I covered quite a bit in the first two articles of this series:
Part 1 – Should you put voice acting into your game?
What level of quality do you need to achieve in the voice acting?
What are the pros/cons of commissioning versus using a casting call?
How much should you expect to pay?
How do you estimate the cost and time of adding voice acting for your game? (I included a “fill in the blanks” spreadsheet tool for your use.)
Part 2 – How to get actors to audition for your game by announcing a casting call?
What preparation is needed before your announcement?
What content should be written to describe your game and the parts in it? (I provided a template document for your use.)
What should a casting call announcement include?
Do you want to accept auditions through email or your Discord server?
How many auditions do you really want?
Where do you post your casting call?
In Part 3 (this thing you’re reading), I’m covering what happens next after your casting call announcements have been made. You’ll be coordinating and reviewing auditions to make casting decisions. This is more than a mechanical process to follow. To get the best results, you need to be in the right frame of mind when dealing with people. So let’s talk about that first.
The Necessary Virtues
You’ll have to pardon my strange sense of humor. It’s the only way I can keep myself entertained!
Prepare yourself to be all these things:
Fair – Parts should be awarded on the basis of the auditions. You’ll consider every audition.
Friendly – You’ll be a pleasant and accessible human being to the actors who are spending time on your project.
Appreciative – Never take for granted the effort actors are expending.
Organized – You’ll do the work to set up clear instructions and other content. You’ll support actors by answering questions.
Transparent – Your content will describe the process clearly. You’ll describe the reasons for different decisions you make.
As actors pop up, eager to audition, you might start feeling like a big fish. Don’t let a little attention go to your head.
Some actors will be sincerely interested in your project at a creative level. For others, you are just one little gig in a busy day. You should accommodate people with all kinds of personalities and goals. Never try to make people impressed with you or your project. Instead, aim to treat all comers well and walk away from the process with excellent voice recordings for your game.
Undue Influences
The audition content should be the main thing used for making casting decisions. There are a handful of other things that are okay to use to a lesser extent. You could think of them as tiebreakers.
Voice reels and other demo content
Resumé
Professionalism in how actors communicate. This is less about specific language used, and more about empathy, respect, and demonstrated industry knowledge.
But you don’t want to be influenced by things like this:
Attractiveness / head shots (it’s a voice part, right?)
How much you like their personality
How much they want a part or how hard they are trying
Things happening in their personal lives
