E-Learning Voiceovers – My Approach
My goal is simple. To build on-going established business relationships, by offering quality and value. I want to be a trusted, respected and valued supplier. A remote part of your team.
In short, I want you to be happy with the finished product. I’d really like it if you came back. Again and again. It makes for a simple life.
5 Steps to Perfect E-Learning Voiceovers.
QUOTE > PRICE > CONFIRM > RECORD > DELIVERY
You supply information about your project. I give you a price. You confirm your script and that you want to proceed. I record, edit and supply the audio to your agreed specification.
That’s the short explanation, but if you need a bit more detail, it’s below!
Step 1 – Quote
To give you a quote, I need two important pieces of information:
Script Length: The length of your E-Learning script can be defined either by a word count (e.g. 4000 words) or a finished audio duration (22 mins). I can supply a quote on based on either method.
Usage: This is about where the content will be heard, and whether that’s in the public domain. There’s more on usage and licensing at the bottom of this page.
For internal use e-learning projects, usage is normally granted in perpetuity.
With this information, I can get back to you with a price. If it’s helpful, I can record a free short demo sample, based on any script and direction that you send to me. This can help when presenting a shortlist of e-learning voice talent to your end client.
Step 2 – Price
Depending on your preference, I can price by either “Per word” or “Per minute”.
I work with clients in a number of countries. Typically I charge in either GBP, EUR and USD. I am happy to quote, invoice and receive payment in these currencies.
Clearly, once quoted that’s the currency we’ll work in, unless we agree to change currency. So be sure to express a preference if you have one.
Working in your home currency means that you can remove the risk of a fluctuating price should exchange rates move.
Bulk/Volume Discounts.
I am prepared to look at discounted price for long form jobs or ongoing business. This assumes that it is explicit in the agreement for our work, or the discount is loaded into the follow on business.
Step 3 – Confirm
If you want to proceed, I will send you a ‘formal’ quote, and you can confirm that you wish to go ahead. (For the record, this is the point of no-return. i.e. I will expect to be paid for my time as per the agreement once you’ve confirmed and recording takes place. Even if your needs change.)
To get the best from your recording, at this stage it’s important to supply additional information alongside the script to get great results. Are there any awkward pronunciations in your script? Or perhaps strange industry terms. Direction notes can be really helpful, such as who is the audience hearing this content, and what is the style and tone of voice that the client takes towards training and it’s staff.
Step 4 – Record
RECORDING:
For most E-Learning projects, I record in a ‘self-directed’ session and then edit and supply the audio to you. This is most common in E-Learning.
I do have the ability to conduct a live session, where I record and you can listen in to direct. Live sessions are booked on a per studio hour basis, with either the audio supplied raw afterward – or you can record the session over the broadcast quality connection.
EDITING:
Normally, I will edit, clean and de-breath the audio file before supply.
For most E-Learning clients I normally add some very light processing. (This is a slight EQ, and a single band compression at a ratio of 2:1). This covers situations where the client isn’t going to produce the audio. Let me know if you want it completely raw, just a first pass edit or more produced.
RETAKES:
My mistake: Corrected free of charge.
Script Change: If there are additional pickups to record because of changes made to the script after recording the voiceover, I will perform these for you at the same per-word or per-minute basis as the original content, but with the following two conditions:
- Retakes will be charged to the nearest rounded up minute or a minimum of 150 words.
- Retakes must be flagged and redone within 30 days of the supply of the original recording. After 30 days, it will be treated as a new project.
Step 5 – Deliver
FORMAT:
For most projects I record at default: WAV, 44100 sample rate, Mono, 24 bit depth. Please ask before recording if you need something different. I can record at 48k, and up to 32 bit depth – but this is rarely asked for. Many E-Learning clients actually work in mp3 format, which is a lower quality format, so I would output mp3 versions, but keep the WAV files as masters.
FILE SPLITTING:
File splitting and naming can be done to meet your needs. This is not a profit centre for me, but additional charges for large volumes are made to cover my time doing this. Up to 20 files free per finished hour or part of.
DELIVERY:
I work with clients who have different delivery needs, so please let me know how I can help. Some clients use their own servers or folders on sites like Dropbox to receive audio. I typically send via WeTransfer if the client has no preference. I also use Dropbox, One Drive, Adobe Creative Cloud and others.
Usage & Licences.
Usage
Most E-Learning content is for internal use. This is where a bespoke course is commissioned for a specific named company, and is circulated internally via intranet etc. The material is never seen in the public domain.
In recent years, some E-Learning voiceovers are destined for external use: For example: A generic course on Health and Safety, designed for sale to the public or companies, and available in the public domain. In this case we will need to agree a licence for the scope and term to cover the intended use.
What is a Licence?
In performance copyright, ‘ownership’ of the voiceover recording is kept by the performer. In fact, in the UK, that is the law. This means that you don’t buy and “own” a recording, but instead you buy the right to use it. This is known as a licence. This is more common than you think. When you buy an Ed Sheeran CD, in legal terms, you are buying a copy of the recording, and have the right to listen to it. You don’t “own” his music. If you were to take that music and incorporate it into a TV commercial, you would have to negotiate, agree and pay a lot of money.