Voiceover video is the most common type of company video, where a professional voiceover artist narrates over edited footage of different activities of the business.

Voiceover video is often chosen because it’s relatively easy to produce, and it’s easier for a company to understand the production process (bring our brochure to life, please …)

Voiceover DVD is also easy to cost. 

For example if you allow that a day’s shoot in one location will give you around 5 minutes of final runtime video, and all you need is five minutes runtime, then the video project can be costed around a 1 day shoot. One day equals five minutes finished runtime video. Easy.

Because shooting is one of the largest cost elements in any company video production, and determines the amount of subsequent downline processes required, such as editing (ie, more shooting equals more editing), then knowing your desired final runtime makes shoot days easy to calculate, and the overall cost of the video easy to calculate

This makes it easy for the video buyer.

For example, when looking at two or three quotes for a 1 day shoot voiceover video, comparison of rates and costs is fairly simple.

Where it becomes more difficult to compare quotes, is when comparing post production effects such as titling animation, colour and video fx. All of these post production elements require skill and artistry. All of a sudden, video companies start to look different, and so do their quotes.

But if you’re keeping to a basic voiceover video with few frills, then quotes are reasonably comparable. This style of voiceover video also streams well, as website expectations are generally lower than with DVD.

Many times a first time company video buyer will opt for a voiceover video as it’s a more understandable process, and easier for the beginner to imagine how well the money is spent.

Having said that, it’s a fact that second or third time buyers often look for something more than a voiceover video, as voiceover video is generally more pedestrian, and less impressive. It tells the story, but often in a mundane way.

Generally voiceover is best used when mixed with other styles such as talking heads, voxpops, and animation and animated text and music, and highly post produced video images.

Voiceover DVD does work better for foreign language productions, as it’s simply a matter of replacing englishspeak with foreignspeak, with perhaps a translation of the title and nothing more.

So if translating into 3 or more languages, as an exporter, as a priority, then voiceover video becomes a must, because of the cost.

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