Voice Acting Contest 12!

[Pingu]

After six long years, the Newgrounds Voice Acting Contest (VAC) has returned! Eleven previous contests by the same name ran between 2009-2013 led by @FatKidWitAJetPak (VAC 01-06) and @JaShinYa (VAC 07-11), and you can find links to each at the bottom of this post. I've chosen to maintain the most of the rules as they were written, and I have updated some of them for clarity.

If you're a voice acting vet, this is a good way to sharpen your skills. If you're new to voice acting, this is a great venue to showcase what you have, get some feedback from the community and for everyone it's an awesome fun time! If you're joining in, read the rules and info below and get in front of your mic! Otherwise, please show some support to your fellow Newgrounders by listening, rating, and reviewing!

THEME: "A fool and his money are soon parted" (taxes, getting ripped off; however you choose to interpret). 

WHY: April 15 is the US tax deadline. 

By the way, if you haven't filed your taxes yet, you might want to get on that. 

The Prizes!

1st Place - ACID Pro 7 ($149 USD value) + Front Page + 1 Month of Supporter!

2nd Place - Acoustica Mixcraft Recording Studio 8 ($89.00 USD value) + Front Page + 1 Month of Supporter!

3rd Place - Sound Forge Audio Studio 12 ($59.99 USD value) + Front Page + 1 Month of Supporter!

4-10th Place - 1 Month of Supporter

Yes, you read that right! Everyone in the top 10 get supporter status! Thanks @TomFulp for enabling this.

The software prizes are out of pocket for me so I had to limit the fancy prize pool to top three. Future iterations may have a smaller prize value but larger number of prizes. If you would like to donate a prize to future contests, please message me. Software will be awarded by redemption key.

Contest Rules (PLEASE READ):

- Each entry needs to be a minimum of 2 minutes long and a maximum of 6 minutes long.

- Each entry must fit the theme! Open your mind and think out of the box! Be creative! (It counts towards your score)

- Each entry must have at least 3 different voices.

- Each entry must be submitted by April 15th, 11:59PM EDT

- Each entry can be any kind of genre (comedy, drama, etc...).

- No one may help you with your entry. You must do everything by yourself.

- All sound effects and music must be royalty free. No copyright material is allowed. The Audio Portal has a ton of Creative Commons music, but please respect the artist's use criteria.

- All entries must be submitted to the NG audio portal. If you are unscouted, this is a good chance to show your skills and maybe get a scout invite.

- If you are banned from the audio portal, you may not participate. Using an alt to submit while your main is banned is alt evasion. I don't see this being an issue. 

- You may use effects such as echo, robot, phone filter, etc... however, manipulating your pitch using your recording software is NOT allowed.

- Although only one submission per person is allowed, you may go back and edit the original entry as long as it happens before the deadline.

- Disobeying any rules will result in disqualification. NOTE: You will lose 1 point from your total score for going under or over the time limit up in increments of 15 seconds. Submissions under 1 minute or over 7 minutes in length will be disqualified for not meeting length criteria. 

- Using the tag "VAC12" on your submission is encouraged, but not mandatory

How To Submit:

- All submissions MUST be submitted to the audio portal. No off-site links.

- Once you have submitted the piece to the audio portal, copy the link and paste it into this thread. Once I see it, I will add it to the list.

- Please keep it between 2 and 6 minutes otherwise you will lose precious points!

The Judging Process:

Each entry will be judged per category. Each category has its own point value. The total points will equal 150. After all points are added up, the more points you have, the higher place you will receive. I intend to have the judging process complete by 20 April so we can get people on the Front Page before Pico Day arrives in May. Thank you to @NekoMika and @Jackho for helping me with judging. I do have space for two more judges if anyone is interested. 

Marking criteria (judges have interpretive leeway):

Acting (50 points) - The most important of all, your ACTING! Your voice acting needs to sound like the character is actually in his or her situation. Try not to be monotone and dull.

