Drop the mic!

It’s very curious that Portugal and Spain are side by side, sharing a long history, but the voice-over styles in each country are very different.

In Spain seems like they like strong, almost cavernous male voices, slightly hoarse with a very low but yet powerful tone. In Portugal we prefer male voices that aren’t as deep, sounding, in fact, more soft and sweeter.

In both cases, I’m sure Spain and Portugal consider that the voice-overs styles manage to be both friendly and intimate. And for their respective audiences, indeed, they are. Each person is culturally accustomed to each style.

Now, it gets tricky when a client wants to mix things…

I’ve been contacted countless times by Spanish audio studios to record Portuguese voice-overs done the Spanish way! They want a very deep tone, coming from the throat, but with a lot of energy and classical intonation. They are seeking what in Portugal we call ‘Vozeirão’, which can be translated roughly as “Big Voice”! And, even for me, a guy with a deep tone, it is hard!

Another curiosity: when I’m in a remote recording session for a Spanish studio and they ask me to do a Portuguese voiceover the classic Spanish way, I usually start by recording with the Portuguese style. I’m more comfortable with that, of course. And I know that the audience will be in Portugal so it makes sense. Afterwords, it’s not unheard to be asked to repeat the recording to make it sound… Well… Spanish. But it’s more common to hear the casting director or the audio engineer mentioning: “It’s funny that the Portuguese always have a sweeter voice than us, Spaniards! But I think the take sounds really nice!”.

Por supuesto, hombre!