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FAQ : Frequently Asked Questions

Any question?  Please find the right anwser below!

General questions

What is ItalianVoiceTalents.com? Who may need it?

ItalianVoiceTalents.com is an online catalogue with native italian voice talents that can be hired for “remote” production of professional voice-overs such us commercials, documentaries, corporate presentations, IVRs, talking devices, audio guides, audio books and much more.

Our services are generally used by companies that need to implement voice-overs in their productions: advertising agencies, production companies, museums, digital media agencies, device manufacturers, event organisers, institutions, universities, etc.

How does the service work? Who makes the recordings? Where is based?

Our service is delivered 100% online, through a few simple steps:

  • you choose the voice you want to hire for your project and send us both script and reading notes
  • we process the voice-over order and send the choosen talent all the material he needs to complete the job
  • voice files are carried out remotely by professional voice talents, carefully selected in over 85 different Countries and all equipped with advanced studios
  • once finalized, the voice file is subjected to a series of technical checks and finally uploaded to our servers
  • final audio file is sent via reserved link

All the files provided by ItalianVoiceTalents.com are 100% recorded by real people, not speech synthesis software.

Where is the service managed? Will I have to speak italian?

The service is managed entirely in Italy, by Italian personnel.

Our team, with over 20 years of experience in the voice-over industry, manages the full process through a dedicated platform specifically designed to ensure optimal performances and time saving.

Our support is regularly available via Skype-chat, WhatsApp and e-mail, Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm. 

We currently provide support in English, French and Italian only; more Languages will be available soon.

For more information, please CONTACT us.

Can I attend the recording session?

As a rule, our procedure does not include any direct interaction between customers and voice talents: at order point, we collect every single detail about the project and then we send a very detailed voice-over order to our voice talent in order to make him complete the job in full compliance with project requirements.

Nothing is left to chance and the thousands of positive feedbacks we received over many years of activity amply attest  to its success (99% of satisfied customers), also in terms of cost & time saving.

However, for particular artistic direction needs, one of our consultants is available to evaluate the opportunity of live direction with some voice talents from our catalogue (not all).

How can I buy a voice-over on ItalianVoiceTalents.com?

Our purchasing process is simple and fast:

  • listen and choose the right voice for your project 
  • request a free quote using the dedicated form
  • confirm the order by following a simple wizard
  • get the invoice and make the payment in the way you prefer
  • receive the audio file within the agreed deadline, via reserved download

How do payments work?

We accept the most popular payment methods currently available: Bank Transfer, Credit Card, PayPal (for both Credit Card and PayPal options, an +3% fee is charged).

For amounts that are less than € 1.500.00, only the “advance payment” option is provided. For larger amounts, different payment terms can be agreed.

How long will I have to wait to receive my voice files?

We generally deliver medium-sized projects (up to 15/20 minutes of audio) within 24/48 working hours of order processing; larger projects may require a few more days.

Get a free quote and please expect to receive more details about delivery time, based on specific project features.

How much does a voice-over cost?

The cost of a voice-over service can vary based on a series of parameters including, for example: word count, complexity of the requested interpretation, voice talent, urgency and editing level. Given the large variety of parameters, defining a price list for this type of service is almost difficult; that said, rather than publishing a reference price list, we invite you to request a free quote in order to receive a detailed offer, in a short time and without any commitment.

ItalianVoiceTalents offers a double range of voices:

STANDARD Voices

SPECIAL Voices (best price guaranteed)

Both STANDARD and SPECIAL Voices guarantee equal quality standards, but SPECIAL voices normally ensure best rates due to the greater workflow reserved for them by our agency.

What is included and what is NOT included in the service?

Unless otherwise agreed, the service …

includes:

  • voice-over recording, carried out according to the agreed indications

  • basic editing (brath/noise/repetition cleaning)

  • voice file delivery (in the agreed format)

  • agreed usage rights 

does not include:

  • copy/script revision
  • translation services
  • advanced editing (mastering, file splitting, etc.)
  • music licenses
  • audio/video mixing services

What happens if I find some mistakes in the received voice-over?

If the voice-over provided contains errors and / or imperfections (attributable to the voice talent), we guarantee fast and free pickup.

In case the errors are caused by you, a minimum cost is normally charged for the retake. When possible, we also provide short pickups for free.

Although our ordering process is designed to limit the risk of retakes, due to the nature of the service it is not technically possible to exclude 100% of this eventuality … which is managed with all possible flexibility both from us and the voice talent of our roster.

For more details, we advise you to read the Supply Conditions or contact us directly.

I am going to process an order: what should I pay particular attention to?

