Vox Daily The Official Voices.com Blog

Watermark Bank at Voices.com

By Stephanie Ciccarelli

November 2, 2006

Comments (1)

Ever wondered what a watermark is, why you need one, and where to get one? We'll chat about that and more here on the VOX Daily blog.

What is a watermark?

A watermark is essentially a snippet of sound used to protect custom voice recordings in an audition situation or when asked directly to record a custom sample of a script.

It could be a recorded beep, bell, tone, really whatever you want it to be. Many talent choose to slate their name at the beginning and even at the end in effort to protect their audition.

Why do you need one?

Talent are strongly encouraged to use watermarks to protect their voice samples from theft or misuse. You can use a watermark at the beginning of a file, in the midst of it and toward the end so long as the watermark doesn't distract from your voiceover or obstruct the script.

A music bed (at a low level) is another option; just make sure you note in your proposal that the audition has, in fact, been watermarked.

Where can you get one?

You can download some watermarks (a.k.a. sound logos) here at Voices.com.

What's even more exciting is that we are currently developing a bank of tried, tested, and true watermarks used by your colleagues in the audio biz. This collection will be a communal bank of royalty-free watermarks, absolutely safe and free for you to use to protect your work.

We'll compile the page and include the files, descriptions of the watermarks, and directions on how they can best be used.

To submit your watermark and tips on how to use it, send me an email, including your MP3 watermark.

Cheers,

Stephanie

P.S. If you have a blog, blog about this! The more people we get involved in this effort, the better it will be :)