Range (25 points) - How much each character varies from the others

Fit (25 points) - How well each voice fits the character. *An old man would have a raspy voice and a big guy would have a deep voice, etc...* (Obviously, consideration is taken if the voice is done differently for comedic value. Example: Old woman who smokes may sound like the fat guy from Aqua Teen Hunger Force)

Mixing/Sound quality (20 points)- Not everyone is able to afford a good microphone, but please try to make your final production as high quality as possible! If your voice is fuzzy and full of static , the judges can't judge your voice as well. This also includes how you mix together your SFX and music.

Originality (15 points) - How original your skit was. Be creative!

Writing (15 points) - It's all good if you have great voice acting, but let's try and have your skit make sense! This doesn't mean you have to be another Hemingway, but there should be some sort of structure to your skit. Also, if your skit does not fit the theme well, points will be taken from this category.

For a crash course in improving your audio recording quality, see this submission by @RicePirate:

Again the DEADLINE is: April 15th 11:59pm EDT!

Feel free to discuss the contest in this thread. This contest is about bringing the voice acting community together! If you're a beginner, throw in a submission anyway! It's a good way to build your portfolio, get your name out there, and to connect with others in the voice acting community... Besides, you never know what the outcome might be! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask in this thread. I'll keep you all updated with any changes and progress with judging.

You are also welcome to join the NG Voice Acting Contest Discord (https://discord.gg/jXgwtNQ), although it is not mandatory for participation. 

Previous Contests!

VAC 01 (Feb/09) - THEME: "And that's why I don't have my homework"

VAC 02 (Mar/09) - THEME: "Explosion!"

VAC 03 (Jun/09) - THEME: "Disorder/Turtles"

VAC 04 (Aug/09) - THEME: "Muffins!"

VAC 05 (Dec/09) - THEME: "Millionaire/Addiction"

VAC 06 (Dec/10) - THEME: Winter

VAC 07 (Sep/11) - THEME: The Apocalypse

VAC 08 (Feb/12) - THEME: Super Heroes

VAC 09 (Sep/12) - THEME: Horrible Jobs

VAC 10 (Mar/13) - THEME: A Night to Remember

VAC 11 (Oct/13) - THEME: My First...

[Pingu]

I’d like to welcome @Fro to the judging panel!

Fro runs the monthly Writing Contest, and will add some wonderful depth to the judging panel.

[Saminat]

Sounds like a lot of fun, I'll see if I can put something together

[Shock-Dingo]

This is awesome, I've missed these! Thanks a bunch for bringing it back, I'm gonna get to scripting now!

[superRJ45]

Any advice for writing a good script?

[Pingu]

At 3/17/19 05:28 PM, superRJ45 wrote:Any advice for writing a good script?

I'm not much of a scriptwriter, but I might suggest a starting point to consider.

Think about a time you or someone you know got ripped off in some way. Was there a part of it which was funny, or distressing? Was there a way that the incident could have gone the opposite way from what it was? Play the scenario out in your mind, then it might get to the point of putting the thoughts to paper.

In this case, all the doors to different outcomes are open. It's up to you to decide how you'd like to spin the story.

Sorry for being a bit vague, I'm trying to balance helpful with arms-length judging distance.

[Jackho]

At 3/17/19 05:28 PM, superRJ45 wrote:Any advice for writing a good script?

Read or at least flick through some screenplays first of all, if you haven't before. Try something you already know, then something you haven't seen. Think about how the lines were transformed by the actors delivery (or directly compare with the film if you can). Anything oscar nominated for best screenplay should be easy to find a copy of, and some studios like A24 (Ex Machina, Moonlight, Room, It Comes at Night, Lady Bird, Hereditary, First Reformed, Eighth Grade etc.) release all their scripts as free PDFs.

Don't let formatting bog you down. Subverting expectation and avoiding the obvious is usually good.

