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Voice-over

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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.

The term voice-over can also refer to the actual voice actor who performed the recording. The terms voice actor, narrator, voice artist, announcer are all similarly used.

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 is not 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.[citation needed] 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 voice-over, 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.

Voice-overs are often used to create the effect of storytelling by a character/omniscient narrator. For example, in The Usual Suspects, the character of Verbal Kint has voice-over segments as he is recounting details of a crime. Other examples of storytelling voice overs can be seen The Shawshank Redemption and Big Fish

The genre of film noir is especially associated with the voice-over technique.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

Prominent or iconic voice-over artists

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary
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