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Rosi Amador

Compelling Narration For Effective Educational Content

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Rosi Amador – PBS SoCal “Family Math” Educational Narration (English Voiceover):  Rosi Amador provided this voiceover for an educational program for PBS SoCal, the primary Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station for the Southern California market.

 

Compelling Narration For Effective Educational Content

One of the most rewarding parts of our job is being able to use our voices to educate people (and to educate ourselves in the process). That’s why eLearning (educational narration) is one of our favorite voiceover genres.

The eLearning industry has seen enormous growth in the last few years. As we weather the first, and hopefully last pandemic of our lifetimes, the need for content that keeps the public informed has grown exponentially. At the same time, eLearning developers are creating ever more innovative eLearning content, and many of them have come to us for narration and character voices. We’ve also been collaborating with PBS affiliates on exciting new educational programming, and museums are finally receiving in-person visitors again, so we’re back to narrating audio tours of some breathtaking exhibits. It is never a boring day at ABVO! 

We are passionate learners in both of our native languages, so we’re fortunate that around 50% of our voice over work consists of eLearning content. It’s amazing what you can learn reading this stuff! In fact, we feel so strongly about it that we dedicated an entire page on our website to our eLearning work. (Link to page in website). 

Working alongside industry titans like Discovery Education’s Mystery Science, WNET – Thirteen Public Television in NYC, MCD Public Health, National Science Foundation, the Getty Museum and NASA, we have had the opportunity to voice hundreds of wonderful educational narration and eLearning projects in English, Spanish, and Hispanic accented English covering a wide variety of topics. We couldn’t be more grateful. 

We thought it might be fun to share some behind the scenes tips and tricks we have learned working as eLearning industry voice actors. Our experience has taught us what’s required to take eLearning narration from good to amazing.

 

1. A Disengaged Audience is a Wasted Opportunity

E-learning content needs to be accessible, self-paced, relevant, and personalized. Equally important, though, is keeping the audience engaged. Many of the top eLearning producers we have worked with are constantly adopting new strategies to ensure engagement. These efforts include new design elements, an interactive presentation, and organizing the content into easily absorbed bits of information. As always, our clients recognize the importance of casting a professional educational narrator. One of the most powerful teaching tools is the human voice, and as anyone who’s sat through a boring lecture can tell you, the quality of that voice matters!

Zia Amador / Rosi Amador “Meet Zia” Out Maine Educational Narration (English Voiceover): Zia and Rosi Amador recorded this animation created by Medical Care Development, MCD Global Health. MCD’s mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of people worldwide through enduring, high quality, cost-effective and universally accessible public health solutions.

 

2. Using Professional Voice Talent

When cost is an issue (and when isn’t it?) it may be tempting to consider not investing in professional voice talent. Nevertheless, elearning narration requires a set of skills that only trained voice actors possess. There’s a lot more involved than just reading text. Being a good voice actor means having not only an appealing voice, but also proficient acting skills. Bringing characters to life and expressing their emotions is a craft. A professional voice actor can help motivate the audience and focus their attention, increase information retention, and enhance the overall quality of the production.

3. Do a Test Run

You know that hiring a professional is essential for a high quality narration, but how do you find the right voice for your project? Easy: request an audition! Ask your voiceover provider to record a short sample of your script for your review. You can hear exactly what the VO talent sounds like, offer suggestions, and decide whether or not he/she is a good fit for the project.

4. Make Sure Your Script is Recording-Ready

One sure-fire way to slow your project down is to provide the voice talent with a script that’s riddled with errors. You’ll make things easier on all involved if you make sure the script is proofread and any unusual pronunciations are spelled out. This can save a great deal of back-and-forth between you and the voice talent. If your script is in a language other than English, we can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting a professional translation. A poorly translated script can add hours to the recording time of a project. If you need translation help, we work with an international team of translators, proofreaders and QC professionals who keep us on our toes and assure an impeccable finished product.

