voiceover@markmullens.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWpfOFRqM4Y&feature=youtu.be It's easy to listen to a voice over that you don't like and blame the voice actor. After all, they're the ones saying the words. But this is often like shooting the messenger, rather than looking at the content. In my experience voicing different projects from brand videos to advertising campaigns for large brands, you can really cripple a voice actor by giving them a badly written or unsuitable script. So let's loo

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ooRpS4ck0qA During a session, the voice actor is there to perform. This much is true. However, there are opportunities where the voice actor's experience can be instrumental in making improvements to the final result of a live session. In my own personal experience I've learned to identify problematic scrips and issues in direction, where I can ask for clarification or complete a half-baked idea. Maybe there's a tongue twister in the script or a

https://youtu.be/4b8hiiXT37c How do you find voice actors for a project? Just like finding any freelancer, there is a multitude of ways to find voice actors. Different websites, platforms, social media, etc. However, taking a bird's eye view there are really two main ways: casting or direct contact. A casting call is... a call for casting! You have a script, brief, details and you send this information over to an agency, or a casting platform like Voices.com, Voice123, Bodalg

https://youtu.be/trRHyqBaQhg For some voice over jobs I've done I've actually provided input as to what accent I should use for the work I'm about to do, and the most suitable accent will depend on a number of factors. Whether you like it or not, accents carry stereotypes and emotional reactions in your audiences. A posh British accent might be used for comedic purposes, or for talking about certain themes. If you want a piece of content to sound more "authentic" you might wa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBqoJi8y6Do Audio post production companies are often responsible for handling, voice over recording, mixing of the voice over audio and potentially the final audio mix for entire piece of content, be it a commercial, corporate video, brand video, etc. They have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders, and ultimately for a lot of them, how the voice actor behaves reflects on them, especially if they are responsible for sourcing the voice ove

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vHai6Uw5o3Y Outside of movie trailers, commercials and content that specifically calls for it, the "announcer voice" can at times feel like a relic of the past. However, such a voice over style did serve a technical purpose. When you listen to old advertisements you'll hear these rather static, loud and clear voices. The reason voice overs were done like this was out of necessity. Recording equipment (except for microphones) was not as high-fide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhkPWlEEUjY I've voiced commercials for Hasbro, Braun, Tia Maria, Canali and other brands, which means I've done several commercial VoiceOver sessions. There are things that in my opinion should be done to help you get a better result out of your voice actor. Here are some. 1. All material should be provided in advance. The script, references, music, the video if possible will help the voice actor get comfortable with the material. Little as

Video form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gKMKbf818s When you hire a voice actor to do work, what are you actually getting? Is it just an mp3 or wave file, or something else? Think of it this way - if a lawyer sends you a legal document, is that document just a pdf file with words on it, or does its value go beyond the medium used to deliver it? When a voice actor is hired, you are purchasing a license to use that person to deliver a message. The audio file is just the ves

https://youtu.be/V5vJjXkVnGs Generally speaking, for short form content any professional voice actor should have a standard sub-24 hour turnaround time. I try to do it within the day. Recording a proper professional voice over often involves: Studying the script This includes checking for correct flow, any unusual specific vocabulary, etc Recording multiple versions and takes of that script Selecting the best takes Editing the take(s) Applying any processing that might be nee

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UWWItMSDq2Y It really depends on the size of the production. I offer a range of processing amount, which can go from absolutely raw, nothing done to it, or fully processed, ready-to-use, just drag and drop in your video timeline and it's ready to go. The key question to ask is: does the project have an audio engineer? If the answer is yes, the voice actor shouldn't process the audio. That's the audio engineer's job. This mean the voice actor del

https://youtube.com/shorts/jvqyx-Z0c6U If you're looking for a voice actor I think it's generally a good idea to get the voice actor to do some sort of short test recording or an audition, just to make sure their performance and voice fit what you had in mind. The key thing is though, the talent needs to be provided with the right material and context to deliver something that actually matches your specifications. There's no point just giving them the words and hoping for the

Imagine hiring a photographer and they don't know how to change ISO, aperture and shutter speed? Imagine if they've never changed a lens before? Imagine you hire a photographer for your wedding and they only send raw, unedited photos? It would be unthinkable in the world of photography, but somehow not in voice over. This is especially problematic in this post-pandemic world, as most voice over sessions are done over the internet. This means the voice actor is recording from

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ayrHLpHNAeA Sometimes I get castings that are literally just a script. That makes it difficult to determine exactly what it is that you want. I've often found that my best quality work comes as a result of direct communication with clients, and not "here's a script, warm conversational corporate. Good luck". Without the ability to communicate directly with you and ask questions for clarification or even have the opportunity to receive feedback s

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Uw4_NqS2P1A You'll be surprised at how incredibly versatile a lot of voice actors are. Including myself. I remember one time I had to go to an in-person session to a studio in Rome, and I entered the booth, said hello, the client entered the call, and in that moment, I was asked if I could do an American accent. Now, you might not realize, but I am not American. The answer, however, was yes because I am prepared the possibility a client has an u

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kprNwb9aFFA Have you ever worked with a voice actor and found that when they submitted their audio to you it sounded nothing like you imagined? There could be a number of reasons for this. What's very likely to be the case is the voice actor hasn't actually received either the right information or enough information. I find that clients will sometimes expect me to just get the words and just do exactly what they want, and it's not always

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/J5TdejcwVz0?feature=share The worst director I've ever had was actually not too long ago. It was for a corporate voice over, and it was not fun. This director did two things that completely threw me off: 1. He told me exactly how to say things, word for word, tonally. 1. This is essentially the same thing as puppeteering. I don't get my own say, I just create sounds completely mechanically, devoid of any true storytelling. 2. He continually int

https://youtube.com/shorts/HADWh0ohAgc?feature=share What does it mean to be happy? If I ask that question to 10 different people, I will get 10 different nuanced answers. So when I'm told that I need to smile and be happy in my performance, there's a good chance my interpretation and your vision aren't going to be completely aligned. First of all, happiness is a very superficial way of describing a state of being. You may be happy for different reasons: 1. You just got unemp

https://youtu.be/nbM1RWAg84A Voice overs are often at the end of a production chain. The video is recorded. The music has been decided. Many things have already been put together. What will often happen is a client will come to you and be in a rush. So how can you make their life easier? 1. Answer emails quickly. 1. Nobody wants to be waiting around for an email, so I make sure I answer as quickly as I can. This is why I also have an email client on my phone, so if I'm out a

https://youtube.com/shorts/_b7yZNSXSZU When you write a piece of content, be it a video, a voice over, a documentary narration. Who are you writing for, a listener or a reader? What I mean is, a lot of content out there is not actually written to be spoken out loud. A lot of of it is almost written like an academic piece of paper. It provides a lot of detail, but it doesn't give the listener space to take that information in. Take for example of documentary. If the visuals in

https://youtube.com/shorts/vQDOlu3oYZg I've done many live directed sessions as a voice actor and I've had my fair share of good directors and... "directors". Let's talk about why it helps to have a good director. A good director understands what a performance needs and helps create the conditions that enable the right performance. An experienced director will focus on how to get that result - they will help the performer with context and use techniques to give us something t