Probably the easiest key to writing in general is to swap out ordinary words for more interesting synonyms when you can - for a lazy eg. think of the difference between "he drank a glass of water" and "he gulped down a glass of water" or "He typed a post" vs. something like "He stabbed at his laptop keys"

Paul Schrader once remarked that scriptwriting is an oral tradition rather than a literary one though and I think that's worth keeping in mind. So long as the writing doesn't get in the way of the performance you can write virtually any old bullshit and have it sound good out loud, so maybe try writing to your strengths and what you think you can pull off.

All that said, don't take it too seriously or over-scrutinize your efforts. It's a fun contest, not a school assignment. No one's gonna write Paul Schrader's next film in here (probably).

[WhippeyAlert]

Sounds like fun! I'll have a go :D

[IceDragon64]

OK here it goes- a brand new story I wrote for the contest tonight, using my characters from the Split Personality series- I have done VA for my own animations, but this is a new departure- over three minutes in one recording-

[Pingu]

Hey there folks, a reminder that there are 3 weeks left in the contest.

We've had a number of people express interest, so hopefully they and others add their submission to what we've already received.

Remember: there are 10 prizes overall. So far, you have pretty good odds of getting something.

[Denkles]

Hi there I'm New to Newgrounds, but saw this and wanted to toss my hat in the ring! Hope you like it!

Monster Money Maker! #VAC12

[PortalVendor]

Definitely interested in being a judge as my precious mic has been damaged and I have to use the built in laptop mic which'll be no good.

[Adjule]

Bumping for good measure!

I'm eager to see everyone's entries!

[Wondermeow]

At 3/15/19 09:32 AM, Peregrinus wrote:
//www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/853177

After six long years, the Newgrounds Voice Acting Contest (VAC) has returned! Eleven previous contests by the same name ran between 2009-2013 led by @FatKidWitAJetPak (VAC 01-06) and @JaShinYa (VAC 07-11), and you can find links to each at the bottom of this post. I've chosen to maintain the most of the rules as they were written, and I have updated some of them for clarity.

If you're a voice acting vet, this is a good way to sharpen your skills. If you're new to voice acting, this is a great venue to showcase what you have, get some feedback from the community and for everyone it's an awesome fun time! If you're joining in, read the rules and info below and get in front of your mic! Otherwise, please show some support to your fellow Newgrounders by listening, rating, and reviewing!

THEME: "A fool and his money are soon parted" (taxes, getting ripped off; however you choose to interpret). 
WHY: April 15 is the US tax deadline. 

By the way, if you haven't filed your taxes yet, you might want to get on that. 

The Prizes!
1st Place - ACID Pro 7 ($149 USD value) + Front Page + 1 Month of Supporter!
2nd Place - Acoustica Mixcraft Recording Studio 8 ($89.00 USD value) + Front Page + 1 Month of Supporter!
3rd Place - Sound Forge Audio Studio 12 ($59.99 USD value) + Front Page + 1 Month of Supporter!
4-10th Place - 1 Month of Supporter

Yes, you read that right! Everyone in the top 10 get supporter status! Thanks @TomFulp for enabling this.

The software prizes are out of pocket for me so I had to limit the fancy prize pool to top three. Future iterations may have a smaller prize value but larger number of prizes. If you would like to donate a prize to future contests, please message me. Software will be awarded by redemption key.