In order for the voice-over to be in line with your expectations, it is essential that you provide every possible information about pace and tone. Furthermore, it is also important for you to provide any possible indication about the correct pronunciation of “special” words such as non italian proper names, acronyms or numbers.

A guided form helps you to bring back in the order everything necessary to exclude problems of discrepancy of the voice-over from your expectations.

The omitted indication of reading notes in the order phase exempts ItalianVoiceTalents from any liability arising from any imperfections in the execution of the work.

Why should I choose ItalianVoiceTalents and not hire a voice talent directly?

We know the needs, skills and limits of both international customers and italian voice talents very well… and this makes it a perfect link between the two parties

  • bridging their respective technical-bureaucratic-operational “gaps”
  • favouring the exchange of skills that are necessary to ensure the success of every project 
  • reducing the likelihood of errors/reworking and therefore also optimizing production time and costs

  • ensuring rates that are in any case advantageous due to the considerable workflow guaranteed by us to our voice talents and the consequent cheaper rates that we receive in return

In other words, whenever a project is entrusted to ItalianVoiceTalents.com:

  • the customer has the peace of mind of being able to count on a highly specialised staff who will deliver what has been requested, within the agreed times and costs (and that will provide him with all the necessary support before and after the order)
  • the voice talent has the peace of mind of being able to have everything he/she needs to complete the job and to be able to manage any problems with a point of contact able to provide him/her with the necessary feedback, in timely manner and with the right tools

We are often (re)entrusted with voice-overs requests that customers have previously tried to record by hiring a voice talent directly; therefore, the experience gained over many years of activity allows us to state that entrusting ItalianVoiceTalents.com (or any qualified “voice agency”) exclusively involves advantages.

In which cases is it preferable to opt for a solution other than ItalianVoiceTalents?

If you need to live direct a voice talent for your project, we highly suggest to check it before. For specific direction needs, we recommend to opt for a live studio session ( service currently not provided by us).

 

Accounting

I just confirmed an order: what happens now?

Once the order form has been filled in, the system will send you a summary via e-mail. In the meanwhile, our Staff will check the work material you sent in order to prepare the voice-over order for the choosen voice talent.

Should we deem incongruity and/or lack of information, we’ll contact you to obtain the necessary clarifications; otherwise, we’ll arrange the voice-over order for the choosen voice talent and will send you the invoice for the service.

In order to complete the order, (unless otherwise agreed) you are required to pay the invoice and send proof of payment at

Once ready, the download link is sent to you by e-mail.

Each of the aforementioned steps are notified by e-mail.

Are deferred payments accepted?

No. Except for projects of particular consistency, we operate exclusively against advance payment.

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept payments by bank transfer, PayPal and Credit Card.

“PayPal” and “Credit Card” options imply a fee of 3% of the amount charged.

All payment details are shown directly on the invoice.

Do you need to receive clarification on administrative matters?

If you haven’t found the answer to your question in the FAQ, please contact our administrative department directly using the form in the CONTACT section.

 

Orders & Enquiries

The Order Confirmation form asks me to enter the "ID code": where can I find it?

The ID code is an alphanumeric sequence made by 15 characters that uniquely identifies each quote sent by us and which is then “inherited” by the corresponding order, in case of confirmation. It is a “IVT000000000000” type code and you can find it in the email subject with which you were sent the cost estimate for the services requested.

How long is the quote valid for?

Unless otherwise specified, each quote is valid for 30 days.

Where can I find the details regarding general conditions of supply?

As indicated at the bottom of each quote, as well as in the lower section of our website and in the Order Confirmation form, the general conditions of supply of the ItalianVoiceTalents.com services can be consulted HERE and are intended fully valid unless otherwise agreed specifically at the time of order.

What does "Pre-roll" mean?

A video distributed on the web in “Pre-roll” mode is a video that plays – generally for advertising purposes – before playing a video/editorial content requested by a user, without the latter having the possibility to interrupt the execution of the former (if not after the first 5 or 10 seconds preview). It is a type of diffusion developed in the recent years due to the ever increasing use of the Internet for playing video contents and obviously to the increasingly massive availability of high-speed Internet connections. Pre-roll is generally used to convey commercials not longer than one minute and, due to its ability to reach very specific targets at relatively low costs, it is an effective alternative to the traditional “radio-television broadcast”  which is more expansive and less “targeted”.

 

Technical

What is included in Basic Editing?

Once we receive the original voice file, first of all our technicians proceed to carry out a proof-reading job in order to verify the what has been read matches the script. At the same time, they verify the consistency of the reading style with the project specifications.

This is followed by a more purely technical control phase aimed at assessing the compliance of the sound file with the expected quality standards and, finally, an accurate work of “cleaning” the track from any noise, errors, repetitions, etc.

