Motion Worship Church Voice Over for Church Media & ‘True & Better’ | Kabir Singh
Over the last several years, I’m proud to have provided voice-over work for several motion worship videos and other church media. As someone who has been heavily influenced by Christianity – both in my personal life and my career as a professional voiceover artist – this work holds special meaning for me.
When I grew up in a trailer park outside of Los Angeles, I was surrounded by Christians who went to local churches near West, Covina and La Puente, California. A mix of different denominations and races. I found myself visiting on Wednesday or Sunday, and observing the church spirit.
I can’t say I committed to going every week over the years. Participation became less and less. But the influence that Christians had in their kindness and love has always touched me.
I specifically remember, Miss Pam. She was my best friend’s mother, who always prayed over dinner, and always invited me to church. She always shared her love with me – she was a beautiful soul and Christian African-American woman who would pray over me when I spent the night at my friend’s house. She knew the suffering I was going through watching my father die. I remember reaching out to the Christian pastor across the street in a trailer to come pray over my father as he was dying.
All of these experiences helped to forge who I am today, so I’d like to take a moment to explore my involvement with various Christian media projects and why they’re important to me.
My Professional Voiceovers for Church Media
As a professional voice artist, I’ve been a part of numerous Christian videos over the years, including animated worship backgrounds for church services and other inspiring church voice-over media. I have come to cherish this genre in audio/video production and appreciate its art. In the demo above, you can see the diverse range of motion worship videos for which I’ve provided a professional voiceover. These pieces have included everything from Palm Sunday bible readings to kid-friendly storytelling about Potiphar and Joseph.
As my experience in this genre grew, my church worship voice actor demo has evolved. A wide array of Christian organizations and their production companies reach out to me when they need a “male voice over” for their youth programs, worship backgrounds, animated Christian Christmas background videos and other projects.
Narrating bible study stories for Saddleback Church
For over 10 years, I have been working work Saddleback Church – one of the largest churches in the United States – narrating animated bible study stories for kids and families.
This allows me to bring a more energetic, fun and animated voice than my usual commercial work. It also allows me to appreciate the value of some of the moral lessons in the stories and reconnect with it.
True & Better: The Motion Worship Video that Started It All
One of the most recognizable productions I had the honor of contributing to was True and Better by Dan Stevers – a beautiful animated video that I encourage you to watch, above. But this
True and Better by Dan Stevers was a “viral” modern Christian Church motion background video created in 2013. This video launched my “worship voice over” career. The voice over can best be described as: reflective, warm, calm, caring, passionate and real.
True and Better is a beautiful piece. I had the opportunity to hear it live in a “mega church” and it was magical. The words, by Dan Stevers, captured church members’ hearts and minds and lifted their spirits for Easter service.
It has been over a decade since the release of this video and I still get church media clients who reference it. Many churches pay for digital rights and use the video during their service.
I’m enormously proud of all this work. But I’ll be the first to admit that performing a voice over for Christian media and worship backgrounds can be challenging – even for a person of faith like myself.
How I Approach Worship Backgrounds
Often these voice-overs require a build in pace, energy and vocal “aggression.” Motion worship requires a voice actor to really connect with the gospel and to be able to share these biblical stories with love and purity.
To prepare for these types of reads, I like to listen to the music bed the director is considering. The music helps guide the poetic cadence of each line and simplifies the transitions from one stanza to the next. I have done many Christian motion backgrounds and worship graphics over the years, and each one is unique. Some videos are soft and story-like, others are empowering and of “preacher”-like energy. My favorite is a soft-to-loud build in energy and volume with the climax at the very end, right before ending the piece softly and intimately.
If a voice artist can’t connect with the material on a deep level, then it’s almost impossible to get the voice right. That’s my honest belief. You have to truly understand it and feel it. I firmly believe that’s why this genre has become such a significant part of my professional voiceover career … because the message resonates with me beyond the production.
How Christianity Influenced Me (and My Church Voice Overs)
As I mentioned above, Christianity has played an important role in my life since I was a child. I was heavily influenced by Christian teachings, and the concepts of Christianity and the moral structure helped guide me through my adolescence.
Christianity has continued to guide me into adulthood, through my personal life and my career.
What I like about Christianity is that the teachings are never forceful. But they are very reflective. The stories and lessons from the Bible forged my appreciation for philosophy and spoken word, which also provided an important foundation for my eventual career in voiceover work (especially for church announcement voiceovers). For example, I often use cadence and rhythm to match the different energies in Christian messages. As a poet, I’ve always had to connect with empathy and my emotions when delivering a powerful message.
