I had already explored how to write a gate change on screen. The language needed to tell someone what had happened and where to go, without asking them to work through a long explanation. Taking the same words into a voiceover made me think about how long each instruction needs to land. Someone can glance back at a line on a screen. When they are listening, the pause between lines gives them time to make sense of what they have heard.

Writing the voiceover

For the short Grounded film, I prepared five lines for an edit of about 28 seconds. I gave each line its own beat in the script.

Gate changed.
New gate. A zero four.
One step at a time.
Take a moment.
Grounded. Clear steps. Your choice.

I wrote out A zero four in the read-aloud version so the gate number would be spoken as I intended. The two opening lines give the change and destination before moving into the slower part of the film. I wanted the gate update to sound matter-of-fact and the invitation to pause to feel warmer and less hurried.

The gate needs to be clear the first time it is heard. The warmer part of the voice comes once the listener knows where they need to go.

Preparing the recording

I prepared the script with punctuation and blank space so it could be read aloud without speaking the production notes. The recording brief calls for a single take with about a second of silence between lines. Those gaps give the edit clear places to split the recording and room to adjust when a line comes in. The brief also suggests recording in a quiet, softly furnished room and making a few takes so I can compare how the same words sound at different speeds.

How voice works inside the app

In the app, I added a voice to guide the breathing exercise and a separate prompt to notice one thing the traveller can see, hear and feel. Those prompts have a different job from the film. They need to give the traveller enough time to breathe or notice something before moving on. I would listen back for places where the next instruction arrives too soon and check how it feels to follow the exercise when there is other sound around.

Hearing the words I had been looking at

My earlier language studies included alternatives such as ‘Gate amendment’, ‘Oh no’ and ‘Don’t worry’. Reading them back helped me identify what each version asks of the listener. The first needs interpreting and the other two suggest how someone might feel before giving them the destination. ‘Gate changed’ leaves room for the person to respond in their own way. I could then give the film a slower beat later, at the point where it introduces the option to pause.

P03 asked for steps in auditory and written form in my questionnaire. I took that as a reason to explore both forms when showing directions. The exercises raised a different question because the voice sets a pace as well as conveying words. I would want to check whether someone can hear and follow a prompt at their own pace in a busy terminal.

What I would listen for next

I want to hear the spoken prompts on a phone and check whether the gate number is easy to catch, whether the pace feels right and whether someone can stop the exercise and return to their journey. I would also check what the traveller can follow with sound off. In an airport they may prefer to read, or they may need to keep listening for announcements.