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Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic) is used in a radio, television, film, theatre, or other presentation. The voice-over may be spoken by someone who appears elsewhere in the production or by a specialist voice actor.
Voice-over technique is likewise used to give voices and personalities to animated characters. Among the most noteworthy and versatile of whom include Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Don Messick, Frank Welker and June Foray.
Voice-overs are often used to create the effect of storytelling by a character/omniscient narrator. For example, in The Usual Suspects, the character of Roger "Verbal" Kint has voice-over segments as he is recounting details of a crime. Classic voice-overs in cinema history can be heard in Citizen Kane and The Naked City. Other examples of storytelling voice-overs can be heard in Gattaca, Fight Club, Megamind, Ratatouille, Tangled, The Magic School Bus, The Emperor's New Groove, Kronk's New Groove Blade Runner, The Rugrats Movie, The Shawshank Redemption, Big Fish, How to Train Your Dragon, Moulin Rouge!, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Rugrats, Raising Arizona, Goodfellas, Clash of the Titans and Star Quest: The Odyssey''.
Sometimes, voice-over can be used to aid continuity in edited versions of films, in order for the audience to gain a better understanding of what has gone on between scenes. This was done when the 1948 Joan of Arc, starring Ingrid Bergman, turned out to be far from the box-office and critical hit that was expected, and was edited down from 145 minutes to 100 minutes for its second run in theatres. The edited version, which circulated for years, used narration to conceal the fact that large chunks of the film had been cut. In the full-length version, restored in 1998 and released on DVD in 2004, the voice-over narration is heard only at the beginning of the film.
The genre of film noir is especially associated with the voice-over technique.
In radio, voice-overs are an integral part of the creation of the radio programme. The voice over artist might be used to remind listeners of the station name or as characters to enhance or develop show content. In the 1980s UK broadcasters Steve Wright and Kenny Everett used voice over artists to create a virtual "posse" or studio crew that contributed to the programme's. It is believed that this principal was in play long before that time. USA radio broadcaster Howard Stern has also used voice overs in this way.
Television networks such as The History Channel and the Discovery Channel make extensive use of voice-overs. On NBC, the television show Starting Over used Sylvia Villagran as the voice-over narrator to tell a story.
Live sports broadcasts are usually shown as extensive voice-overs by expert announcers over video of the sporting event.
Game shows formerly made extensive use of voice-overs to introduce contestants and describe available or awarded prizes, but this technique has diminished as shows have moved toward predominantly cash prizes. The most prolific have included Don Pardo, Johnny Olson, John Harlan, Jay Stewart, Gene Wood and Johnny Gilbert.
Voice-over commentary by a leading critic, historian, or by the production personnel themselves is often a prominent feature of the release of feature films or documentaries on DVDs.
In the early years, before effective sound recording and mixing, announcements were produced "live" and at-once in a studio with the entire cast, crew and, usually, orchestra. A corporate sponsor hired a producer, who hired writers and voice actors to perform comedy or drama.
The industry expanded very rapidly with the advent of television in the 1950s and the age of highly produced serial radio shows ended. The ability to record high-quality sound on magnetic tape also created opportunities, as has the proliferation of home computers capable of recording, often using inexpensive (even free) software and a microphone of reasonable quality.
Manufacturers will often use a distinctive voice to help them with brand messaging, often retaining talent to a long term exclusive contract.
In some countries, such as Russia and Poland, a voice-over provided by a single artist is commonly used on television as a language localization technique, as an alternative to full dubbing.
In Bulgaria, voice-over translation is also common, but each film (or episode) is normally voiced by at least four actors. The voice artists try to match the original voice and preserve the intonation. The main reason for the use of this type of translation is that unlike synchronized voice translation, it takes a relatively short time to produce as there is no need to synchronize the voices with the character's lip movements, which is compensated by the quieted original audio. When there is no speaking in the film for some time, the original sound is turned up. Recently, as more films are distributed with separate voice and noises-and-music tracks, some voice-over translations in Bulgaria are produced by only turning down the voice track, in this way not affecting the other sounds. One actor always reads the translation crew's names over the show's ending credits (except for when there are dialogs over the credits).
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