To breathe or not to breathe?
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to voice a variety of projects, which led me a couple of times to ask the question “To breathe or not to breathe?”
What do I mean? Well, as a significant amount of my work is for Commercials which are mostly 20 or 30 seconds, there just isn’t the space in the audio file to leave breaths in and so I carry out a process called “de-breathing”. Put simply I remove my audible breaths from the recording to keep only the necessary content, which helps to fit the voiceover into the allocated 20 or 30 seconds.
One such voiceover where I pondered whether to leave my breaths in the recording was for a Historical Documentary about the First Crusades. I was asked to play the part of “Princess Anna Comnena” a Greek Princess from the Byzantine period. The script that I was asked to read was a quote where the Princess describes “Bohemond I, Prince of Antioch”. The quote was very descriptive so demanded an expressive, thoughtful delivery. Although the voiceover was to be featured in a documentary which had specific timings, I was able to enjoy the luxury of time and leave some of my breaths in to create a natural sound and dramatic style.
Many of the clients that I work with prefer me to leave breaths in a recording, as having natural pauses within speech adds to the conversational, authentic sound they wish to create. The natural read is a popular style in the E-learning work that I provide, as it helps to build rapport between narrator and audience and helps to keep educational and training content engaging and authentic.
In many Corporate videos I voice too, producers ask that breaths are included in the production to keep the voiceover real and relatable, helping the viewer connect with the narration and the information.
So, to breathe or not to breathe? It all depends on the type of voiceover I’m working on and how a producer wants the finished product to sound.
Planning a project that requires a voiceover? From natural, conversational delivery to clear, crisp corporate reads, just send me an email and I’ll be happy to provide a demo and a quote. For voiceover examples visit the Showreels and Portfolio pages below: