How to Brief a Voiceover Artist: A Producer’s Checklist

8 Sept

A useful voiceover brief tells me what the recording needs to do. The script supplies the words; the brief explains the person listening, the situation they are in and the response you want from them. Getting those details together before a session gives us something specific to work towards.

You do not need a long presentation. A short email with the right attachments can be enough. Here is what to include when you are booking voiceover for a film, campaign or learning project.

Start with the listener and the purpose

Who is this for? A new employee watching an induction film needs a different approach from a customer encountering a brand for the first time. Explain what the audience already knows and what they should understand, feel or do after listening.

Then describe the relationship. Am I a knowledgeable colleague, an encouraging guide or someone sharing a discovery? That is more useful performance direction than a string of adjectives such as “warm, premium, energetic and authentic”. A reference can help, but say which part you like: the pace, restraint, humour or sense of conversation.

Send one clearly approved script

Name the file and version clearly. Mark alternative lines, pronunciation notes and text that should not be spoken. If the script is still awaiting approval, flag that before booking so we can decide what is ready to record.

For names, acronyms and specialist terms, a short pronunciation recording is often clearer than a written approximation. Tell me whether an acronym should be spoken as a word or as individual letters. Small ambiguities can otherwise travel all the way into the edit.

Explain the timing and picture

Include the target duration and any locked timings. If there is a rough cut, send it with a guide track or timecoded script where possible. Distinguish a film that can adapt around the voice from a finished animation that needs exact synchronisation.

Read the copy aloud before sending it. If every sentence has to race to fit, the script may need shortening. Space for a key phrase or a visual moment is part of the performance, rather than empty time to fill.

Set out the delivery and usage

Tell me where the recording will appear, which territories it will reach and how long it will be used. Flag paid advertising and any planned versions. For delivery, specify the required format, whether you need individual files and how those files should be named.

Include the deadline, your time zone and who will approve the recording. If several people are attending a directed session, agree who will consolidate feedback. Clear decisions in the room make it easier to capture useful alternatives without losing the original intention.

A short example brief

For example: “This is a 60-second product introduction for new customers on our website. You are explaining it to one person who has never used the service. Keep the opening curious and the instructions reassuring. The attached script is approved; the last line has two alternatives. The rough cut is flexible apart from the final logo. Please deliver one clean file per version.”

That gives us an audience, an intention and a practical recording plan. Add the usage details and deadline, and we have a strong starting point. If something is undecided, tell me what is fixed and what we can explore together.

A copy-and-paste production brief

Project and audience: [What are we making, and who is listening?]
Performance intention: [What is the speaker trying to make the listener understand or feel?]
Script: [Filename, version, approval owner and any provisional lines]
Picture and timing: [Link, locked duration, timecode, cutdowns]
Pronunciations: [Names, acronyms, reference audio and approving contact]
Session: [Directed or self-directed, date, time zone, attendees]
Deliverables: [Format, sample rate, bit depth, mono/stereo, editing and file splitting]
Use: [Channels, paid/organic, territory, term, versions, exclusivity if any]
Review: [Consolidated feedback owner, deadline and pickup arrangement]

Treat this as a shared working document. The producer supplies the requirements; the voice artist flags gaps before recording. Do not write “broadcast quality” where an editor needs an actual delivery specification. Ask whether the requirement describes a clean voice file or the finished mix with music, because they are different deliverables.

Add an accessibility handover

Assign responsibility for the transcript, captions and any necessary description of visual information before production starts. W3C's media-planning guidance treats these as production decisions. A voice artist supplying narration is not automatically supplying the complete accessible video. Name the owner of each element in the brief.

For a worldwide team, use an explicit date and time zone, confirm the required English accent, and agree how local product names should sound. “Neutral English” can mean different things to different listeners. A short approved reference is easier to evaluate than that label alone.