Voiceover terms: What’s VO, ADR and Looping?

Every good television and radio commercial has a good voiceover actor behind it.

VO is an abbreviation for Voiceover. Pretty simple!

ADR is an abbreviation for Automated Dialogue Replacement or Additional dialogue Recording, in which the original actor re-records their dialogue and dubs over their lines for improvement in audio quality. ADR happens in post-production, after the actors have already been filmed.

Now, when you hear actors talking in a busy restaurant scene, the background voices are not in the original recording. In order to get the best sound possible, the production crew will have the background actors (otherwise known extras) be silent while the principal actors record their scene. That way, clear audio will be recorded. So looping is when a group of VO actors will record background sound in post-production, bringing voices to all the background actors. Looping adds quality to the production!

Wondering what ANNCR means? ANNCR or Anncr. is an abbreviation for the word announcer. It is often used by advertising copy writers. You’ll notice in dozens of commercials the voice that specifies the products name at the end of a commercial– that’s the ANNCR’s voice!