Contest Rules (PLEASE READ):
- Each entry needs to be a minimum of 2 minutes long and a maximum of 6 minutes long.
- Each entry must fit the theme! Open your mind and think out of the box! Be creative! (It counts towards your score)
- Each entry must have at least 3 different voices.
- Each entry must be submitted by April 15th, 11:59PM EDT
- Each entry can be any kind of genre (comedy, drama, etc...).
- No one may help you with your entry. You must do everything by yourself.
- All sound effects and music must be royalty free. No copyright material is allowed. The Audio Portal has a ton of Creative Commons music, but please respect the artist's use criteria.
- All entries must be submitted to the NG audio portal. If you are unscouted, this is a good chance to show your skills and maybe get a scout invite.
- If you are banned from the audio portal, you may not participate. Using an alt to submit while your main is banned is alt evasion. I don't see this being an issue. 
- You may use effects such as echo, robot, phone filter, etc... however, manipulating your pitch using your recording software is NOT allowed.
- Although only one submission per person is allowed, you may go back and edit the original entry as long as it happens before the deadline.
- Disobeying any rules will result in disqualification. NOTE: You will lose 1 point from your total score for going under or over the time limit up in increments of 15 seconds. Submissions under 1 minute or over 7 minutes in length will be disqualified for not meeting length criteria. 
- Using the tag "VAC12" on your submission is encouraged, but not mandatory

How To Submit:
- All submissions MUST be submitted to the audio portal. No off-site links.
- Once you have submitted the piece to the audio portal, copy the link and paste it into this thread. Once I see it, I will add it to the list.
- Please keep it between 2 and 6 minutes otherwise you will lose precious points!

The Judging Process:
Each entry will be judged per category. Each category has its own point value. The total points will equal 150. After all points are added up, the more points you have, the higher place you will receive. I intend to have the judging process complete by 20 April so we can get people on the Front Page before Pico Day arrives in May. Thank you to @NekoMika and @Jackho for helping me with judging. I do have space for two more judges if anyone is interested. 

Marking criteria (judges have interpretive leeway):
Acting (50 points) - The most important of all, your ACTING! Your voice acting needs to sound like the character is actually in his or her situation. Try not to be monotone and dull.
Range (25 points) - How much each character varies from the others
Fit (25 points) - How well each voice fits the character. *An old man would have a raspy voice and a big guy would have a deep voice, etc...* (Obviously, consideration is taken if the voice is done differently for comedic value. Example: Old woman who smokes may sound like the fat guy from Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
Mixing/Sound quality (20 points)- Not everyone is able to afford a good microphone, but please try to make your final production as high quality as possible! If your voice is fuzzy and full of static , the judges can't judge your voice as well. This also includes how you mix together your SFX and music.
Originality (15 points) - How original your skit was. Be creative!
Writing (15 points) - It's all good if you have great voice acting, but let's try and have your skit make sense! This doesn't mean you have to be another Hemingway, but there should be some sort of structure to your skit. Also, if your skit does not fit the theme well, points will be taken from this category.

For a crash course in improving your audio recording quality, see this submission by @RicePirate:

//www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/590285

Again the DEADLINE is: April 15th 11:59pm EDT!

Feel free to discuss the contest in this thread. This contest is about bringing the voice acting community together! If you're a beginner, throw in a submission anyway! It's a good way to build your portfolio, get your name out there, and to connect with others in the voice acting community... Besides, you never know what the outcome might be! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask in this thread. I'll keep you all updated with any changes and progress with judging.

You are also welcome to join the NG Voice Acting Contest Discord (https://discord.gg/jXgwtNQ), although it is not mandatory for participation. 

Previous Contests!
VAC 01 (Feb/09) - THEME: "And that's why I don't have my homework"
VAC 02 (Mar/09) - THEME: "Explosion!"
VAC 03 (Jun/09) - THEME: "Disorder/Turtles"
VAC 04 (Aug/09) - THEME: "Muffins!"
VAC 05 (Dec/09) - THEME: "Millionaire/Addiction"
VAC 06 (Dec/10) - THEME: Winter
VAC 07 (Sep/11) - THEME: The Apocalypse
VAC 08 (Feb/12) - THEME: Super Heroes
VAC 09 (Sep/12) - THEME: Horrible Jobs
VAC 10 (Mar/13) - THEME: A Night to Remember
VAC 11 (Oct/13) - THEME: My First...

This sounds awesome look forward to seeing fantastic work from everyone.