The final and usable is then loaded on the server for the next download.

What do you mean by "Advanced editing"?

Compared to basic editing, the so-called “advanced editing” – optional – includes some additional operations such as, for example:

  • splitting of the track in multiple files, numbered and/or named according to specific customer requirements
  • time-code synchronization check and eventual repositioning of the speeches
  • mixing on music track, special fx, etc.
  • mastering
  • mxing on video files

Need an advanced editing service? Send us some details and we will be happy to send you a custom offer shortly!

I need the italian language voiceover to be synchronized to the original video...

No problem at all: you need an “over-voice” (also called “over-sound”) and you’ve come to the right place to receive this service!

First, check the availability of the following material:

  • original video
  • adapted translation of the script, accompanied by time-code (if you need it and don’t know how to get it, we can take care of it *)

Our voice talent will record a track in which every single “speech” will be perfectly aligned/superimposable to the corresponding one of the original track. This way, you will be able to implement the italian language over-voice in your video project without having to change anything.

The “lip-sync” option requires a special adaptation work and its feasibility must be verified in advance.

If you need this type of service and if you directly provide the italian script, please make sure that it is accurately “adapted” in order to allow the voice talent to read the script matching the time-code. Please also pay attention to provide the script complete of time-code information, in the absence of which the voice talent will not be able to manage the synchronization work properly.

(*) If you only have the original script and you prefer that we take care of the translation, adaptation and the time-code insertion… please specify this in your inquiry and we’ll quote this option, too. If you do not have the original script but only the video, we can also provide a transcription service.

The script contains many foreign words: how will they be pronounced by the italian voice talent?

Each language has its specific pronunciation rules as well as some characteristic phonemes that only a native speaker can read correctly. For example, if a french voice talent is asked to pronounce an italian word, it is quite probable that the pronunciation of this word may result “frenchified” or otherwise different from how it would be spoken by a native italian speaker. Similarly, if an italian voice talent is asked to pronounce a chinese word it is quite predictable that this can be read in a way that is different from how a native chinese speaker is used to hearing it pronounced.

To overcome this problem, or rather to try to “contain it” as much as possible, whenever we send a voice-over order to a voice talent we take care to prepare a section specifically dedicated to the pronunciation of the so-called “special words” (of a language other than his own), in which we accurately report instructions and sound guides* useful for the correct pronunciation of the same.

Despite this useful precaution, we cannot however guarantee that our voice talents are always able to correctly pronounce certain words, especially when the script contains a significant number and/or when they contain phonemes not present in the italian language (i.e. colliding consontants of german language).

Given the above, it is useful to know that this “limit” is universally considered physiological and, as such, it is accepted everywhere without any particular problems.

(*) NOTE: It is useful to provide information regarding the correct pronunciation during the order process. To this end, you can arrange for yourself to record the related rulings (using any sound recording software) and send them to us via email or WhatsApp

I would like the voice talent selected for my project to adopt a very specific reading mood...

In order to make your voice-over match your expectations, it is very important that -when ordering- you provide all the necessary instructions.

It is therefore important that, in the Order Confirmation form, you adequately describe the project, the type of result you wish to achieve, the nuances that the voice must take in the various parts of the script, etc. It is also useful to provide any audio/video references that may help the voice talent to draw inspiration: short samples, links to productions available on the web, storyboards and much more.

The greater information the voice talent has got, the better the result that can be achieved (moreover, all this in compliance within the scheduled timeframe). Otherwise, if important information is omitted during the order or in any case approximate or inadequate instructions are provided, there is a risk of obtaining a voice file that doesn’t conform to the desidered stylistic requirements and therefore having to resort to a “retake”… the unfortunate consequence of accumulating delay and, probably, incurring an additional cost necessary for re-booking the voice talent.

Our Staff supports you in the entire order preparation process and verifies the adequacy of the information you provide before proceeding with the recording, so that you can order your voice-over in a simple and correct way.  And, above all, without fear of unpleasant surprises!

How should the script to be structured?

In order for a script to be recorded correctly and linearly, it would be better if the voice talent’s job “facilitated” by a text that is as clear and “clean” as possible: standard layout, a sufficiently large font, adequate line spacing, very few notes, a single color for everything … in addition of course to a flowing form and correct punctuation.

Any reading notes must be reported in the Order Confirmation form or, at the bottom of the script (our Staff will then report everything necessary to the voice talent, in the most congenial ways).

Lettering too “tight”, too much colours, scattered notes and various highlights… although having the good intention to provide clarifications, risk confusing and disorienting the voice talent … leading him into error and/or diverting the interpretation of the content.

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