Hey guys!
Sooooo I did some voice acting a short while ago, my first try but it turned out okay. I want to explore my options by getting involved with some Skyrim mods voice acting for follower mods and the like, but figured a demo reel might be a good idea.
The problem is, I've no idea what sort of characters and lines to give a go for one! So this is where I turn to you guys:
Can you give me 1-2 sentences of what a character (female) says?
The lines have to be:
It's hard for me to come up with something because I fear what's obvious to me in terms of character and emotion will not be obvious to others. I hope that you'll loan me some of your creative juices so I can put together a 1 - 1:30 minute demo reel.
Edit: It might be a good idea to post them something like this:
The situation doesn't have to be too detailed, but it helps get a feel for the moment.
Sooooo I did some voice acting a short while ago, my first try but it turned out okay. I want to explore my options by getting involved with some Skyrim mods voice acting for follower mods and the like, but figured a demo reel might be a good idea.
The problem is, I've no idea what sort of characters and lines to give a go for one! So this is where I turn to you guys:
Can you give me 1-2 sentences of what a character (female) says?
The lines have to be:
- Pretty short. 10-15 seconds per character is a good idea.
- Fitting for a character personality. A shy girl afraid to speak up will not yell angrily at the world for revenge!
- Not be too stereotypical. I have to express a character's personality by their voice, not "ARRGH GRR I'M A MONSTER" text.
- Be diverse in emotion. Sad, angry, excited, tense etc.
It's hard for me to come up with something because I fear what's obvious to me in terms of character and emotion will not be obvious to others. I hope that you'll loan me some of your creative juices so I can put together a 1 - 1:30 minute demo reel.
Edit: It might be a good idea to post them something like this:
Code:
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Situation:[/b]
[b]Spoken line(s):[/b]
The situation doesn't have to be too detailed, but it helps get a feel for the moment.
I used to be a voice actor like you.
Then I contracted laryngitis.
In my knee.
Then I contracted laryngitis.
In my knee.
Personality: Teen Girl/Sarcastic
Situation: Just Got grounded
Spoken line(s): God, dad, can you be any more lame? It was just one party and it wasn't like I did anything bad!
Personality: All Business Government Agent
Situation: Just got caught breaking the rules.
Spoken line(s): In all honesty, Sir, if I didn't take the shot, Agent Daniels would be dead. That wouldn't help anyone, would it?
Personality: Junkie
Situation: Talking to their dealer for another fix.
Spoken line(s): Come on man, you gotta. I need this, man. I can't live without the high!
Situation: Just Got grounded
Spoken line(s): God, dad, can you be any more lame? It was just one party and it wasn't like I did anything bad!
Personality: All Business Government Agent
Situation: Just got caught breaking the rules.
Spoken line(s): In all honesty, Sir, if I didn't take the shot, Agent Daniels would be dead. That wouldn't help anyone, would it?
Personality: Junkie
Situation: Talking to their dealer for another fix.
Spoken line(s): Come on man, you gotta. I need this, man. I can't live without the high!
"What's the matter? Can't stand the sight of a strong nord woman?"
Sorry
I couldn't help it.
But here's some ideas:
When being asked to trade items: "You wanna trade with me? One of those items better be Septims, buddy. Dragon bones are HEAVY."
When being commanded to do something: "If I die it's on you."
When being talked to: "So what's new?"
When being shoved past: "If you wanna fight just say so, buddy."
When in combat: "Fools! I'm a master-level pastrymancer! Bow before my might! Hahahaha!" "I'll kill you! I really will!" "Don't ya know I can't die? If I do Player one over here will just reset the save until you're dead and I'm not! Level 23 my ass!"
While standing idle: "Just between you and me, if you want to make out I'm totally cool with it." "Did you know that you only have to pay followers once? I know, crazy! All those Septims you gave me... Yup. Spent em on mead." "What are we even DOING here?" "Is this the real life?"
After being given a command. "This better work."
If you want more shoot me a Skype or PM. The attitude I'm going for in this character is more of a silly, flirtatious, slightly-crazy RPG gamer. Hope you enjoy!
Sorry
I couldn't help it.But here's some ideas:
When being asked to trade items: "You wanna trade with me? One of those items better be Septims, buddy. Dragon bones are HEAVY."
When being commanded to do something: "If I die it's on you."
