What To Expect When Hiring A Voiceover.
You need a voice over but this is your first time hiring one and it’s overwhelming. You also don’t want to get scammed (fair play) and you want to hire a professional. Here are 5 things to expect when hiring a voiceover:
Number 1 : Cost
I am not going to lie, it is going to cost you a fair amount. However, like every professional field, you are paying for quality, time efficiency and professionalism. Just remember voiceovers are, despite the ongoing rumors, human. We need shelter, food, care, and training (most of us are potty trained but in this case, I mean voiceover training). This, of course, costs money.
“The Breakdown”
Usually it will breakdown like this:
Basic Studio Fee (BSF) + Any Usage Fees (UF) = Total Cost.
Easy eh! Well, it is and no it is not. This is a very basic overview of the breakdown but it can get quite complicated, depending on the project. There are a few factors to take into consideration.
Is the project going to be broadcast? i.e. TV, Radio, Paid for Internet Ad. If so, how many people are going to see it and in what territories?
How large is this project? Usually determined by either time or word count.
Is the script (copy) very technical? i.e particularly area specific, scientific etc. Sometimes this can add to the overall cost but always ask if you are unsure.
There are other factors that can influence pricing, but usually most projects fall into these 3 areas and relevant pricing can be worked out. The voice over will always ask questions regarding the project, don’t worry we are grilling you for a reason, we are narrowing down on a price.
BSF or the Basic Studio Fee is a set fee that each voiceover will have and everyone’s will be different but usually very similar and within a certain range. This is usually based upon 1 hour’s worth of work. So, for example, you have a script with 50 words in it and you want a professional voiceover. The voiceover will give their BSF for the 1 hours of work it will take to record and master the audio. Now, for a professional voiceover it might take them 5 minutes to record, master, and send off the audio but the entire hour will still be charged. This is completely normal for voiceover. It is also completely normal for most professions. A plumber will charge per hour but might only take 20 minutes to fix. You are paying for the hours and hours of training it took to get that efficient.
A great site to look at when researching voice over costs is https://rates.gravyforthebrain.com/ or https://globalvoiceacademy.com/gvaa-rate-guide-2/. These costs are based upon Union standard rates (Equity for UK based voice overs). Equity is the Actors Union and decides upon standard pricing for the industry. Most professional voice overs will use this as a guide for their own pricing. Some voice overs will also be members of the union. So, I would suggest budgeting your project with these figures in mind.
Usage Fees are added for projects that require Commercial or Broadcast rights. Internal projects like training videos, e-learning or not-for profit projects will tend to not have usage fees attached to them. If the project will be publicly displayed including Internet, TV and radio they will need a “licence” from the voice over to be used. This can also be called the buy-out fee. Usage fees are worked out by a number of factors.
How many people will see it?
Where is it being broadcast? i.e. local, regional, worldwide etc.
How long is being broadcast for? i.e. a 6 month campaign.
Usage fees will be worked out with these factors in mind. So, for example let’s say you have a project that is being broadcast and you want to find out pricing. The voice over will give you something like this below. (For ease we will assume Usage Fees are worked out at 100% of the Basic Studio Fee).
“Based upon the project my costs are as follows: £200 for the BSF + £200 Usage Fees for 6 months usage.”
Again this is super basic and just an example. So, let’s break it down. £200 is the Basic Studio Fee for 1 hour. Easy. Now in this example the usage fee is worked out at 100% of the BSF. So, another £200 on top. In this example, the usage fee is a broadcast license for 6 months. Further months can be added on if needed but never taken away once agreed and paid for. If the contract says 6 months usage, 6 months usage will be paid for. These prices are going to be different for all voiceovers and might also be given to you as 1 lump, so please ask for a breakdown if you are unsure how it was worked out. They will have no problem telling you. It is also commonplace for a written agreement (contract) to be put into place before a project starts. This gives both parties peace of mind that the other will be compliant and adhere to the terms written down.
You can find my prices for voice over here.
Number 2: Delivery Time
This one is relatively simple. Once the voice over has asked you all the questions they need, and burrowed deeply into your soul, they will give you a timetable for delivery. Small projects can usually be completed within a day. Longer projects i.e. E-Learning, Audiobooks etc. will take a little longer. This is rather obvious I know. However, the overall process might be a little quicker than you might expect. For example, professional audiobook narrators can read through 100,000 words in 2/3 days, providing they have had time to prep the manuscript beforehand. This also does not include revisions or pick-ups as usually these are picked up by an editor or perhaps the buyer themselves. So, for high-level audiobook narrators, most could complete this sort of project within a week. Pretty quick right? Same goes for high level e-learning voiceovers. Just imagine it for yourself, if you can. Imagine reading through a pretty decently sized novel once and then having to perform that same novel with all the characters and nuance as the author intended in 2 or 3 days. Making mistakes along the way of course, but not as many as you might think. That is why high-level audiobook narrators are always so sort after and once you make a name for yourself in this field, you will never have problems finding work again. They are worth their weight in gold. You find a good narrator, keep them. Locked away in a cage preferably, as the audio book narrator likes small spaces and confinement for long periods of time.
For regular voice over work anything under a few thousand words can easily be done and revised within a day. Remember that sometimes voice overs might not see the script until the time of recording, or in some cases a few minutes before recording. This is almost preferred by most voice overs as it keeps the performance clear from any pre-conceived ideas from the voice over about the project. Keeping the performance open and more malleable from a direction point of view. Sometimes it can be hard to change from what you think it should sound like. Most voice overs are trained in sight reading, or cold reading techniques and are very good at reading a brand new script, for the first time, and making it sound like they have rehearsed it for days. This is why you pay the big bucks! It takes countless hours to perfect a technique like that and that is only one of a handful of techniques that a voice over has to learn and master. The best advice I can give you is to have a good communication line for your voiceover. Do you need it in a particular time frame? Tell them. You are not sure how long it will take them to record the project? Ask them. Most voiceovers will have a schedule, and most voice overs will accommodate your needs.
