• Source: VoiceOver

VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s macOS, iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind and low-vision users, as well as for users with dyslexia.
The keyboard shortcut to activate VoiceOver is ⌘ Command+F5.




macOS


VoiceOver was first introduced in Mac OS X 10.4 and the target was users who had difficulty in reading due to vision impairment, particularly the blind. A preview had also been made available for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, and was titled "Spoken Interface Preview."
VoiceOver treats the user interface as a hierarchy of elements, which are navigated by various keystrokes. Elements also are "interacted" with—for example, interacting with a text box allows reading its text and, if possible, editing it; interacting with a scroll bar allows it to be moved using the keyboard.
VoiceOver also includes support for many Braille displays. In addition, VoiceOver includes features for those that cannot use the mouse, such as keyboard-based navigation.

For users with MacBooks or Magic Trackpads, a number of special multitouch features are also available. The trackpad will respond to gestures, much like iOS's version of VoiceOver. A specific example is using the trackpad to explore the actual visual layout of elements on the screen - sliding one finger around the trackpad will select elements, tapping twice will activate them.
In Mac OS X 10.5, Apple added the "Alex" voice, which offered improved quality of speech and a more human-like sound. Previously, the voices were directly descended from those used in Apple's "Speech Manager," which originated in the early 1990s. Also, Alex voice has natural breathing, unlike all other voices in Apple.
In Mac OS X 10.7, Apple offered the download of RealSpeak voices from Nuance for use with VoiceOver.




= Accessibility Inspector

=
Accessibility Inspector is made to verify the accessibility of OS X applications. It displays information about the GUI element that is currently under the cursor.




iPod Shuffle


After its success on Macs, Apple added VoiceOver to the iPod Shuffle. This assists users of the iPod Shuffle in controlling the playback of songs by having titles read out. With the 2010 revision of iPod Shuffle, the user can also have VoiceOver read out playlists. Unlike VoiceOver on OS X, where VoiceOver is marketed as an accessibility feature, on the iPod Shuffle VoiceOver is intended to be used by everyone, disabled or not.




iOS


A few months later, with the release of the iPhone 3GS, VoiceOver was added to iOS. When the iPod Touch was upgraded to match the hardware of the iPhone 3GS (in iPod touch's third generation), it also gained VoiceOver capability. The iPad, since its introduction, has also had VoiceOver capability.
VoiceOver on iOS interacts with the user by using various "gestures," different motions one makes with one or more fingers on the display. Many gestures are location-sensitive—for example, sliding one's finger around the screen will reveal the visual contents of the screen as the finger passes over them. This enables blind users to explore the actual on-screen layout of an application. A user can double-tap—similar to double-clicking a mouse—to activate a selected element, just as if a sighted user had tapped the item.
VoiceOver can also turn off the display but leave the touch screen sensitive to touch, saving battery power. Apple calls this feature "Screen Curtain". It is also available on Mac computers running OS X.
VoiceOver for iOS is activated using the "Settings" application. It can be found in the Accessibility section. The device can also be configured so that VoiceOver can be toggled by a triple-click of the Home or side button on the device. The user can also ask Siri to enable or disable VoiceOver.




iPod nano


In September 2010, Apple launched this feature on the iPod nano line. It uses many of the same gestures as the iOS version.




References and notes






External links


Apple's VoiceOver website
• Source: Voice-over

Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non-diegetic) accompanies the pictured or on-site presentation of events. The voice-over is read from a script and may be spoken by someone who appears elsewhere in the production or by a specialist voice actor. Synchronous dialogue, where the voice-over is narrating the action that is taking place at the same time, remains the most common technique in voice-overs. Asynchronous, however, is also used in cinema. It is usually prerecorded and placed over the top of a film or video and commonly used in documentaries or news reports to explain information.
Voice-overs are used in video games and on-hold messages, as well as for announcements and information at events and tourist destinations. It may also be read live for events such as award presentations. Voice-over is added in addition to any existing dialogue and is not to be confused with voice acting or the process of replacing dialogue with a translated version, the latter of which is called dubbing or revoicing.




History


The voice-over industry has evolved significantly since its inception, paralleling developments in technology, entertainment, and advertising. It began in the early days of radio and has since expanded into various media including television, film, video games, and the internet.




= Early Beginnings (1920s-1930s)

=
Voice-over work began in the 1920s with the advent of radio broadcasting. The industry was primarily driven by radio dramas, comedies, and serials. Actors like Orson Welles were among the pioneers, known for their work on radio shows such as "The Mercury Theatre on the Air." The most notable event of this era was the 1938 broadcast of "The War of the Worlds," directed and narrated by Welles, which famously caused panic among listeners who believed the fictional story to be a real news broadcast.




= The Golden Age of Radio and the Introduction of Television (1940s-1950s)

=
The 1940s and 1950s are often referred to as the Golden Age of Radio. Voice actors like Mel Blanc, known for his work with Warner Bros. cartoons, became household names. This era also saw the transition from radio to television. Voice-over work expanded to include off-screen narration and character voices in television shows, particularly in animations and commercials.




= The Rise of Commercials and Dubbing (1960s-1970s)

=
The 1960s and 1970s witnessed a significant increase in the use of voice-overs in commercials. Advertisers began to realize the impact of a strong, persuasive voice in selling products. This period also saw the growth of dubbing foreign films and shows, expanding the global reach of media content.




