Voice Over Voice Over Techniques and Performance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What vocal warm-up exercise involves making a 'lip trill' or 'lip bubble' sound?
- Vibrating the lips together while vocalizing (Correct answer)
- Clicking the tongue rapidly
- Humming with mouth closed
- Stretching the jaw side to side
Correct answer: Vibrating the lips together while vocalizing
A lip trill vibrates the lips while pushing air through, relaxing facial muscles and warming up the voice.
Question 2: What does 'inflection' mean in voice over?
- The rise and fall of pitch within a word or phrase (Correct answer)
- The speed of delivery
- The volume of a read
- The accent used in a performance
Correct answer: The rise and fall of pitch within a word or phrase
Inflection refers to pitch variation within words or sentences, adding meaning, emphasis, and natural speech rhythm.
Question 3: What is 'marking a script' in voice over preparation?
- Annotating it with notes about pacing, emphasis, and pauses (Correct answer)
- Highlighting only the words you will skip
- Recording a scratch track before the final
- Printing the script on colored paper
Correct answer: Annotating it with notes about pacing, emphasis, and pauses
Marking a script involves adding personal notations for pauses, stressed words, tone shifts, and breaths to guide performance.
Question 4: What technique involves lowering your voice slightly at the end of a sentence to sound authoritative?
- Downward inflection (Correct answer)
- Upward inflection
- Vocal fry
- Glottal stop
Correct answer: Downward inflection
Downward inflection at sentence ends conveys confidence and finality, commonly used in narration and corporate reads.
Question 5: What is the purpose of a 'scratch track' in voice over production?
- A rough guide recording used for editing before final VO is recorded (Correct answer)
- A track recorded with intentional noise for atmosphere
- A backup copy stored on a separate drive
- A final approved take sent to the client
Correct answer: A rough guide recording used for editing before final VO is recorded
A scratch track is a temporary placeholder recording that editors use to time visuals before the polished voice over is recorded.
Question 6: What does 'subtext' mean in voice over performance?
- The underlying emotion or meaning beneath the literal words (Correct answer)
- The technical notes written under the script
- The secondary language track on a recording
- The quiet background music under the voice
Correct answer: The underlying emotion or meaning beneath the literal words
Subtext is the unspoken emotional intent behind words, helping voice actors deliver lines with authentic feeling rather than surface reading.
Voice Over Voice Over Techniques and Performance 2
What vocal warm-up exercise involves making a 'lip trill' or 'lip bubble' sound?