Television commercials. Subway announcements. Nature documentaries. Video games. These are just a few places where you may hear a faceless voice offering instructions, explanations or a dramatic performance.
The voice over industry is a massive one that has managed to stay less invisible because of the nature of what it is. Unlike sitcom or movie acting, there’s no gorgeous face to go along with a striking voice. Sure, some voices may be familiar and comforting (think of the handful of men that lend their voices to the hundreds of movie trailers that come out each year), but usually voice overs are meant to be in the background, ushering you through a visual experience while the majority of your brain focuses on what you can actually see.
All of these complex psychological components make writing a voice over script a tricky task. How do you make a script sound natural? What’s the most important information to include? Is there ever a good time to throw the script out the window? The following will give you the tools you need to create amazing voice over scripts.
1. Make an Outline
So you’ve got a project and it’s time to write a script. What do you do when confronted with the terror of the blank white page? Any writer will tell you the best place to begin a project is with an outline. Not only does an outline help you organize your thoughts, it lets you work within the rigid confines of voice over work. After all, you are almost always trying to squeeze specific information into a certain amount of time; any more or any less is no good.
Start with the high-level points you need to get into your script. Your client will most likely be able to tell you what these are. For instance, if you’re writing a script for a hotel’s television commercial, they may ask you to include the name of their hotel, the tagline, and the details of a certain promotion within 20 seconds. Once you know what these important points are, you can create a script around them.
2. Keep It Natural
One of the most difficult parts of writing a script is making sure it doesn’t sound like a script. The best scripts make it seem as if the actor reading them is simply speaking off the top of his or her head; in a sense, you could say the best script are invisible. A bad script, on the other hand, can sound like a car crash in front of your house; a terrible, unnatural thing that draws you out of the moment and makes you ask, “What in the heck was that?”
Making a script sound natural can sometimes involve throwing out the rules of grammar and formality. Use contractions to sound more conversational. If a certain word or turn of phrase is technically grammatically incorrect but sounds better to the ear, keep it. Remember, a good script is invisible, and the incorrect way of saying a phrase may achieve more than the stiff, grammatically correct way.
3. Read It Out Loud
Not sure if your script sounds natural or stilted? Once you’ve finished writing your script, read it out loud. This is generally a good thing to do with anything you write, but reading your script out loud early in the creation process can help you solidify your vision and create a script that works. After all, in the end, your script is going to be read out loud, so hearing yourself read it will be of more value than simply looking at the words you’ve written.
Even after you’ve given it several read-throughs, have someone else give it a read before you pass it off to an actor. This will allow you to determine whether or not what you’ve written is easy to read for someone who is unfamiliar with the way you write and has never laid eyes on the script before.
4. Get Feedback
Now is the time to get feedback on your script. The first person you should get feedback from is the person you asked to read it out loud. Did it feel natural to them? Are there any words they stumbled over? Did they have to read quickly to stay within the time constraints? Were they done reading 5 seconds earlier than they needed to be?
After this, take your script to others to read. It’s also good to find a creative partner you can trust, so look for someone within your agency or studio who can give you constructive feedback. The client paying for the script should be presented with what you feel like is a finished product, so they should be the last person to read it.
5. Don’t Be Afraid to Throw Out the Script
Let’s say you got your script on paper and everyone is pleased with it. The language was perfect, it stayed within the dictated time, and the script contained all the major points necessary. But any actor will tell you that things may not go as planned once you start recording. The actor may misread a line and say something that is actually better than what’s written down. You may find that, even after several read-throughs, one of the lines just isn’t working.
It may seem counterintuitive to make changes at this point in the process, but that’s exactly what you should do. If something’s not going right, change it. Cut lines from the script, change words, or—in the most dramatic cases—throw out the script completely. Bottom line: do whatever it takes to get the reading that works best for the project.
Now Get Writing!
Every creative person has their own way of doing their best work. So don’t be afraid to work your own tricks and tips into the voice over script writing process. Maybe you dictate the script to someone else. Or maybe you can only write outside. Perhaps classical music helps you get into the cadence of your project. Whatever the case, know that the more scripts you writer, the better you’ll get.
The post Top Five Tips for Writing Voice Over Scripts appeared first on Official Fiverr Blog.