Tell me what you know about voiceovers

March 7, 2013 6:19 AM

My company needs a voiceover done for a game we're publishing. The game character is a 10 year old girl, 10 to 15 lines of dialog. Budget is somewhat open-ended, but I'd like to have some idea of what price we can expect, if anyone knows that. I need information on (1) reputable agencies (since we're presumably dealing with a child voice actor) and (2) which are located in the US. I'm in NYC if it matters. Thanks.
posted by dfriedman to media & arts (6 answers total)

You're probably NOT dealing with a child voice actor, but an adult voice actor who can 'do' a child's voice.

I my old job we'd just get someone in the office to do it.

Are you hiring a SAG person? You could do an open call. You'll have people crawling out of the woodwork in NYC.

Here's the union scale, it mentions video games.

That should get you started.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:23 AM on March 7 [2 favorites]

My daughter (college student/professional singer/actor) in NYC would love to do this; check your memail.
posted by kinetic at 6:28 AM on March 7

Are you planning on publishing this game with a major publisher at some point? Most major publishers have contracts with AFTRA and SAG where they can't use/publish voice acting that is not union - so keep that in mind if your ultimate plan is to sign a publishing deal with a major player. They may ask you to re-record it, or assume will refuse to assume all liability somehow.

If that's not a concern, I have a non-union friend who gets a lot of voice over work via voices.com. You might look there.

Seconding hiring an adult actor to sound like a 10 year old girl. That would significantly reduce your trouble.

Are you localizing your game? Have you recorded temporary VO before going in to be sure that the script and process you have are going to work? (Hello, my name is pazazygeek, and I am the game development equivalent of a Jewish grandma).
posted by pazazygeek at 6:55 AM on March 7 [2 favorites]

You can find amazing talent on Voices.com and Voice123.com.
posted by Dansaman at 7:42 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I did a couple of voiceovers for Diablo: Hellfire and it was just a matter of: I was a friend of one of the programmers who could do funny voices. I didn't get paid or anything.
posted by The otter lady at 9:45 AM on March 7

All the VO work I've sourced has been based in Australia so I can't help you with the logistics but I have to respectfully disagree with some of the advice you're getting. Yes, you can use an adult and try to get them to sound like a kid, but generally, that's the result you'll get - it will sound like an adult putting on a child's voice, even with a good character actor.

I can't speak for the pricing factor, but 10-15 lines, with a seasoned child actor (they exist, a 6 year old I worked with was one of the most professional VOs I ever used!) should be able to knock it out in an hour. You will have a lot of choice, listen to their demos online, make sure they have more than a couple of samples under their belt so you know they've been doing it for a while. Someone who has been doing it longer will have more experience in listening, taking direction and getting you the desired result faster. Ask whoever (audio engineer) is producing it if they have VO recommendations - these guys do it day in day out, and know their talent.

Finally, don't cheap out. The good ones charge a bit more because they can nail it in a couple of takes. The bad ones... Well let's just say you schedule an hour in studio and 3 hours later you're stuck there, budget blown, still trying to get it. You get what you pay for and good actors are a joy to work with. Bad ones make life hell. Remember if your ideal talent is in LA, you can do it down the phone lines if you have to! (This will require booking a studio there and one in your location though). I apologise if I'm teaching you to suck eggs and you already know this stuff. Good luck.
posted by Jubey at 4:23 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]