Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

Here are my 2 cents!

One of the things I really hated was the single demo thread in the audio section. It unwieldy to browse, there was no way of telling if a person was still active or how relevant the demo post is to their current skill set and equipment, you had to navigate backwards to look at recent items, and there was no ability to edit!
I think there should be a demo section and an audition section. Right now the forum is a hot mess, and it is a pain trying to look for projects.

For the Demo Section:
It would be baller if it had personal threads and a sticky or stickies that showcased talent by type (VAs by gender, VAs by voice range, VAs that are open to mature content, VAs that can do x rare talent that is hard to find, etc.) The sticky would have a higher bar for inclusion, like requiring a proper 1 minute demo, being an activeish user, and being able to deliver quality recordings.

The personal threads would be open to anyone, but would have a standard template for VA information; like range, contact info, talent expectations, etc.

For the Audition Section:
Some sort of audition/casting template for each thread is needed. Right now most people say "I need voices" with little else. It is not fun to spend time recording for a project when they're actually looking for a different gender voice or. It's also not fun to not know anything about a project before throwing your hat in.

This is the template I made for a forum I mod.

<strong>Project Information:</strong>
<Information on your project. Keep it to the point and up-to-date. Make sure any updates and changes to the audition specifics are salient>

<strong>Audition Deadline:</strong>
<The potential talent will use this deadline for planning and scheduling. Give ample notice for deadline changes. Do not cast before your deadline. If you want to cast early, change your deadline and post the notice in the thread.>
[*]Auditions are due by MM/DD/YYYY 00:00 PM (or YYYY/MM/DD)

<strong>Recording and Contact Information</strong>
<Put any specifics for contact and recording in this section.>
[*]Record using [ex. Stereo, 44100Hz mp3] 
[*]Save files as [ex. projectName_character_userName.mp3/wav/zip]
[*]Send finished auditions to [ex. email/skype/upload service]

<strong>Production Expectations</strong>
<Put any specific expectations for you have for team members. Remember, one persons "soon" is another person's "three weeks later." Also, don't expect team members to automatically take on additional positions/responsibilities. For example, accepting a voice over role != accepting a writer position.>
Examples:
[*] VAs will have 3 weeks to record lines
[*]All team members are expected to be able to schedule time for line directing in X time zone.
[*]Episodes are expected to be released on a X month schedule
[*]Team members will be able to view and send comments/suggestions before release to the general audience. 

<strong>Open Roles</strong>
<List available roles. Remove closed roles from this list.> 

<strong>Character Name: </strong>
[*]Gender: 
[*]Age: 
[*]Voice Type: 
[*]Notes and Important Information:
<Fill this space with character notes and information a VA would need to know before committing to your project. Does the character scream a lot? Curse? Have a lot of lines and a short deadline?> 

<strong>Audition lines: </strong>
[*]Line 1: 
[*]Line 2: 
[*]Line 3:

<strong>Received Auditions:</strong>
<A list of received auditions allows users to know that you, and not a spam folder, have their files.> 
[*]User 1
[*]User 2
[*]User 3

Hello! I mostly do parody voice work on youtube. You might have heard me in an abridged series, like as Mikasa in Abridge on Titian and extras in every abridged series under the sun.

Here is my portfolio: Bendy Voices
Female VA
Range: Medium High – High
Type: Ages 6-30 years, Child (female), Child (male), Teen (female), Adult (female)
Quality: Cute, Sweet, High-energy, Playful, Enthusiastic, Conversational, Friendly, Girl-Next-Door, Daughter, Mom, Refined, Professional

I use professional gear and can provide high quality recordings in most file formats.

I don't do adult content, explicit language, or deliberately offensive things. Also, I tend to stay away from the more immature or crass scripts.

Dear artists, please also remember to put in contact information, deadlines for auditions, and expectations for script turnaround. Information your project's content rating would be wise as well! Some VAs (myself included) do not voice for the pr0nz.

The turnaround time and project expectations are important to scheduling time! A VA might have multiple projects, limited recording time, or live in a time zone several hours apart. That person needs to know if any sort of directing session would be scheduled and when you would need the lines. Not everyone can drop what they are doing to get lines for you "yesterday," especially if it's not paid work.

If you're shopping for condenser mics, it would helpful to keep in mind the connection type! USB will be fine for most people, since they're plug and play. XLRs have a much bigger selection, but will require the winner to either have or purchase an additional interface to connect to a computer, like the Blue Icicle, or a Focusrite Scarlett, etc. These can be a bit pricey, but a good investment for upgrading mics down the line.

I'll wager that most people will be using their personal computer for producing things, and might not have the scratch for an interface. so USB might be the way to go. Blue has some awesome USB condensers, including the Yeti and Spark Digital!

Also! There are always great microphone deals during the holidays!

Congrats to you both! It was a fantastic battle!

I think you should highlight the fact that Newgrounds allows a nice platform for recognition and revenue split for the various people in the production process, like VAs and testers. It also make it use and credit existing content, like music from others. No so on Youtube! On top of that, you can tweak things without having to reupload an entire video.

Newgrounds would be super bomb if it allowed embedded content, and were easier to share in general.

Best of luck you two! I'm hyped on butzrobot's cute creatures and StejkRobot's lovely colors.

At 7/14/14 01:29 PM, dylan wrote: animation times keep getting shorter and shorter, calling it now: final round'll be a power hour of animating

That mean you'll have 5 minutes to animate and 55 to try and get it uploaded in time for the deadline!

