Maybe I'm the only one, but the misconception that "voice actor" is synonymous with "impressionist" makes me hecka sad. I can do impersonations if I have to, but I honestly hate it. I prefer to create a character with their own cadence, quirks, and temperament. Impersonation kinda takes the creativity out of the art, you know?
YES YES YES a million times YES!!!
It's super frustrating...especially as someone who started off as an actor. It's not like on stage my director says, "Okay! I'm really enjoying where our rendition of "A Streetcar Named Desire" is going...but can you do Stanley as Peter Griffin?"
It's not really how developing a character works. Is it okay to do impressions? Yes. But is it annoying when that's all that is expected from voice actors.
I don't consider voice acting an art or even a craft so no, I don't have this problem. It's a performance.
Speaking of which, I can do Steve Urkel and Meatwad.
Wait, what. You're hired goons, why the hell do you think you have control over the character you portray? Any actor worth a shit follows the director's lines. Plus you're kind of a penny a dozen, even than dimes, since any idiot can do this gig; maybe not competently, but they can do it. In fact, despite moonlighting on occasion as a V/A for projects, I would say they are the LEAST important aspect of a film. You need a writer and animator far more than you need voice work, and both jobs are noticeably more difficult; I would know, since I've done both. Hell, even the music guy has a harder job than the V/A people, since they have to create music that's not illegal.
So this pov makes no goddamn sense to me.
At 12/15/14 12:58 AM, Keisok wrote: Wait, what. You're hired goons, why the hell do you think you have control over the character you portray? Any actor worth a shit follows the director's lines. Plus you're kind of a penny a dozen, even than dimes, since any idiot can do this gig; maybe not competently, but they can do it. In fact, despite moonlighting on occasion as a V/A for projects, I would say they are the LEAST important aspect of a film. You need a writer and animator far more than you need voice work, and both jobs are noticeably more difficult; I would know, since I've done both. Hell, even the music guy has a harder job than the V/A people, since they have to create music that's not illegal.
So this pov makes no goddamn sense to me.
I'm not talking about directors. I'm talking about lay people, unaffiliated with the field. I'm not butthurt about it, I just don't love that it's the first question people ask.
And if you think good acting is easy, and that a film can be good without it... dude. You don't know a thing about it. Granted, voice acting tends not to require the same amount of work that embodying a character does, but it's not as easy as just doing it.
Anyone can write a script, too. Or compose something electronically. Doesn't make either role any less challenging to master or valuable to a production.
At 12/15/14 01:05 AM, Jacob wrote:
I'm not talking about directors. I'm talking about lay people, unaffiliated with the field. I'm not butthurt about it, I just don't love that it's the first question people ask.
And if you think good acting is easy, and that a film can be good without it... dude. You don't know a thing about it. Granted, voice acting tends not to require the same amount of work that embodying a character does, but it's not as easy as just doing it.
Anyone can write a script, too. Or compose something electronically. Doesn't make either role any less challenging to master or valuable to a production.
Joke's on you since some some of the best animations on this site have no voice work at all, like There She Is. Therefore, V/A work is the least important aspect and therefore what you just typed is a joke.
THANK YOU!!!
Thanks to this kind of culture of voice acting=impressions, I thought that's what I had to do when I first started out. So I was trying to learn how to do Bart Simpson and Timmy Turner. While mimicry is a good skill to have obviously, I think original voices are what people are looking for in the end, unless the jobs specifically calls for an impersonation. Another thing is, you might be able to do the impersonation for a few lines, but what about if you needed to truly be that character for an animation, could you carry it on? Do every emotion as that person? Blah, blah, blah.
Just, thank you for saying it. I think some people needed to read it!
Voice of Pipistrella in Pit People, Riley from Zonestream. Voice of Lily, Aurora and Lenora in Everwing
At 12/15/14 01:31 AM, Keisok wrote: Joke's on you since some some of the best animations on this site have no voice work at all, like There She Is. Therefore, V/A work is the least important aspect and therefore what you just typed is a joke.
VA work is the least important aspect...for that project. Making a blanket statement that VA work in the least important aspect in animation is like saying a screwdriver is the least important tool because you're trying to hammer a nail. In animations that do utilize voices, Voice Acting is (usually) one of the first things you need to worry about as things like character gestures, lipsyncing, and timing heavily rely on the script.
Some of the best animations I've seen also don't use color, that doesn't make good color design unimportant.
At 12/15/14 03:59 PM, Temperance11 wrote: In animations that do utilize voices, Voice Acting is (usually) one of the first things you need to worry about as things like character gestures, lipsyncing, and timing heavily rely on the script.
