Export Videos Featuring Voice Overs A Hot Commodity

What do you think of exports? It’s a hot market that is growing, says Jack Wilkins of Market World (http://www.marketworldvideo.com), and voice over has become the standard element that brings all aspects of the promotional videos together.

VOX: Hi Jack, thanks for joining me. I have some questions for you about Market World. You produce movies and corporate videos. Can you tell us a little bit about the kind of work people hire you to do?

JACK WILKINS: Currently, the target interest is an introduction to the products and services as a solution to a business problem. The resources that a company provides may be very broad or very specific as to the solution they have available for a need for other businesses or for the end consumer. While there is a growing need for in house corporate training for administration as well as job duties and performance by employees, most video is directed for a specific topic and the resources for providing a solution. The characteristics of the usual video is less than five minutes. This is usually more than adequate to illustrate a solution or process. There will be more movement towards instructions video for employee training as the rapid change in technology and need to keep the product of the company current and fresh.

VOX: Working with companies who export their products from the US is an interesting angle. How common is it for manufacturers to commission videos specifically for products they are exporting?

JACK: At this time, this is an expanding market. This will become more common as resources are enhanced through the diverse voice actors supporting foreign languages. As I understand it at this time, Voices.com has over 100 language represented. This is an excellent base to grow this communication product. It also allows for more specific targeting of products within countries that support those languages. It is also a great connector to indicate the respect for those people that speak languages other than the major seven languages, thus increasing the appeal for the product or service. Businesses will have to become very focused in informing specific cultures about their products. The web video is an ideal way to communicate solutions.

VOX: What kind of challenges do you run into when a client needs videos produced for products to be exported to countries whose official languages are other than English?

JACK: While English is the official international business language by common usage, the main challenge is to qualify the product for export from the USA and making sure the product has had due research that there is a demand for satisfying a need. For example, some foods may not be acceptable culturally in one country or culture, while highly desired in another. The voice actor needs to have an understanding of the culture from which the video is created and the receiving culture in which the product is to be used and make sure the understandings are communicated correctly. When a company such as Voices.com is presenting a voice actor for diverse language, a reference to the understandings and experience between cultures should be expressed for the client to make a decision about the appropriate person for the voiceover script.

VOX: Is the target audience for these videos the wholesaler or the consumer?

JACK: Because of the complexity of intellectual property rights, Market World produces for the business consumer. Also, because of the nature of the product, being specific to a product of a company, would not lend itself to a wholesaler. However, where the product is more general in nature, such as three or four varieties of sweet potatoes of the Sweet Potato Growers Association, a general film may be produced in bulk for use on their websites. For simplicity, Market World hosts the video allowing the business to link to it in many different was. Market World also has an Internet product designed for use in newspapers, such as classified advertisements, to easily link to their specific video that expands on the information provided in the advertisement.

VOX: Are these videos meant to be promotional pieces or are they more educational with the goal of a soft sell?

JACK: Usually in the process of informing, this generates the exposure of the end-user to the potential of solving a problem. Soft sell is appropriate when the consumer knows that they are on a marketing website. The video becomes an extension to the online sales catalog and carries with it the necessary links to order the product.

VOX: When you are making the video for products being exported, is there anything special that you do regarding exports that you wouldn’t do for say a video produced for people in the US?

JACK: The needs of expression are nearly the same. The area of concern is still related to cultural differences.

VOX: We live in a global village, and by virtue of that fact, do business in a global marketplace. How localized can these videos become to serve their intended audiences? Do you need to do a lot of research or is it up to your client to prepare the proper scripts and information necessary to produce a video customized to a particular country or region?

JACK: They may become very localized, to a particular town, for example, for presenting homes for purchase. Printed materials, distributed locally with a link, or with the use of other media, such as radio or TV, allow for this distribution. Specialty websites, such as a community bulletin board, may carry the resource to connect to the information. Also, publishing on multimedia CD where a vast amounts of information may be listed, including the video, is another way to control geographical limits. This is important where demographics is important to target specific areas that most likely would need the products. This is especially true when it is a consumer product for a family.



VOX: Do the videos have on-camera actors in them or do you primarily use voice over narration?

JACK: The easiest format is voice over narration (as well as lower cost). This allows pictures and graphics to be presented with the supporting voice. However, video submitted in a file format (ideal when used with digital cameras as they come with conversion software) to move the video from the camera to a file that can be used in the editor. Market World uses a built-in hard disk in the camera for rapid transfer.



VOX: As part of your service you include voice overs. What do you look for in a voice talent?

JACK: Individuals that have an adaptability of expression, is most ideal. Personality is secondary to the extent of generating a feeling of excitement to engage the viewer. Reading of eBooks “is another story”, except for reflection on characters.



VOX: How involved are your clients in the selection process?

