Tiger Woods, Robin Williams, and Voiceover
Ok, so you know what I'm going to write. After all, this IS the Israel Voiceover Organization website, right? I'm going to tell you to hire a pro instead of recording the voiceover yourself, right?
Then perhaps you want to know why I'm even bothering to write this article, if you've already guessed the ending and therefore aren't going to read it?
The answer is simple. You DON'T know the ending.
The ending of this article is: RECORD THE VOICEOVER YOURSELF.
Now here's what comes before the ending:
Some jobs are so simple, even a two-year-old child can perform them. For example:
- Tiger Woods is a great golfer. He can hit a hole in one, even under difficult circumstances. But golfing is just hitting a ball. Any two-year-old can hit a ball.
- Andy Warhol was a great painter. He painted soup cans, and those painting made people feel a certain way, so he got paid a lot of money for them. But painting is just slapping colors on canvas. Any two-year-old can paint.
- Dr Seuss was a great writer. He made up words and wrote nonsense rhymes that somehow got a message across to readers, and lots of people bought his books. But writing rhymes is easy to do. Any two-year-old can rhyme.
- Robin Williams is a funny guy. His humor touches just the right spot in people and makes them burst out laughing. But making people laugh is easy to do. You know, two-year-olds say the most hilarious things.
But can a two-year-old really achieve the same results as Tiger Woods, Andy Warhol, Dr Seuss, and Robin Williams?
- No. Hitting a golf ball when it's windy or raining, when you're in a sand pit, and when the hole is out of sight is hard. And even when the hole is close by and conditions are ideal, you have to know just how to hit it to score a hole in one.
- No. To paint accurately you need manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and a sense of spaces. And actually painting something that make viewers feel a certain way requires a sense of psychology.
- No. Writing something that gets a message across, especially when limited to gibberish and nonsensical rhymes is quite difficult.
- No. Making people laugh, really laugh, requires in-depth knowledge of the human psyche and an ability to find the humor in things, even when not evident.
And what does voiceover require?
Like all arts, it may seem simple enough for a two-year old to perform, but there's more to it than meets the eye. It requires:
- The ability to deliver a message, even if the message is not explicitly stated in the script.
- The ability to deliver that message regardless of the how fast or slow it must be read and whether the script consists of tongue-twisting or seemingly nonsensical phrases.
- The ability to space the words, phrases, and sentences and to emphasize words so as to affect the listener in a certain way.
- And the knowledge of how to use the versatility human voice to achieve these ends.
These are abilities that must be acquired through hard work and dilligence over a period of time, abilities belonging to a professional voice talent.
But if you disagree, you could always just... record the voiceover yourself.
Victoria Feinerman
https://vicsvoice.com
