After recording the monster sound in the video game, Cissy Jones left the studio and she was supposed to record a commercial. Unfortunately, she couldn't do it because her throat was bleeding. Literally it was bleeding. Since then, she has never played other biological roles in video games.
"Too bad," the Firewatch actor told me. "It's really very, very bad. My throat bleeds. But I learned that when I get a script that contains all the exclamation marks or all the effort, I don't listen to them. I just don't need them (the voice of the acting creature is ) It's weird. I did it once and then said, "Well, it hurts, I'm not interested. "
"Most games do have a lot of energy: a small punch, give me three. Slammed, wielded the sword; was hit by the intestines; the chest was kicked, and the ribs fell off the five-foot-high ledge; You know, it fell off a thirty-foot-tall cliff. And you have to give each three, so this is a pretty good test. "
Vocal fatigue is just an occupational danger when working in VO. Any kind of enhanced recording, whether it's a banshee-like cry, a scream on the battlefield, or a sound that makes a video game character sound when it is hit or exerts its own efforts, can cause damage. Sometimes it can cause permanent damage.
Therefore, the Actors' Union SAG-AFTRA stipulates that such work can only last up to two hours at a time under the union contract. A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson explained: "Voice actors, especially those in video games, usually perform voice-intensive tasks, and improperly managed sessions can leave them in a state of rest and inability to work."
Jones added: "An hour of loud talking is really good, but when it starts working on the second, third, and fourth hours of work, it will overwhelm you."
Usually, these intense meetings are scheduled on Fridays, so performers have weekend breaks. In an interview with us, Jones told me that one of her acting friends had just gotten rid of the mandatory silence prescribed by the eight-week doctor to prevent permanent harm from hard work.
"Doctors literally say,‘ oh my gosh, your voice actor must stop making video games ’,” Jones exclaimed. "He was lucky because his voice was restored. I do know that others have lost it forever. I know someone who has to have a throat surgery to take you away. Listen, we are independent contractors, right? We do n’t Every day we work is the day we get unpaid. As my friend Courtenay Taylor likes to say, "Every time I leave the booth, I lose my job. "
ITV drama Broadchurch actor Joe Sims may not be your first person to be associated with this type of work, but if you play against Laurence in Bloodborne, you will hear his video game show. The scream was not digital distortion, but a guy in Bristol, as pointed out in a tweet below, a boy from RKG (likes and subscriptions) pointed out.
If you've ever stayed in the Laurence battle at Bloodborne, keep in mind that this beautiful Bristolian lad is the crazy screaming VO artist.
When you hear him talking about beetroot cider, it doesn't seem terrible … pic.twitter.com/yKGDlG366L
-Guff Murphy (@cymrogav) January 21, 2020
"The life of an actor is almost proof. I sympathize with our neighbors," Sims told me via email. "Playing with different sounds, sounds, and rhythms is very interesting and a very enjoyable part of my work. I make crazy sounds and experiments every day, and I think I'm lucky to be able to do this because I have spent the rest of my life Very cute but boring and vanilla. You are not bound by the expressions in movies and TV, so you can free yourself and play the role encountered in epic battles. In real life, I can't peel from the pudding ! I'm very lucky to be purely escapist. "
However, this work can come at a significant price. On a theater tour, The Sims had to put on steroids to do the job, because when he played Frankenstein's monster every day for three months, he was beyond human vision.
"I stepped down and had nothing," Sims said. "It's incredible that steroids roared within the first day, but I can never advocate for that long. I now try to add water to my throat before and after every voice call, and I swear to It's called Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, it moisturizes and lubricates the throat. I buy it based on the situation. "
Sims said that he "always makes the booth hoarse and shivering" when doing VO work, but he worked hard to push for big things like Lawrence's scream to stay until the end of the meeting. If an actor pushes it too far, it will permanently change their voice, a musical instrument on which they depend.
"They can destroy chords," Jones explained. "It can permanently change your voice. I knew someone during the class and he wanted to impress an agent. He played this general in a major event called" Call of Duty ", And his voice is usually deep. After six months of forced silence, he had to carry a notebook and a pen with him, after which he ended up speaking in this very weird, harsh voice, and this was him All that's left. And he has to give up the voice-over of the class. "
The entire career may derail even before it begins. But even mature actors can be affected by it, just like how Jones lost that commercial show (which may be a much higher income than TV games), which could cause problems for upcoming jobs. Even the actor was recalled for his role in the role.
