With thanks to my friend and mentor Philip Banks for posting this link on the VO-BB, the London Guardian looks at the state of voice acting in video games.
Video game acting
With thanks to my friend and mentor Philip Banks for posting this link on the VO-BB, the London Guardian looks at the state of voice acting in video games.
Thanks Bob for once again giving us prime material. And thanks Banksie too. I’m using this with my students. The prime problem with video game voicings is that first, many developers use non-pros, even office workers or whomever, because they have no money or little money to pay us. Secondly, when they do use pros, the pay is often meager while the large companies rake in zillions, voice over talent pay is all over the map, unregulated and often unfair. Thirdly, yes, we often are given single line scripts without direction of substance as to the characters we are supposed to be portraying. When we are given direction, it often is surface, such as “he is egotistic and sure of himself.” Huh? Tell me more! But hey folks, us vo talents are NOT the stars of this gaming. No way. Remember we are supporting players. What needs to be done is to get organized and have pay scales and eliminate the lowball talents who drag us all down narrating for $50 per hour or less and the game developers who do not know the difference between actors and townsfolk.
Bettye,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. No question, there’s plenty of room to grow in this arena.
Be well,
Bob