Readers of The Magazine of Santa Clarita continue to send in interesting questions about the voiceover business. This month, a voice actor asks about videogame auditions.
Q: A producer found my website, called me up, and asked me to audition for a videogame, sending me the script the next day. So I did the audition and he didn’t like it. He said, “Delivery was flat. Since we don’t have visuals, you have to be energetic and make the subtext the text, which is the opposite of visual acting.” How can I fix this next time? He didn’t tell me to be really energetic, and gave no direction except for the character being an African American nerd. Was it normal for him to not tell me the energy level, unlike commercial copy where that is listed… or should I have just asked? How can I handle this better next time? – Kabir S, Los Angeles, CA
A: Kabir, most video game characters and a lot of animated characters require 150 percent energy. Even commercial characters require at least 110 percent. It wasn’t his job for him to tell you to be really energetic. But you could’ve given him the lines read a few different ways, with different energy levels, to give him an idea of your acting abilities and range. And you could’ve asked him if you could re-submit something better. There are a lot of books on the market about voicing for animation. Get a couple and go through them, so you’ll be ready for the next opportunity. Keep up the good work, Kabir. Break a lip!
Post-script: Kabir did follow up, asked the client if he could submit another audition, and got the job.
Cashman Commercials © 2011
Marc Cashman creates and produces copy and music advertising for radio and television, was named one of the “Best Voices of the Year” by AudioFile Magazine, and was the Keynote Speaker and Master Class instructor at the international voiceover conventions VOICE 2008 and 2010 in Los Angeles. Winner of over 150 advertising awards, and a working voice actor as well, he heads the Voiceover Program at California Institute of the Arts and instructs voice acting of all levels through his classes, The Cashman Cache of Voice-Acting Techniques in Los Angeles, California.
Marc can be contacted at cashcomm@earthlink.net or his website, www.cashmancommercials.com.