Guest Blog: Do Journalists Need Voice Over Artists?
Do Journalists Need Voice Over Artists?
I’m a motoring journalist. For the past 10 years, the written word has ruled. First, magazines, and now increasingly, websites account for the vast majority of my content. But, things are changing – fast!
Increasingly, it’s important to harness video, too. On many sites, video earns a huge number of hits; publishers love the ability for the right clip to go viral, and editors know the huge potential for the ultimate aim of the publishing world – reader engagement.
Budgets are no larger, though. In the past, professional video productions have been filmed, at four-figure expense. They look great but the cost-v-return just didn’t add up. Nowadays, motoring publications are looking to journalist-generated footage to up the video content.
The quality isn’t top notch but readers accept it because of the ‘inside track’ perspective. It’s a nice addition to a regular written road test that ticks many social media boxes.
Problem is, we’re writers for a reason! Presentation techniques are a mystery to us – we can write, but stick us in front of a camera and we go to stilted, stifled, stiff-arm’d pieces. Some of us are worse than others; it’s often possible to get a few pieces to camera out of us, but any more than that is tricky.
A lot of this can be rectified back at base, with a good voiceover of footage we’ve shot on location. But, again, we’ve had no training here: could this be almost as bad?
Thus, the questions – do we need to employ a professional voiceover artist, and if so, in what context? Should this be for all productions? Do readers accept a less polished approach for shorter films, if the imagery and message is worth it? For longer productions, is a pro voiceover a must – and how do we justify the cost to our publishers? Should we consider training from a pro (and would this help us in front of the camera, too?), or would they be averse to offering this?
The pressure on us to generate video will only increase in the future. Rather than worry about it, what can we do to make it easier – and how can voiceover artists help? Advice appreciated!
A link to an example of a journalist doing video…:
30 May 2010
Richard Heathcote, Voice Over Artist
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