It’s nearly time for the second annual VirComm Summit — the UK’s first and only conference dedicated to community management. Held at the beautiful Royal Institution on February 7, it’s worth making the trip for venue alone! But in addition, the summit features the latest in what’s happening with online community building.

We’ve mentioned before that we think there’s room for improvement in bringing the online community of voice over professionals together. There’s a lot we can do to organize ourselves into being better, smarter business people.

The conference will discuss online brand strategy and efficient employment of social media. Technically a conference for online professionals, you may wonder what that has to do with us here in the voice over community? But then, just think about how the online side of voice performance has changed our business.

That doesn’t just mean the way we organize ourselves, but also they way consumers access the products we voice over, the shows we produce, and the stories we tell. Would it be possible for Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse to have over one hundred million viewers without the aid of an online community? Probably not. It would certainly be harder to harness the viewership statistics.

The world we live in today has made all of us online professionals. And while you’re probably not rushing out to buy your ticket to London, it’s not too late to register. Or maybe just take a minute of your day to incorporate some of the topics featured by VirComm into your voice over business strategy. We’re all responsible for our own continuing education.

February is an exciting time in the children’s entertainment world. And exciting times in the children’s entertainment world are exciting times for us in the animation voice over world.

One of the most exciting parts is the annual Kidscreen conference with its adjacent iKids Conference on February 4th and their awards for the best animated productions for kids on the web.

Naturally, we here at Resnick Interactive Group think Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse is one of the best, if not THE best show on the web. (I mean, hey, can one hundred million viewers be wrong?) So we’re pulling for them to take home the big enchilada.

iKids is all about rewarding excellent work across the board for companies producing web-based products for kids and they have the categories to prove it. Check out their categories below. Maybe one of those could be you this time next year.

Preschool (0 to 5)
Best Website
Best Web/App Series
Best Learning App
Best Game App
Best eBook
Best Console Video Game
Best Handheld Video Game
Best Streaming Video Platform
Kids (6 and up)
Best Website
Best Web/App Series
Best Learning App
Best Game App
Best eBook
Best Console Video Game
Best Handheld Video Game
Best Streaming Video Platform

Best known for his 1960’s portrayal Charlie Brown in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” in recent years, Robbins voiced a talk radio show out of Palm Springs and managed real estate in Van Nuys. He is accused of stalking and harassing an ex-girlfriend, her dog, and her plastic surgeon. Robbins could face up to nine years in prison.

Good Grief!

We’d rather have voice talent in news for positive reasons, of course. And we’d like to balance out the press.  Any humanitarian members of the voice over community want to chime in and let us know of contributions to society? We’ll trumpet them here and on our twitter! ]]> http://resnickinteractive.com/resources/voice-over-actors-in-the-news-and-not-in-a-good-way/feed/ 0 http://resnickinteractive.com/resources/role-breakdown-the-writer/ http://resnickinteractive.com/resources/role-breakdown-the-writer/#comments Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:59:34 +0000 http://resnickinteractive.com/?post_type=resources_article&p=1565 Read more »]]>

Sometimes the writers– or at least the head writer/s– are in the room during voice over production, but most of the time, they are not. Their role in the process wrapped up long ago. Sometimes, they’re not even in the country in the case of shows that have been imported and translated.

But if the writer has truly done their job, we won’t need them in the room for the voice over production.

The difference between good writing and bad writing is very clear in the sound booth. Not all writing is meant to be read out loud, but ALL the writing for voice over is. Scripts for animation and video games should never lose sight that lines are meant to be read out loud by actors. Good writing is easy to say, makes sense the first time through, and doesn’t have actors tripping over their lines. Basically… iit flows.

As much fun as it is for us to have to rewrite lines in the booth, it’s probably better when we don’t have to.

One of the questions we get the most is “how involved will I– the client– be in the voice over production process?”

And our answer always goes a little something like this: “how involved do you want to be?”

