Budgeting for a Cartoon Voiceover

Learn how to budget properly for a voiceover recording with cartoon voice talent…

It’ll only take half an hour of your time…..

How many times do voiceover talent (VO) hear this from prospective clients who assume a 30 minute finished audio file takes only 30 minutes of work to produce?

Let’s take a closer look at what goes into making a finished, polished 30 minute audio file that will serve the purpose you want it to.

The cartoon voice talent receives the script and converts it if it is not presented double spaced with 12 pt type with at least 1″ margins all around.

Why bother?

Well, first and foremost, it is easier to read. The words and lines are not jammed up one against the other. But equally important, it gives the VO space to mark up the script.

This leads us to the next step in the process. The voice talent reads over the script, usually out loud, to get a feel for it.

As the cartoon voice talent reads the script a couple of times, s/he marks it up and checks the pronunciation of difficult words. What message is the script trying to convey? How best can the voice talent get that message across – where should emphasis be placed – where are the best places for pauses, for breath?

This can take up to 30-45 minutes.

Now the voice talent is ready to go into the booth and start recording. Turning on equipment, opening software and creating a new file just takes a minute or two.

Once in the booth, the voice talent records the script. While the markings made before stepping into the booth are a great aid, it still can take up to twice the length of the finished audio to record it. Longer, it if is complex, not written specifically for oral presentation, or if there is a lot of technical jargon or foreign words.

Let’s do a quick summation of time – so far, at minimum, the VO has spent at least 30 minutes preparing the script and at least 45 minutes recording it.

Hmmm – that 30 minute script has already at least took an hour and 15 minutes of the VO’s time and s/he hasn’t even started editing it yet!

Editing generally takes a minimum of twice (often 3x) the length of finished audio file. So, now we have to add another 60 to 90 minutes to the time already invested in this project.

So that “it’ll only take 30 minutes” project will take at least two hours or more to properly produce.

Here’s a rundown of the time it takes to produce a fully edited, dry voice (no music or effects) audio file 30 minutes in length:

Preparing the script: Up to twice the length of the final audio (30 minutes)

Recording: Up to twice the length of the final audio (45 minutes)

Editing: At least two to three times the length of the final audio (60 minutes)

Total Time: A minimum of four times the length of the final audio (135 minutes)(2′ 15″)

Please, for both your peace of mind and for the VO’s, keep this in mind when you set the budget for your next voice project.

Rule of thumb is it takes at least four times the length of the finished audio to record and produce.

Voice Talent? Hello World!!!

What is voice-over?

A recording of a voice over. An audio component of a media application commissioned by a client.
It’s the art of using the voice to sell, inform or entertain on radio and TV commercials, narrations for corporate audio or phone lines, and animation or cartoons. An ability to take someone else’s words (the script) and make them sound true and trustworthy as if they were your own. This has more to do with acting skills, competency and timing than vocal quality or impersonation.

With people wanting to get into the professional voice over business need proper training . This skill can be learned though it can take years of perfecting your talent and marketing yourself before you reach the level of success.

You need to market yourself before you can use voice-overs for personal or family means of support or for successful business in this competitive world of technological advertising.

Absolutely! It will probably take a few years before your voiceover career is established enough to be your primary means of living. At times, you’ll need to invest some of the money you make at your day job in things like classes, demo tape production and duplication, and marketing expenses to get your voiceover career off the ground.

What about the voice-actor ?
A voice actor is a creator of voice overs and is the producer of the creative vocal work that is recorded and used for a variety of applications including commercials for radio, television, telephone, podcasts, audio books, video games and more. The voice actor uses their natural gifts, primarily their voice and mastery of it, to imbue life into the written word. They are also known as voice talents, voice overs, voice over artists, VO, VA, narrators, announcers, orators, and so on.

http://www.businessvoicetalent.com/

Anybody looking for a voice producer or a professional voice can take advantage of the site:http://www.businessvoicetalent.com/
Don’t be shy. I recommend the site as leaders in the voice-over marketplace, we’re well equipped to answer your questions about voice-overs and business voice talent. The Business Voice Talent site is your premiere destination and proverbial ear to the ground regarding the use of voice-overs in the business world.

Unleashing the Power Within- Talents and Skills

Hi Everyone!

Good day! This blog aims to document fresh talents and skills of today’s generation and the next generation to come. We are living in a world of digital technology, a world fast becoming one global community connected via the web. You may view this blog as connected classrooms aiming to provide you with relevant information on various skills and talents we’ve researched and consolidated FOR YOU! There will also be a place here for YOU if you want to share your ideas and a piece of your talent. Should you want to share it here, you may do so as long as it is within our guidelines. Please feel free to share your talents as others do.

Am excited! We will all benefit here! It will be full-packed with information, resources, links. A lot of talents and skills to be discovered and learned here. Whether you’re a Baby Boomer, GenX or GenY or NXTGen – Be A part of this New Global Community TODAY!

Cheers!

David