We had a great meetup last night with Rory Given, Game Dialogue Designer, at our meetup Discussions with a Game Dialogue Designer
After some initial chat I gave an introduction to what SAVANT is about.
While SAVANT is initially voice acting meetup group - voice acting does not exist in isolation. So many people hear the advice build your skills move to LA. But is that necessary?
There is an incredible game ecosystem in the Seattle Area and there is no reason that Seattle can’t be a key place for video game voice acting as Texas (Dallas area) is a key place for Anime.
And there are many other markets here that can be strong - not to mention the ability to work remotely for other markets. What is lacking is visibility and connection. The yes and of this is that we are going to continue to have “hangout and chat” meetups and I also want to continue to build connections with other parts of the industry, because through connecting and growing all of us can benefit. A rising tide floats all boats.
So bring ideas - things you would like to see - activities that you think would be fun. Through all of us working together we can build something amazing.
Moving on from the intro Rory shared what a Game Dialogue Designer does. He talked about how game dialogue is different than other dialogue, and the kind of work he does to take “we have the story” and turn it into the dialogue we have in games. After that he opened the discussion for questions and answers, starting with one of his own.
Rory started us of with a softball topic ;) What do we think about AI? We had a great discussion around that. From there the questions opened up, to a broad range of topics and people shared experiences and resources. I have attempted to capture some of that below.
In talking about AI we of course brought up NAVA and the amazing work they are doing - and the AI Rider they have created, which should definitely be checked out: https://navavoices.org/
We discussed Agents AND Marketing. No specific agents came up. The discussion was focused more the importance of marketing, even with an agent and how it is a partnership with your agent.
We discussed using a booth director and the usefulness and legitimacy of working with a coach on an audition. (Not always so obvious to those who got into the industry after the "go into the agency to audition" era.)
We talked about (and shared some) Demos - what is it and when do you get one. Since it was discussed that a demo isn't the starting point, some folks wanted to know what do you do in the mean time before you get your demo. The answer is - there is a lot you can do.
Classes, Coaching, Podcasts, workout groups, and networking and auditioning. What follows are some of the sites and categories of resources that we discussed and share out experiences with.
Podcasts - First up were podcasts. We only mentioned a few but there are so many good ones out there:
VOBuzz Weekly & Chuck Duran https://vobuzzweekly.com/
Randall Ryan podcasts: https://www.thevoicedirector.world/lets-talk-voiceover-podcast and https://www.thevoicedirector.world/glimpses
Workout Groups:
VO Heaven workouts: https://www.voheavenworkouts.com/
Randall Ryan: https://www.thevoicedirector.world/
VO Weekly Workout: https://www.voweeklyworkout.com/
TMC Workout: https://www.themiccheck.org/
Conferences:
VO Atlanta: https://www.voatlanta.me/
Get Your Game On: https://www.thevoiceovernetwork.org/events/gygo-la-2023/
One Voice: https://www.onevoiceconference.com/
Education - In addition to good coaches and their classes we mentioned the following places to learn more:
Skills Hub: https://acting.skillshub.life access to coaches, great pathways to give structure to learning and growth, great community
The Voice Over Network: https://www.thevoiceovernetwork.org/ Various levels of membership ranging from free to full on academy
Seattle Voice Academy https://seattlevoiceacademy.com/
Freehold Theatre https://freeholdtheatre.org/
And of course Improv classes and opportunities - There are many around. Here are a few local ones:
Where to find auditions beyond agents?
Video Game and Animation auditions - some places to check:
Casting Call Club https://www.castingcall.club/
@VACastingRT. https://twitter.com/VACastingRT
As well as Discord servers such as: Voice Acting Club: https://www.voiceactingclub.com/
Networking and connecting with those who create the games:
Rates: And when talking about work, rates matter: We mentioned two guides to check out:
GVAA Rate Guide: https://globalvoiceacademy.com/gvaa-rate-guide-2/
Indie Rate Guide. https://www.voiceactingclub.com/rates/
It was a discussion filled night and it gave us all a lot to think about and look forward to.
Thanks to everyone who came to the event and made it such a success! See you next month on the East Side.