If you’re considering using a voiceover artist in your company’s next marketing project, you may be interested in learning a little bit of our industry’s jargon. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of the most popular voiceover terms that begin with the letter “C”. Take a look… and don’t worry, there’s no quiz involved at the end!
call-back: An invitation to do a second audition. Voiceover artists love call-backs!
call letters: The FCC gives code letters to radio and TV stations across the U.S. Every station that is east of the Mississippi River has call letters that begin with “W”. Stations west of the Mississippi River have names that begin with “K”.
casting: A voiceover artist’s audition for a client or casting director (or both).
character: The person that a voiceover artist portrays.
codec: Codecs are units that convert an analog voice signal to a digitally encoded version that can be transmitted through an ISDN line.
cold read: When a voiceover artist is given no time to rehearse during an audition, it’s referred to as a cold read.
commercial voiceovers: Commercial voiceover scripts use a direct sales approach. They can make your marketing campaigns highly effective!
condenser mic: A microphone that has a higher transient response and frequency than most. This means it can reproduce the speed of an artist’s voice easier than other microphones.
console: An audio mixer that is made up of of inputs, outputs, meters, toggles, sliders and/or pots.
control room: You’ll find the producer and engineer working in the control room.
copy: Copy is actually the voiceover script.
copywriter: The person who writes the copy.
cross talk: Cross talk occurs when one voice actor’s lines are picked up by another voice actor’s microphone.
cross fade: The process of fading out of one element while at the same time introducing another.
cue: Voiceover artists receive either electronic or physical signals to tell them it’s time to start performing. These signals are called cues.
cue up: This involves aligning a voiceover artist’s voice with music or visuals.
cut: A particular segment of recording.
Do you have a question for us about the ins and outs of voiceovers or about our voiceover services? Never be afraid to ask! Contact us, and we’ll even feature your question on our next blog.