It’s very easy to take your website description and turn that into a script. However, writing for video is a different technique to crafting an informative read. It’s a lot like a speech but with a magical visual aid.
Some Subjective Advice
No one wants to be talked at for the entire video. Think of your viewers and what order they’d like the information. If the voiceover is also your video’s script, leave sections that can be conveyed with imagery, animation or even a piece-to-camera (You can do it without it being cheesy!).
Remember that even though you need them to understand your service or product, they should be able to browse your website after and discover more for themselves. If everything is covered in the V.O, checking out the rest of the site becomes a chore and not an exploration. That’s one of the reasons why our ‘Resources’ page isn’t in our showreel!
If it’s easy to say, it’s likely to be easy to understand!
Sentences can be shorter than you think. There’s no time to reread a long sentence – don’t expect your viewers to scroll back and rewatch a section! There’s no need to repeat yourself either, unless you are rhyming or getting super creative with the script!
It’s nice to get on the good side of your voiceover artist. Don’t give them tongue twisters without realising. Imagine you are reading this script loud to a crowd of people:
- Are they engaged?
- Did they throw tomatoes?
Our Technique
Keep thinking about what visual imagery you can use to replace a hefty sentence. Here’s an example:
Website Text: “Bob’s Wraps Ltd (Est. 2000) delivers fast and reliable falafel and halloumi wraps to the whole of the East Midlands.”
Voiceover Example: “We’ve being cooking reliable wraps for over 20 years. Our falafel and halloumi is delicious. If you live in the East Midlands, you are in luck.”
Firstly, we’ve scrapped 3rd person tone in general. The audience feels like they are being spoken to this way. Please note that some businesses suit this and some don’t! In Bob’s case, we want to give off a local feel.
You may have noticed that we didn’t include the fact that the wraps were delivered or the name of the business. This is because we are able to use visual imagery to do this better. Whilst the voiceover plays, the viewer will see their logo in crystal clear quality followed by a shot/animation of a van delivering to a popular East Midlands location.
Read our voiceover example again in your head with that in mind!
If you need assistance or some free advice regarding a voiceover you are writing, don’t hesitate to email your work to projects@spinningshapes.com
We offer video production services that include voiceover writing and recording. We can write, film/animate & edit any kind of video for anyone in the world.