JACK: Market World gives some suggestions, but the client is the chooser of the voice actor. It is presumed that they will have had feedback from others in their business to determine which voice is best for their product or service. Business administration tend to be male voices, consumer products and services tend to be female, but again, a beauty – cosmetic product from an administrative business-to-business may best fit a female voice. An area for exploration for business is the development of online video for improving the workforce within a business by attracting the best qualified to optimize research and development for the new innovative products and services for the future. Engineers to engage a solution of energy development and applications is a specific example of a communication focus that specific topic video is able to address.

Thank you for this opportunity to offer some possible solutions with the enhancement of voice actors.

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Technorati Tags: digital cameras, interactivevoices, Jack Wilkins, Market World, web video

Does Your Slideshow Stink? 5 Problems Solved Quickly By Using Voice Overs

Remember sitting in a classroom watching a slideshow that took an eon to endure? The teacher or presenter would succeed in capturing your attention and then try to keep it as they heroically plowed through a monotonous cycle of clicking as the fan chugged along with a gentle hum whose uncanny ability to make you sleep was second to none.



Click, next point, click, boring spiel, click, click, click… and you’re off to greener pastures doodling in a notebook, etching your name into a desk or drooling on your books.

For whatever reason (maybe the ones above may suffice), people in today’s society have given the slideshow a bad name, calling it obscenities like “ridiculous”, “a drag”, and the oh so clever “boring!”

Why do you think that is?

Maybe it’s because slideshows, at least the ones from twenty or thirty years ago, are passe and stink of film canisters with eruditely written content draped in intellectual garb that are sadly, under regular circumstances, not attractive or consumable to the average person.

Don’t get me wrong, (I love vintage media), but when it has lost its ability to reach an audience, it’s time to jazz it up, especially in our generation where everything needs to be relevant, immediate and packaged in a way that people can identify with and perceive as valuable.

Why else would they spend their time on it? There’s so much more out there and believe you me, there’s more out there to distract someone that pose challenges to keeping a steady focus.

Fortunately for the academe, new technologies have come to the proverbial rescue and have made it easier to get attention, keep it and instill knowledge.

Gone are the days (in most places) of the old guard imposing point and click presentations. Our world is now full of rich multimedia audio visual productions that wow and stimulate audiences. They teach, they captivate and they entertain.

However, you might say that the content presented is only as good as the presenter is an entertainer, or, narrator.

Again, and most fortunately for us, technology has provided yet another way to aid poor presenters by employing the addition of a “choose your own adventure” style solution that is entertaining, effective and persuasive… dare I say, even interactive.

What is this catalyst?

Voice over narration.

You see, the use of voice over solves nearly all of the problems a presenter faces in the heat of battle:

1. A voice over connects deeply with listeners

2. A voice over doesn’t get tired, clear their throat, take break to drink, or have stage fright

3. A voice over won’t get lost in the presentation or stumble on words

4. A voice over makes points clearly and effectively

5. A voice over finds a way to enliven the words so that you don’t have to

When looking for someone to narrate your powerpoint presentation or slideshow, check out the voice over marketplace online to find the right voice for your project.

There are literally thousands of people out there who do this for a living so you won’t have any trouble locating a professional voice talent. Either do a search using your favorite browser or just go straight to Voices.com and use the voice talent search engine, browse demos or post a job for best results.

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Technorati Tags: media, old media, style solution, vintage media, Voice over narration, voice talent search engine

Me Talk Good English : 3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Record Your Own Voice Overs

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Just because everyone can talk doesn’t mean that everyone is a voice actor. Yes, strange but true!

For instance, would you let a mechanic perform dental surgery on you or ask a dance teacher to stop your toilet from overflowing instead of calling a plumber?

Many people are told that they have a great voice and think that they can record voice overs for their own company (or are asked to by their boss), but what many fail to see is that it isn’t about the voice necessarily, it’s about how you use it.

Something else to consider is that a voice over isn’t only reading, it’s the artistic interpretation of words and the telling of a story with the purpose of getting people to buy in to a concept, strike interest in a product, service, or to simply be entertained.

So, why shouldn’t you record your own voice overs?

1. The voice over won’t sound like it was recorded professionally

2. It will cost you more time and money than hiring a pro to do it will

3. An in-house recorded voice over could actually hurt your brand

The case is stated pretty well, don’t you think?

The last thing any business person wants to do is misrepresent their company, spend more money than necessary, or do injury to their brand image, all of which could very well happen if they recorded their own voice overs.

If you’re in a position where you have a marketing budget or a budget that is set aside for business operations, include professionally recorded voice overs as part of that budget.

You’ll save yourself time, money and stress, but don’t just go with any person who says they’re a voice over talent, be sure to go with the best that you can afford.

Did you know that you’re literally 3 clicks or less away from finding a professional voice over talent?

When you need a voice over recorded, don’t skimp because skimping shows and it’ll cost you more money in lost business in the long run whereas as a good voice over recording will make you money and be an investment in your brand, and that will show too.