Peel back the layers of any voiceover and you will find that it runs on intention. What is intention? It’s the motivation, the juice behind what is being said. If we were in the 1800’s it would be the coal in the furnace powering the steam engine as it travels along the railways. Behind all voiceover scripts and characters lies the power of intention.
Intention works on the wider perspective: what does this piece aim to achieve in the audience? And on the specific perspective: what does this line contribute to the whole? With this understanding we can shape and mould any script to suit the overall drive of what is being conveyed to our audience. Just as each line becomes a smaller unit of a larger whole, that can be shaped in any way to meet the overall drive of the piece. Let’s take a look at a commercial voiceover for Green and Black’s chocolate: “There is a relationship between women and chocolate that no man will ever understand. Don’t even try. Green and black’s. Incomprehensibly good.” How can we take this 4 sentence commercial and really make it varied and engaging for the audience? Lets listen in….
Pretty powerful, yet really simple.
Next month, we look at Intention for characters in gaming and animation.
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Paul Mclaughlin © Versatile Voiceovers