5. Work with Talent that Allows You to Maximize Efficiency.

We work with educational content creators and developers from around the country, and we know time is of the essence! Next time you are looking for voiceover talent, be as specific as possible about your needs in terms of performance, file format, file delivery, accent or translation. We are often asked if we can split and label separated files for an elearning narration. Check! Our clients vastly appreciate when we provide them with a customized service that allows them to work faster and smarter. Just like that, you can save many hours of editing and your whole production team will surely appreciate it. Talk to your VO provider, ask them about the different ways they can help you maximize your efforts.

Zia Amador ~ Educational Web Video for Planned Parenthood (English Voiceover): Zia Amador recorded the voice for “Am I Normal? Puberty, Explained”. Springtime Jellyfish teamed up with Planned Parenthood for their new series explaining puberty, a total of four videos. For this project we worked with the Planned Parenthood team and combined stop-motion animation with 2D digital animation to create a unique, inviting, playful and friendly video series.

 

A Family of Bilingual eLearning Narrators

Having recorded hundreds of eLearning modules in English, Spanish and Hispanic-accented English, our experience allows us to offer our clients a tailored service. We’ve recorded training videos, animated educational games, diversity, equity and inclusion training, slide-based courses, institutional orientations, you name it! Our family is always happy to flex its voice acting chops when asked to provide multiple character voices. We’ll work with you to ensure that your project connects with your audience and meets or exceeds expectations. Let us help you with your next eLearning narration project. It’s our job to make your job easier!

 

Check out our eLearning Narration YouTube Playlist

highlighting some of our remarkable clients

For more demos of our work, check out our eLearning Narrations playlist. This playlist features a variety of #eLearning voiceover projects that bilingual eLearning narrators and voiceover talents Brian, Zia, Alisa and Rosi Amador have recorded for their global clients. 

 

I’m so proud of my trans voice actor/musician/visual artist son, Zia Amador!

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It is my absolute pleasure and honor to feature my incredibly talented son, Zia Amador in this blog post. Zia recently returned to the world of voiceover after several years’ hiatus, out in the workforce, while he’s studying once again to pursue his multiple artistic passions. Zia was raised singing with us and has continued to study guitar and bass, and does some composing as well. He has a great voice! Ironically, it was the pandemic that brought us together. He wanted to be able to safely see our family, so he moved back home in June. You can’t imagine the moment when we all four hugged after months’ of social distancing! Brian and I feel so lucky to be living with both of our twins at the moment as they progress in their creative journeys. We feel like we’re living the dream!

I asked Zia to talk about his experience in the world of voiceover acting and the opportunities for inclusivity his voice represents. At 24 years old, Zia is currently studying at Massachusetts College of Art, the country’s only public university-level art school, where he is majoring in SIM: Studio for Interrelated Media, which allows him to combine his music study with a wide variety of arts media from textiles to event tech and production.

His personal story is one that I’m certain resonates with many young adults; as a young transgender man he feels that his transition has been a wonderful asset, both personally and professionally, allowing him to derive joy from voicing important messages in education and addressing contemporary challenges faced by millennials and Gen Z’ers. 

“Usually they’re looking for a voice that isn’t affected one certain way. The way I talk sometimes I’m perceived as a gay man over the phone since I have more inflection in the way that I speak, so it’s, like, not particular to one gender presentation,” he explains. 

As he navigates the opportunities available to him, Zia has noticed how much more comfortable he is with his voice now, allowing him to be more receptive to constructive criticism and to deliver work he’s proud of. He responds well in directed sessions and feels fortunate to have the resource of the ABVO studio — which takes care of production from start to finish, a luxury among young voice actors. Voiceover is not just a job for him, it’s the sense of accomplishment that comes from being part of something bigger. It’s supporting a mission to spread awareness about important topics in a way that’s representative of a wide spectrum of the population. 

He added that “a lot of content for sex education that’s coming out now aims to be accessible to a wider audience, including queer people, and that’s why they’re looking for a voice that’s less binary.”. In educational messages geared towards a younger audience, that’s particularly exciting to Zia. “If kids hear a voice that’s not stereotypically male or female, that’s awesome,” he said. 

