TV in-show & documentary narration
Presented by Jessica Bulavsky and Andia Winslow separately at the 2024 Euro VO Retreat in Barcelona, Spain
Attendees of Andia’s session (she’s on the far right with her arm around an attendee)
This is my favorite VO genre, so I attended two sessions on it by different presenters. For both, the discussion centered around crucial factors to consider when negotiating audio recording requirements with production companies or networks, narration techniques for documentaries and branded content, with a focus on preparation, accuracy, and attention to detail. They also discussed:
The nuances of documentary narration styles.
How to recognize the difference between how a character sounds in the show and how it's cast.
The importance of understanding the tone and style of a project.
Open and frequent communication with your agent/producer to determine the number of episodes, episode length, narrator involvement, recording parameters, credit options, and potential pickups.
Narration perspectives (Jessica)
There are different kinds of narration perspectives we typically see in this genre:
Omniscient: An all-knowing character who may not show up physically, but reveals secrets, sets the tone, and moves the story forward. Examples: the movie Shawshank Redemption, Jane the Virgin on CW, and the ABC show Desperate Housewives.
Limited: A character in the show who is voicing their inner thoughts.
Third person: The majority of the projects, where the narrator is not a character within the story, but guides the audience through the visuals, providing commentary, context, and insight. Examples: Planet Earth narrated by David Attenborough, and Secrets of the Whales narrated by Sigourney Weaver.
Script structure and formatting
Andia: You'll see a lot of cell-based formatting when you do documentary narration. On the left-hand side typically is a video or what's on tape. On the right is your VO—what you're reading. You'll see stage directions often you'll have descriptions of what's happening, like quotes from talking heads and things that are happening [with the picture] noted, because those things inform how you voice.
The cells are separate and separated in time. So you might have copy in cell one, and then in cell two, you’re 17 years ahead. So make sure you see there's no continuation. Sometimes they’ll leave the cell in grayscale to indicate there’s a change.
Branded explainer docs are sponsored. They are long-form commercials in disguise. They do it in branded content to try to trick you into thinking it’s an educational documentary. So as we went over the scripts Andia provided, she pointed out that a branded explainer documentary like Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a new type of commercial that disguises itself as an educational documentary. They have graphics, and they make it look fun and informative, even though it's really a commercial. (To narrate such a project, they may require you to sign a morality clause, promising that you won’t say or do anything that is not aligned with the brand.)
Cold open (Jessica)
Narration scripts start with a cold open or a part one, which it’s sometimes called, and then a bumper. It also depends if the series or special is created for broadcast television, or they can do a hybrid, because at some point it might be featured on a streaming channel without commercials.
The cold open is extremely important because it’s the first thing everybody hears. It's designed to grab your attention from the start as a hook, to set up the story before the opening credits and the title. It sets the tone or the theme.
Sometimes it can tease different characters, personalities or people that will be discussed. It might ask a question and/or tease the content to draw the viewer in.
Bumpers and teasers (Jessica)
Bumpers are when you’re teasing content later in the show before a commercial break. They’re short segments that are used in transitions between different sections or segments of the content to help smooth the transition, either coming back from a commercial break or moving from one segment to another. It's a cue to the audience that a change is coming or what's happening next. Sometimes bumpers can be used to identify the show or the network, including sound branding. (Think of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which uses Kazmir music to transition from scene to scene, or the opening sound you hear for ABC, CBS and Netflix). And some bumpers signal a shift in tone, or present a teaser.
Union vs. non-union work in this genre (Jessica)
The “Wild West” of non-jurisdictional, non-union work includes cable networks, Discovery, NatGeo, and HGTV, where SAG-AFTRA demands are not always necessary.
Most narration projects are non-union, and there's less than 1% willing to put it through SAG-AFTRA due to celebrities requiring demand. (So if you’re in the union, you will have to seek out ways to convert this work as needed.)
Rates (Jessica)
The producer provides information on show length, scripts, recording parameters, and airtime.
Producers also have the discretion to include narrator credit, depending on space and time constraints. (Jess asks for single card credit for narrators as a standard practice.)
Rates vary wildly, from super low ($700) to $10,000 or more. If Jessica anticipates pickups, she’ll negotiate additional rates for her talent.
Technique (Jessica)
As with commercials, there is an element of sounding “conversational,” but in-show narration is a presentation. You need the audience to understand every word that you're saying, so the audience can effectively comprehend what you're talking about. Morgan Freeman has a commanding voice, not in that it is deep, but that it is resonant.
“I sometimes think about voices visually, like taking up the full bandwidth. So like when you’re recording, you can see your waveform. Is your voice is your voice taking up the whole bandwidth? Is it a full, rich sound? It doesn't have to be big or deep. But is it present? Is it really resonant? That's my favorite type of narration.” - Jessica Bulavsky
Morgan uses clarity and precision, articulate delivery, a commanding voice, dramatic intonation, so he gets dramatic where it's needed. He knows how to build a suspense heighten the entry. He knows when to create a sense of urgency a sense of excitement to keep us engaged in the material.
Having said that, there's an overall sort of neutral tone in his delivery. Because he's exploring all these controversial and sometimes outrageous and speculative ideas. He's presenting the information objectively. He's allowing viewers to draw their own conclusions. He has a balanced delivery. For credibility, he's convincing without being overtly condescending or too dominating in his delivery. And then he maintains a consistent style throughout the series, which you all know is really important and hard to do in any project.
Example: March of the Penguins narrated by Morgan Freeman.
Some takeaways
We read scripts in both sessions. Takeaways include:
Most narration projects are non-union
Be true to oneself in narration practice, rather than trying to compete with established voices in the field.
Look up the pronunciation of hard words using dictionaries and pronunciation guides online.
Print out scripts, take notes and highlight important details for reference.
Consider that a writer's morality clause may be required for projects from big brands like Disney.