September 9, 2014 at 12:29Do videos need voice?
Hello! Recently, we at Alconost made two video trailers for mobile toys in about the same style: epic battles, swords, and Vikings. The main difference between the videos is one with the voice of the speaker, the second without.
We appreciated what happened, and decided to speculate why videos need a voice, in which videos you can do without it, what are the pros and cons of voice accompaniment. Well, taking this opportunity, we wantto say hello to find out the opinion of the community on this matter.
Actually videos:
One of the main advantages of videos as a means of communication with a potential buyer is the impact on the consciousness of the viewer not only through visual images, but also through sounds and voice.
We are so arranged that our ears complement the picture that our eyes see. When evaluating events that occur without sound, we subconsciously understand that “something is wrong,” we trust in what we see less, and prepare for danger. This is exactly what our ancestors did, which, in order to survive, had to hear the approach of the enemy even before direct visual contact.
In addition, over millennia of life in society, a person has learned to perceive the subtle nuances and intonations of a voice and to make an impression of a speaker on them. As a result of this, we subconsciously begin to trust the information uttered in a pleasant confident voice. It turns out that the voice, its timbre and tone is another way to influence the viewer.
And with your voice it’s much easier to convey emotions and shape the atmosphere of the video.
And of course, it’s difficult to do without a voice where you need to transmit a lot of diverse information, for example, in a presentation, tutorial or informational clip.
If the main message of the video can be expressed in visual images (usually it is easy to do for simple and obvious products), then you can completely do without a voice. In such videos, it can be difficult to write a good announcer text simply because there is practically nothing to talk about in them.
In addition, in videos without the voice of an announcer, there should be more thoughtful and high-quality graphics and animation. If sometimes it’s not necessary to “lick” the video sequence in the voiced clips, because the music and voice acting will complement it and create a holistic good impression, then in “silent” clips every second of the video should be self-sufficient. But in such videos, you can save on recording and processing the speaker.
The most important advantage of clips without a voice is that they are understandable to the viewer from any part of the world. And even if there is some text in the video sequence, then localizing it into another language will not be difficult.
Localizing a video without a voice is simple: just replace the captions in the video
For comparison, localization of clips with an announcer is a rather time-consuming and resource-intensive process. Translation of texts, search for announcers, assessment of pronunciation in an unfamiliar language - these are little things. The main problem is that all the animation in the video will have to be moved to a new voice, which most likely will not coincide in the timings with the old one. Depending on the complexity of the video, the costs at this stage can reach 50-70% of creating an animation from scratch.
Summary: if your product is simple, if you want to convey a very simple and understandable message to your viewers, if you want to make an inexpensive video for viewers around the world, you do not need an announcer. In other cases, it’s better to still record the voice and use the potential of the video to its full potential.
What do you think?
About the author
Alconost dealslocalization of applications, games and sites in 60 languages. Native-language translators, linguistic testing, cloud platform with API, continuous localization, project managers 24/7, any format of string resources.
We also make advertising and training videos - for sites that sell, image, advertising, training, teasers, expliner, trailers for Google Play and the App Store.
Read more: https://alconost.com
We appreciated what happened, and decided to speculate why videos need a voice, in which videos you can do without it, what are the pros and cons of voice accompaniment. Well, taking this opportunity, we want
Actually videos:
Voice clips
One of the main advantages of videos as a means of communication with a potential buyer is the impact on the consciousness of the viewer not only through visual images, but also through sounds and voice.
We are so arranged that our ears complement the picture that our eyes see. When evaluating events that occur without sound, we subconsciously understand that “something is wrong,” we trust in what we see less, and prepare for danger. This is exactly what our ancestors did, which, in order to survive, had to hear the approach of the enemy even before direct visual contact.
In addition, over millennia of life in society, a person has learned to perceive the subtle nuances and intonations of a voice and to make an impression of a speaker on them. As a result of this, we subconsciously begin to trust the information uttered in a pleasant confident voice. It turns out that the voice, its timbre and tone is another way to influence the viewer.
And with your voice it’s much easier to convey emotions and shape the atmosphere of the video.
For example, like that. Teaser Darklings II
And of course, it’s difficult to do without a voice where you need to transmit a lot of diverse information, for example, in a presentation, tutorial or informational clip.
Voiceless Rollers
If the main message of the video can be expressed in visual images (usually it is easy to do for simple and obvious products), then you can completely do without a voice. In such videos, it can be difficult to write a good announcer text simply because there is practically nothing to talk about in them.
For example, as in these two videos
In addition, in videos without the voice of an announcer, there should be more thoughtful and high-quality graphics and animation. If sometimes it’s not necessary to “lick” the video sequence in the voiced clips, because the music and voice acting will complement it and create a holistic good impression, then in “silent” clips every second of the video should be self-sufficient. But in such videos, you can save on recording and processing the speaker.
The most important advantage of clips without a voice is that they are understandable to the viewer from any part of the world. And even if there is some text in the video sequence, then localizing it into another language will not be difficult.
Localizing a video without a voice is simple: just replace the captions in the video
For comparison, localization of clips with an announcer is a rather time-consuming and resource-intensive process. Translation of texts, search for announcers, assessment of pronunciation in an unfamiliar language - these are little things. The main problem is that all the animation in the video will have to be moved to a new voice, which most likely will not coincide in the timings with the old one. Depending on the complexity of the video, the costs at this stage can reach 50-70% of creating an animation from scratch.
Summary: if your product is simple, if you want to convey a very simple and understandable message to your viewers, if you want to make an inexpensive video for viewers around the world, you do not need an announcer. In other cases, it’s better to still record the voice and use the potential of the video to its full potential.
What do you think?
About the author
Alconost dealslocalization of applications, games and sites in 60 languages. Native-language translators, linguistic testing, cloud platform with API, continuous localization, project managers 24/7, any format of string resources.
We also make advertising and training videos - for sites that sell, image, advertising, training, teasers, expliner, trailers for Google Play and the App Store.
Read more: https://alconost.com