= Technological Advancements and the Home Video Revolution (1980s-1990s)

=
With the advent of cable television and home video in the 1980s and 1990s, the demand for voice-over artists surged. The era was marked by the rise of animated shows, video games, and the direct-to-video market. Voice actors like James Earl Jones, known for his work as the voice of Darth Vader in "Star Wars," and Frank Welker, known for his work in cartoons and films, became prominent.




= The Internet Age and the Democratization of Voice-Overs (2000s-Present)

=
The turn of the millennium brought about drastic changes with the proliferation of the internet. Platforms like YouTube and the advent of podcasting opened up new avenues for voice-over work. Home recording technology and high-speed internet made it possible for voice-over artists to work remotely, democratizing the industry. Voice-over websites and online casting services have made it easier for artists to find work and for producers to find talent.




Career in voice-over


To become a voice actor, significant training is required. The important factors to being a voice actor are technique, genres, and work. It is recommended to hire an acting coach and voice coach to help hone skills for recording a voice-over. There are many pieces of equipment that are also required to start a career in voice-overs. A computer, professional microphone, and an editing program, along with a studio to set up in, are all requirements to develop a professional voice-over. Careers in voice-over often allow people to work at home.
To audition for a voice-over role, people often record a demo-reel, which is a compilation of someone's works in voice acting. A demo-reel is important to have for someone looking for a job in voice acting because many auditions ask for one. To find casting auditions, there are many online websites that can allow people to sign up for auditions. For an audition, people should study the target audience, warm up and try to arrive early so they can prepare and have the best chance at getting the role. The audition is begun with slating. Slating is a practice where the person going for the audition states their name and then says Take 1, Take 2, Take 3. After slating, the auditionee then reads the copy given to them by the casting team.




Techniques






= Character device

=
In Herman Melville's Moby Dick (1956), Ishmael (Richard Basehart) narrates the story, and he sometimes comments on the action in voice-over, as does Joe Gillis (William Holden) in Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Eric Erickson (William Holden) in The Counterfeit Traitor (1962); adult Pip (John Mills) in Great Expectations (1946) and Michael York in its 1974 television remake.
Voice-over technique is likewise used to give voices and personalities to animated characters. Noteworthy and versatile voice actors include Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Don Messick, Paul Frees, and June Foray. Charactering techniques in voice-overs are used to give personalities and voice to fictional characters. There has been some controversy with charactering techniques in voice-overs, particularly with white radio entertainers mimicking AAVE.
In the late 1920s, radio started to stray away from reporting exclusively on musicals and sporting events; instead, radio began to create serial talk shows as well as shows with fictional story lines. Radio became the ideal medium for voice impersonations.




= Creative device

=
In film, the filmmaker distributes the sound of a human voice (or voices) over images shown on the screen that may or may not be related to the words that are being spoken. Consequently, voice-overs are sometimes used to create ironic counterpoint. Also, sometimes they can be random voices not directly connected to the people seen on the screen. In works of fiction, the voice-over is often by a character reflecting on his or her past, or by a person external to the story who usually has a more complete knowledge of the events in the film than the other characters.
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.
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 film Joan of Arc (1948) starring Ingrid Bergman turned out to be far from the box-office and critical hit that was expected and it was edited down from 145 minutes to 100 minutes for its second run in theaters. The edited version, which circulated for years, used narration to conceal the fact that large chunks of the film had been cut out. 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.
Film noir is especially associated with the voice-over technique. The golden age of first-person narration was during the 1940s. Film noir typically used male voice-over narration but there are a few rare female voice-overs.
In radio, voice-overs are an integral part of the creation of the radio program. The voice-over artist might be used to entice listeners of the station name or as characters to enhance or develop show content. During the 1980s, the British broadcasters Steve Wright and Kenny Everett used voice-over artists to create a virtual "posse" or studio crew who contributed to the programmes. It is believed that this principle was in play long before that time. The American radio broadcaster Howard Stern has also used voice-overs in this way.




= Educational or descriptive device

=
The voice-over has many applications in non-fiction as well. Television news is often presented as a series of video clips of newsworthy events, with voice-over by the reporters describing the significance of the scenes being presented; these are interspersed with straight video of the news anchors describing stories for which video is not shown.
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 sports commentators 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.




= Commercial device

=
The commercial use of voice-over in television advertising has been popular since the beginning of radio broadcasting.
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.
Manufacturers will often use a distinctive voice to help them with brand messaging, often retaining talent to a long-term exclusive contract.
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. Digital recording, thanks to the proliferation of PCs, smartphones (iOS and Android 5.0+), dedicated recording devices, free or inexpensive recording and editing software, and USB microphones of reasonable quality, and the increasing use of home studios, has revolutionized the industry.
The sound recording industry uses the term "presence" as the standard of a good quality voice-over and is used for commercial purposes in particular. The term "presence" measures the legitimacy of how a voice sounds, specifically one of a voice-over. Advances in technology for sound recording have helped voice-overs reach that standard. These technological advances have increasingly diminished "the noise of the system...and thus reducing the distance perceived between the object and its representation."




= Translation

=

In some countries, such as Russia, Ukraine and Poland, voice-over provided by an artist is commonly used on television programs as a language localization technique, as an alternative to full dub localization.
In Bulgaria, multiple voice-over is also common, but each film (or episode) is normally voiced by three to six 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, since 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 is dialogue over the credits).




See also


Bumper (broadcasting)
Bumper music
Cinéma vérité
Direct cinema
I Know That Voice
National Audio Theatre Festival
Offscreen
Voice acting




References



The dictionary definition of voice-over at Wiktionary

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