Post by iGotzNoSkittles on Nov 11, 2012 6:08:05 GMT -6
When it comes to selecting Voice Actors/Actresses, there are hundreds of variables to consider. However, most directors' of Machinimas tend to overlook some of the important variables, which consequently halts progress of their films.
The most important variables in my opinion are the following:
-Availability
-Confidence
-Consistency
-Experience
-Procrastination
-Professionalism
Availability: Imagine hiring a Voice Actor that only shows up once a week. This means that your Actor would take quite a while to reply back to you, would be the latest to be informed, or would not do their job on time.
The best two ways to check for availability is to add the client to your friends/contact list and check how often that person is online per week or start off the Actors/Actresses as extras and see when how they function from there.
Confidence: When it comes to selecting Voice Actors/Actresses, you'll sometimes meet one that sounds shy or monotone. This shows that your Actor/Actress has little to no experience in acting what so ever. Because of this, your actor/actress would most likely produce below average recordings that you should never place onto your film.
Just remember, if your Actor/Actress can't record a line with a exclamation mark at the end, you probably do not want to hire this client for any major nor minor role. Though, consider giving this Actor/Actress a chance and give them a Extra's role. You'll never know who becomes good at acting.
Consistency: You can give a few takes a listen and they'll sound amazing. Give a few more a listen and they might not sound as good. Something's wrong here, the acting level just dropped, what happened? You've met a consistency error.
You have to remember that most Voice Actors/Actresses you obtain, aren't professionals in Voice Acting. Some of these Actors/Actresses need choreographing to remain on a consistent level in Voice Acting. While others need to be reminded that they aren't a top shot Actor/Actress. Or some just can't reproduce their lines as effectively as they used to.
When it comes to selecting your client, you'll want to view any previous work that person has done. What you want to hear in your client's former work, is either consistent acting/voice or progression in Voice Acting. That is the best way to identify your Voice Actor/Actress's consistency in work, because you are viewing someone's time lapses of their work.
If you were to test your client, you need to know that the Actor/Actress would most likely sound consistent in work because he/she would record X set of lines at the same time. This test must take a week to be effective, such as sending a single line to the Client every day, to make sure this Actor/Actress is consistent.
Experience: Sometimes you'll meet a Client whom's had several years of experience, but the question is, how much Voice Acting does that person do every week? The only way to check for any Voice Actors experience, is to test them. To do this, you'll have to test multiple fields within Voice Acting, such as emotions, following directions, and believably.
A Voice Actor whom has a hardened dry soldier voice that sounds badass will be great for combat sequences, but if you were to tell that Voice Actor to convey sorrow, happiness, or humor and the client can't produce these emotions. This Voice Actor's only set of roles would fit under extras.
A Voice Actor that's better off following his/her directions and not anyone else's reflects on their experience. This hints that the actor has either had poor instructions or has not worked in many projects led by other directors.
If you were to tell your client that his/her character is in a car on a bumpy road and send the script, it should sound like the following
"Alr-ight, get this. Me and my pa-partner was patrollin-ing up highwaaay 17, and then we wer-were . . ."
the result that you would not want is,
"Alright, get this. Me and my partner was patrolling up highway 17, and then we were . . . "
This would be a environmental line, because it reflects on the character's action and set. If the Voice/Acting does not reflect the visuals, it becomes the most stand out problem within any film and derails the viewer from your story.
It's very important that your client can portray emotions, follow directions, and can convey environmental lines.
Procrastination: The most frustrating experience for most directors, is when their workers procrastinate, especially in the Voice Acting department.
One of my friends for a large scale Half-Life 2 mod, has had a Voice Actor that claimed he would voice his single line within a week. After the week, he tells my friend to just wait out another week and he'll send the line in. Guess what, the line never came in, and then he claimed he'll send the line in a few days. Afterwards, he's been playing games on Steam for months on end. My friend knew that he was never going to send the line in, but asked him if he did it anyways and then the Voice Actor replied, "I can't do the line right now".
A certain trait you want from a Voice Actor/Actress is when they record their lines within days-hours after they receive their script. My advice is that before you hire a Voice Actor/Actress you like, is to send multiple test lines for that person and see how long it takes for that person to record/send back these lines.
Professionalism: If you're a machinima director, you'll have to remember that you are a third party developer. This means that you have to work with whatever resources you can obtain. Most commonly, you'll work with friends to produce films, and most likely, none of you have decent job experience. Guess what? Neither does most of the community within gaming does either. It's difficult for you and your friends to meet deadlines or complete specific task.
A trait you'll want with a Voice Actor/Actress is for that person to be able to meet deadlines, get ahead of schedule, be academic, and be serious on demand. To determine one's professionalism, you'll have to speak to people he/she's worked with, test your client, and take your time to hang out with that person.
