I have voiced literally thousands of videos. It's an entirely different sort of voice style from broadcast commercials. In commercial work, I'm always trying to cram four buckets of copy into three buckets of time. Everything is done in 10, 15, 30, and 60 second increments (except infomercials, which go on forever!), and there is always a time crunch. So the reading generally has to be very fast and energetic.

In the world of industrial voice-overs, the opposite is the norm. Slow down. Relax. Don't wear your audience out in the first minute with a lot of vocal energy. Use "focus" instead. Rivet your listener with an air of relaxed intensity and benevolent authority, as you calmly impart the vital message contained in the video.

In reality, most A/V narrations are deadly, soporific, brain-numbing, cascades of words that are of interest to only a select audience. But they generally beat the hell out of a printed piece when someone is trying to get information to a very busy, poorly educated, or somewhat ambivalent group of people. You may not get 'em to read, but they'll probably watch a produced video... for a little while, anyway

When OSHA required strict education and compliance with safety procedures by employees at all nuclear facilities, the most effective way to accomplish that goal across the entire workforce demographic was to put it in video form. My voice instructed the folks at US government nuclear facilities at Oak Ridge, TN, in everything from on the job safety issues to what to do in the event of a terrorist attack! When they needed a voice that could hold the attention of the military's top brass long enough for their command briefings, the US Army's Communications Center at Forth Huachuca, AZ, hired me.

To extol the virtues of traveling by rail through Europe, it was my voice that was chosen by international tourism clients such as Switzerland, Finland, and the Britrail and Eurail systems. I have performed similar services for private sector businesses, too, such as IBM, Eastman Kodak, BMW, AT&T, etc.

But, mostly, I do stuff for companies you never heard of, regarding processes you don't care about.