How to Direct Voice Actors in Video Games

Video games are continuing to boom as an industry. And as a result of that greater popularity, the expectation for voice acting is only getting higher and higher. Gone are the days of getting your friends to do it for free and hoping that would work out. 

Voiceover: I'm fully aware of what I'm doing. Can you see? Man committed a sin, disturbing the lifecycle of nature. The original sin that man is responsible to, to protect the life cycle. 

This is the second of three videos about the best ways of working with actors for video games. The first cover the casting process, and if you haven't watched it already, you can check it out here. In this video, we're going to look at how you can make your actual recording session with a voice actor as creatively stimulating and productive as possible. This is intended to apply to all forms of voice acting and video games. But for something as specialized as performance capture or motion capture, those are subjects that I would really like to approach in another video in the future. There is also an important distinction I would like to make between a voice actor and a voice over. And there is a distinction. 

Of course, both require acting skills. But with voiceover, there's a particular style to it, there is a pattern, a formula that's actually at work. With voice actors where the emphasis is on the second word, then there's more process of using our imaginations, engaging emotionally with a character and actually putting ourselves in another person's shoes. Now performer can be both a voiceover and a voice actor simultaneously. You just need to be aware of the distinction, to be aware of the different skill sets that are associated with each. It's quite a confusing topic because different people brand themselves in different ways at different times. So for my commercial and corporate work, I will brand myself as a voice over but when I'm talking about games, I'll emphasize the acting part. Actually hiring a voice director to work with the actors on your behalf is probably the best solution. And it also allows you the opportunity to learn through observation, but you may not be in a position to hire them. And either way, some of the points that’ll raised in this video may be useful for your future learning. So to start, let's talk preparation. 

If you can discuss the character with the actor before the actual session. Talk about their characteristics, their background, their relationships, and the world of the game. If you have time, be open to a dialogue and make the actual creation of the character as collaborative as possible. Provide the scripts which are often called sides as quickly as possible. Most voice actors can actually be very good side readers but the more time we have with the script, the better the end product will be. If the game has a lot of conversations between different actors, then try and organize a table read of some sort, even if it is only through zoom. It means that everyone will get a whole sense of what the world is like, what the interactions are like and that's something that can feed through even into individual sessions. And then if you have a discussion at the end, where people can ask questions, it means that you only have to answer them once rather than repeating yourself time after time. 

Looking to the script itself, if there are any unusual pronunciations, then make sure that you have a guide so that everybody is on the same page. And try to resist the temptation to actor proof your script by throwing in objectives all the time telling them how they should say something, the odd direction of angry or whispered can be very good in terms of providing context to why someone is saying something in a particular way. But if it's every line or every other line, then it just limits the potential options open to the actor, which stifles their creativity and will probably be deleted anyway. Essentially as performers, we can only perform to the size of the space that you actually grant us. And finally, whenever possible, budget for more session time than you think you'll need. When a session begins, make the process clear for everyone. Make it clear how many scenes that you're covering, what different emotional states are required in each and where they come from in the game. 

Obviously, that could just be you and the actor, that could be a director but there could also be a producer or writer or any other number of people on the line. Regardless of how many there are ensure that only one person is actually giving direction to the actor, so that they're not lost in a cacophony of voices. Spend the first five to 10 minutes of the session, just checking in with the other actor, seeing where they are, how their days been, and what they're going to be like to direct. Obviously, in all cases, time is money. And if you've got 5000, as opposed to 500 words to do in a three hour session, then you want to be getting on with things. But still having that chat at the start is useful for gauging the tone for the whole session. Ask the actor if they have any questions about the character about the background about the sides, whatever. But obviously, if you've been able to build in some pre session time, this will be less of an issue. 

One crucial aspect to bear in mind is the order in which you approach material. If there's a particularly emotional scene or a lot of shouting involved, then it's usually better to place that towards the end of the session, but each actor may work differently. For some they may warm up with shouting first and foremost, different actors voices work in different ways. So check in with them before coming to a mutual decision. And one final thing before starting make sure that a break schedule has been agreed. Make sure that you enforce it, not the actor. Actors will tend to want to keep going and sometimes that's absolutely great because they're in the moment, they're feeling something, but they're still not necessarily the best objective judge of their vocal health, especially if they're inexperienced. Small breaks are important, both to replenish the mind and the body. When you finally get to the recording, you need to tell your actor at every scene, the where, the what and the why. 

The where, where does the scene take place? Is it a battlefield? Is it a council chamber? Is it a bedroom? How big is the space? Are there other people there? And how far away am I from the person that I'm talking to? The what is the essential physical action. Am I running away? Am I in the middle of the battle? Or am I working in an office. And the why is what is the objective behind the characters actions? Of course, all of this information combines with the Greater Life of the character, and also the world of the game. And again, if you've done all of that prep work in advance, then it means you can be a lot more succinct when you're actually recording. But it's crucial to focus on these essentials rather than getting distracted by any extraneous information. It's also very useful to think in terms of the characters emotional state, and generally they break down into being either mad, sad or glad. 

Obviously, there's a whole spectrum of choices lying across those three distinctions, but it's still useful to have one in mind as a starting point at each scene. It could also be useful to think of a character's driving forces coming from either their head, their heart or their groin. Just saying the same line with the same logical objective but those three different things in mind will give you different results. When at all possible, be flexible with the actual words themselves be open to the idea of aligning words or changing them if they don't feel quite natural. For theatre actors, especially the can sometimes be a reverence for the word on the page. So sometimes you need to actively give permission to mess things up and make things more believable. Hesitations, gasps, half said words and repetitions are all little things that can give texture to language in a whole new way. Think of encouraging these improvisations even before the actual words begin. 

Adele Cutting, a voice director suggests using them as springboards into an actual line itself, which you can cut afterwards. Different actors work in different ways. And if you try and enforce some one size fits all process for everyone, then it's probably going to end up limiting the results that you actually get. But try to describe the stakes in a given scene as vividly as possible using the right transitive verb. The more vivid a transitive verb is, the more stimulating it is to play as an actor. There is the difference between telling an actor to ask for forgiveness and telling them to beg or plead for forgiveness. You want to use language that is going to ignite an actor's imagination, not stifle it. So familiarizing yourself with a book like Actions, The Actors Thesaurus, would be a really great stuff to that process. Boiling down a scene to what it's essentially about is always important, but can be particularly important when we're thinking in terms of genre.

To give a personal example, I was recently working on a scene with a video game director, in which one of my companions was killed. My initial response was to take the subsequent scene very literally, like it was therefore going to be a fight to the death. But after I'd gone in horribly wrong a couple of times, the director actually pointed out that in the context of the game, which was set in a post-apocalyptic world, with lots of zombies being killed all the time, the actual essential of the scene was actually about confronting a bullet, not about a fight to the death. It was a subtle changing of the stakes, as opposed to a lessening of them, which completely changed my playing of the scene as a result. 

I think the final thing I want to say is that you should be thinking in terms of how you want the character to make you feel, as opposed to how you want them to actually sound. If you start a session with a very preconceived idea of how things should go, then it's going to be very stifling, and collaborative and also very uninspired. Sometimes lines have to be spoken in a particular way for a particular reason. And if necessary, alone reading can be justifiable if an actor really isn't getting it. But it really should be a very selective approach. You want to be part of an exciting, collaborative, creative experience. And by approaching it with the right preparation, and the right attitude all the way through, it can really be achievable. 

Next time I'll be looking at your relationship with the actor after the recording process, which is typically the part most overlooked. If you enjoyed this video, please do like subscribe and turn on notifications and I look forward to seeing you next time.

Using Physicality in Voiceover

Whether performing or directing, it is essential to know how physicality informs delivery in voiceover - and how you can make dramatic changes through small adjustments.

By British Male Voiceover Artist Chris Tester

How To Direct A Voice Actor

How to Direct a Voice Actor

When you take the time to organise a directed session, either remotely or in person in a studio with a voiceover, then it's important that you use that time as effectively as possible. So in this video, I'm going to give you Twelve tips to ensure that the voiceover and yourself are best prepared to get the most out of the session that you possibly can. And by the way, this video will be mainly dealing with corporate narration and commercial direction. But a lot of it also applies to video games. But I will be doing a separate video about directing a video game session as well. So look out for that. So let's get started with my 12 tips on how to best direct a voiceover in a live session. 

