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Voice Actor Recruitment Question

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 10:59 pm
by JBShields
One of my team (beta-reader) is freaking out that if I do a voice acting casting call people will steal art or plot from my project. I had created a video that describes the different roles and showed images of the characters as I talked out what each role is all about.

What is the absolute minimum I should do when I create a casting call?

Do you agree with my beta-reader that I should be more circumspect?

Re: Voice Actor Recruitment Question

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 1:59 am
by Godline
Your beta reader is being ridiculous.
Voice actors are not going to randomly try to take your project, especially when you're making it public in a casting call.

Honestly most people want to do their own thing not steal someone else's project.

Re: Voice Actor Recruitment Question

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 10:41 am
by Mammon
Wait, is this a fear specifically aimed at the casting call? Or have you not yet released those images at all and did little to advertise your project? If it's the latter, then that's just the old problem of having to take that miniscule risk of someone trying to steal your stuff when you talk about it and show it online. But you'll have to take it to make sure people know of your project and will play it when it's released.

If it's specifically about voice actors, I don't think that's really a big problem. I see no reason why those people specifically would want to steal it. There's still a lot of work behind the plot that you'll be summarising, so stealing plot would mean they only got inspiration from you and have to write it all themselves regardless. Which is bound to result in something completely different, and them stealing ideas has no effect on the quality of their writing. With art, perhaps but unlikely. You already released the images on your thread, putting that watermark on them will prevent people from just taking them. Even if they could use a sprite with just one expression that they'd have to cut out and blur further to be of the right size, that is.

I'd say you already took plenty of precautions to prevent this, even if it were a real issue. Plot can't really be stolen because it's a summary and everything's been done before, and protecting art is easily done with your watermarkings.

Re: Voice Actor Recruitment Question

Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:48 pm
by sake-bento
There's a pretty low chance of that happening, but if you're worried about making the information public, you can always do a closed casting call. Basically, inform people you are casting, and request actors email a demo reel or audio samples, then listen to all of them, pick your favorite voices, and offer those actors the roles. It'll give you the most privacy, but you'll likely miss out on a lot as well. An actor's demo reel usually presents their most requested voices, but never ALL the voices they can do, so you're likely to miss out on hearing something new.

If you are willing to let actors read auditions, the most common route is to make an audition document. Either a page/Google Doc with a link people can view, or a .PDF you can email to people. I recommend you include the following:

- Brief BRIEF character bio. You don't even need to put in spoilers unless it will absolutely change how the character is read. E.g. "Oldest sibling in a house of four, loves tennis."

- Personality and voice type. This part is the most important, and will mean way more than the bio. E.g. "Female, 17, voice a little deeper than most would expect for her age. Clear voice - not too scratchy. Standard American accent with a little bit of a Texas southern read, especially when she gets angry. Typically very energetic, has an optimistic outlook on life, and does her best to be supportive of her friends. Even when she's sad, she'll try to hide it."

- Picture. This is not necessary, but it's a huuuuge help, and you'll probably get more auditions if you include a picture. A torso-up shot of the sprite is usually enough. You can watermark this.

- Audition lines. Pick 3-4 lines from the script that show the full range of the character's emotions and moments in the script. The first should be a standard narration/talking so you can get an idea of what the person's voice sounds like and where their baseline would be. The rest should be important and/or different emotional beats from the story so you can see where they'll go. Is there a moment when the character finally breaks down? Include a line from that. Is there a moment when their crush finally asks them out? Include a line from that. Is there a moment where we find out this character was the murderer all along? Include a line from that. Normally, I'd suggest including context. This section is the most likely to have spoilers in it.

Line 01: "I appreciate the offer, but I have a tennis match this weekend. Maybe next time?"
Line 02: (Just lost a tennis match after a VERY bad week, trying to hold back tears) "No matter how hard I try. No matter how many hours I practice. Someone will always be better. What's the point?"
Line 03: (Her crush just asked her to prom. Shocked, then happy.) "I... I don't... I mean, yes! Yes, of course!"
Line 04: (Revealing she's the killer - NOT psycho, just determined) "I promised my parents I'd do whatever it took to protect my little brother. And I never go back on a promise."

If you want to obfuscate spoilers, you can remove context:

Line 01: "I appreciate the offer, but I have a tennis match this weekend. Maybe next time?"
Line 02: (Trying to hold back tears) "No matter how hard I try. No matter how many hours I practice. Someone will always be better. What's the point?"
Line 03: (Shocked, then happy.) "I... I don't... I mean, yes! Yes, of course!"
Line 04: (Determined) "I promised my parents I'd do whatever it took to protect my little brother. And I never go back on a promise."

And of course, you can keep all of this private, and have people email you with requests to view the audition document. Many audition documents I've seen include a line at the top requesting "Do not share this document. If you know someone who wants to audition, have them email us here: ADDRESS."

Uh, this got longer than I expected. Hope it answers the question. >_>