After the director and/or producer select the preferred performances or "circle takes," the chosen lines are edited onto a final listening tape. If they do not like any takes from an actor, the entire audition is dropped. This is called a "no print." Edited tapes, along with a list of talent recorded, are given to key team members such as the buyer/executive for review. Each person listens to the tape, makes notes, and ranks his or her choices. The casting director gets everyone's feedback and sets up callbacks. The purpose of callbacks is to re-record the talent in order to finalize casting. The original list is trimmed down significantly for these sessions. It is important to note that if you have a third callback for the same actor, SAG rules state that the producer has to pay for this and any further sessions. If none of the voices fit the part, additional casting may be necessary. Several sessions may be held until actors are selected. The final choice of talent is a collaborative process. Actors are chosen based on their vocal quality, ability to bring the character to life, star power, versatility, availability and the budget. In those cases when there is a tie between actors for a part, the buyer or creative executive will usually make the final casting decision.

Before auditions, the casting director typically communicates to the talent (through their agents) what the standard fee is. There should therefore be minimal negotiations necessary. For those actors above union scale or above the flat rate paid for non-union actors, negotiations need to take place. These negotiations are generally done by business affairs in concert with the producer and creative executive/buyer. In case there is any visual likeness to the actor in the design of the character they are playing -- which sometimes happens with star talent -- the design needs to be legally cleared in advance. Other issues to be agreed upon for star talent are fees, size and placement of credit, and publicity. In the case of musicals, the topic of singing needs to be discussed, as some actors sing and others do not. If the talent cannot sing, another voice will be used to perform the songs. If the talent can sing, there will be a different rate paid, and the details of soundtrack royalties must be addressed. The business affairs department negotiates with the star talent's representative regarding the actor's willingness to conduct interviews and his or her availability for other promotional purposes. Generally, star talent is paid a fee to take part in promoting the project.

Other topics covered in the Voice Track section of Producing Animation include: Rehearsal, Session Preparation and Recording.

Catherine Winder has worked as both an executive producer in television and feature animation. Her background in development, as well as production with studios from around the world has given her a rare global expertise in the field of animation. In her present position as vice president production for Fox Feature Animation, she is overseeing production of the studio's 2D traditional and 3D CGI animated movies. She has co-written Producing Animation with Zahra Dowlatabadi.

Zahra Dowlatabadi, an award-winning producer, started her animation career in 1986. Since then, Dowlatabadi has worked in almost every major studio in Los Angeles along with many internationally acclaimed animation studios and talent. Dowlatabadi is the founder of an organization entitled Animation Team, which assists studios with production staffing needs ranging from qualified line producers to experienced production assistants. She also has co-written a book entitled Producing Animation with Catherine Winder for Focal Press.