VOICE-OVER

The term 'voice-over' refers to a production technique where a disembodied voice is broadcast live or pre-recorded in radio, television, film, theater and/or presentation.^[1]
The voice-over may be spoken by someone who also appears on-screen in other segments (e.g. Famke Janssen/Jean Grey in X2) or it may be performed by a specialist voice actor. Voice-over is also commonly referred to as "off camera" commentary.

Contents

Types and uses of voice-over

As a character device

As a creative device

As an educational or descriptive device

As a commercial device

Prominent or iconic voice-over artists

See also

Notes and References

Types and uses of voice-over

As a character device

Directors may add a voice-over late in the production because the plot or a character's motivation isn't immediately clear; for instance Francis Ford Coppola added voice-overs of Captain Willard's character in ''Apocalypse Now'' to clarify Willard's thoughts and intentions. In the 1956 film version of Herman Melville's ''Moby Dick'', Richard Basehart, as Ishmael, narrates the story and sometimes comments on the action in voiceover, as does William Holden in the films ''Sunset Boulevard'' and ''The Counterfeit Traitor''.
Voice-over technique is likewise used to give voices and personalities to animated characters. The most noteworthy and versatile of whom include Mel Blanc, Don Messick and Daws Butler.

As a creative device

In film, the filmmaker places the sound of a human voice (or voices) over images shown on the screen that may or may not be related to the images being shown. Consequently, voiceovers are sometimes used to create ironic counterpoint. Also, sometimes they can be random voices not directly connected to the people seen on the screen. In works of fiction, the voice-over is often by a character reflecting back on his or her past, or by a person external to the story who usually has a more complete knowledge of the events in the film than the other characters.
The genre of film noir is especially associated with the voice-over technique.

As an educational or descriptive device

The voice-over has many applications in non-fiction as well. Television news is often presented as a series of video clips of newsworthy events, with voice-over by the reporters describing the significance of the scenes being presented; these are interspersed with straight video of the news anchors describing stories for which video is not shown.
Television networks such as The History Channel and the Discovery Channel make extensive use of voice-overs.
Live sports broadcasts are usually shown as extensive voice-overs by expert announcers over video of the sporting event.
Game shows formerly made extensive use of voice-overs to introduce contestants and describe available or awarded prizes, but this technique has diminished as shows have moved toward predominantly cash prizes.
Voice-over commentary by a leading critic, historian, or by the production personnel themselves is often a prominent feature of the release of feature films or documentaries on DVDs.

As a commercial device

The commercial use of voice-over in advertising has been popular since the beginning of radio broadcasting.
In the early years, before effective sound recording and mixing, announcements were produced "live" and at-once in a studio with the entire cast, crew and, usually, orchestra. A corporate sponsor hired a producer, who hired writers and voice actors to perform comedy or drama.
The industry expanded very rapidly with the advent of television in the 1950s and the age of highly produced serial radio shows ended. The ability to record high-quality sound on magnetic tape also created opportunities, as has the proliferation of home computers capable of recording, often using inexpensive (even free) software and a microphone of reasonable quality.

Prominent or iconic voice-over artists

★ Hank Azaria

★ Mel Blanc

★ Arthur Q. Bryan

★ Daws Butler

★ Nancy Cartwright

★ Dan Castellaneta

★ Pinto Colvig

★ Peter Dickson

★ Hal Douglas

★ June Foray

★ Harlan Hogan

★ Sterling Holloway

★ James Earl Jones

★ Julie Kavner

★ Harry Kalas

★ Don LaFontaine

★ Joanna Lumley

★ Don Messick

★ Clarence Nash

★ Ken Nordine

★ Gary Owens

★ Thurl Ravenscroft

★ Harry Shearer

★ Hal Smith

★ Yeardley Smith

★ Kiefer Sutherland

★ Dude Walker

★ Frank Welker

★ Billy West

★ Paul Winchell

See also

★ Motion picture terminology

★ Voice actor

★ Dubtitled

Notes and References

1. Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary