we want when you hear our commercial that the voice itself snaps you into attention.” And that’s I feel like those voices that get paid millions of dollars to do it, probably like the Morgan Freeman’s and you know things like that where you’re like “oh, I know that voice!” You know it’s immediate, and you snap to attention, and you watch it because the voice caught your ear.
HOW DO YOU GUIDE CLIENTS WHEN SELECTING VOICE ARTISTS?
Tia: The main thing that I love to do, especially with clients that maybe don’t even know what they’re looking for, is really kind of doing a casting of sorts with references. So if they do really love Morgan Freeman’s voice and that commercial or really love this commercial and this voice over which might be a woman, having them pull references of what they liked and why they liked them, it’s super important for us before we start to go to cast. They might not know what they’re looking for or what they’re listening for, they just know like it but they don’t know why. By sending us some of those references, we can then pick out and go, “you know what, all 3 of these voices are really soothing”, or “all 3 of these voices are, you know, really strong and masculine” They might not know that off the top of their heads…The first thing that I definitely do is if they don’t have a real brief is to say, okay, what voice overs do you like? How do you hear it? That helps us tell them what they like about those voices. And once we go back and forth with them, “yeah, you’re right that’s why I did like it it’s because of this kind of happiness that comes across,” or it’s because of the somber undertone in this place, so that’s how I usually approach it.
BEST DIRECTING TRICKS YOU’VE HEARD IN SESSIONS
Tia: The trick I really love, so we were doing this one commercial where it was a mother voice over for a Pampers commercial. Right away, when you go into VO you can tell that the artist has read the script. They know it backward and forwards, and they already have a voice to it. But if [the creatives] are not looking for whatever they’re kind of putting forward, I’ve had I heard creatives go: “Do you have kids? Act like you’re talking to them” or “think you’re speaking to your niece or nephew” I’ve heard [creatives] say, “okay you’re in the middle of a football field, and this is the opening announcement. Project, be strong, be bold.” I think that those little tricks of placing them where they should be when they’re speaking has been really, really effective actually. I’ve actually heard of the artist at one point even asking, “who am I speaking to? Who is my audience? Is it ten people in a room or 10,000 people? Is it a conversation?” and so even the really great artists they have those tricks as well up their sleeves to try to get the right performance.
Taking direction well is one of my strengths. I have been telling stories using these tricks for three decades in network TV, the most successful websites in the USA, and Fortune 40 companies. I’d love to be your voice over collaborator and help you start and finish with success.