Kind regards,

Wondermeow

[SailorSilverStar]

Must join!!!!

Now if only I can figure out a script......while handling a 3 month old ^_^;

[Ollytobblez]

https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/856029?updated=1554162745

here we go!

hope you guys like!

[Gurgie]

https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/856284?updated=1554331112

Here is my audio.

I tried to give something of a good experience.

There were NO pitch adjustments for the voice recordings ^^.

[Pingu]

Hello everyone!

A reminder that ten days remain to get your submission in. We've had four entries so far, so there are definitely good chances of getting a prize at this stage.

If you're hesitant or absolutely brand new to it, I encourage you to break out of your comfort zones and submit an entry. If there is something you feel is holding you back from entering, please let me know if there's something myself or the other judges can do to make it happen.

If you're tired of seeing those pesky ads for Tom Clancy's The Division 2, the top ten winners get supporter status which will hide all of those away for a month.

Also, I appreciate the two offers for additional judging. At this time We have as many judges as entries so don't have a need to expand our judging roster.

I don't know if people who had expressed interest here are following the topic to get updates, so I'll toss a few tags out as a reminder.

@Saminat @Shock-Dingo @WhippeyAlert @foxylee13 @SailorSilverStar

@PortalVendor, you are definitely still welcome to submit something using your built in microphone.

@solitonmedic and @Wondermeow, thanks for stopping in! You are both more than welcome to participate.

[Saminat]

At 4/5/19 07:39 PM, Peregrinus wrote:Hello everyone!

A reminder that ten days remain to get your submission in. We've had four entries so far, so there are definitely good chances of getting a prize at this stage.

If you're hesitant or absolutely brand new to it, I encourage you to break out of your comfort zones and submit an entry. If there is something you feel is holding you back from entering, please let me know if there's something myself or the other judges can do to make it happen.

If you're tired of seeing those pesky ads for Tom Clancy's The Division 2, the top ten winners get supporter status which will hide all of those away for a month.

Also, I appreciate the two offers for additional judging. At this time We have as many judges as entries so don't have a need to expand our judging roster.

I don't know if people who had expressed interest here are following the topic to get updates, so I'll toss a few tags out as a reminder.

@Saminat @Shock-Dingo @WhippeyAlert @foxylee13 @SailorSilverStar

@PortalVendor, you are definitely still welcome to submit something using your built in microphone.

@solitonmedic and @Wondermeow, thanks for stopping in! You are both more than welcome to participate.

No worries, I haven't forgotten! Got a great idea in the works, in the process of scriptwriting, recording coming up next week when I'm in studio.

[WhippeyAlert]

Aw, I'm gonna be a bit busy, and I've been a little distracted, so I might drop out, I'm afraid ^^'

[godzillabeasty]

I want to try this, but getting a script that i feel confident about will be hard

not to mention my mic is poop

[SailorSilverStar]

At 4/6/19 05:22 PM, godzillabeasty wrote:I want to try this, but getting a script that i feel confident about will be hard
not to mention my mic is poop

I feel your pain, I cant even COME UP with a script T_T

[DevvyBoyOllie]

At 4/6/19 09:02 PM, SailorSilverStar wrote:

At 4/6/19 05:22 PM, godzillabeasty wrote:I want to try this, but getting a script that i feel confident about will be hard
not to mention my mic is poop

I feel your pain, I cant even COME UP with a script T_T

Don't get discouraged! I'm admittedly finding a hard time with the writing myself, but as long as it fits the theme then your voice-over work should overcome it.

[SailorSilverStar]

At 4/6/19 09:43 PM, SummerOlives wrote:

At 4/6/19 09:02 PM, SailorSilverStar wrote:

At 4/6/19 05:22 PM, godzillabeasty wrote:I want to try this, but getting a script that i feel confident about will be hard
not to mention my mic is poop

I feel your pain, I cant even COME UP with a script T_T

Don't get discouraged! I'm admittedly finding a hard time with the writing myself, but as long as it fits the theme then your voice-over work should overcome it.

