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| Voice Acting | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 13 2013, 06:22:14 AM (563 Views) | |
| Heisenberg | Aug 13 2013, 06:22:14 AM Post #1 |
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MGSF Patriot
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First off, please do not lock this thread. I'm not sure honestly where I could place this particular topic. I decided to post it here, since it does pertain to games in general. My question is regarding salary. I know the salary of a voice actor varies based on the individual and the extent to which he or she is involved with a project. The more renowned the actor, the heftier the cost. That's simple logic (Kiefer probably costs a fortune for MGSV). Certain actors won't even touch a movie unless the price is in the millions and their agent believes it will spout good publicity for the actor. I got a little off topic (blame my oxycodone). To get back on task, what is the rate for voice actors? Troy Baker is a phenomenal actor with capabilities. How much would he have been paid to do The Last Of Us? The game has a significant amount of mo-cap and voice acting. On the other hand, you have Nolan North. Another big name in the gaming industry. What do you suppose he got paid for his part in TLOU (not to get off topic, but I would have never imagined that was him. How remarkably talented this man is)? I'm trying to get a feel for the rate for a big name like those two, and the ones that have yet to be discovered. I realize there are many factors and circumstances to consider. Nevertheless, I'd just like to hear some opinions on the rates for certain voice acting roles. |
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| avani ibn tahir | Aug 13 2013, 08:55:15 AM Post #2 |
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You are still a good person.
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In my honest opinion, for the effort they need to put in their performance, they don't get enough. I'm talking about high-end professionals like Jennifer Hale for women and Nolan North/Steve Blum for men. What these are able to do with their voices is unreal. Hayter, as one of the "celebrity" voice actors was one of the most - if not the most - (over)paid voice actors, but he never actually revealed how much money he gets. Whatever it was, it was too much. Not only is him being a recently excluded from Metal Gear Solid a serious blow to his ego, but also to his wallet. Remember GTAIV? When Michael Holick (who voiced Niko Belic and did a horrible horrible job) made a scene because he demanded money from the percentage of the game's sales? Everyone laughed their silly ass off, gave him a pat on the shoulder and sent him on his way. Voice actors don't get anywhere near what real actors do, I've done research about this some time ago because as many have probably noticed in my posts, I'm an audiophile for whom voice-acting is single most important element in character-based story-telling. If my memory serves me, high-end voice actor makes about $ 90,000 a year, an average figure being about half as much, about $ 50,000. I think that at the time of my research I consistently bumped into a number that was about $47,000. Even the best voice talents in the industry are lucky if they can negotiate an hourly fee that’s twice the minimum wage guaranteed by their unions. And only about 10% of voice - actors can actually make a living on voice-overs alone, for everyone else it's more or less the source of extra income. Voice-over work is clearly not a very illustrious career. Of course, that doesn't include the "real" movie star celebrities who do voice-over work; celebrity voice actors appearing in small roles can receive up to $750,000 for one hour’s work. And these big names can really get in the way of voice actors with less bling bling around them, but same talent. For example Jennifer Hale, who voices Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect series is only paid hourly rates for her time in the studio and no bonuses or residuals. Hollywood actors, on the other hand - like Nathan Fillion or Sam Worthington - are paid larger sums of money to voice bit parts, which results in smaller budgets to pay the voice actors who shoulder the principal characters in video games. Hope that answered some of your questions.
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| To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your government is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless. | |
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| The Baneposter | Aug 13 2013, 08:59:07 AM Post #3 |
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Only me
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Avani hit it right on the head. Voice acting deserves so much more recognition, because it isn't just talking to a mic. Actors actually have to emote and use their own body to get the reactons and emotions they want, you can see some of this in the Elizabeth trailer for Infinite, in which they talked to the voice actor for her. Maybe as the industry grows, voice actors will receive more recognition. |
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| LiSD | Aug 13 2013, 02:38:35 PM Post #4 |
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Hey. You turned left.
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kay, so you like Jennifer Hale, and a lot. Then how on earth can you play broshep and not femshep?? |
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| avani ibn tahir | Aug 13 2013, 04:08:30 PM Post #5 |
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You are still a good person.
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Because Female Commander Shepard comes with built-in personality, even by default. I'm sure you heard the criticism of Jenifer Hale being "too emotional" in her performance. While there's very little actual emotion in it, she delivers all the lines, paragon, renegade, neutral - with power and conviction. For someone as energetic as you are, she seems like the most obvious choice you can identify with. And you're a woman. You lack strong symbols in video gaming you can project into. It's easy for you to fall into the role. Now I feel compelled to come to the defense of Mark Meer. Men who play Mass Effect are often still deeply misogynistic. Women should be in kitchen making them sandwiches, not saving the galaxy. Women are something they want to posses, not something they want to identify with. They don't play Commander Shepard, they *are* Commander Shepard. It's *them* that Liara is seducing, not the avatar under their control. And this is the core appeal of their games, it's all they're good at. Creating a fantasy of heroism and sexual abundance that every adolescent boy hiding in the anonymity of the internet can live in. By making male Commander Shepard so decidedly neutral to the point of being boring, it's easier for the male gamers - who are still representing the majority of their buyers - to identify themselves with. The evidence of that calculated neutrality is the criticism in contrast to Jennifer Hale; she is being criticized for being too emotional, while Mark Meer is criticized for not being emotional enough; he isn't talentless at all, his performance as Vorcha and Biotic God are evidence enough of that. But he is neutral, and he is a man and therefore needs to represent the widest common denominator for identification. Jennifer Hale is allowed to get away with giving Commander Shepard so much of herself because Bioware knows not enough people care for this to really hurt their business; and you probably know that statistics still favor Male Commander Shepard - the ratio being about 80% to 20%. The cult that FemShep spawned isn't something Bioware really cares about. It brings them some extras, but has no effect on their business. And Jennifer Hale didn't cost much, she says same lines as Male Commander Shepard. Mass Effect games sell in millions, but those millions are spent by male games who want to play a man. They need to feel flattered and pleased, and that's impossible if they project themselves into the avatar of a strong woman. Because women have place either in kitchen and their bedroom. "Oh, Commander Shepard! You're so brave and *dashing* and handsome, I wish you were here, Commander Shepard, please make love to me, Commander Shepard, please save me, Commander Shepard." If Male Commander Shepard had personality by default like Female Commander Shepard does, the illusion of this male power fantasy would shatter. I have played Female Commander Shepard of course and the objective experience is so much better it's not even funny; but I cannot identify myself with Female Shepard. It has nothing to do with her being a woman, it's just who she is regardless of how many paragon interrupts you do, she can't be changed. Jennifer Hale *is* Commander Shepard, which works for someone like you. But I'm a quiet guy, I don't have elaborate personalities to use when I role-play, for me it's all about "how would I react to this situation?" I can't as much identify with Female Commander Shepard as I can admire her, that is why my default Mass Effect Commander Shepard has always been male. Female Shepard is amazing to watch. But I can't find my own identity in her. Edited by avani ibn tahir, Aug 13 2013, 04:11:29 PM.
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| To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your government is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless. | |
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| Heisenberg | Aug 13 2013, 07:54:18 PM Post #6 |
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MGSF Patriot
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Thank you for your insights avani. |
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