Tip Number One, read the script yourself. Read it out loud most importantly. Make sure that it sounds as if it makes sense. That the grammar is all absolutely correct. And obviously that it fits the timings of whatever spot, it's supposed to. Be sure to have a clear idea about how certain words might be pronounced. For example, if you say, our company as opposed to our company, then it's a lot more formal as a result. And these are decisions that really should be made prior to a session rather than during it. Or at least you're aware and then you can record an alternate. 

Tip Two, clarify pronunciations. Whether or not that's a person's name, whether it's a company name, which is always very, very important, or whether or not it's an abbreviation of some sort. A voice actor might need to practice these pronunciations again and again in their own time prior to a session. So the sooner that they get all of that information, the better.

Tip Three, think about how you're going to divide the session before you actually get to it. You're going to spend 10 to 15 minutes chatting about the approach that you want to take with the script before you actually record. How many takes do you ideally want? And other alternate takes that you have in mind. Thinking about these things in advance, we'll ensure that there's a good balance between productivity and creativity in terms of different alternate takes you can make. And if you've never directed a voice session before, then why not ask the voice actor themselves how they would normally conduct a session and take their lead. 

Tip Four, have an agreed way of marking takes. Either verbally or technically in some way. In commercial sessions, especially, where you've got a lot more time to do a small amount of takes, that usually means that you do a lot more takes as a result. And you need to have a system in place to ensure that you don't get lost. So if it's marking takes verbally, before you do each take, or whether it's actually putting it down on a piece of paper, make sure that something is in place so that you don't get lost in the Edit. 

Tip Five, what is the status? By that I mean, whether it's B2B or B2C, what is the actual status of the person speaking and the audience that they're speaking to? It's really good to have some very clear variables which you can play through throughout different takes. So if you give the speaker a status of one to ten, and the audience has status of one to ten, then you've got some clear things to play with. 

Tip Six, give the voiceover a clear role. Are they the educator? Are they the parent? Are they the best friend or the next door neighbour. If you talk to a voiceover in terms of their role, as opposed to how they should sound, then they've got something a lot more tangible to be able to creatively respond to. 

Tip Seven, share reference materials. Whether it's a soundtrack, whether or not it's a particular read from another commercial or corporate project. These are a fantastic shorthand to make sure that you and the voiceover are on the same page. 

Tip Eight, be clear about who is giving the direction. In a directing session, it might be one on one, you might have an audio engineer, or you might have an end client or multiple end clients on the line as well. If this is the case, though multiple inputs are always welcome. Ensure that you operate as the filter to the voiceover otherwise, they might get conflicting direction and become confused. Obviously, people in the creative team might have very different takes on how a particular word or sentence is said, but you need to be the arbitrator in the process. So the voiceover isn't put on the spot having to choose between one or another direction to do next. 

Tip Nine, be specific as possible in your direction. Terms, like conversational are both incredibly popular, but also extremely vague. If you can talk in terms of the voiceovers perspective and their emotional state and the audience's emotional state, then that gives us a lot more stimulus to be able to work from. 

Tip Ten, Avoid line reading, unless it's absolutely necessary. Your time is money. So if you need to make a line reading, then ultimately that's absolutely fine. But preface it by saying I want to try some line readings if that's okay, rather than subtly inferring that they're getting it wrong. 

Tip Eleven, Ask the voiceover to do one take for them. At the end of a session hopefully you have everything that you need. But if you do have the time, then it's useful to invite the voiceover to just read the whole script straight through from start to finish. The benefit of this approach is that the notes that they got at the start of a session will have had time to bed down in their subconscious. And now they'll be invited to just give it a natural flair. It's essentially a free hit, but you might be pleasantly surprised by the result. 

And finally, Tip Twelve, Be very clear about the delivered format. By that, I mean, do you want the whole session? Or do you want editing takes? Do you want it raw? Or do you want the audio processed in some kind of way? How do you want the different files labeled? And what kind of file do you actually need? 

If you have an audio engineer present, then they may already be able to supply all the answers. But if not, make sure that the voiceover knows exactly what it is that you need, so that there's no confusion further down the line. 

Okay, so that's my twelve tips to get the most out of a directed session with a voiceover. If you found this video useful and you're interested in more content like this, then by all means, please subscribe. I'll be able to upload every week or two. 

Thank you for taking the time to check out this video which I'm sure it's very rough around the edges and also to honey my cat who has been asleep all this time. 

Have a great day and see you soon.