Recording your own voice-over 

Want to add in voice-over to your video? You can either hire a profession or even record the voice-over yourself. Here are some tips to sound like a professional:

  • Read your text in a conversational tone. It will sound a whole lot more friendlier. Speak slow enough you can annunciate every word and quick enough for it to sound dynamic.
  • Smile big when you record, it will add some warmth to your voice!
  • Record a few different takes of the same text to give your editor more options in post-production.

The best location to record a voice-over in is a quiet room that doesn't echo. A quick trick to see if your room is going to be a good choice is to clap once and listen close to hear if there is an echo.

You can record your own using the Shootsta Kit or on your phone.

Using your phone

Plug a pair of headphones with a microphone into your phone or if you have access to the Shootsta Kit, just plug in the lapel mic into your phone. You might need a plug converter. Clam up the lapel mic at chest hight and look and speak straight ahead.

⚠️ Don't speak directly into the microphone as it will distort the audio.

Use a voice memo app, or any other recording software that comes pre-loaded on your phone.

Using the Shootsta Kit

When recording a voiceover, simply set up your kit as if you were filming a piece to camera. Check out our 7 Steps to Film on the Shootsta Kit article on how to do that.

It is best practice to film the voiceover as if you are filming a piece to camera. This means standing up, smiling and looking at the camera as you film. This will make things sound more natural and will allow you to use the video footage of your talent speaking in your video if you decide you need it later.

Hiring a voice-over artist 

Need a professional? Shootsta doesn't offer voice-over services. We can though recommend some of our preferred suppliers: RMK Voices and Rob Harding. Pricing depends on the type of voice, the purpose and length of the video.

Make sure to provide the final audio file alongside your video footage to your video project in the Shootsta Hub!

What comes first, the video or the voice-over?

If your video is a tutorial demonstrating something onscreen, you can do this at the same time as your screen recording, so that the visuals and audio match up. Then you can upload both files together into the project within the Hub.

For more complex voiceovers, you can record the visual element and record the voiceover after so you can time the words and visuals together.

Need help or have questions? Contact us. We'd love to help!

Did this answer your question?