In everyday life, I have a fairly sharp sense of humour. That taste for the offbeat, the unexpected turn, the line that lands without seeming to try - I've always had it. Perhaps because I find it easy to pick up on emotions, inflections, the things left unsaid. So when a project calls for an offbeat tone, I feel right at home.
Some scripts, from the very first read, set you in motion. Not physically (well, sometimes), but vocally: you feel the rhythm, the breaks, the double meanings, the stresses to place, the silences that will land. That's often the case with humorous scripts - whether they're written for a radio ad, a corporate film, a motion design piece, a TV commercial or a brand video. And those are the scripts that speak to me most.
Humour in voiceover: a balancing act
Where a classic narration relies on clarity, regularity and a constant tone, a humorous voiceover asks for the opposite: playing with breaks -
- a break in tone,
- a break in rhythm,
- a break in register,
- a break in intention.
And that is exactly what creates complicity. You have to know how far to take it - a little, a lot, madly… or not at all. Sometimes the image takes over, or the music comes in to contrast with the voice. The point, then, is to be right. It's a matter of feel: knowing where to place an intonation, where to break the rhythm, where to slip in an almost imperceptible irony - or, on the contrary, when to go completely over the top.
Three concrete examples of humorous French voiceover
Here are three projects I recorded with a humorous tone, each with its own colour:
1. Carbao Dijon: humour over the top
Here, we're in pure playful, tongue-in-cheek territory, fully committed. The voiceover is deliberately "too much", overplayed, almost caricatured. And that's exactly what makes it work: it plays off the visuals, which goes off in every direction. The tone is projected, exaggerated, full of irony - but always at the service of the edit's rhythm.
Watch the Carbao Dijon video ↗
2. Cegid Quadra Entreprise Plus: a change of tone as a narrative device
In this film, the voice starts out friendly. Then suddenly, at the turning point, it takes on the tone of a sports commentator: the rhythm speeds up, the intensity rises, projection, vocal tension… before easing back down. The whole game is right there: accompanying the transformation of the spot's heroine (Christelle) through the transformation of the tone.
Watch the Cegid Quadra video ↗
3. Grands Moulins de Paris: dynamic, well-tuned humour
This motion design piece runs on fast, rhythmic energy, directly addressing the viewer, breaks in tone, a script that plays with everyday codes. Here again, the voiceover has to follow: varying intentions, placing breaths, finding the right tempo.
Watch the Grands Moulins de Paris video ↗
What I notice on the client side
Many clients are tempted by humour… until it's time to hit "play". The offbeat tone sometimes makes them hesitate. A fear of not being understood, of seeming too light, of blurring the brand image.
And yet, when the script is well written and the overall concept works, these are often the projects that leave a mark. The ones you watch to the end. The ones you remember. The ones that simply dare.
Working on humour means working on precision
In a commercial, a corporate film, a social media video or a humorous motion design, every vocal effect is deliberate. Every shift has a role. You have to know how to:
- choose the right level of projection,
- master the silences,
- break the rhythm at the right moment,
- articulate without weighing it down,
- and sometimes go against the first meaning of the text to bring out a second layer of meaning.
In conclusion
Do you want to bring a little humour into your productions? To step off the beaten track without losing clarity? I'll help you find the right tone - the one that lands without forcing it. Let's talk when you're ready.