It wasn’t always easy. Zia went through a period of doubt, where he wasn’t sure what niche his voice would fit into. Having done voiceover work for years with a higher pitched voice, he was usually doing spots for children’s apps, games, and books.

“My voice was something that I was very uncomfortable with before starting my hormonal transition. I’m now at a point where I really like my voice and enjoy it. It’s been a very grounding, embodying and beautiful experience,” he said.

He soon discovered that his new range allowed him to deliver more meaningful messages, like the bilingual call to action to report on sexual assault for the Family Planning National Training Center he recorded with his twin sister, Alisa Amador, produced by JSI, a public health care and health care and health systems consultants and researchers dedicated to improving health outcomes for all.  “It’s more of an acting challenge compared to things like children’s voiceover where you just need to sound really excited. The subtlety of conversational narration is a way cooler acting challenge to me,” he said.

Zia is skilled in native Spanish and English voiceovers (we’re all so happy that we insisted on maintaining Spanish as our home language!) and can also do a light accented English to target bicultural audiences living in the U.S. He’s worked with the Museum of Albuquerque, Pandora, Lectura Books, Just the Truth PAC,  and many other nationally recognized brands.

“Now I get to do a lot more work about things that I like, educational work, mental health and gender, literature, and bilingual understanding,” he said. 

I’m truly proud of Zia, and so happy that he is finding joy in his creative expression in so many different ways that allow him to express his unique voice in this complicated world we live in. A world that’s better off with him in it if you ask this proud mama! 

Want to get in touch? Call the ABVO studio at 617-492-1515 or email him at zia@amadorbilingualvoiceovers.com.

What does the “new normal” look like in the voiceover world?

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It’s become clear that the last few months have changed us in all aspects of our lives. These uncertain times have pushed us to think creatively, adapt our skills and really tap into our empathy. In the midst of so much chaos, it’s always uplifting to see stories of hard-working human beings reinventing themselves and pushing forward with their work to support themselves, their families and their communities. 

New problems, age-old ingenuity.

In my performing arts circles, I’ve seen many colleagues in this country and others instantly lose all their bookings. Their income decimated, they’ve found new ways to keep working and generating income. Some are giving online concerts and educational presentations via Facebook and Youtube. Some have forged new partnerships with other musicians and cultural presenting organizations to make their work available to their fans. One of our musical colleagues found an ingenious way to adapt his skills to social distancing: offering serenades to people from outside their homes. Art is invention, so it’s not surprising that artists would find inventive solutions.

Lifting each other up.

It’s been very heartening to see how the pandemic has inspired compassion and generosity in so many. Arts and charitable organizations have stepped up to support artists who have lost income. Since voiceover has been our main source of income, we’ve enjoyed more freedom to donate our musical services. During the pandemic, we’ve had the privilege of doing online concerts to benefit some of these funds. Brian and I have also been volunteering for a hotline to help Spanish speakers access services such as unemployment insurance and rental assistance.

So what happens now? We all know that the pandemic is not over. 

How will the lessons from the past few months reshape the world of advertising, marketing and branding moving forward? I would like to share with you some of my thoughts based on what my family has been experiencing as professional voiceover talents. Please feel free to comment with your own!

We need empathy and compassion more than ever.

A voice is not only powerful for the words it speaks and the message it carries. During the last few months I have received more requests for a compassionate, trustworthy, friendly voice. Companies are working hard to convey a message of caring and understanding. A message can be important on its own, but the right voice can make it resonate. No text on a screen can come close to a heart-felt call to action conveyed by a warm human voice. 

A relatable voice can convey emotion and empathy, an intimate connection with the listener. It can also deliver a tone of authority in sharing important information. For reads like this, I need to make sure I voice the lines with confidence. 