When being talked to: "So what's new?"
When being shoved past: "If you wanna fight just say so, buddy."
When in combat: "Fools! I'm a master-level pastrymancer! Bow before my might! Hahahaha!" "I'll kill you! I really will!" "Don't ya know I can't die? If I do Player one over here will just reset the save until you're dead and I'm not! Level 23 my ass!"
While standing idle: "Just between you and me, if you want to make out I'm totally cool with it." "Did you know that you only have to pay followers once? I know, crazy! All those Septims you gave me... Yup. Spent em on mead." "What are we even DOING here?" "Is this the real life?"
After being given a command. "This better work."
If you want more shoot me a Skype or PM. The attitude I'm going for in this character is more of a silly, flirtatious, slightly-crazy RPG gamer.
Hope you enjoy!
Oh my god you guys, these are awesome! I'm already pre-recording some of these lines to try them out. 
https://soundcloud.com/daftthoughts/voice-acting-demo-reel
WELL I put one together real quick. I really need a better mic though, mine picks up too much noise and makes me sound super nasal.
Taking that into considering, how does it sound?
I'm still looking for more lines. I'm not 100% happy with these and I'm missing a couple of over-the-top emotions.
WELL I put one together real quick. I really need a better mic though, mine picks up too much noise and makes me sound super nasal.
Taking that into considering, how does it sound?
I'm still looking for more lines. I'm not 100% happy with these and I'm missing a couple of over-the-top emotions.
Skyrim mods, you say? Keep me updated, I'm a frequent user of Skyrim mods, and I'd love to get a mod installed with you involved 
Personality: elder necromancer with no morals
Situation: Intimidating a foolish hero who claims he's entered your tomb to stop your experiments.
Spoken line(s): "Foolish worm. You truly believe to stop me? Come forth then! You'll be nothing more but a corpse under my servitude!"
Personality: Aldmeri Justicar
Situation: Giving the order to cease a Nord who she believes to be a Talos worshipper.
Spoken line(s): "Grab the heretic and bring him to Northwatch Keep. Once I'm done with him he'll scream his guilt across the entirety of Skyrim."
Personality: Violent drunk Nord
Situation: Someone made a rude joke about her mother behind her back.
Spoken line(s):"Come 'n say that to me face, you stinkin' milk drinker! I'll pull that slimy tongue out o' yer throat with me bare hands!"
Personality: Overzealous blade-for-hire
Situation: Trying to persuade a wealthy merchant to hire your services.
Spoken line(s): "There is no one more deadly nor as loyal as I! Hire me, and I promise you will reach Markarth without so much as a scratch!"
Personality: elder necromancer with no morals
Situation: Intimidating a foolish hero who claims he's entered your tomb to stop your experiments.
Spoken line(s): "Foolish worm. You truly believe to stop me? Come forth then! You'll be nothing more but a corpse under my servitude!"
Personality: Aldmeri Justicar
Situation: Giving the order to cease a Nord who she believes to be a Talos worshipper.
Spoken line(s): "Grab the heretic and bring him to Northwatch Keep. Once I'm done with him he'll scream his guilt across the entirety of Skyrim."
Personality: Violent drunk Nord
Situation: Someone made a rude joke about her mother behind her back.
Spoken line(s):"Come 'n say that to me face, you stinkin' milk drinker! I'll pull that slimy tongue out o' yer throat with me bare hands!"
Personality: Overzealous blade-for-hire
Situation: Trying to persuade a wealthy merchant to hire your services.
Spoken line(s): "There is no one more deadly nor as loyal as I! Hire me, and I promise you will reach Markarth without so much as a scratch!"
Thanks Rynh!!
https://soundcloud.com/daftthoughts/voice-acting-demo-reel-2
I put three new recordings at the front of the first one from my other post. I think at this point I'd like some constructive criticism (that keeps in mind my mic really freaking sucks
). If you can, put indicators for the recordings (e.g. 'the bit at 0:45') so I can refer to it.
https://soundcloud.com/daftthoughts/voice-acting-demo-reel-2
I put three new recordings at the front of the first one from my other post. I think at this point I'd like some constructive criticism (that keeps in mind my mic really freaking sucks
). If you can, put indicators for the recordings (e.g. 'the bit at 0:45') so I can refer to it.
