Hi, I'm in the process of creating a startup. The basic premise is screenwriters get their scripts professionally table read ( voice acted) there's still a lot to do before I can actually launch a website. I still need to do market research and validate the concept. I'm on an insanely tight budget and I'm doing almost everything by myself. Of course I plan on paying my voice actors eventually but right now I can't afford to and my business is still in it's market research phase. Is it still a bad idea to look for free actors or find volunteers? Advice greatly appreciated
At 7/24/23 10:35 PM, Ever-After wrote: Hi, I'm in the process of creating a startup. The basic premise is screenwriters get their scripts professionally table read ( voice acted) there's still a lot to do before I can actually launch a website. I still need to do market research and validate the concept. I'm on an insanely tight budget and I'm doing almost everything by myself. Of course I plan on paying my voice actors eventually but right now I can't afford to and my business is still in it's market research phase. Is it still a bad idea to look for free actors or find volunteers? Advice greatly appreciated
Tons of VAs will do voluntary work (including myself!). I'd say the best course of action is to be upfront about the fact that the work will be unpaid. Other than that, there's no problems! Good luck with the project :)))
At 7/24/23 10:35 PM, Ever-After wrote: Hi, I'm in the process of creating a startup. The basic premise is screenwriters get their scripts professionally table read ( voice acted) there's still a lot to do before I can actually launch a website. I still need to do market research and validate the concept. I'm on an insanely tight budget and I'm doing almost everything by myself. Of course I plan on paying my voice actors eventually but right now I can't afford to and my business is still in it's market research phase. Is it still a bad idea to look for free actors or find volunteers? Advice greatly appreciated
The keywords for me here are "professionally" and "business"
If YOU are charging anyone for this service it's not fair to ask people to provide work for free, full stop. That said, there's nothing wrong with asking for volunteer voice actors for a project where NO ONE is paid, as long as you're up front about the lack of pay when looking for voices.
At 7/24/23 10:35 PM, Ever-After wrote: Hi, I'm in the process of creating a startup. The basic premise is screenwriters get their scripts professionally table read ( voice acted) there's still a lot to do before I can actually launch a website. I still need to do market research and validate the concept. I'm on an insanely tight budget and I'm doing almost everything by myself. Of course I plan on paying my voice actors eventually but right now I can't afford to and my business is still in it's market research phase. Is it still a bad idea to look for free actors or find volunteers? Advice greatly appreciated
Just gotta look hard for good ones, i found some good voice actors for free
At 7/24/23 10:35 PM, Ever-After wrote: Hi, I'm in the process of creating a startup. The basic premise is screenwriters get their scripts professionally table read ( voice acted) there's still a lot to do before I can actually launch a website. I still need to do market research and validate the concept. I'm on an insanely tight budget and I'm doing almost everything by myself. Of course I plan on paying my voice actors eventually but right now I can't afford to and my business is still in it's market research phase. Is it still a bad idea to look for free actors or find volunteers? Advice greatly appreciated
Free voice acting is frowned upon but not bad at all considering many starting off are willing to do it for free in compensation for allowing them to use it in their portfolio. But you do get what you pay for.
Having connections is also a great way into getting favors as well.
At 7/24/23 10:35 PM, Ever-After wrote: Hi, I'm in the process of creating a startup. The basic premise is screenwriters get their scripts professionally table read ( voice acted) there's still a lot to do before I can actually launch a website. I still need to do market research and validate the concept. I'm on an insanely tight budget and I'm doing almost everything by myself. Of course I plan on paying my voice actors eventually but right now I can't afford to and my business is still in it's market research phase. Is it still a bad idea to look for free actors or find volunteers? Advice greatly appreciated
It's basically already been said, but how much (if anything) you are getting for a role depends on how much the creator is earning. If it's someone's hobby project that's not getting monetized in any (significant) way, contributing free of charge is absolutely fair. If they are releasing a commercial product, getting compensation in some form or other makes absolute sense. So it depends on the situation.
as someone who’s been working on a unpaid project, a lot of things come into play. you could think about these if paying or not paying would be appropriate in your situation. 1, if you know your project will get you money 2, how much money you have yourself and 3, what type of people you’re looking for. I’m not a pro neither have i been a voice actor for someone else’s project so take my advice with a grain of salt. <3
At 7/24/23 10:35 PM, Ever-After wrote: Hi, I'm in the process of creating a startup. The basic premise is screenwriters get their scripts professionally table read ( voice acted) there's still a lot to do before I can actually launch a website. I still need to do market research and validate the concept. I'm on an insanely tight budget and I'm doing almost everything by myself. Of course I plan on paying my voice actors eventually but right now I can't afford to and my business is still in it's market research phase. Is it still a bad idea to look for free actors or find volunteers? Advice greatly appreciated
The bigger-picture thing to keep in mind about free help is to make sure you vet every volunteer you think can do the job: their social media presence, the quality of their work and their final files (most volunteer voice actors submit very poor audio). Any of those not up to your standard is a red flag.
You already have a ton of replies here, but I’d echo most of what they say. My only point being, if you are a voice actor yourself, sometimes there is very rough competition. I have taken on roles with no pay because I either really liked the product / was inspired by the creation, or I felt it would provide me with some good exposure.
That being said, if the person creating the work clearly lives off of animations and has an insane budget, you should really charge them. But you can’t expect an average NG user who is creating as a hobby to have the funds to hire everyone in their work (but if you find out they’re getting paid or a fellow VA is paid, so should you).
I’d give one last final advice, if you are the voice actor not getting paid, don’t sink too much time, effort, or stress into the product. You’re not getting paid. You’ll do your best to get the finished product, but they don’t deserve you agonizing over their work. I’ve had jobs before where they’d provide 0 direction but be incredibly nitpicky with lines, even after I gave them multiple takes. So I’d have to re-record each line multiple times after getting feedback from them via text. Just don’t fucking do that with a VA if you’re the creator. Either let them do what they’re skilled at, or provide an actual direction session.
At 7/24/23 10:35 PM, Ever-After wrote: Hi, I'm in the process of creating a startup. The basic premise is screenwriters get their scripts professionally table read ( voice acted) there's still a lot to do before I can actually launch a website. I still need to do market research and validate the concept. I'm on an insanely tight budget and I'm doing almost everything by myself. Of course I plan on paying my voice actors eventually but right now I can't afford to and my business is still in it's market research phase. Is it still a bad idea to look for free actors or find volunteers? Advice greatly appreciated
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