As a voice actor, like any actor, I draw from moments in my own life to express emotions. I think of times when I’ve comforted my kids or a dear friend, and instantly my voice becomes more nurturing, more comforting. Or maybe I think of how I talk to my dog, whom I adore. And speaking of dogs, here’s a case in point! I am the Spanish voice of Hill’s Pet Nutrition. Their national TV commercials these days highlight their commitment to donating food to shelters and to individuals who are fostering a dog.  

Language continues to be extremely important.

As you know, we are a bilingual family and as such, we understand the importance of language as a way to connect with others in meaningful ways. During a crisis, however, language becomes even more important. When the information being shared can make a difference in someone’s health, translation and delivery are paramount! Localization matters, and it’s important to understand that the same word may mean something completely different from one population to another. We spoke about this in a past blog post. 

Preparing for the unexpected.

When the pandemic hit, many businesses were caught unprepared and unable to swiftly transition into fully online operations. We feel very fortunate that throughout the years, we’ve built a professional studio with multiple remote recording capabilities (learn more here!). As I write this blog post we await the arrival of a new addition to our studio equipment that will improve playback quality for our clients in directed sessions. We can’t wait! But our innovation doesn’t stop there. The pandemic is still a reminder for all of us to think of how we can continue to remain relevant in our industries, especially in the work we do as a musical family. 

With new platforms like Streamyard and OBS that interface with Facebook, we’ve been able to collaborate with other artists. We did a magical double bill concert for well over 1,000 live viewers, watched later by 31,000 people. The best part was that we  raised money for a worthy nonprofit in my native Puerto Rico. 

Then there’s Zoom. Please tell me: what professional is not using Zoom these days to meet with clients and colleagues and to keep themselves informed and sharing resources? Nearly everyone has had to embrace new technology, regardless of their level of comfort with it. I really like this Zoom tutorial narrated by Brian using his friendly-authoritative, confident voice style, reassuring the listener that they’ve got this. 

All of our situations look different, but in each situation there is an opportunity for growth, improvement and helping others. Let’s embrace that! Here are some questions I encourage you to ask yourself after reading this post. Feel free to let me know what you think.

  • What skills have I been using the most during the last 3 months and how can I use them further and/or improve them?
  • Do I have a business plan for the next 6-12 months? What about a plan B? 
  • What have I learned during the last 3 months that I could teach others to positively impact their situation?

Please stay calm, stay safe and continue to take all the necessary precautions. If we work together, we WILL get through this! And if you need a song to calm you down, here’s a vocal harmony-rich gift for you from our family. It’s from our new CD, ¡En vivo, en familia!, which we will release on July 16th! Enjoy! And if you need our voices for your project, please reach out!

Spreading Positivity: Five Amazing Women Who Inspire Me

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You may be feeling overwhelmed and overpowered by everything happening right now. I am too. Things are changing daily and we are all on alert. During these difficult times, however, sharing positivity is important as we are all in this together (from afar, but still together!).

I am beyond lucky to know some amazing women in my life who constantly encourage me through their actions, words and ideas – each bringing light to my life in her own, unique way. ¡Qué suerte la mía! 

I could think of no better way to celebrate Women’s History Month than to tell you about some of these women who have positively impacted me. I encourage you to do the same. Whether it’s through a social post or a text message, let’s work to let love be heard above the negativity.

 

¡Aquí vamos!

 

Jessica Gonzalez – Jessica has been Amador Bilingual Voiceovers’ Studio & Operations Manager since August of 2018, working for us remotely. A mother of four, she started her business in order to have a work schedule that balances being a loving, attentive mom with pursuing her ambition as a business woman. ABVO has grown significantly since Jessica came on board. I have no doubt that the main reason is because she has freed up our time to devote ourselves to what we do best. Thanks to her, we can focus daily on recording bilingual voiceovers for global clients, and I can concentrate on marketing, training and guiding our company’s growth. Jessica’s organizational skills are extraordinary! She also has a great sense of humor and is a pleasure to work with every day. We’re so grateful to have her!

