Voicing

Because my childhood comprised mostly of watching animated shows, I pretty much grew up listening to the work of voice actors and actresses. I have often been fascinated by the effort these voice actors and actresses put into their work  – the clarity of speech, the precise timing to match the voice with the animation, the long session of strenuous preparation, and the ability to voice for different types of characters and be able to maintain them too! Their voices brought life to many animated figures and characters – like the character Ted from the film Ted, or Simba from The Lion King, to name a few. Without the voices of these actors and actresses, those characters wouldn’t have been as interesting and my childhood wouldn’t have been the same.

With the growth of technology and video games, voice actors and actresses are increasingly in demands, for voice is essential to many video games that include hyper-realistic storylines. During recordings, for instance, voice actors and actresses are required to scream and cry out in agony to reflect their character’s personality or emotions. Due to these types of work, it is not uncommon for voice actors and actresses to suffer vocal injures. Some, for instance, have damaged their vocal chords due to overexertion, some tasted blood in their mouths after recording sessions, and some fainted due to screaming for prolonged periods of time. While high in demand, these voice actors and actresses are not treated like actors in televisions and movies; they, in fact, often do not get compensated for the kind of work they do. Voice actors and actresses earn a flat rate – even if the game or show they worked on ends up taking home millions of dollars.

These terrible working conditions led many voice actors and voice actresses to go a strike against major companies, including Disney and Warner Bros, last year. And nearly a year later, these major companies have agreed to amend their contracts, which now grant these voice actors and actresses bonuses – which aren’t really that much – based on the number of sessions they have worked on a particular project. I still don’t think they have been fully compensated for the kind of work they perform on a day-to-day basis. Although this post may seem like another news brief, I hope others will recognize the amount of commitment and effort that these voice actors and actresses have put into their work. If you want to read more about the strike, click here.

— Jason