English Narration

Producer’s Guide to PSAs for the Hispanic Market

April 12, 2018 by Brian Amador Leave a Comment

Watch this charming animated PSA for the El Paso Streetcar, voiced by our daughter Alisa Amador. Produced by Pilgrim Animation

PSAs Image Producers of public service announcements (PSAs) for the Hispanic market know that skilled bilingual voiceover talent is a powerful weapon in their arsenal when it comes to creating PSAs that resonate with their intended audienc

ABCs of PSAs

PSAs are used to inform the general public and promote government programs, services, or activities or those of non-profit organizations. To be effective, they need to engage the audience with a relatable message and delivery.

Over the years, Rosi and I have had the honor of voicing bilingual PSAs for causes that we wholeheartedly support. We recorded English and Spanish versions of the “Ask MOVA” spots, produced for the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance. These PSAs were created to inform survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing of the services available to them.

Working with ChavoBart Digital Media, our whole family recorded the environmentally themed PSA “La Familia Verde/The Verde Family”. And in the wake of Hurricane María, Amador Bilingual Voiceovers partnered with MORE Advertising to create PSAs for the Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico Fund. We produced and voiced the spots, in addition to providing original music.

What Makes a Great PSA Voiceover?

Whether targeting the Hispanic population or a general market, producers who create powerful calls to action are looking for a specific skill set from voiceover talent. Being able to meet this need has allowed us to put our voices to work where they are most useful.

Here are some important qualities to look for in bilingual voice talent for PSAs:

1. Perfect command of both English and neutral Latin American Spanish.

Often the same campaign will be produced for both English- and Spanish-speaking media. Having voice actors who can speak both languages can streamline the process and save the producer money. Neutral Latin American Spanish, which avoids regional dialects and accents, is useful in reaching Spanish-speaking audiences of all backgrounds.

You can learn more about neutral Latin American Spanish in this post from our archive.

2. Ability to offer varying degrees of Hispanic-accented English.

Like advertising, PSAs are often most effective when the listener feels an affinity with the person talking. In Hispanic markets, this means there’s a demand for Hispanic-accented English. Finding the right degree of accent can be a challenge, and for that purpose we created The Revolutionary Accent-O-Meter.

3. Experience and an ability to take direction quickly and accurately.

The goal of many PSAs is to make an emotional appeal to the listener. To do that successfully, the voice actor has to be able to take direction, and to offer different interpretations of the same copy.

4. An understanding of the PSA’s purpose and the ability to convey it powerfully and emotionally.

Voice acting is acting. And acting depends on the ability to analyze the script and interepret it through the lens of one’s own experiences. This is a skill developed over time, and it’s painfully obvious when it’s lacking.

5. A topnotch recording studio that can deliver consistently good audio.

While many PSA producers choose to work in commercial studios, a professional quality home studio can save money and streamline the creative process. Internet-based audio platforms offer producers the ability to hear and direct the voice talent, or even to record remotely. Some of the most popular are ip-DTL, Session Link Pro, and Source-Connect.

6. BONUS! Music

The capacity to add an audience-appropriate original music bed and to fully produce the spots. This can save the producer time and money and enhance the consistency of the spot.

7. EXTRA BONUS! Translation and Script Supervision

The best way to create a PSA targeted to a Spanish-speaking audience is to create it from scratch in Spanish. But that’s not always possible. If a producer wants to create a Spanish spot based on preexisting English copy, it’s vital that the translation be accurate, idiomatic, and culturally relevant. It’s no exaggeration to say that a bad translation can ruin a PSA. We’re often called upon to translate spots or to tweak them so the Spanish sounds more natural.

Our NEW Voiceover Website for Producers of Hispanic Content!

July 31, 2017 by Rosi Amador Leave a Comment

Meaningful Content For the Hispanic Market

¡Bienvenidos a Locuciones Bilingües Amador! Our brand new Spanish voiceover website, www.locucionesbilinguesamador.com, created for producers of Hispanic content, is now online! ¡Estamos encantados de anunciar que finalmente hemos lanzado nuestra nueva página web completamente en español, www.locucionesbilinguesamador.com!

https://youtu.be/_Wa4OyfvRUE

La Familia Latina de Locutores Bilingües ~ Los Amador (https://youtu.be/_Wa4OyfvRUE)

Honoring our Mission

Amador Bilingual Voiceovers‘ mission is to be the foremost provider of Spanish and English voiceover services for clients who create content related to Hispanics and the Spanish language, and who serve Spanish-speaking markets. Being a one-stop voiceover shop for commercials and narrations in perfect neutral Latin American Spanish or North American English, our goal has always been to make our clients’ lives easier through every aspect of our business.

Getting the Word Out – Twice!

One of the most important pieces in building a voiceover business is making yourself known to the people who are looking for your particular skill set. Our new Spanish site enables us to connect with Spanish-speaking content producers in the language in which they’re most comfortable.