Caridad Sorondo – I’ve known Caridad since the 1980’s and fell in love with her from the moment I met her.  Based in my homeland of Puerto Rico, she is an Emmy Award winning television producer and documentary maker with an unbridled passion for literature, poetry, drama and history. Since Hurricane María, Caridad continues making documentaries plus she has dedicated herself to helping rebuild Puerto Rico in her own, personal and very loving way. She’s organized a wide variety of projects, fundraising and using her substantial social media following and press connections to achieve amazing results. Caridad’s work has helped individual Puerto Rican artists, cultural promoters and single women who lost their homes. Her positivity, eloquence, passion and love of her country are contagious and inspire others to follow in her footsteps, to recreate a Puerto Rico full of hope and creativity.

Debbie Phillips – My dear friend since the early 90’s, Debbie was one of the first wave of life coaches in the United States. Soon afterward, she had the bigger vision of creating an organization that would help women live their most authentic lives and figure out what good they want to do in the world. Debbie offers strategies, inspiration and support through “Women on Fire,” an online membership organization she founded in 2007, of which I’m a longtime member. We get to interact online on a special Facebook page and at biannual retreats. Being a WOF member has taught me so much about how to achieve my goals and live my purpose fully. I can’t begin to list all the things I’ve learned from Debbie and the WOF community that have helped me become more fulfilled, personally and professionally. 

Natalia Rosminati – A renowned voice actor from Buenos Aires, Natalia is known for her major roles all over Latin America in character voices, animation, commercials and more. One of my favorite activities when I travel to Argentina, my father’s homeland, is spending time with my friend Natalia. For more than a year we coached one another via video chats, bartering performance skills to help each other grow as voice actors. I helped her with her English and she helped me work on developing character voices. I convinced her to attend an international voiceover conference in the U.S. several years ago; this year she ended up becoming the director of the conference’s Spanish language program! I deeply admire her drive, ambition and commitment to growing as an actor and business woman, and I truly appreciate her generous spirit.

Carol Rose – Carol is the enthusiastic fan-mother of our daughter, singer-songwriter Alisa Amador’s very talented bassist, Noah Harrington. She is the executive director of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) of Massachusetts, and I’m so proud to call her a friend. Carol has spent her career advocating for human rights and civil liberties both in the United States and abroad. She’s brilliant and generous, and she fights for many of the causes our family believes in, most recently the plight of the vulnerable immigrant population. I am in awe of Carol’s tenacity and applaud her for being with the ACLU since 2003, applying her out of the box thinking to bring important issues to light.

2020: Let’s Do It! Reaching Your Business Goals!

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We hope you enjoyed wonderful holidays with loved ones. We had a truly delightful holiday time with our family and friends in Argentina. (Check out my Instagram for some highlights!). We’ve hit the ground running in 2020 and we can already feel the potential for this year! 

I don’t know if you share this tradition, but for years now I have chosen a “word of the year” to guide my decisions. This year my word came to me effortlessly. It’s “EASE”.  I am using it to help me make wiser choices to achieve my 2020 business and personal goals. I’m a rather driven entrepreneur, small business owner, singer and voiceover artist. I want to do everything I’m excited about all at once. Sometimes I get overly ambitious, which makes it hard to bring ease into my life. Now I’m learning to spread out my projects throughout the year.  I’ve lined up a great team to help me with each step so I can be more intentional as I aim high to reach these ambitious goals. (Do you have a word of the year? Just curious – I’d love to know what your word is.) 

Have you set your 2020 business goals?

Perhaps you’d like to expand your audience. Maybe communicating in a new language is the key? (Hint: There are over 41 million native Spanish speakers in the US!)

Thinking about elevating your content to differentiate yourself from your competitors and engage with your audience in a more authentic way? An original music composition might be that extra special touch you need. Yup, we do that too. 

Let us help you achieve your goals! Here’s a reminder of some of the services we offer. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, just ask. Don’t hesitate to reach out to connect live and see how we can collaborate!

