Even if it’s a very busy day and you’re running in and out of the studio, it’s best to try to remember to ask ALL the questions before quoting on a voice over job. Maybe a cheat sheet of questions to ask clients would be useful, especially on those frantic days. If you ask all the other questions, but forget a very important one it could turn a job that should take 30 minutes into an all day affair or worse. Of course, on an already busy day, one could always just say no to the gig…..but many of us “work-aholics” always try to find a way to make it work.

Here’s an incident that recently happened to me:

In the heat of the moment with a busy day, a new client who was in a rush and on a budget, I agreed to “help” them out by providing an ultra quick turnaround of a short narration…. at a discounted rate, no less! All was well, and I was aware of what I was doing. However, after providing a complete audio file – for which the client had paid upfront via Paypal – and after having played the audio via the phone to the client for confirmation of tone, style, and dare I say it, tempo – later that evening I received an email telling me that the audio was too long to match their already completed video. The client wondered if I could watch the video and sync my delivery to the original (client) delivery?

Of course I could, but at the rate I quoted and had been paid, it would have been more appropriate to know up front that my audio had to match the timing of the client’s read which, by the way, lacked the emphasis and timing that a professional voice over talent might have used.

I should have known better than to have gotten myself into this situation, and I take responsibility for not asking that one very important question. I knew there was a video and I knew they didn’t like the audio that they had created, but due to the busy schedule that day, it didn’t occur to me to press them on the issue of whether they could slide the audio and video to match or if the video was set in stone and the audio had to be absolutely timed to match. I had mentioned it when speaking on the phone with the client, but I don’t think the client even realized what they could or couldn’t do. I have run into both situations in the past, and usually a client will specify in the beginning if the new narration has to match the previous one perfectly. As that wasn’t specified by the client up front, I just didn’t realize it was an issue. BUT, I should have asked the question and confirmed the answer before proceeding with my recording.

I am always committed to making sure the client is well taken care of, so early the next morning, I proceeded to make it work. When the client didn’t seem to know whether they could even provide me with the timings of the audio, I plunged in to time them myself and match my read to theirs. To their credit, they did finally provide a script with timings, but by that time, I had already finished as I knew the client had a fast approaching deadline.

Is it a good idea to go the extra mile to make the client happy? Yes. Should you ask all the questions about the project to make sure you have the complete information about what is expected of you? Absolutely! When you are asked to give a quote for a video narration project, always ask if your narration needs to sync up with the video or whether the video can be edited to your voice. Most professional clients will edit to your voice, but it is not uncommon for a narrator to be recast or even hired to do the original audio after the video has been created with no option of reediting.

Author Bio: For more great tips from Melanie Haynes Professional Voice Over and Voice Over Talent visit MelanieHaynes.Com

Category: Advice
Keywords: Professional Voice Over,Voice Over Talent