What is Voiceover?
A voiceover is recorded narration laid over picture by a speaker who is not seen on screen, carrying the script a video’s images cannot state directly. Philippine work is frequently commissioned in English, Filipino or both, and the choice of language, accent and read shapes how a brand sounds to its audience.
- Category
- Creative & Video Production
- Also called
- Voice-over, VO, Narration
- In our work
- AI video production
A voiceover is written to picture and timed against it, which is why a script that reads well on the page can run long once it is spoken at a pace an audience can follow. Recording is normally done in a treated room against a picture reference, with several reads of each line so the editor has a choice. Casting matters more than most briefs allow for: age, warmth, pace and accent set the personality of a brand before a single claim is heard.
Synthetic voices have made short-form narration cheap and are now common in social and explainer work, the trade being consistency and turnaround against the interpretation a person brings to a difficult line. Either route carries paperwork. Human talent is engaged for a defined term, territory and media, so a voice recorded for a launch campaign is not automatically cleared two years later, and a cloned or synthetic voice needs permission from the person it is modelled on plus vendor terms covering commercial use.
Common questions.
Should a Philippine AVP be voiced in English or Filipino?
It follows the audience rather than convention. Internal, community and provincial audiences often respond better to Filipino, while investor and export-facing material is usually English. Producing both is inexpensive when the script is written with two versions in mind, and expensive when the second language is requested after delivery.
Related terms.
Sound Design
Creative & Video ProductionSound design is the construction of everything an audience hears other than dialogue: music, room tone, effects, transitions and the mix that balances them against the voice.
Buyout
Creative & Video ProductionA buyout is a one-off payment that purchases the right to use a performance, a piece of music or a finished video without further fees, for the term, territory and media the contract names.
Usage Licence
Creative & Video ProductionA usage licence is the written permission setting where a video may run, for how long, and in what media, normally stated as term, territory and channel: twelve months, Philippines, digital only.
AVP (Audio-Visual Presentation)
Creative & Video ProductionAn AVP, or audio-visual presentation, is a short branded video that explains an organisation, product or programme to an audience in one sitting.
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