  • Voiceovers – Our experience ranges from commercials to social causes, promos, corporate narrations and beyond. The right voiceover will not only communicate what’s in the text but it will also bring it to life. We can add a level of emotion and a natural delivery that will help you better connect with your audience. Remember, we provide female or male voiceovers in English, Spanish or Hispanic-accented English. All flavors!
  • Audio tours – Our voices have guided thousands through exhibits and travel destinations, in English, Spanish, and Hispanic accented English. We love this kind of work – it’s like traveling around the world without leaving our studio!
  • eLearning narration – There are many benefits to eLearning. It can be used to teach when more traditional methods of learning are unavailable or impractical. When recorded by seasoned educational narrators, it can also be highly engaging, resulting in a better learning experience. We’ve been honored to narrate hundreds of hours of  educational narration for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (gracias AudioLink for our decades long association!), the National Fire Protection Association, Teaching Strategies, NASA, and many other educational companies and governmental agencies.
  • Translations and overdubs – We love bringing people together, and one of the ways we do it is through translations. Translated, your content can reach an even broader audience. As we’ve said before effective translation is not as simple as using an application to swap languages. You have to make sure your content is properly localized for your audience. We’re happy to be your language and cultural consultants, and we truly enjoy that role. We did just that for a recent national campaign of video PSAs on family preparedness for FEMA.
  • Original music composition – In addition to baking the most amazingly delicious granola, Brian is a very talented musician and composer. If your project requires a special tone, original music might be the answer! It can set your project apart from those with canned music, and it can save you from paying music licensing fees. Plus we have some ready to go original music beds right on our website under “Services”.  

Whatever your project looks like, we’re here to help! ¡Nos encantaría ayudarle! 

Are You Set Up to Reach the Largest Minority in the US? Here are some things to keep in mind in 2020!

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Can you believe we are on the brink of a new decade?! This year has been full of great work and for that, we are very thankful. We not only get to work with amazing businesses, but we also get to use our voices to build cross-cultural bridges and support important causes that are near and dear to our hearts. That is a huge honor for our family.

As we head into not just a new year, but a new decade, we wanted to share our thoughts regarding trends to watch in 2020, especially as it relates to our business… and likely yours too!

  • Multicultural is not going anywhere and you shouldn’t be surprised! In the last decade alone, the number of Hispanics in the U.S. increased by 43%. In 2020, Hispanics will account for over 50% of the U.S. population growth. Not creating content that connects with this important population is a big miss for any business. As we said in a previous post you want to make sure you know exactly how to reach Hispanics, as there might be some cultural nuances that differ between subgroups (i.e., Mexicans vs. Puerto Ricans) but we can help you navigate this!
  • Make great content work even harder for your business. The new year is the perfect opportunity to revise your content strategy and as you probably know, video is key. Not only is Google ranking video higher than text-based content, but with such a competitive content world, video offers an opportunity to truly connect with your audience… especially when you do it with the right voice! Make your content work harder for you by considering overdubbing to reach broader audiences. 
  • Sustainability and responsibility, we’re all involved. No matter the industry your business is in, we all play a role from a sustainability standpoint. If you haven’t already, take a moment to assess the social and environmental impact of your business and look for ways to improve in 2020. Where can you make the most positive impact? Can you get your target audience involved? Do you need updated messaging to help achieve this?
  • Integration is the future, don’t stay behind. Whether it’s diversity in the workplace or having your different creatives/marketers collaborate, integration will be key in 2020. When it comes to creating engaging content, you want to make sure you have an integrated team that not only relates to your audience but are also experts on what they do. With that come efficiencies and it’s always great to have partners that can do multiple things for your project. At ABVO, we offer more than just voice-overs, we can also provide translation services, original music compositions, and other related services. We love that we can contribute to our client’s great campaigns in multiple ways!

What other trends do you see continuing or emerging in 2020? We’d be delighted to know. 

Let’s work together and make 2020 the best year yet! And by the way, Happy New Year! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

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