-super tight hug-

[Pingu]

At 4/6/19 09:43 PM, SummerOlives wrote:

At 4/6/19 09:02 PM, SailorSilverStar wrote:

At 4/6/19 05:22 PM, godzillabeasty wrote:I want to try this, but getting a script that i feel confident about will be hard
not to mention my mic is poop

I feel your pain, I cant even COME UP with a script T_T

Don't get discouraged! I'm admittedly finding a hard time with the writing myself, but as long as it fits the theme then your voice-over work should overcome it.

The writing portion is a lower score on purpose since it's less of the focus for this contest. I left a brief suggestion up above, which Jackho turned into a bit of a writing thesis since he's like that.

I've been a little torn about that portion of it. I recognize that generally a person looking to take a VA onto a project (usually) has at least a basic script, and I debated making a simple prompt one for this contest. At the same time, I didn't want to pigeonhole everyone into the same script, since I'm a fan of creativity.

I might suggest taking a glance over at Fro's monthly writing contest for this month, which is conveniently about being a fool. Link is here.

I'll have a discussion with the other judges about generating a basic prompt script which folks can use. It would likely involve a lower score in the writing category, but at the minimum would give everyone a chance to demonstrate the Voice Acting we're here for. I'll look to have something of the sort up for April 10th, which gives everyone both a chance to come up with their own as well as time to record and touch up if they'd prefer to work off the script.

Otherwise, some generic prompts:

• Buying a used car. Everything seems fine until the paperwork is signed and money changes hands. Then it starts making weird noises until the new owner confronts the seller.
• A game show contestant is on a hot streak. Come the final round, with everything on the line, they choke.
• A wonderful new product hits the market. People everywhere are rushing to get their hands on it, until it turns out to have been snake oil.
• At an auction, things get a little heated. But like that storage wars show, sometimes the winner ends up disappointed.

[Denkles]

At 4/6/19 09:43 PM, SummerOlives wrote:

At 4/6/19 09:02 PM, SailorSilverStar wrote:

At 4/6/19 05:22 PM, godzillabeasty wrote:I want to try this, but getting a script that i feel confident about will be hard
not to mention my mic is poop

I feel your pain, I cant even COME UP with a script T_T

Don't get discouraged! I'm admittedly finding a hard time with the writing myself, but as long as it fits the theme then your voice-over work should overcome it.

I totally agree! It was hard trying to write something out, but once you get the ball rolling you'll have it done in no time!

[Denkles]

At 4/6/19 06:23 AM, WhippeyAlert wrote:Aw, I'm gonna be a bit busy, and I've been a little distracted, so I might drop out, I'm afraid ^^'

:( Aw man, I hope you are able to give it a try. It'd be awesome if you're able to submit an entry!

[SammyOmane]

Here is my Audition I hope you Like It!:): https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/857069

[Shock-Dingo]

At 4/5/19 07:39 PM, Peregrinus wrote:Hello everyone!

A reminder that ten days remain to get your submission in. We've had four entries so far, so there are definitely good chances of getting a prize at this stage.

If you're hesitant or absolutely brand new to it, I encourage you to break out of your comfort zones and submit an entry. If there is something you feel is holding you back from entering, please let me know if there's something myself or the other judges can do to make it happen.

If you're tired of seeing those pesky ads for Tom Clancy's The Division 2, the top ten winners get supporter status which will hide all of those away for a month.

Also, I appreciate the two offers for additional judging. At this time We have as many judges as entries so don't have a need to expand our judging roster.

I don't know if people who had expressed interest here are following the topic to get updates, so I'll toss a few tags out as a reminder.

Thanks! Script is done, just need to edit and record! :D

[WhiteBaron2018]

Sounds like tall order to get THREE different voices from the same VA in a single session to a winning quality but those that can pull it off have serious skillz