You want your Voice Actor/Actress to take your project seriously, comply to your terms, meet deadlines, and be a friend.
The most important variables in my opinion are the following:
-Availability
-Confidence
-Consistency
-Experience
-Procrastination
-Professionalism
Availability: Imagine hiring a Voice Actor that only shows up once a week. This means that your Actor would take quite a while to reply back to you, would be the latest to be informed, or would not do their job on time.
The best two ways to check for availability is to add the client to your friends/contact list and check how often that person is online per week or start off the Actors/Actresses as extras and see when how they function from there.
Confidence: When it comes to selecting Voice Actors/Actresses, you'll sometimes meet one that sounds shy or monotone. This shows that your Actor/Actress has little to no experience in acting what so ever. Because of this, your actor/actress would most likely produce below average recordings that you should never place onto your film.
Just remember, if your Actor/Actress can't record a line with a exclamation mark at the end, you probably do not want to hire this client for any major nor minor role. Though, consider giving this Actor/Actress a chance and give them a Extra's role. You'll never know who becomes good at acting.
Consistency: You can give a few takes a listen and they'll sound amazing. Give a few more a listen and they might not sound as good. Something's wrong here, the acting level just dropped, what happened? You've met a consistency error.
You have to remember that most Voice Actors/Actresses you obtain, aren't professionals in Voice Acting. Some of these Actors/Actresses need choreographing to remain on a consistent level in Voice Acting. While others need to be reminded that they aren't a top shot Actor/Actress. Or some just can't reproduce their lines as effectively as they used to.
When it comes to selecting your client, you'll want to view any previous work that person has done. What you want to hear in your client's former work, is either consistent acting/voice or progression in Voice Acting. That is the best way to identify your Voice Actor/Actress's consistency in work, because you are viewing someone's time lapses of their work.
If you were to test your client, you need to know that the Actor/Actress would most likely sound consistent in work because he/she would record X set of lines at the same time. This test must take a week to be effective, such as sending a single line to the Client every day, to make sure this Actor/Actress is consistent.
Experience: Sometimes you'll meet a Client whom's had several years of experience, but the question is, how much Voice Acting does that person do every week? The only way to check for any Voice Actors experience, is to test them. To do this, you'll have to test multiple fields within Voice Acting, such as emotions, following directions, and believably.
A Voice Actor whom has a hardened dry soldier voice that sounds badass will be great for combat sequences, but if you were to tell that Voice Actor to convey sorrow, happiness, or humor and the client can't produce these emotions. This Voice Actor's only set of roles would fit under extras.
A Voice Actor that's better off following his/her directions and not anyone else's reflects on their experience. This hints that the actor has either had poor instructions or has not worked in many projects led by other directors.
If you were to tell your client that his/her character is in a car on a bumpy road and send the script, it should sound like the following
"Alr-ight, get this. Me and my pa-partner was patrollin-ing up highwaaay 17, and then we wer-were . . ."
the result that you would not want is,
"Alright, get this. Me and my partner was patrolling up highway 17, and then we were . . . "
This would be a environmental line, because it reflects on the character's action and set. If the Voice/Acting does not reflect the visuals, it becomes the most stand out problem within any film and derails the viewer from your story.
It's very important that your client can portray emotions, follow directions, and can convey environmental lines.
Procrastination: The most frustrating experience for most directors, is when their workers procrastinate, especially in the Voice Acting department.
One of my friends for a large scale Half-Life 2 mod, has had a Voice Actor that claimed he would voice his single line within a week. After the week, he tells my friend to just wait out another week and he'll send the line in. Guess what, the line never came in, and then he claimed he'll send the line in a few days. Afterwards, he's been playing games on Steam for months on end. My friend knew that he was never going to send the line in, but asked him if he did it anyways and then the Voice Actor replied, "I can't do the line right now".
A certain trait you want from a Voice Actor/Actress is when they record their lines within days-hours after they receive their script. My advice is that before you hire a Voice Actor/Actress you like, is to send multiple test lines for that person and see how long it takes for that person to record/send back these lines.
Professionalism: If you're a machinima director, you'll have to remember that you are a third party developer. This means that you have to work with whatever resources you can obtain. Most commonly, you'll work with friends to produce films, and most likely, none of you have decent job experience. Guess what? Neither does most of the community within gaming does either. It's difficult for you and your friends to meet deadlines or complete specific task.
A trait you'll want with a Voice Actor/Actress is for that person to be able to meet deadlines, get ahead of schedule, be academic, and be serious on demand. To determine one's professionalism, you'll have to speak to people he/she's worked with, test your client, and take your time to hang out with that person.
You want your Voice Actor/Actress to take your project seriously, comply to your terms, meet deadlines, and be a friend.