We can break it down a couple of ways. But at the core of this process, we value transparency. We’re in the production process together and we welcome our clients to be as involved as they would like to be.  Here’s a list of stages we go through on a project and the various levels of client involvement that we have experienced over the years:

Pre-Production
– For larger projects this can be a rather open ended and long custom-tailored process.  For example, let’s say we have a current bid out with Client X that has been going on for several months and the pre-production process for them has included doing research for additional services such as MOCAP. And we have often done tests– not just a quality test, but a work flow test– for the client so that they can gain a more accurate picture of how the production will function.
– On smaller projects, such as low-budget games, the process is much shorter and basically entails us analyzing the needs of the project internally and allocating resources without too  much input of the client.

Casting
– Client wants to be with us in the studio for a casting session in person.
– Client wants us to turn in reads for their approval.
– Client allows us to use our own judgement on casting.

Production
– Client wants to be with us during the record.  Either they will take a passive role and let us direct or want to be more involved.
– Client wants to be be patched into the session and listen remotely.  We make sure to take pauses more often when doing this to check in and address any notes they have.
– Client does not want to be involved in the recording session and leave it all to us.

Post Production
– If we’re doing a mix to picture the client may or may not want to be present.
– If there is no picture and we’re just delivering files there isn’t much room for the client to be involved as it’s just an editor hard at work!

Speed, accuracy and good attitude are our three favorite qualities in our voice over engineers.

A smart production engineer can save a project time and money by making efficient choices as the session progresses. Many of the best moves an engineer can make in aiding a smooth and pleasant session happen before anyone else comes into the studio. From cueing up all the proper media and reference tracks, to organizing/knowing the schedule and game plan of actors, to making sure he or she is properly caffeinated, it’s not just about what happens when we hit record.

Some jobs, it’s hard to tell who has the goods and who is just talking a good game… but not the engineer. You can tell right away the pros from the not-so-pros.

We kicked off Day 1 of Gormiti recording sessions with former child and teen actor, Thomas Ian Nicholas. You might remember him from the American Pie franchise, or– depending on how old you are– Rookie of the Year. He’s got a great voice for children’s products and lots of range— so you know what that means– we had him record many characters.

Compare this to, say, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse, and you see a very different process. There, we record the actors exactly how we want the line. The animators match the recorded audio.

Matching lip flap becomes a huge component of the day. Not only which take was the best performance? but also, which take matched the best.

Also, because it’s a translation from another language, sometimes, you have to get creative to make the translation flow, mean the correct thing, and match the lip flap. It’s a balancing act for sure.

Being prepared is everything when it comes to voice over production. From the engineers, to the actors and every cog in the Resnick wheel. Luckily, we cast some of the best Los Angeles voice over talent working today. All that contributes to the team mentality. Everyone needs to be ready to tweak the script or the performance to make it work– cutting, adding or streamlining due to translation issues.

In the beginning, while we were establishing our pace and rhythms on a new show, we lost some time. But we found our groove, and once we did,  were able to make up the time and at the end of week one recording, we’re 13 episodes down and 39 more to go!

At the end of the day, you can have the best director, engineer, and script in the world, but the final product will only ever be as good as the actor can deliver. It’s not just about talent– though that’s pretty important!– it’s also about ability to take direction, ability to listen, and ingenuity when reading and interpreting a script. In fact, some might call those talents in their own right.

They also practice. Just like any other artistic talent, voice over work requires constant sharpening of the tools. Musicians practice, Athletes practice, doctors continue education, and engineers study new methods of building. Voice over work might not be heart surgery, but in a way, we are building a bridge. Between the vision of the story in the writer and producer’s minds to what the audience will receive and hopefully enjoy!

The world– and Los Angeles– is filled with talented people, but the voice over actors who take a session and a product to another level through dedication, commitment to character, and great attitude.

How do you know when it’s time to call for professional voice over services? When is the right time in the process? On any project, there are hundreds of creative and practical questions that need to be answered before the the fun can begin. We’re here to prepare you for those questions your upcoming voice project.

To do our best work and get you the best voice over performances, there’s some basics we need to know. So here are the three questions we’ll ask you on our first phone call.

But we also want to prepare you by providing all the information YOU want to know. Here are the three questions we think you should ask any voice over casting company to vet them before hiring them. (Us included. Especially us!)