Once upon a time, when I was a kid, we had this thing called cassette tapes. They were a fascinating little audio device that could both play and record sound. Music. Voice. Belches (not that I ever tried that, of course).
Then one day, along came a shiny new, frisbee / coffee coaster looking device the technology gurus referred to as, “compact disc.”
And cassette tapes went away.
Now, millions and millions of children will never know what it’s like to have your boom box chew your tape and destroy the listening experience of your favourite song.
Tragic, I know. But I feel good about the next generation. I think they’ll pull through.
Trends Come… And Sometimes Go…
For years now, I’ve marketed my voice over services to explainer video production companies and eLearning production companies. These are the two genres the bulk of my work comes from. I do the occasional on hold system, some real estate virtual tours and many corporate narrations. Mostly, though, it’s explainers and eLearning.
Do you remember what the internet was like a few years ago, before anyone even knew what an explainer video was?
Me neither.
In voice over, much like in music media, there are trends.
Have you heard about this MP3 technology? Some new fangled music player they call, “iPod?”
Crazy!
What Will The Next Voice Over Trend Be?
Do you ever ask yourself, “what’s next?”
Think of the commercial market. For years, commercial jobs meant television or radio. Now we find ourselves talking about “pre-rolls” and “new media” and YouTube, Spotify, Pandora and Hulu.
Are they broadcast too, now?
Guess we’re still trying to figure that out.
Today, I did a job I’ve never done before. I’ve got a client that produces podcasts for the purposes of SEO. He asked me if I would be interested in calling experts in a particular industry, conducting an interview, and providing him with audio for said podcasts.
With my background in radio, it seemed like a good fit. Although, certainly not what many would consider a traditional voice over job.
Could this be a new trend?
It’s certainly not a type of voice over opportunity I had ever considered before. I’m sure thinking a lot about it now, though.
That’s the thing about this business. There’s always something new on the horizon.
Keep your eyes open for what’s next.
