Myth 3: Hiring a voice actor always costs a fortune
The truth is: Industry rates are clear and logically structured, provided you work with a professional agency. There are no arbitrary prices. The cost is based on a clear breakdown:
- Commercial work: You pay a fixed basic fee for the recording (the session fee) plus a buy-out. This buy-out depends on the medium where the recording will be heard and the campaign's duration.
- Non-commercial work: For internal corporate films, e-learning, or presentations, you typically pay a rate per word or per project.
For an exact tailored price, you can always request a quote so you know exactly what to expect beforehand.
Myth 4: You can always fix a voice recording later during editing
The truth is: A bad recording remains a bad recording, no matter how hard the sound engineer tries with equalisers and compression. If the articulation is muddy or the emphasis is wrong, no software can help.
Director's Tip: When recording an English text for a European audience, always pay attention to the speaking pace. A native speaker naturally tends to speak too quickly. Brief the voice actor beforehand to give sentences a little more breathing room. This ensures that listeners for whom English is not their native language can follow the message effortlessly.
Myth 5: English voices don't understand the Belgian market
The truth is: Professional voices work daily for international brands and are perfectly capable of striking the right tone for a specific region. Take Sarah, for example, one of our experienced voices from the United Kingdom. With over twelve years of experience as a professional voice-over for TV, radio, and web videos, she knows exactly how to convey a message that resonates naturally in Flanders or Wallonia. The voice actor's experience effortlessly bridges the geographical distance.