Preparing for your Voice Over Casting Session – Part 1

Voice over casting [1] can be one of the most creatively exciting times in the life of your project. Finding the voices that fit the characters that have been living in your script/storyboards/head makes everything feel like it’s really starting to come to life. At Resnick Interactive, we love watching that moment happen, and we’ve seen it happen over and over during voice over casting sessions.

We know it’s risky to put this information out there on the Internet, but we’re going to reveal the number one secret to finding the perfect voice cast. Are you ready? This is going to blow your mind.

Be Prepared

No. Really. Be prepared. They Boy Scouts were definitely onto something with that. Being prepared before your voice over casting [2] session is the difference between finding a good cast and the perfect cast. If you know what you want, we can help you find the actor who will bring each character to life.

That’s not to say someone won’t come in that will completely change your mind on what you wanted. That happens, too. But knowing your project inside and out means we can know your project inside and out. And that’s the real number one secret to helping you find what you want.

Know What You Want

The more you can tell us about the character, the better we can direct voice actors during auditions to bring to life the personalities you have in mind. Here are some helpful questions to consider while preparing for voice over casting:

• What is the tone? Is your project a gritty drama, a goofy cartoon, or a whimsical fantasy? The world your characters live in will also affect the style of the acting. Humphrey Bogart and Inspector Gadget both have done some detective work, but in vastly different circumstances. Tell us about your world so that we understand who fits in it.

• Who is each character? A brief biography of each character is essential, even if it’s only a few sentences. Age, sex, ethnicity, occupation, demeanor, relationship to other characters…the more you can tell us about who they are, the better we can understand how to vocally communicate that to the audience.

• What does your character look like? Give us a written description of their physique, or even better, get us some concept art [3]. Visuals can help inspire us in voice over casting, and it also keep the voice of Samuel L. Jackson from coming out of someone who looks like Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

• What do you think they sound like? If you have a sound in mind for a character, give us references. Send us audio files, or tell us he sounds like “Murdoch from the A Team” or “like a young Donald Sutherland.” Even words like “sinister,” “trustworthy,” “suspicious,” or “hyper active” can help us when directing the actors during a voice over casting session.

Tune in next week for Part 2 [4] of this article, which covers everyone’s favorite topics: time and money.