Voice-Over Narration: Documentary, Audio Guide and Audiobook
A native French voice actor, I record video narration, documentaries, audio guides and guided meditations. An actor since 2014, I work from my acoustically treated studio in Agen, with delivery within 48 to 72 hours.
Narration is the register that asks you to stay connected to the text and to the person listening at the same time. A documentary asks you to carry an argument in support of its images; an audio guide, to speak to someone standing up, distracted, surrounded by noise; an audiobook, to hold for hours without the voice wearing thin or the listener drifting away.
My experience is what lets me bring consistency, commitment and a natural delivery to your stories.
Four Registers
Every kind of story calls for a different way of carrying it
Featured Projects
Two recent projects, now online
Sorbonne — documentary series on the university's heritage
Narration for a documentary series devoted to the heritage of the Sorbonne. The series runs to four episodes of five to ten minutes each. Rich in history and dense with proper nouns, dates and architectural references.
Quiz Québec
Voice of the presentation video for Quiz Québec, a game of more than a hundred questions on the dates and landmarks of Quebec history. Playful and complicit: the register of a host issuing a challenge. Published on the game's YouTube channel.
They Trusted Me With Their Story
Institutions, museums and production companies
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
4 documentary episodes on the university's heritage
Musée Guggenheim Bilbao
10 min of audio guide for the Barbara Kruger exhibition
Quiz Québec
10 videos for a Quebec trivia game
U.S. Capitol Visitor Center
35 min of narration for the museum's permanent exhibition
Centre de développement PAC
12 guided meditations for relaxation and sleep
Garages Révolte
Immersive futuristic narration for a motor show
The Invisible Narrator
A good narrator isn't heard. He gives the viewer the impression that the information arrives on its own — which is usually the sign that good work was done beforehand.
I read the script in full before the session, spot the sentences that don't hold up aloud, and flag the ones that would gain from being reworked.
Going the Distance
A documentary series is shot over several weeks. An audio guide runs to forty tracks. An audiobook is six hours of voice that have to sound like a single session.
I keep the session settings and the voice placement on file, so the work can be picked up again without the listener hearing the join.
Names and Rare Terms
Place names, foreign surnames, architectural terms: a single mistake is enough to lose the listener who knows the subject.
I flag the uncertain terms and send you a pronunciation list to approve. For the languages I speak — English and Japanese — the original pronunciation is respected.
Jean-François found exactly the tone and timbre a documentary series on the heritage of the Sorbonne called for. His professionalism and his talent are a safe bet — we won't hesitate to trust him with further collaborations.
Jean-François is a professional, reliable and efficient collaborator. He grasps what's needed quickly, responds fast, and always delivers work of a high standard. I recommend him without hesitation.
What Clients Say
Practical Information
FILES
One file per chapter, track or sequence.
PRONONCIATION
List approved before recording, kept for subsequent episodes.
SYNC
Narration laid to your edit, to timecode, on request.
RETAKES
Minor fixes included after delivery.
FORMATS
WAV 48 kHz / 24-bit or MP3. Cleaned or dry takes.
SCRIPT
French proofreading included, with a note on phrasing that reads badly aloud.
TURNAROUND
48 to 72 hours up to 2,000 words, scheduled for long-form work.
LANGUAGES
Native French, English and Japanese with a light French accent.
Rates, turnaround and general terms in the FAQ on the voice-over page.
Neighbouring registers: corporate films and e-learning, video game character voice.
Your Story Deserves to Be Heard
Send me an excerpt from your script and I'll record a free sample for you.