Voice-over for Kickstarter trailers: casting, budget and brief
Updated: Aug 20, 2025
A crowdfunding trailer has a lot to do: introduce the project, make its appeal clear and invite people to support it. The right voice-over can give that message a point of view, whether you are launching a video game, a board game or a creative project on Kickstarter, Ulule, Gamefound or GameOnTabletop.
Yes, this article is a grand master plan to sell you my voice. Or a colleague’s, if theirs fits better. I am Ryan Highley, a British actor and voice actor working internationally in English and French. Here is how I approach a trailer, without pretending that a microphone is a magic funding machine.
What can a voice bring to your crowdfunding trailer?
A good performance does more than read information aloud. It can make an invitation feel personal, help a complicated idea land and give an imagined world its first human presence. My starting point is the experience you want the audience to have.
Clarity: guide the audience through the premise without competing with every detail on screen.
Character: choose a narrator, a creator’s voice or an inhabitant of your world who belongs in the project.
Rhythm: let the voice, picture, music and silences support the same dramatic progression.
Consistency: carry the same intention across a main trailer and any separately agreed language versions.
Does every trailer need a professional narrator?
No. If the creator is already a compelling presence on camera, an additional narrator may only get in the way. If the gameplay speaks for itself, a short introduction may do more than a continuous explanation. The question is what the audience still needs to understand or feel after seeing the images.
When the voice is useful, cast for the performance rather than for an adjective such as “epic”. Listen for intention, intelligibility and how naturally the actor inhabits the material. A restrained delivery can be much more powerful than someone announcing the end of the world over a picture of a wooden token.
What research does, and does not, tell us
The 2024 study Audio Features and Crowdfunding Success observes associations between vocal characteristics and funds raised on Kickstarter. That is useful context for thinking about delivery. It does not establish that hiring a professional voice actor causes a campaign to raise more money, or provide a guaranteed return on your recording budget.
My practical conclusion is to treat the voice as part of the creative work and assess the finished trailer as a whole. The offer, the audience, the campaign page and the credibility of the project still matter.
Two examples to watch and listen to
Darkest Dungeon is a strong reference for a voice that belongs to a world. Red Hook Studios’ Kickstarter campaign ran in 2014, raising $313,337 against a $75,000 goal from 9,639 backers. Those figures describe the campaign; they cannot tell us how much funding its narration produced. Watch the official game teaser presented by Red Hook on PlayStation Blog in December 2014 and listen to the relationship between performance, writing and atmosphere.
Rise of the Necromancers offers another dark fantasy reference. The Gamefound campaign is presented by Mythic Games in collaboration with Sore Loser Games. I like it as an example of committed character narration. My interest here is the artistic choice, rather than a claim that the voice explains the campaign’s financial outcome.
What to send before we record
A clear brief makes room for better acting. You do not need a perfect presentation, but these points help us make useful choices before recording:
The project, its intended audience and what you want viewers to do after watching.
A script or draft, the approximate trailer duration and any picture or storyboard available.
The voice’s role: narrator, character or direct address, with references for intention and tone.
The languages and accents required, pronunciation notes and the planned launch date.
The intended uses and campaign channels, so the recording’s scope can be agreed in the quote.
Read the script aloud against the edit. If every moment is full, cut words before asking the actor to race. For English and French versions, keep the message and dramatic intention aligned while allowing each language to sound natural. Add checked subtitles so the trailer also makes sense without sound.
My crowdfunding trailer offer
Crowdfunding already carries enough uncertainty. My offer starts at €200 excluding VAT for a trailer under 2 min 30, with two additional payments tied to funding tiers that we agree together.
Initial payment: €200 excluding VAT.
If the campaign reaches the agreed first funding tier: an additional €150 excluding VAT.
If it reaches the agreed second funding tier: a final €150 excluding VAT.
This offer is exclusively for micro, small and medium-sized businesses whose total project budget is below €150,000. The quote sets out the two agreed funding tiers and the scope of the work, including the intended uses. We discuss tone, character and pace, I propose performances, and we refine the direction. Audio mixing can also be arranged for an additional fee.
Let’s find the voice your project needs
Listen to my voice work and find out how I approach voice direction. Send your project through the contact page and we can discuss the fit, timing and quote. If my voice is not the right match, we can look at other casting options. Pitch finished. Your move.
Some of my work over the years
The examples below let you hear the performance choices in context. Listen for tone, character and the space the voice leaves for the rest of the trailer.
More on casting and performance
For a closer look at the creative process, read my articles on voice direction and choosing a voice and accent for your audience.
Ryan Highley · Actor, voice actor and voice director.
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