Paired with our new whimsical animated, 90-second explainer video, “Somos los Amador – La Familia Latina de Locutores Bilingües” (gracias to the talented team at the Boston University AdLab!), the new site lets us introduce our family of voices to anyone in the U.S. or Latin America looking for voiceover services in North American English, Hispanic-accented English, or neutral Latin American Spanish.

We’re also excited to announce that we’ll be posting the same informative articles you find here on our bilingual voiceover blog in Spanish on the new site moving forward.

It’s All About the Client

Having a wide range of services, languages, and voices to meet our clients’ needs is our raison d’être. Our fully bilingual staff (our studio manager, engineer and social media director are all bilingual, too) are always happy to help make your customer experience a pleasant one.

Let us know what you think of the new Locuciones Bilingües Amador website! Whether in English or Spanish, we invite you to read the latest blog post by Brian, Making Lemons into Limonada.

Haz clic aquí para leer este artículo en español.

Hispanic-Accented English Voiceover: Turning Lemons Into Limonada

May 10, 2017 by Brian Amador 4 Comments

https://youtube.com/watch?v=oTliFuTc7nA

The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf – Teaser (https://youtube.com/watch?v=oTliFuTc7nA)

“What? I have an accent?”

My name is Brian Amador. I was born in the great state of New Mexico, and until I moved away, I never thought I had an accent in English. I spoke like most of the people around me.

It wasn’t until I moved to the East Coast that I discovered that yes, I do in fact speak with a slight Hispanic accent when I’m not thinking about it.

After having this pointed out to me by too many people to ignore, I concluded that my accented English might be affecting my ability to land voiceover jobs. I decided to try some accent-reduction coaching.

My coach gave me specific feedback about which letter sounds gave me away, and I worked on being able to neutralize my accent. But one of the things she told me, which I’m glad I heeded, was “DON’T lose your accent! It will come in handy sometimes.”

How right she was! As we broke down last year’s voiceover work by genre and language, it became clear that Hispanic-Accented English voiceover represented a small but significant share of my work.

Work with what you’ve got.

It turns out that there is a market for Hispanic-accented voiceover, and it’s quite broad. We’ve been hired for accented English VO for Commercials, eLearning, medical and corporate projects. There’s never been a greater demand for voiceover that reflects the diversity that is the U.S.A.

About the time that I decided to learn to neutralize my Hispanic Accent, I also decided it would also be a good idea to learn to emphasize it, or to vary it. There are many types of Hispanic accents, and someone born in the U.S. won’t speak like someone who immigrated.

How much accent, and which?

While being able to faithfully reproduce all the Hispanic accents in this country would be impossible, it made sense to study certain characteristics of a few of the more common ones. I listen to the differences in speech patterns between East Coast Hispanics of Caribbean descent and Chicanos from California, and how those are both quite different from the accent that I heard growing up in New Mexico.

It’s an ongoing study that’s become kind of a game. When I get an audition or job request in Hispanic-accented English, I consider whether to use my Rubén Blades, my Cheech Marín, my Grandma, or something else.

Meanwhile, my wife Rosi and my daughter Alisa have also been able to parlay accented English into profitable work. Rosi’s big discovery was how just a touch of British accent can make a Hispanic accent sound more Chilean, and for Argentine, she just channels her Papi.

The Payoff

While Hispanic-accented English voiceover doesn’t represent a huge percentage of my work, I have to say that it has brought some of my most fun jobs, and even some recognition in the Industry.

I recently got to do a commercial for a major sandwich chain in the style of a soap opera, playing a Latin lover type. Then a colleague notified me that I had won a prestigious Earphones Award from AudioFile Magazine for an accented read of the beloved children’s book THE STORY OF FERDINAND. These are two really fun, rewarding projects that never would have come my way if I had lost my accent!

Guest Blogger – Allison Schneider of StudySync

November 4, 2016 by Brian Amador Leave a Comment

allison schneider guest blogger It’s our great pleasure this month to feature a guest blog by one of our favorite clients, Allison Schneider of StudySync, developers of digital Language Arts curriculum. The entire ABVO family (Rosi, Brian, Sonia and Alisa Amador, plus our honorary Amador, engineer Camilo) have had the pleasure of recording a LOT of wonderful literature for Allison and her team in English and Spanish.

About StudySync

Allison here with StudySync. It’s a joy to share a bit about the work that StudySync and the Amadors do together. As a digital English Language Arts/English Language Development curriculum, StudySync engages students with media and technology. One of the foundations of our product is a growing library of over 1,200 text selections, many of which include voiceover readings to help students better access and understand the text. That’s where the Amadors fit into the StudySync picture, and it’s where they’ve made a lasting impact on students across the country. I’d like to share a couple of particulars about what makes our collaboration with them so rewarding.

Engaging Students Through Literature

In their work with StudySync, the Amadors engage and inspire students through great works of literature in English and in Spanish, exposing them to the works of prominent multicultural authors including Sandra Cisneros and others. The voiceovers provided by the Amadors help bring Spanish-speaking students along on Tom Sawyer’s adventures by voicing a Spanish translation of Mark Twain’s beloved work. They’ve contributed several dozen voiceovers to StudySync, and with each one, they strengthen our ability to inspire students of diverse backgrounds.