Number 3: The Final Recording
So let’s imagine you have hired a voice over (me?) and you want to know what you will receive as a final product. No, problem. Let’s break it down. This can all be arranged before you purchase the voice over. If you have a certain file type that you absolutely must have for the project, then let the voice over know in advance. If not, then the voice over will most likely give you a WAV file. A WAV file is a good all rounder when it comes to file size, overall audio quality and ease of use. WAV files are known as “Lossless” meaning they lose no quality from the original recording. Most, if not all, voice overs will record in this file type anyway and downgrade from it i.e. to an MP3. They will always have the higher quality file available if needed. Now there are a lot of options to choose from and a lot of technical information that might get thrown at you. It is not that tricky, let me break it down for you. You might hear terms such as:
8kbps, 16kbps or 24kbps
96kHz, 48kHz, 44.1kHz
Mono or Stereo
Let’s start with number 1. This is the bitrate at which has to do with audio quality. The bitrate is the amount of data being processed at any given time. The higher the bitrate the more audio information is being processed i.e. better quality audio. Usually for voice over this is capped at 24kbps. Anything over that and there is diminishing returns. Now for number 2. This number is referring to the “Sample rate” of the audio. Sample rate is how many times per second a measurement of an analog audio waveform is taken as it is converted to a digital signal. A Hz is a frequency. The normal amount of Hz a human can hear is between 20hz-20,000kHz. The theory is that the highest frequency we can record is half the sample rate. Meaning a 44.1kHz sample rate = 22.05kHz. Well within the normal for human hearing (and a bit beyond). You wouldn’t want to go any lower than 44.1kHz as the audio quality will be diminished as a result. Usually in voice over we will record in 48kHz as again anything past this has diminishing returns to the end-user. Now onto number 3. Mono or Stereo that is the question. Mono tracks will output all of the audio onto one track. Meaning if you had music on track 1 and voiceover on track 2, a Mono file would compress both separate tracks into one. This will result in all of the audio being outputted to both speakers at once. Stereo on the other hand does not condense the tracks into one file. This results in a “panning” effect when played back through speakers. For example, you could have drums coming through on the left side speaker and a vocal track on the right. Typically for voice over, using a Mono file type is preferred. One mic, one track. Sometimes for certain projects, a Stereo file will be needed. The voice over can quite easily do this for you.
Number 4: Payment
We’ve come to money once again. It’s time to pay up. How will a voice over approach this? Easy. The voice over will demand a bag of money, preferably with a $ sign on the front, with all the money in fresh $100 bills. I jest, I jest! We want it in untraceable bills of course! No, seriously this is all very simple. Most voice overs will have a preferred payment type. This could be Direct Bank Transfer, PayPal, Transferwise (for International payments), or sometimes the voice over will have the ability, on their website, for voice overs to be purchased directly, accepting most types of credit cards etc. I would only do the latter if you have a good relationship with the voice over in question and perhaps have done previous projects in the past. You can’t be too sure! Now generally payments will take the form of an invoice. An invoice will have a breakdown of what service was provided and how much you owe. The payment terms will also be on this form. Usually voiceovers and likewise most businesses have a 30-day payment due date. This means you have 30 days from the invoice being sent to pay the voiceover. If you do not then late fees can be applied, so please pay your voiceover on time! (We would actually love it if you paid us before the 30-day due date. You would be our very bestest client in the whole wide world!)
Now, if you have never worked with somebody before and both parties are a bit wary of the other, sometimes the money can be put into an “Escrow”. An escrow is a third party, with no ties to either party, that holds on to the payment until both parties are happy with the completed project. I said parties more times here than I have in my whole life. Anyway, escrows can be a good place to start a working relationship. Escrows do cost money though to set-up, so please consider this in your budgeting. Now in other scenarios the voice over might ask you to part-pay up front. Usually 50% of the total payment. This is common place and you do not need to worry. If you have concerns that set-up a written contract between the two parties (there we go again) and make sure to put everything you want and need out of the agreement.
If you are happy with everything, then pay away!
Number 5: Revisions
This technically shouldn’t be last but hey it is. What are we going to do about it? I could quite easily change this over and to be honest the amount of time I have spent typing this out I certainly could have done so. What a waste of time and effort though. Much easier just to keep on typing. Don’t stop the rhythm. So sometimes the voiceover can make a mistake or perhaps you want a small change to tone or pacing. This can easily be done. Make sure though that you have asked the voiceover what the revision terms are. Sometimes they will include 1 or 2 revisions for free. Perhaps. There are also some voiceovers that are happy to revise the project until the client is happy. Other voice overs will charge for revisions. If you do not know or are not told (which you should be) then please do not be afraid to ask. Changes in script however will be consider by most, if not all voice overs, to be a new order. This will be charged as if it was a separate and full order. Pronunciation mistakes are usually going to be free as it was a mistake by the voice over (and we don’t like to mis-pronounce anything!) To combat this please always include a pronunciation guide for company names, peoples names, made up words etc. This is very much appreciated by us! It will also save the voice over time and maybe a few grey hairs along the way.
Well, I think that is that. In summary, make sure you ask questions, pay up on time and give us a big bag of unmarked $$ bills and everything will go smoothly. If you would like to hire a voice over then I am one! Head over to www.the-britishvoiceover.co.uk and take a gander. All the best!
Jonathan.
