How to Choose the Perfect Voice Over for Your Video Production. How to Choose the Perfect Voice Over for Your Video Production When you're creating a video production for your business, there are two main areas of focus: Visuals and Audio.
The visuals come naturally to most. You might feature on-screen talent, show charts and statistics, or share photos. The audio is often a bit trickier to get right. Vocal Fry: The Next Big Trend in Voice Production? Vocal Fry: The Next Big Trend in Voice Production?
Vocal Fry is also known as that creaky sound many people make at the ends of words or sentences. Recent research has found that the creaky voice phenomenon may be a growing speech trend in college age women. Vocal Fry: The Next Big Trend in Voice Production? Creating IVR Announcements and Messages On Hold that Sound Appealing to Your Callers. Behold, The Power of Real Human Audio. Behold, The Power of Real Human Audio While waiting on hold, most listeners can tell almost instantly if the message on hold program contains human narration or synthetic speech.
Granted, artificial speech technology has come a long way in replicating the human voice, but very noticeable differences still exist. Although synthetic speech and natural speech are no longer at completely opposite ends of the spectrum, natural speech comes out on top due to the persistent shortcomings of artificial voice. Rush Jobs for Message on Hold and Voice Prompt Productions. Rush Jobs for Message on Hold and Voice Prompt Productions In previous blogs, we have discussed approaches to handling rush-jobs, or same day fulfillment, of message on hold and voice prompt productions.
Though we have a thorough process for completing these time-sensitive projects, our first step is to ask the customer – “why?” Instant gratification is not only rampant among consumers: many clients feel that they need their program as soon as possible. By asking “why,” clients are able to take a step back and evaluate if their situation truly demands same day fulfillment.
But what about our customers who need a program asap? The common theme among these situations is that the respective client is updating or changing their phone system. Voice Recognition and Telephony. Voice Recognition and Telephony In our October Newslette, Holdcom featured a clip from the critically acclaimed sketch show Burnistoun about two Scottish gentlemen struggling with an elevator voice-recognition system.
The sketch played off of the myth that voice recognition systems (or the average English speaker) cannot decipher thick Scottish accents. However, a recent study has determined that gender, and not accents, may contribute to voice recognition errors: “Researchers up at the University of Edinburgh have determined that the male voice is harder for voice recognition software to pick up and understand than its female counterpart. Achieve Professional Results with your Homegrown On Hold Studio. Achieve Professional Results with your Homegrown On Hold Studio In the mid ‘90s, it was thought that all you needed to be a DJ were two turntables and a microphone.
In the early 21st century, it is thought that all you need to become a Youtube or podcast sensation is a home camera or a ten-dollar computer microphone. At Holdcom, we get scores of voiceover demos from amateurs who one day wake up, decide they want to be a professional voice over artist or radio announcer, and record a thirty-second Message On Hold announcement in their bathroom. Holdcom does not overlook the potential for homegrown studios – in fact, many of our authentic multilingual talents are located in their native countries and, by necessity, record remotely. Voiceover Recording for Telephony. Voiceover Recording for Telephony Contributed by Production team member Brett Lubansky Among recording professionals, the human voice is regarded as one of the more problematic instruments to capture.
With most instruments you have a pretty good idea of your approach; however, the human voice is fickle. Copyright and Marketing Audio. Copyright and Marketing Audio In the age of instant access to information, taking the proper licensing and copyright procedures can secure that you receive due compensation for your product.
In regards to message on hold, copyright procedures are less clear cut. For a typical message on hold, a voice talent will read a script created from provided content, and this recording will be set to background music. However, is the music copywritten? Voice Message Production - Audio Extensions. File Format Definitions for your Audio Program On occasion, Holdcom will encounter an unusual file format from client-supplied music.
With help from Holdcom's Audio Produers, today’s blog is going to present several audio file formats we see in Message On Hold programs and voice prompts and what to do when encountering an unknown format. Multilingual Communication. Multilingual Communication HOLDCOM recently completed an interesting project for a major bio-pharmaceutical company that required multi-lingual audio production for a video presentation.
With offices and markets in numerous countries, our client needed to globalize their existing corporate video, which featured employee interviews, testimonials and a speech by their CEO...all in English. After considering several language options, they decided that a Japanese version of the presentation would best suit their needs, using a format known as “U.N. style” (United Nations). “U.N. style” refers to the timing and dynamic level of the dubbed translation; there is a slight delay in positioning the Japanese voice track so the original English can still be heard faintly in the background. Since scripts were not available, the first step involved producing a transcript of the English narrative.
Click Here to learn more about going multilingual with Holdcom. Find The Right Voice...Talent. Find The Right Voice...Talent When Hillary Clinton announced that she found her "own voice" during her campaign for President in 2008, she was referring more to her persona than her vocal cords.
As a politician, she cleary understood the importance of establishing an image that would be both authentic and appealing...a "voice" that would "speak" to her constituency. And, as she struggled for acceptance and votes, this proved to be a formidable task. When utilizing audio marketing for your business, promoting new products and services, or delivering general information to your customers and prospects, finding not just your voice, but the right voice, deserves serious consideration.
Audio Production Store - Voice Prompts. Audio Production Store - Voice Prompts With the release of Itunes 10, Apple has taken the necessary, and seemingly innovative, approach of incorporating social media into the infrastructure of the Itunes experience. Alongside the fact that Itunes has revived AppleTV and now offers the purchase of television shows less than 24 hours after they have been aired, you can immerse yourself in Ping, a microblogging venture where you can comment on songs, follow artists, create your own profile, and connect with music lovers all in live stream.
Though this enhancement may color the Apple users’ experience, it does little to deepen the quality of their software. Ping behaves like Twitter but has the underlying commercialism of Myspace. According to Richard McManus, a blogger for the technology source ReadWriteWeb, “the fact that you need to be inside the Itunes Store…seems a rather cynical move to encourage people to buy more music.” How could Apple have used social media for its benefit?
eTraining. Another emerging market for Holdcom is eTraining, also known as virtual learning or just-in-time training. Holdcom supplies voices and scripts for professional businesses that need their staff to learn something new, and fast: for example, updated software or a novel technology. Senior Script Consultant Rob Lefever created several “script tips” for a successful eTraining program. It is important to “understand your objective and know your audience. Keep the focus of your script – a good way to do this is to put yourself in their shoes, and don’t assume they know everything you know.” Another important factor of eTraining is “keeping it simple. Audio Branding and Image. Audio Branding and Image The story that's being bounced around the Internet this morning is that of Israel "acquiring the Twitter username @Israel," an effort by the nation's "recent initiative to get more involved in Social Media.
" In the spirit of the @Israel account origins, belonging to a Miami-based pornographic website, a recent essay by Joseph Laycock for ReligionDispatches magazines describes the "spiritual warfare" between a church and a strip club in, of all places, Warsaw, Ohio. And don't forget about the recent mutiny of Digg users.