A Shared Passion

StudySync’s work with the Amadors is especially strong because they share our passion for education. That shared commitment shows in every voiceover that they create for StudySync. It makes every project that we work on together meaningful.

A Family Affair

When you work with the Amadors, you’re working with family. Working with the Amadors and their team is a true family experience. First, you don’t get just one talented voiceover artist—you get five! Second—and most importantly—they make you feel like you’re a part of the family. The Amadors don’t just bring talent to the table. They bring friendship and a collaborative spirit.

As StudySync’s curriculum continues to grow, we look forward to having the Amadors along for the journey. Gracias, Amadors, for sharing your talents with us!

Two Sides to “Bilingual”

May 18, 2016 by Brian Amador 2 Comments

The growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S. (17.4% of the population in 2014) has brought with it an increased demand for Spanish and bilingual content in all genres of voiceover, from commercials and explainer videos to Elearning, corporate narration, promos and more. And the increase in demand has brought an expansion of VO talent offering services in Spanish, from eloquent native speakers to people who took a little Spanish in high school.

I think anyone serious about doing Spanish or English-Spanish bilingual voiceover work would agree that a person shouldn’t sell themselves as Spanish-speaking talent if they’re not able to speak the language fluently, expressively and with an impeccable accent. In this regard, there are obvious advantages to hiring talent who were born and educated in a Spanish-speaking country.

But it’s not an absolute necessity. There are U.S. born Spanish speakers who are completely bilingual – native speakers of both English and Spanish, and able to switch effortlessly between the two.

Fully Bilingual = Value Added

In my career as a bilingual voice actor, my standard when voicing in Spanish is exactly the same as in English: perfect, native pronunciation and expression. I find that sometimes being a native English speaker is as important as being a native Spanish speaker. Being fully bilingual has its advantages.

It’s important to recognize a bad translation and to be able to make suggestions for correcting it. Sometimes English expressions are translated directly into Spanish; being familiar with the colloquialisms in English can make it easier to find the best way to express them in Spanish.
Some translation problems are due to grammatical errors or ambiguities in the source text. Having a complete command of written English makes these errors easy to recognize and correct.
In overdubs, translation errors can be due to the translator having misunderstood spoken English words due to the speaker’s accent or dialect. Being a native speaker of English enables me to understand many different accents (although I still watch “Masterpiece Theatre” with the subtitles on!)
For projects that need to fit into a specified duration, having a full command of both languages makes it easier to adjust translations to fit in time and still retain the meaning of the source copy.
It’s an extra perk for the client to be able to use the same voice in English and Spanish, and for both to sound natural and conversational.

Quality is What Matters

Given the number of Spanish-speakers in the United States, and as a matter of principle, the standards for Spanish and bilingual voiceover should be every bit as high as they are for English. For producers of content in Spanish, as in English, it’s important to find voice talent that speaks the language perfectly, whether that talent is “domestic” or ”imported”. There are two sides to “bilingual”. In some projects, mastery of English may be just as important as mastery of Spanish.

Narrating Inspiring Hispanic Literature for Teenagers

February 25, 2015 by Rosi Amador Leave a Comment

Real life stories about Latino immigrants, inspiring first person accounts, the story of César Chávez, and poems authored by iconic Hispanic writers, poets and thinkers.

That’s what BookheadEd Learning approached Brian and me about recently. The company creates an award-winning web-delivered product (called StudySync), to improve reading, writing, and critical thinking with award-winning lessons aligned to the Common Core Standards for grades 4-12 in the U.S.

This is precisely the kind of project that inspired us choose voiceovers as a career in the first place! Using our voices to make a difference is our passion. Thank you to content coordinator Allison Schneider, whose testimonial I included below!

Brian and I had the privilege of voicing stories for high school learners by these extraordinary Hispanic authors/poets:

Excerpt from Elegy on the Death of César Chávez – Poem by Rudolfo Anaya
Narration: Brian Amador

From her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario
Narration: Rosi Amador

“Rosi and Brian are voice over dynamos. Their creativity, friendliness and talent simply can’t be beat. I cannot recommend them highly enough—they are true gems in the voice over industry! Thanks!”

– Allison Schneider, Content Coordinator BookheadEd Learning, LLC

I echo Brian’s sentiment: “This is material you can really sink your teeth into to give a dramatic read, plus it gives you the satisfaction of knowing that it’s being used to expose students to the literature of Hispanic America and beyond.” It was particularly poignant for Brian to read fellow New Mexican Rudolfo Anaya’s poem. For me, focusing on themes of social justice and human rights has always been a part of my life since my activist days in the Central American solidarity movement in the 80’s.

I hope you enjoy these samples of some of our work for BookheadEd as much as we enjoyed narrating them! We welcome your feedback always.

Gracias mil,

Rosi