Monday 30 July 2018

How do I write a Voiceover Script?


Despite it being hotter than Hades out there and in here currently, Big Fish Media, The UK’s premier Voiceover Agency, has been busy working on some very fun audio projects.

The team have been schooled in copywriting over the years and over the past few months we have been working with clients old and new on refreshing and reworking their content.


With over 2000 voiceovers on our books we have worked on all sorts of audio projects. All of our voices are hand picked and put through their paces. They are experienced, professional and able to take direction. This month we took on some new clients who loved our voices and how conversational they are.


We’ve been busy writing scripts as well as tweaking clients copy. Does your script for your video animation need to be written? Or does your next TV Commercial need to be voiced and produced? Over the years we have written content and providing the voice actor to that audio production.

We have picked up a few copywriting tricks over the decades working with content. Take a look at the list we have;

  1.        The Rule of three – The holy Trinity of all content. The trio concept always emphasis a point and hammers home facts. 
  2.         Kiss – Keep it short and simple, yes it is that simple. Long and over-complicated sentences cause audiences to turn off and let their minds wander away from your brand, product or service.
  3.        Cut, cut, cut – content always ends up being too long. Less is always more. Be ruthless and understand that the narration is an indication and not a lecture. 
  4.        Audience – who is the content for? It makes a difference to language and words when you need to communicate a brand/product or service to a young audience vs an older audience.
  5.       CTA – Call to Action – Every script needs to have a call to action to bring it all together and ensure that the target audience does exactly that…take action.


Our voice talent have decades of experience reading copy for voiceover recordings. They are highly trained and know how to deliver lines to suit the copy's needs. Please get in touch with us when you need your own voiceovers.



Monday 16 July 2018

How do I Record a Voiceover Audition?



We often get asked by various clients if we would provide demos to them. Our voices are speedy and as many of them record voiceover jobs daily morning, noon and night then we are more than happy to supply our clients with demos.



But why do they need a demo? Many clients know about our voices and have heard their reels. The varied voices on our books often have several reels showing off real voice, from corporate and explainer narration to commercials to video games and narration long form.

These voice actors are highly adept at reading a script and recording a few lines. It takes real skill to sight read a few lines with no real idea of the context and only bring content to life. Our 2000 voices are picked because they are experienced and know how to perform and take direction.


When our clients give us copy and ask for a demo we select voices that we know will work well for them. In order to nail the job from a demo audition read on to see what we suggest;

  1. Confirm receipt of the email; often demos take a few hours to days to collate depending on the voice requirements that have been requested. We prefer the voice to confirm they have received our email demo request and preferably send it back by receipt!
  2. Record one clean take; the end client is just listening for your voice and how it fits into their large marketing mix so one take and you are good to go. The clients know that they will do various takes in a session anyway of different emotions so the demo is simply to hear their lines in your voice.
  3. Dropbox or email; ideally the voice pops it into dropbox so that the client can just send the links all together.


  1. To produce or not to produce? Some voices do production and often will do takes with production. If you prefer this as a voice, please do but please always send a raw version as that is what the client is after.
  2. Patience; Choosing a voice client side can take a while due to many circumstances. Our voices are patient and understand that it can take a while for projects to get off the ground.


So, if you need one of our voiceovers and you are after a bespoke demo then please get in touch Our ocean of voices would be happy to help.


Wednesday 4 July 2018

How do I get the best performance from a Voiceover Artist?

Today we had a fantastic session with a client and voiceover artist. Maybe it was the stars being aligned, maybe it was the summer weather or maybe it was a collaboration with all parties completely on board with the objective.


The session was like any other session here at the Big Fish Media HQ. The client had sent the final signed off script over a week before and on checking on the voice actor's availability booked them.

When the time came, the voice-over was in the booth, already prepared with script and annotations in the margins. They had read the copy and understood the emotional position, the pivot point and the aim of the copy.

Being able to lift of all the nuances of the content and convey that to an invisible audience is quite a talent and one that our voices are able to do with ease.

The client was also on hand and understood the copy and what they needed from the voiceover artist. They had written the copy so that it made sense to speak and had directed sessions before.

As with every voice over session, our duty engineer asked the client to go through the aim and objectives of the video production so that the voice would understand the voice over genre.

Despite a technical script both client and voiceover developed an emotional intention that was perfect for this job.


Why was the session such as success ensuring both voice and client were happy with the results?

1. Timely and Signed off Scripts : In this way the client can be sure that they have the final version which is necessary for the voice to practice with. Too many changes late on mean that everyone gets confused and mark ups can lead to more confusion.
2. Voice actor talent : Quick to inform of their availability and as they are both talented and professional, they know how to prepare for a session, with breathing exercises as well as sight reading skills.
3. Client communication : The client understood how sessions work and what words and emotional stances the voice needed to hear to place their voice in that role.



The result? A great session with all the takes the client was after in the time they needed. The voice over was happy as they were able to add in their years of experience of this technical subject and know how to elevate the copy from just reading to story telling.

If you would like to have one of our voiceovers to engage your target audience with your brand, product or service then please contact us - we would be happy to help!