Contrary to popular belief, the art of being a voice over isn’t just limited to ads and cheesy slogans. There is a wide range of voice overs out there, some more commonly known than others.
This post will cover some of the various roles which voice overs play to help make society what it is today.
Advertorial voice over
Whether it’s for radio, television or for social media, advertorial voice overs remain the most popular known use for voice overs.
Specialised in speaking in the active voice, an advert voice over knows how to speak to a target audience, and convince them to take the required action.
There is a key difference between radio ads and video-focused ads, in that, for radio ads the voice your pick is even more important, as the ad is centred around solely sound.
Whether the voice over is convincing the audience to consider a product or service, they’re specialised in convincing the end user by their voice alone.
Narrator
Narrators can take many forms, be it an audiobook narrator for a digitised novel, a documentary or movie narrator, usually this role calls for someone with a distinct, slick voice.
One of the most commonly known forms of voice over, a great narrator can go a long way in life, just look up James Earl Jones (the Lion King narrator) and see just how far it can take you.
A narration voice over is simply a voice over that narrates the events being presented to you, a popular option for productions that don’t say enough for themselves.
Trailer voice
Trailer voices are those deep, complex, intense voices that you’d expect to hear in an early 2000s movie trailer. Whilst less commonly used in 2023, trailer voices are still very much a viable option, and in demand for the exceptional few that fit the bill.
Nowadays hired for more advertorial projects, everybody can appreciate the talent behind what it takes to achieve the perfect, epic trailer voice.
Voicemail spokesperson
Though it is less commonly known, company voicemail greetings are very often recorded by external people, a lot of the time it’s a voice over doing so.
I know what you’re thinking: “Wait, isn’t Jenny the receptionist who recorded the voicemail greeting for your company?”, a lot of the time what you’d often think was recorded in-house, could’ve easily been someone hired externally.
Considering all you have to do is guide a customer through a journey, you don’t necessarily need to be specialised in a company’s antics to know what you’re doing as a voicemail voice over.
Cartoon voice overs
When it comes to animation and cartoon productions, they require energetic, unique voices to really create that ambience necessary to really bring the characters to life.
Cartoons, unlike regular movies and shows, have more exaggerated colours, movements and distinct storylines, cartoon voice overs make sure the sound matches the visuals as far as that’s concerned.
The whackier the better, with a lot of females voicing male characters such as Bart Simpson and Timmy Turner, it’s actually way more common than you’d think.
Dubbing artists
If you’ve ever watched your favourite show, movie or cartoon you may have heard a dubbed version of the same thing. Dubbing voice over artists actually have a whole different approach to recording voice overs.
As it entails embodying a character’s voice, but in a different language, there’s a certain amount more energy and soul put into the end result. Dubbing artists are necessary for localisation purposes, and the need for them isn’t limited to solely entertainment purposes.
Dubbing voice overs are also prominently hired for localisation of ads too. Considering the intricacies that come with approaching a worldwide audience, to perpetuate your desired tone in a new language is truly a skill for the more experienced of voice overs.
Types of voices
As covered in this post, there are various types of voice overs out there. If you’re trying to go down the route of voice over artistry as a career path, just know there is a plethora of possibilities waiting for you.
Did we miss anything on this list? Which option surprised you the most? Drop a comment below and let us know!