"Tenseness in my voice has affected a lot of my work, and I have always realized it," explains Far Cry 5 actor Julie Nathanson. "I've been a voice actor for more than 20 years, which means I have a very good personal system that warms up, keeps me hydrated, avoids certain foods and activities, rests, and keeps the character's voice and sounds for the first time Clear-headed voice. And even when I protect the vocal cords as much as possible during a particularly tonal recording, sometimes I still hear harsh sounds and feel a little weak, so I need to take a break.
"It also means that my agent (CESD), I will carefully consider whether I can accept another project job in the afternoon because of a loud voice in the morning meeting. For example, if I am hired to continue working in a previous job Role, then I need to sound like the last time. If my previous job that day felt husky, it might change my reputation in revenge for the role, which would be a problem. The same goes for voice matching. "
It is not just their profession that is affected by the trauma. Actors are people who have their own private lives, and anyone with children will know that when they inevitably do dangerous things, you need to play a loud voice. Karaoke, party, speaking functionally-it can cascade and affect everything we take for granted. Jones admitted: "I have a few weeks to go home, and I have twelve lessons. I go home, I just don't want to talk to anyone." "I don't want to call, I don't want to talk to my husband, I don't want to Chat with children. That's not a good place. "
Horizon Zero Dawn actor Ashly Burch added: "Your vocal cords are muscles, just like other muscles, they can be injured by strenuous exercise." "As part of a video game voice actor, you must Frequent verbal acts are often performed-sometimes once a week or even once a day. Otolaryngologists used to call what we call a "sound stunt work" sounds like metal, but ultimately means that the work is high-risk and potentially dangerous.
"I know that many VO actors-including myself-are asked to scream too many times, or to put in too much effort in a week, which eventually leads to vocal cord bleeding. It is difficult to work with an umbilical cord injury, but it is also terrible. Is the damage permanent? Will I get better? What if I can never do it again? Fortunately, it can recover from most vocal damage, but when it happens to you, it's really frightening. "
Since the vocal cords are muscles, they need to be warmed up properly through exercise, and the actors need to pay attention to what is consumed. In the past, performers had a lot of responsibility to know their limits, ask for a break or specify what part of the final reading they want to save. However, the situation is improving thanks to SAG-AFTRA's work and many other awareness-raising efforts.
Performance director Tom Keegan explained, "The situation is getting better and better." "Although there are many voice actors, they receive very little training. They happen to be doing voice, doing funny voices or doing Cartoon sounds are very talented and very talented, but their knowledge of breathing, sound anatomy, and pacing is not as well developed. Similarly, in terms of development, there are many very talented and talented people who are sound engineers. It is their background, and they have never learned sound. Therefore, they know what they want from the development side, but they have not received training on how to take care of actors, how to take care of actors' voices, and even how to help actors make sounds.
"I see more and more audio directors directing more. That's great because they know what they want, but they haven't actually studied craftsmanship. Here you will encounter bad behavior from the director, Because they don't know the technique of getting a performance from an actor. They may be a brilliant conceptualist, they may have a brilliant vision, but it may evolve into abuse. There is actually a guidance technique, a trick. "
However, it is becoming more common for video game directors to have this knowledge. More and more directors are asking their performers if they need to take a break during a stressful meeting, and they are also limiting the cost an actor has when performing a sound such as a sore throat.
Nathanson said: "Before the sound started to sound like a few dry leaves scratching on the sidewalk, the voice could only be burned to death many times." "I was glad to be told at the beginning of the meeting if I felt my voice Being "broken", I should let them know at any time and let me feel how much pressure work will be in the meeting. I should also add that it is very helpful to include the potential amount of sound fatigue (or kind) in audition. If There is no percentage, then it is a baseball field. If it is not a baseball field, it may be like a baseball card.
"Even for me-20 years in this profession-admitting that I need rest can be frightening. It feels like I'm letting someone down. Scared to think: 'Oh no, when I say I I need to rest ten times when I get an electric shock and scream, what if they get angry? I'll plug in the power. 'It's okay. It's our body. This is our livelihood. Warm up before work and collaborate in a conversation / if stressful (if any) to enhance self-exercise and self-care. "
For more such information, check out other articles for actors this week.