As I became more familiar with the Bible, I developed a deeper understanding of the philosophical lessons, which in turn shaped the emotional range and tonal inflection I brought to my voiceover work (not unlike what a preacher brings to his sermons).
Reflecting on Christianity through a modern lens
On a personal note, I want to add that in our current, political and divided environment, I want to highlight the beauty in Christianity. It’s very important to understand that, with so many different religions in the world, and the freedom to choose our own, there needs to be an inherent respect for the dignity and message that is communicated by these organizations and churches. Clearly in a world full of sin there are many sinners and no one is perfect – no priest or church or religion. But I have always seen the beauty and respect in the Christians who have influenced me in my adolescence and as an adult.
It may be hard to relate to certain stories that may seem outdated in the different versions of the Bible – especially when we look at it with a lens of the modern mind and eye. But I truly believe in searching for the beauty in the messages, and to absorb what we can and allow it to help us grow.
From the beginning, the spread of Christianity can be attributed to the ability of Christ’s followers to effectively spread his message. That is what fascinates me now as a voice artist – because the core goal is the same: delivering a message in the most effective, authentic way possible.
To understand what I mean, it helps to have a basic understanding of how Christianity formed and grew.
A Brief History on the Spread of Christianity
Christianity has faced many splits over the last two millennia, resulting in different denominations, sects, practices and disagreements over some of the finer historical details and dates. But most Christians trace the rise of Christianity to Jesus’ teachings in the Roman province of Judea, in what we now call the 1st century AD (“Anno Domini,” which is Latin for “in the year of the Lord”).
Jesus’ followers believed him to be the Messiah. Following his death, they worked to spread his message: a message of love, forgiveness and salvation.
Christianity grew as a grassroots movement, but followers faced persecution for many years. A key turning point came in the 4th century when Roman emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and it later became the Roman Empire’s state religion.
As time went on, it was only natural for Christianity to split into different theological divisions. By the 11th century AD, the church split into the Eastern Orthodox Church and Western Roman Catholic, which later led to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Protestantism itself has further branched into numerous denominations.
Christian Media Today
Today, all of these denominations may express Christ’s message in different ways. But each of those messages is delivered from a foundation of love, forgiveness and compassion.
Churches around the world continue to spread the message of Jesus, using a wide array of Christian media. In addition to traditional church sermons, Christian organizations use animations, motion worship backgrounds, online videos and other creative productions. All of these formats help to continue spread the message to a modern audience.
Significant Christian Dates with Examples of Church Media
Let’s look at just a few examples of significant Christian dates and the types of media that are commonly produced for each.
- Christmas (Dec. 25): A celebration of the birth of Christ. Churches will commonly use videos depicting the nativity, or silent motion illustrations, such as Christian Christmas background visuals used throughout Christmas Day service.
- Palm Sunday (Sunday before Easter): Commemorates Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, marking the Holy Week leading up to Easter. Many churches use this time to create uplifting Palm Sunday videos to tell the story of Jesus’ arrival.
- Good Friday (Friday before Easter): Marks the day Jesus was crucified. Church announcement videos and sermons for Good Friday typically offer solemn reflection on Jesus’ sacrifice.
- Easter (varies – falls on Sunday between March 22 and April 25): Christ’s resurrection inspires uplifting videos, animations and motion worship backgrounds that express themes of hope, renewal and transformation.
Additional noteworthy dates:
- Ascension Day (40 days after Easter): Commemorates the day Jesus ascended into heaven after resurrection.
- Pentecost (50 days after Easter): Celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ disciples (which empowered them to spread Christianity.)
- All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1): In honor of all saints.
- Advent (4 Sundays before Christmas): Marking the beginning of the Christian liturgical year and preparation for the coming of Christ.
Conclusion
I love doing voice overs for church and worship groups. It allows me to connect with my spiritual side and share a message of hope and love. In the industry, I have become branded as the go-to urban voiceover actor and male voice over for worship media and church videos – which I’m enormously proud of. With a poetic sound, I do my best to deliver each message carefully and elegantly, complementing the motion graphics and backgrounds.
I want to thank the clients that have helped me connect with a message of love and spirituality over the years. I have worked with many local churches, youth pastor organizations, nonprofit Christian organizations and theological universities over the years. A special thanks to a few producers, Christian organizations and clients over the years include:
Connect with me on LinkedIn to explore my latest announcements and reflections.
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