{"id":921,"date":"2022-01-14T17:17:28","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T17:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/?p=921"},"modified":"2026-02-19T15:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T15:21:20","slug":"voicing-a-nature-documentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/blog\/voicing-a-nature-documentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature Documentary Voice Over"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/british-voice-over\/#author-guy-michaels\">Guy Michaels<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Voicing-a-nature-documentary-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"Nature Documentary Voice Over Narrator\" class=\"wp-image-1486\" style=\"width:630px;height:auto\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Voicing-a-nature-documentary-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Voicing-a-nature-documentary-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Voicing-a-nature-documentary-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Voicing-a-nature-documentary-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Voicing-a-nature-documentary-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Voicing-a-nature-documentary-100x50.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Voicing-a-nature-documentary-1484x742.jpg 1484w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Who&#8217;s your favourite of all the nature narrators?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recording nature documentary voice over<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Access my documentary services page:  <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/voiceover-services\/documentary-narration\/\"><strong>British Documentary Narrator<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This is living the dream as far as I&#8217;m concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve voiced narration on many other topics over the past 20 years or so but getting to record a nature documentary was always at the top of the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"British Voice Actor - Meerkats Documentary - GUY MICHAELS\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AVV4sbo7lrs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Here&#8217;s an example of my nature documentary voice over work<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I messed up an opportunity years ago. I was running an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/blog\/voice-over-training\/\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"76\">acting class<\/a> for adults in the evening in Angel Islington and someone in the class (who just happened to be a doc producer) approached me at the end and said that they thought I&#8217;d be great for a Nat Geo project they were working on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wow, an opportunity to be a National Geographic narrator!&nbsp; Natural history documentaries narrated by me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They gave me their business card and I&#8230;failed to follow up. What an idiot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the time I remembered I didn&#8217;t have the card and had no idea who they were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">All hail Sir David Attenborough!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">THE<\/span> nature documentary voice over<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In our house, we&#8217;ve watched pretty much every Attenborough documentary there is &#8211; even going back to the original &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0135095\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Life on Earth<\/a>&#8216; recently. Perfection. I hope they&#8217;ve sampled him recording every <a data-wpil-monitor-id=\"77\" href=\"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/blog\/words-to-time\/\">word<\/a> in the dictionary so that one day a clever AI can continue to use his voice for yet to be filmed documentaries!  (<em>with the permission of his estate of course<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For me, the opposite experience of Attenborough, who helps the story along with his own genuine passion and interest, is that &#8216;sound of an actor&#8217; (acting) recording a documentary narration. That&#8217;s a massive generalisation and I don&#8217;t mean it to be but instead refer to certain pieces where I&#8217;ve either had to stop watching or turn the sound off as we have what is tantamount to an actor giving an audition speech about a giant tortoise! All overly dramatic and showing off their vocal gymnastics of well-drilled articulation and booming theatricality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I had this in mind when I finally got to record some nature documentaries in recent years. <strong>Judge for yourself as to whether or not you think I nailed it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Guy Michaels - Documentary Narrator\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yHDDhaLa53Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Guy Michaels &#8211; Nature Documentary Voice Over Narration<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I believe the job of the documentary narrator is to do just that.  To help the story along; to allow the visuals to do most of the storytelling and to not get in the way with your voice.  Obviously there are times when a great narrator needs to be a little more dramatic and match the drama of the scene we are witnessing on the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can I do a &#8216;David Attenborough&#8217; or &#8216;Morgan Freeman&#8217; voice?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Not really.  I&#8217;m not an impersonator.  But is that really what you want for an original documentary series these days?  I can easily tap into the lower registers of the typical documentary voice whilst staying true to me.  I&#8217;m currently recording a <strong>documentary for Netflix<\/strong> and that&#8217;s the style they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the best things about working in voice-overs and narration is the variation. One day it&#8217;s a massively technical programme for a software company and then another it&#8217;s helping the story move along by lending your voice talking about these wonderful creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Your Nature Documentary Narrator<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, I&#8217;m always happy to discuss the possibility of more work as a nature documentary narrator.&nbsp; If you are interested, check out my other work as a <a title=\"nature documentary narrator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/voiceover-services\/documentary-narration\/\">narrator<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A cat-mad household<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I grew up in a cat-mad house, we never had less than 10, and these days we have our very own house-tiger Basil!&nbsp; He actually loves nature docs especially those with birds in and nearly knocked our telly off the wall once!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary><\/summary><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Basil.jpg\" alt=\"Nature documentary voice over artist Guy Michaels\" class=\"wp-image-929\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Basil.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Basil-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Basil-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Basil-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nature Documentary Voice Over is some of my favourite work &#8211; you can see why!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If you are working on a project and think I might be a fit then please drop me a line.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p>[ninja_form id=1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For a detailed, step-by-step guide on the documentary production process, read my article: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/blog\/getting-a-documentary-made\/\">Getting a Documentary Made<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Guy Michaels Recording nature documentary voice over Access my documentary services page: British Documentary Narrator This is living the dream as far as I&#8217;m concerned. I&#8217;ve voiced narration on many other topics over the past 20 years or so but getting to record a nature documentary was always at the top of the list. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-voiceover-genres"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=921"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8285,"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions\/8285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.provoiceactor.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}