Many mics can be made better by reducing echo. When I really need a recording to work, I build a blanket fort and bring my mic with me into it. It is important that you do not move very much in the fort, as the sound of blankets sliding over your hair will often be picked up. However, a good blanket will deaden echo in the room and make sure the mic gets a really true representation of your voice and not "bounce." Even if the mic is built into your computer, sometimes you can build your fort around the computer. I used to drape a light blanket (but not knitted - no holes!!) over my head and over the monitor and then hold as still as I could to get a recording!
You can further enhance an audio file with some very light noise removal, to take out any hiss the crap mic adds on its own: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Noise_Removal Too much and your voice will sound nasal and compressed, however, so start with the fort to make the necessity low.
I like your accents and your whiny teens! But a few of the early recordings on reel 2 start with you trying to sound bold or mighty or something like that -- it's the deepest voice you do, and the most from your chest, like you are trying to project to a crowd. You sound as if you don't believe yourself in this role, and think it's funny. However, the things you are saying are actually quite sinister. In fact, the first thing you do is threaten to torture a non-believer for information, or perhaps just to prove a point. This is not silly, nor a simple statement! My advice to begin enhancing that line is to slow down. You read it at a steady pace all the way through, but the first half is a command and the second half is a threat, and likely warrant different cadence. I would also experiment with different commanding tones until you find one that is less cartoony and more like something you can believe when you hear it come out of your mouth.
Similarly, the "Foolish worm" one does not make me believe that you really mean it, just that you were given it to read. If you re-record that one, take a moment to get truly mad. What was the most insulted you have ever been in your life? Respond.
They all get better from there, though! Maybe you just needed to warm up?
I hope some of this helps!
You can further enhance an audio file with some very light noise removal, to take out any hiss the crap mic adds on its own: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Noise_Removal Too much and your voice will sound nasal and compressed, however, so start with the fort to make the necessity low.
I like your accents and your whiny teens! But a few of the early recordings on reel 2 start with you trying to sound bold or mighty or something like that -- it's the deepest voice you do, and the most from your chest, like you are trying to project to a crowd. You sound as if you don't believe yourself in this role, and think it's funny. However, the things you are saying are actually quite sinister. In fact, the first thing you do is threaten to torture a non-believer for information, or perhaps just to prove a point. This is not silly, nor a simple statement! My advice to begin enhancing that line is to slow down. You read it at a steady pace all the way through, but the first half is a command and the second half is a threat, and likely warrant different cadence. I would also experiment with different commanding tones until you find one that is less cartoony and more like something you can believe when you hear it come out of your mouth.
Similarly, the "Foolish worm" one does not make me believe that you really mean it, just that you were given it to read. If you re-record that one, take a moment to get truly mad. What was the most insulted you have ever been in your life? Respond.
They all get better from there, though! Maybe you just needed to warm up?
I hope some of this helps!
I really don't have an option to blanket myself in, but I'm going to look into some other ways to achieve something similar. I need to move a lot to get into the character, otherwise I've found myself sounding even duller than I already do in some clips!
The clips I posted are already enhanced with serious noise reduction and a bass boost in the equalizer to bring my voice out better. Trust me when I say that is the best I can get it with this mic.
The files you mentioned were the ones I did last, actually. I just struggle a lot with verbalizing anger because I never do that. When I express anger in words, I usually make jokes about it (for a lot of good reasons) so that might be why. I got a tip elsewhere to make fist and clench my eyes tightly shut to tense my body and simulate the physical reaction of anger better!
I need to move a lot to get into the character, otherwise I've found myself sounding even duller than I already do in some clips!The clips I posted are already enhanced with serious noise reduction and a bass boost in the equalizer to bring my voice out better. Trust me when I say that is the best I can get it with this mic.
The files you mentioned were the ones I did last, actually. I just struggle a lot with verbalizing anger because I never do that. When I express anger in words, I usually make jokes about it (for a lot of good reasons) so that might be why. I got a tip elsewhere to make fist and clench my eyes tightly shut to tense my body and simulate the physical reaction of anger better!
Sanne wrote:
I need to move a lot to get into the character, otherwise I've found myself sounding even duller than I already do in some clips!
Kim wrote:
When I really need a recording to work, I build a blanket fort and bring my mic with me into it.
This is the best thing in this thread.
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