AARON MENZ

Narrations are a part of daily life. Conversationally a friend may tell us a story about what happened to them on the way to work. You may not want to listen, but they still tell the story. Some people are just naturally good storytellers, teachers, and can present information or give directions in a way that’s easy to follow. There are some voice-over artists who are so well known for their ability to narrate that they have become the standard or maybe parodied for the genre they dominate. English broadcaster David Attenborough’s voice-overs for BBC wildlife documentaries provide the smart, calm, but very mature and warm voice along with the British accent. Morgan Freeman’s voice is unmistakably recognizable, and his caliber of talent actually lends credibility to just about any narration he does. This article will explore narration voice-overs, various types, and how they can be utilized but is in no way exhaustive.

Narration voice-overs are primarily explanatory, present facts, and information. They can also tell a story such as in an audiobook voice-over or give direction like in an IVR (interactive voice response) system. There are so many facets of narration that narration voice-overs make up a majority of voice-over work in the industry. E-learning, corporate training, academic, podcasts, medical voice-overs, and documentaries, the list goes on and on.

There aren’t just different kinds of narration voice-overs there are different kinds of narrations. These are found throughout literature and various other media. Here are a few types of narrations:

1. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person narrations. These will depend on the pronoun being used e.g. I, you, he/she.
2. An objective narrator as an observer who discloses the details of other characters in a story.
3. A subjective narrator disclosing their experience in the story.
4. A limited narrator also is known as a Point of View narrator where only a certain perspective is known.
5. An omniscient narrator who has access to all facts in a story.

All these various types of narrations appear in literature and hence will be those the voice-over artist comes across in audiobook narration. Audiobook narration will go a step further as the voice-over artist narrates the entire book and its characters if it has any. A good narrator can add emotion, personality, that human touch. A good voice-over narrator can also, like Morgan Freeman and David Attenborough lend credibility, quality, and personality to a voice-over project.

The different types of narrations have been covered so now onto a few of the various types of narration voice-overs:

Audiobooks are on the rise and in 2018 sales rose 22.7% resulting in $2.5 Billion. Audiobooks can be listened to just about anywhere, in a car, plane, the office, school and they can be downloaded on smartphones and other electronic devices. This niche of the voice-over industry is one that has its own nuances to it. These nuances include a fully-voiced solo narration of the book, partial-voice narration where the voice-over artist must come up with various voices, a full cast. There is also an unvoiced reading where the voice-over artist just reads the story without any changes in voice for characters and narrator.

Along with audiobooks E-Learning is on the rise due to online college programs, faster computer processors and networks, and larger memory storage. It’s been proven that the brains of storytellers and their listeners sync up because the same parts of the brain are activated. Ever wonder why when reading a book that isn’t so interesting or listening to a person tell an uninteresting story why you begin to feel tired or so into it you feel energized? That’s because parts of the brain are being stimulated into the story or subject narrated.  E-Learning in the corporate setting accounts for 40%-60% less employee time than in the traditional classroom and increases retention rates. Voice-over artists can even find E-Learning vids about doing voice-overs, so this is a niche that is growing as well.

Utilizing voice-over for corporate training can save money, time, and manpower. It’s just an efficient way to go. 42% of companies who have utilized E-Learning which is comprised of voice-over narration have increased revenue, employee engagement, and competitive edge. Corporate voice-over means the voice-over artist may be the voice of the company, spokesman, and representative. The corporate culture and standard of the company will be reflected in the voice-over.

Medical narration is a very specialized niche. High accuracy in pronunciation of medical terms, medicines, and procedures is essential. This is a niche that is found in the local medical doctor’s office, at the pharmacy, in medical school so it can be complex. The voice-over artist has to not only be accurate with the terminology but also with engaging the script in a way that the audience will understand any procedures or directions associated with whatever medical subject, procedure, or medicine that is narrated about.

Academic and Educational voice-overs also are specialty niches like the medical voice-over narration. This type of voice-over narration may be a component of E-Learning, but it also may be more specialized with more difficult terminology. Academic voice-over narrations may range from special needs, young children’s education, senior citizen, to college/university level graduate and post-grad studies. Graduate and doctoral studies academic writing standards are very different and such standards may be reflected in the voice-over narration. ESL voice-overs may be slower than typical voice-overs. Museum exhibits and tours will utilize voice-over for educational purposes.

Documentary narration voice-overs tend to be generally educational but not academic. The voice-over for a documentary is essential and can make or break it because the voice guides through the visual content. A documentary voice-over narration may also reflect the subject of the documentary as well, so this is important. A documentary on professional skateboarding isn’t likely to utilize Gilbert Gottfried’s Iago voice from Aladdin. This is quite different from an audiobook narration where the audience is mostly listening to the content. Film voice-over narration is also a tricky thing for screenwriters to get right since such a narration can ruin a film or the flow of it in the story. The Shawshank Redemption utilizes voice-over narration masterfully but not all films can successfully carry its utilization off.

There are many ways to utilize voice-over for narrations and the many kinds thereof. Some voice-over narration can be easily self-directed in an in-home studio while others may require full on direction depending on how lengthy and the caliber of the project. If there is a voice-over narration project or questions, contact me. I would love to connect and collaborate and check out my voice-over narration demos.

Sources

• Maher, John. Audiobook Revenue Jumped 22.7% in 2018.
• Moseman, Andrew. Study: The Brains of Storytellers and Their Listeners Actually Sync Up.
• Gutierrez, Karla. Facts and Stats that Reveal the Power of E-Learning.