It was a fierce round! Everyone did a great job, and kudos to the Top 12!

Thanks for the shutout Chongo!

For all people needing voice work, please be sure to indicate what you need! Instead of "I need a voice actor," something like "I need a female voice for a little girl character around 5/6 years old" is a lot more informative. Last round an animator asked me for voice work...but actually needed a male VA for the part.

Also, don't be afraid to PM/direct message the voice actors. Some of us are in different time zones, and might not see a request in the NATA Skype.

Thanks for the shout out! Don't forget about Chongo! He's a bit of a Betelgeuse..vox-elgeuse? If you say his name three times in the NATA Skype group, he will appear and advertise his voice services!

Great job everyone! It's always exciting to see all of the things that come in at the deadline. Tom may have to do another 2-3 posts for them all!

At 5/10/14 11:46 AM, Chongo wrote:

At 5/10/14 10:35 AM, codeblackhayate wrote:

At 5/10/14 01:43 AM, lewis07 wrote:

At 5/8/14 07:47 PM, codeblackhayate wrote:

At 5/8/14 07:55 AM, lewis07 wrote: Help me! I can't find voice actors for this competition. T_T

Chongo and I are voice artists! Also, if you join the Skype chat there are a few other people offering their services.

Should I still pay you or is it for free?

hahaha, NATA voice work is free!

Yeah, my philosophy is that since animating is really hard work, and voice acting isn't nearly as hard/time-consuming, that payment isn't necessary. And NATA is awesome and we're just happy to be in it.

Also thanks for the recommend, CBH!

Just to be clear: Voice work isn't inherently "easy." The voice acting, like any skill, isn't hard if you've already leveled up with years of experience and training. The voice recording isn't hard if you've already learned a good deal about audio editing, have a good ear for avoiding and fixing mistakes, and invested in the gear for quality recording. It is time consuming, but the impact would be dependent on what other projects and engagements also demand time that time. It costs both time, energy, and money to acquire and maintain the skills of a trade, and there are many people who have livelihoods based on tapping into their talent. The business of the matter is that access to skills and experience, with voice over and any other skilled activity, isn't something that is inherently free.

I won't speak for other voice actors, but I like to provide free voice work to causes and projects I like. VO for the NATA participants is the same as donating monies to the funding pool!

At 5/10/14 01:43 AM, lewis07 wrote:

At 5/8/14 07:47 PM, codeblackhayate wrote:

At 5/8/14 07:55 AM, lewis07 wrote: Help me! I can't find voice actors for this competition. T_T

Chongo and I are voice artists! Also, if you join the Skype chat there are a few other people offering their services.

Should I still pay you or is it for free?

hahaha, NATA voice work is free!

At 5/8/14 07:55 AM, lewis07 wrote: Help me! I can't find voice actors for this competition. T_T

Chongo and I are voice artists! Also, if you join the Skype chat there are a few other people offering their services.

Thanks for the shout out Tom! There are also people offering voice over services in the NATA Skype chat!

If you need a voice actress, feel free to send me a message! Good luck everyone!

You're all now a shiny dollar closer to the goal!
I can also provide female voice over for those that are entering. Best of luck everyone.

I can help out with female and monster voice work. Also sfx/foley. Please PM me with your gamejam details.

This one is gonna be interesting! I'm happy to help with voice work or any other sound items this round,

At 5/6/13 07:17 PM, urbfilms wrote:

Pretty awesome! Yeah, I'm not officially in the Novice round, BUT I WON'T LET THAT STOP ME!!

Your song is now "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen

If you need a female voice actress or sfx help for this round, I'm your gal!

I'd be willing to help out with voice work again or sfx for the next round.

This was so much fun last year! If anyone needs a female VA or help with other audio, I can offer a little help.
skype: codeblackhayate

At 12/31/11 12:19 PM, codeblackhayate wrote: Hi! If it's not too much trouble, would someone be able to make a new sig for me? My current one really cute, but a little hard to read.

Main Text: codeblackhayate
Secondary Text: Internet voice actress...or something

Style: Comic book/retro-like with screen tones and a slight bit of grunge, similar to my website: http://codeblackhayate.webs.com/
Heart shaped screen tones, or some other feminine detail would also be great, since I get mistaken for a boy a lot. So long as the text is readable and it looks comic book-y, I'll be super happy.

Hi! I'm re-posting my sig request. If it's not too much trouble, would someone be able to make one for me? The theme I'm going for is half-tone/screen tone for a comic book feel and readable text.

Thanks in advance!

Maybe he read the story and decided the results were too powerful a force to be released?

Hi! If it's not too much trouble, would someone be able to make a new sig for me? My current one really cute, but a little hard to read.

Main Text: codeblackhayate
Secondary Text: Internet voice actress...or something

Style: Comic book/retro-like with screen tones and a slight bit of grunge, similar to my website: http://codeblackhayate.webs.com/
Heart shaped screen tones, or some other feminine detail would also be great, since I get mistaken for a boy a lot. So long as the text is readable and it looks comic book-y, I'll be super happy.

:3 I'm sure everyone is busy with the holidays, no rushes! Posting the results for the new year is kinda cool in itself anyway.

I had a blast doing this and listening to all of the demos.

Good luck everyone, and have a happy New Year!

I bet! There are a ton of entries! I hope you didn't sweat the decision over the holidays though! : D