Martin Warnas – Dutch/English voice-over

There is a LOT of innovation going on in the Netherlands, particularly in the agricultural sector. I must have voiced well over a hundred videos about the latest and greatest fertilizer spreaders, grow houses, irrigation systems, plant breeding and much more than I’ve already forgotten. (Well, I do about 3-4 videos like these per week. It’s hard to keep track!)

This is just a very good example of the genre. If it is appreciated I will point out mistakes in the script, which more often than not is translated by the producer.

I recorded this one in my home studio. The production house asked me if I had any plans on a particular day and when I said I was free they sent me the script the evening before. The next morning at nine p.m. the recording was waiting for them. One line turned out to contain a small factual error, so they emailed me about recording an ‘insert’, which I sent them within an hour. I always make sure it fits perfectly and I don’t charge for them. Why not? Because I don’t do refunds when I make a mistake, either. We’re all human, after all. Once I give a price, that’s it: service is always included.

I’d be happy to record a demo based on your script. There is no commitment to you, no unwanted phone calls, no paperwork. Just send me an email with your script and ask for a quote. Couldn’t be easier!

This gorgeous animation in shown to all visitors in the welcome centre. I am very proud to have been asked to voice this one, which I also recorded in Dutch.

I usually record from home, but in this case I was asked to come to a studio, so that the animator, writer and director could all be present. I’m happy to do this, but I do charge a higher rate if I have to come to a studio: typically around €300-400 per session (4 hours, which yields about 3 hours of audio), but it also depends on the project: a video that will only be seen once by a small audience won’t cost as much as something that might run for years.

In general I’d recommend letting me record at home. I’ve been doing this for more than two decades and I know what customers like. But on the other hand: if I come to a studio I don’t have to edit the result and people fetch cups of tea for me. That’s nice, too!

I voice a lot of these types of video. My voice is well-suited for serious, information heavy videos for professional audiences. Even though I am a native Dutch speaker, I am often overlooked for the Dutch voice-over, as producers who find my voice in one of the voice-casting agency databases have trouble believing I also speak Dutch.

As I am usually the last one to see the script, I make sure to double-check every line. Sometimes I find lines that I think could be improved and record both the scripted version and my own suggestion. It is then up to the editor or producer to decide which one to pick.

A video like this, 4.5 minutes with an average of 140 words per minute, will cost around € 225 excl. sales tax (21% for Dutch customers) and it will be an all-in price: as many retakes and fixes as are required and a complete buy-out: play it as often as you like for the original purpose. Turn-around is typically less than 24 hours.

To calculate the rate of your script, please use my webbased calculator.

A video aimed at farmers, about a new and efficient way to spread fertiliser. Professionally and affordably voiced by Martin Warnas. I also recorded this in Dutch and German, by the way.

Avery Graphics are a very big graphics design and production company. They also design, print and apply those wonderful and colorful advertising stickers you see on so many corporate vehicles these days. That’s actually a pretty complicated job! (I myself can’t even get a stamp on an envelope properly aligned…)

They provide in-house training to their staff, for which I’ve voiced a number of videos. Below is an instruction video for car wrapping.

Recording this one was easy: I recorded a draft version, so the editor could time the video. Then I recorded it properly (which meant replacing only a few segments, though I’d have been happy to do it again from scratch if needed) and it timed perfectly.

Production was handled by Wouter Goudswaard of B-Creative.

For Mastervolt I recorded this video, to explain their remote control systems for onboard electronics. We didn’t shoot it on board my own yacht, because… well, I don’t have one. Yet. But I do have the right accent to go with such high-class, quality services, don’t I? 😉

I recorded the audio at home, music was added by the editor. No retakes were needed, but I’d have been happy to do them.

(Note: voice-over starts at 66 seconds.)

The video was produced by Kristel van der Velde, whom I can recommend to anyone who needs to have a video produced. We’ve also worked together for many Kverneland videos.

For PConTV I’ve voiced a series of brief instruction movies on setup and operation for their fantastic device. I’ve done both the English and the Dutch version, so now you have a chance to compare them.

You’ll find that my Dutch has no accent whatsoever, but in English I do sound rather ‘posh’. In fact, the accent is ‘Home Counties’ and it is actually the preferred accent for BBC newsreaders.

Here is an instruction video for setting up the PConTV box:

And here is the Dutch version, also voiced by me:

For my part, the recording process was very easy. The movies had already been scripted and recorded. I was merely given a few scripts, which I recorded in my home studio. I uploaded the files to my webserver, where the customer could download them. As I recall, only a few minor changes were needed for timing purposes. Also, we debated whether ‘Wifi’ should be pronounced as ‘wai-fai’ or ‘wee-fee’. I lost that particular discussion, so in these movies it’s ‘wee-fee’ now 😉

My rate was based on the total number of words for all scripts, with a nice discount because if you give me several movies to do it’s unfair if I charge my startup fee for every one of them, right? Also, those fixes were included in the price. And when a small section was added later on, I did that for free too. The buy-out was for unlimited use on the internet. (I can’t even recall the last time I put a cap on a buy-out for non-broadcast: when I quote a price, it’s ALL-IN.)