Some of the best animations I've seen also don't use color, that doesn't make good color design unimportant.
And that is to also say that everyone involved in a project should be valued, because every element means something. Mick brought up a good point on Twitter just now.
"Icepirate @RicepirateMick 22 minutes ago
@TheWildPiper voice acting IS easy. Being any good, producing pro sound quality, bringing life to un/scripted words... is not."
Sure anyone can animate, anyone can draw, anyone could pretty much do anything so long as they have the means to do so. But whether or not you're actually making good content is another issue.
Either way, this thread is about how frustrating it can be to be asked this when saying you're a voice actor, "Oh, whose voice can you do?!" Which I would recommend @Jacob you add this to the VA peeves thread too so others looking at the thread can relate! :)
Voice of Pipistrella in Pit People, Riley from Zonestream. Voice of Lily, Aurora and Lenora in Everwing
At 12/14/14 10:27 PM, Jacob wrote: Maybe I'm the only one, but the misconception that "voice actor" is synonymous with "impressionist" makes me hecka sad. I can do impersonations if I have to, but I honestly hate it. I prefer to create a character with their own cadence, quirks, and temperament. Impersonation kinda takes the creativity out of the art, you know?
Just be sure you're not ruling out mimicry as a valuable skill to a voice actor. It's not uncommon for directors and producers to ask for sound-alikes to famous characters, or even sound-alikes of an actor who previously filled a part and needed replacement for whatever reason. Not to mention, it's very fun to mimic or steal mannerisms from a character you see on TV, and adapt them to your own original voice.
Butts
Butts
At 12/15/14 03:59 PM, Temperance11 wrote: VA work is the least important aspect...for that project. Making a blanket statement that VA work in the least important aspect in animation is like saying a screwdriver is the least important tool because you're trying to hammer a nail.
Who do you prioritize above all else in the production to an animation? The writer, the animator, the programmer and then the voice actor. The voice actor doesn't matter if the other three aren't present.
In animations that do utilize voices, Voice Acting is (usually) one of the first things you need to worry about as things like character gestures, lipsyncing, and timing heavily rely on the script.
Consider that voice acting, depending on the project and author, does not require a third party to voice act for it and could be done solo by the author. This used to be common practice back when Flash animators prided themselves on being one-man-bands such as Adam Philips. The big reason why voice actors have become so much more important in recent years is because of parodies and satire pieces requiring a cast of a wide and specific range. The minute original works start retaking the online animation industry is the day that having a cast and crew of seven people dies.
Some of the best animations I've seen also don't use color, that doesn't make good color design unimportant.
I can't tell if this is a hyperbolic comparison or a straw man but I do know that this is a fallacious counterargument.
At 12/15/14 03:59 PM, Temperance11 wrote:At 12/15/14 01:31 AM, Keisok wrote: Joke's on you since some some of the best animations on this site have no voice work at all, like There She Is. Therefore, V/A work is the least important aspect and therefore what you just typed is a joke.VA work is the least important aspect...for that project. Making a blanket statement that VA work in the least important aspect in animation is like saying a screwdriver is the least important tool because you're trying to hammer a nail. In animations that do utilize voices, Voice Acting is (usually) one of the first things you need to worry about as things like character gestures, lipsyncing, and timing heavily rely on the script.
Some of the best animations I've seen also don't use color, that doesn't make good color design unimportant.
Note that you mention elements that have more to do with animation (synching) and writing (gestures, personality) there. Also note that I've done or have helped with pretty much every element in an animation before, and I can happily say that while having a bad cast hurts, having a bad animator or writer usually hurts even more.
I feel like this thread has gotten way off point. While the discussions taking place were definitely voice acting related, they were not addressing the OP. This whole forum is about voice acting, and I welcome anyone with thoughts about "who is more important in any given project" to start a thread discussing that, I'm sure most voice actors will have an opinion on that. Having it hidden inside a thread that does not pertain to it, does not give the forum a fair chance to discuss and share their views on it.
To keep it on track. Jacob, I share your frustrations as a voice actor, when wanting to have a discussion about our profession or aspiring profession while the audience or friend we are speaking to has confused impersonators with actors, or impersonations with acting. I agree with this frustration. Most voice actors share this frustration, and it is just that. A frustration. I know that you are not hating on impersonators, mimicry or any kind of subcultures of the voice acting craft. It does not mean voice actors do not do impersonations. And that impersonators cannot act, right? It is simply that there is a bit of misconception as to how synonymous voice acting, and doing impersonations truly is. Thank you for your thread post and I hope this will not discourage you from posting again.
Voice of Pipistrella in Pit People, Riley from Zonestream. Voice of Lily, Aurora and Lenora in Everwing
