Frequently asked questions for a Dutch voice-over

No. Dutch is not Deutsch: Deutsch is what Germans call German, and that is a different language. Still, the requests I receive show that quite a few people think a Dutch voice-over can easily record German, Flemish or even Danish. For those, you need a native speaker of that language.

To sum it up:

The Netherlands: the Dutch speak Dutch. We call ourselves Nederlanders, our country Nederland and our language Nederlands.

Germany: the Germans speak German. They call their country Deutschland and their language Deutsch. That word looks like Dutch, but it is not the same.

Belgium: in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, people speak Flemish, which is actually Dutch. But it sounds clearly different from the Dutch spoken in the Netherlands, so for a Flemish audience you are better off with a Flemish voice.

Denmark: Danish has absolutely nothing to do with any of the above.

An average speaking rate is roughly 120 to 150 words per minute. Even so, it is not always easy to judge whether a text will fit into 5 seconds, 30 seconds or a minute. Numbers in particular take longer to say than they look. Just think about it: read out in Dutch, the number “1.384.234” takes 19 syllables, while on paper it is about as long as the word “strawberry”. To know for sure whether your script fits the time you have, you can use the ScriptChecker.

Comments Lots of comments in the margin about who thought what of which sentence, and how that changed later, can cause confusion: it is not always clear whether any of them are relevant to the recording. Besides, the script should be final before the recording starts.

Specific wishes regarding pronunciation, emphasis or changes in tone of voice are of course welcome.

Pronunciation If there are words or names that are pronounced differently than expected or that can be read in more than one way, let me know how they should sound. A voice message on WhatsApp works well, for example. In Dutch, numbers can often be read in several ways too: times (8:15 as “acht uur vijftien” or “kwart over acht”), years (2024 as “twintig vierentwintig” or “tweeduizend vierentwintig”) or phone numbers (22 as “tweeëntwintig” or “twee twee”). If you have a clear preference, let me know.

Tone of voice As you can hear on this site, I can take my voice in many directions. Let me know in your briefing what you are looking for: selling, businesslike, casual, conversational…

Better not. A storyboard is perfect for getting an idea across to your client, but one or two sentences per page are very awkward to read during a voice recording. It also makes it harder to see how the text flows and how it is built up.

Yes, of course. A new session does come at a cost, but if it is just a single word, that is never really a problem. If sentences or paragraphs change, however, it does take time to fit them seamlessly into the rest of the recording. I will of course make sure it sounds as if the script had always been the final version.

Preferably as a Word document or PDF, but it does not really matter; I can usually adapt it if needed. For record keeping, though, it is handy to be able to file a script with a recording, rather than just a text in an email. Sometimes it is useful to select the text and copy it into something like Word, for example to move things around or add a blank line. A document in which I cannot select anything can be limiting in some cases.

I find Arial or Calibri at 14 pt comfortable to read. These days I mostly read from a screen, so zooming in is never a problem.

By default you receive 24-bit/48 kHz WAV files. In principle anything is possible, but I do need to know in advance. If the last time I worked for you it was, say, mono µLaw at 8-bit/16 kHz, it is a good idea to remind me. If that is still the setting you need, we will make sure everything goes right first time.

Absolutely. Many tools designed for remote office meetings, such as Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, work fine for discussing the tone of voice, pronunciation and intonation of a recording. If the audio quality needs to be higher, applications like Source-Connect and Session-Link are the answer.

A beautiful voice is a nice start. But understanding how a text is built, seeing what the writer wants to say and how best to present it to the listener: that is the essence of the voice-over craft. On top of that, you need to invest in an acoustically suitable room, equipment, and the knowledge and skills to use them. And you need the skills of a freelancer, because you are becoming an entrepreneur.

If you think all of that suits you, a course (if you speak Dutch, for example at stemacteren.nl) could be a big step in the right direction.

I use a Brauner Phantom Classic. In some cases I choose the Gonzo Audio XL251, a Dutch-made tube microphone based on the ELA M 251, a sibling of the Neumann U47 and U67.

The microphone is connected to a Cranborne Audio Camden preamp in an IGS Panzer rack. For AD conversion I then use a Lynx Hilo or a BURL B2 Bomber over a Dante network, with an RME Digiface Dante as the interface.

Monitoring runs from the DA conversion of the Lynx Hilo to a Crane Song Avocet II, then through a Bryston 4B SST2 amp to my beloved PMC MB2S monitors.

On the software side, I sometimes work in Pro Tools (Ultimate), but mostly in Nuendo.

See also the studio page.

First of all, the price of a voice recording depends heavily on how the recording will be used. A local radio commercial is something else than a national TV commercial, even if both are 30 seconds long.

No two productions are the same. Two commercials do not cost twice as much as one. I make arrangements with clients who send me a number of jobs every month. And if you have three corporate films recorded in one session, I charge differently than when they come in spread over several weeks.

Only a few types of work have standard rates, such as IVR (you know, those phone systems: “For sales, press 1.”) and local commercials. But here too I am happy to make arrangements with you as a client, so we find what works best for both of us.

To cut a long story short: want to know what my voice would cost for your productions? See an indication of my rates, or get in touch for a tailored quote.

There is a lot of overlap between these roles, and some professionals do both. The difference lies mainly in how the voice is used:

• A voice-over speaks as an observer, provides commentary and usually addresses the viewer directly.
• A voice actor is part of what is happening and plays a role in it.

But when a commercial needs a strong character, the voice-over can act too. And the voice actor can record a voice-over. Not everyone can do both.

In general I can deliver within 24 hours on working days (Dutch time).

For projects that take more time, it can help to agree in advance when the session will take place, so I can reserve time for it.

Some days I spend the whole day on sessions out of the house, recording in other studios. (And very occasionally I am not in the studio for a few days, but in a forest, on a mountain, at sea or on a beach.)

That depends on the target audience, the brand identity and the goal of the campaign. Together we look at references and decide on the energy, pace and style that fit best.

An AI voice is useful for getting a feel for the timing of a project. As a proxy or placeholder in the NLE, it can work fine for getting the pictures and the rhythm right.

Do you want the message to really land? Do you want the interpretation of the text to be spot on, and to be able to direct? Do you want nuances in intonation that truly reach your audience? Are you after maximum conversion?

Then you need a human: a professional voice-over.