Voice Over

A voice over is a production technique in which a voice is not part of the narrative, but is used in radio, television, film, theater or other presentation. A voice over can be spoken by an individual that appears somewhere else in the production or by a voice actor. There are a number of different voice over techniques such as character, creative, educational, commercial or translation. In each of these devices, a voice over can be used to insert a commentary.

For a character voice over, a voice actor provides voices and personalities to animated characters. A voice over is used to develop an effect of storytelling by a character or omniscient narrator. Sometimes a voice over can add continuity in edited versions of films. This helps the audience gain a better understanding to what is occurring between the scenes. Television networks may use a voice over to narrate shows such as programs on The History Channel™ or the Discovery Channel™.