Tips on Scouting
Having no luck with scouting out your cast? Check out these helpful tips!
Every now and then I'll get a PM from someone who is interested in scouting me and I will either a) accept the scout, b) decline the offer, or c) ignore the PM. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done this before, right? The response from VA's depends on a few factors:
1) Sell your project and yourself.
It's not enough to send out a PM/email saying, 'I want to use your voice for a project. Respond back if you're interested.' You will either get ignored for your lack of information or you will get a response back declining the offer (even though the voice actor had no idea what your scout was for). Unless you're really close to the person, you should always present a shit ton of information on your project in the first PM/e-mail to that voice actor. This may be an amateur community, but it wouldn't kill you to act a little professional. Include in your message things like:
- Why you're scouting them.
- What project are you scouting them for.
- Details about the project.
- Details about the character you are interested in them voicing.
- Examples of projects you have done in the past (and links to them!)
Every piece of information counts. By including these things in your message, you're giving off the impression that you are serious about your project and you are ready to get down to business.
2) Do you, as a producer, have any experience?
So what exactly have you done? Obviously if a voice actor on here has any standards, they will want to check out your previous (or current) work (of course if the person you're scouting is a newbie, they will most likely not care about what work you may have done). Regardless of who you are scouting, you should always be prepared to show the voice actor(s) any work you have done.
What happens if you don't have any examples to give? Who knows? You may want to try your luck and just be as detailed in your message as possible (#1). As long as your serious about your project and you're not scouting someone (who's been here long enough) to be part of your "full series fandub", your chances of catching the voice actor's interest should be pretty high.
3) how do U rite up ur mesag???!!1
Net speak isn't going to get you anywhere. Most of you have been through elementary school and high school, so write messages like you've actually been educated.
4) They didn't respond/They don't want the role! Don't get "butthurt".
So let's say you've done points 1-3, but the person doesn't respond to you (even though you've seen 'em around lately). Don't go off on the voice actor just because they didn't respond to your scout. Either send a friendly reminder to them (maybe give them a week to respond) or message them (FRIENDLY PLEASE) and tell them that you're in a rush and need to move on, so you're going to have to go on without them. Things like "man fUk u i NO WARE U lIVE and i wiLl fiND U and BEat U UP!!1" will make that person look down on you, and chances are if that person has plenty of good connections around the forum, they will just tell their friends not to accept any offers from you. Internet reputation -50.
Sometimes people may decline because they're not interested or they're busy. Respect the voice actor's decision and move on to someone else.
5) Are your goals realistic?
Are you planning on scouting for a full series dub? Crap like that is looked down upon because about 99% of the people who start one never finish it, or are newbies who don't know what the fuck they've gotten themselves into. Don't be surprised if older members (or anyone) decline your offer. Simple is always best. Start with short scenes and if you can work with that just fine, move on to something a little longer (like half an episode).
6) I caught their interest, they want the role--now what?
Well, if you've already done point one right, there's not much else to do except to either ask for sample lines (but if you're sure that their voice is THE voice, then just ignore that), ask for their contact information so you can send them a script or whatever, and thank them for accepting the scout (or being interested).
In short: Being professional about scouting (or anything for that matter) goes a long way. Present yourself and your project in the best way possible, and you should have little to no problems scouting voice actors for your project.
Here's an example of a typical message I would send out to people I'm scouting (if I don't know them very well). This is one I did recently for High School of the Dead:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
Hello there!
I'm currently scouting the rest of the main cast for a few clips I'll be doing from High School of the Dead later in the fall. Right now I need someone to voice the character, Saya Takagi, who you can find a picture and bio of below. Judging by the number of episodes to be released for this "season", this may be the only clip I'll be doing, but if they plan on making an anime out of the entire manga, then there may be more in the future. If you're not familiar with high school of the dead, then read the plot summary below:
Plot Summary: Takashi Komuro is a normal highschool boy, until an infection breaks out that turns people into zombie-like creatures. Along with his friends & the school nurse, they fight their way out and continue their journey to find out what exactly has happened to the world.
Character Bio: Making her escape with fellow classmate Kohta Hirano, she is the daughter of an influential Uyoku dantai politician and her family is deeply involved in Japan's politics. A self-proclaimed genius, Saya's knowledge and deductive capabilities have allowed the group to escape from harm many times. She was among the first to conclude that "they" were attracted to only sound. Despite coming from a prestigious family, she despises her parents whom she thought had given up on finding her in this crisis. However, Saya was able to amend their relationship before leaving the mansion.
Slightly self-conscious, she detests the fact people, due to her status, only call her by her last name and never look her in the eyes when speaking to her. The only exceptions to this are Kohta, who she has a unique friendship with, and Takashi, who is her childhood friend. Saya acts as a mother figure to Alice in this crisis. Although Saya insists Alice calls her with the suffix "-sama", Saya has grown very attached to Alice. She does her best to keep intact Alice's innocence and will severely scold anyone who would dare attempt to tarnish it to any degree.
Saya is also a childhood friend of Takashi. Saya is hinted to have romantic feelings for Takashi but doesn't flirt with him as much as Rei does. However, she does get annoyed whenever Saeko gets close to Takashi. She uses a Drill, and a Luger P08 pistol
Voice Description: I think she's about 16-17, so don't make her sound old. She's a grade-A bitch, spoiled brat, and likes to boss people around because she thinks she's a freaking genius. So think of a young, medium-high voice that has a snooty flare to it. I guess you could say she's sort of like Haruhi Suzumiya but probably worse when it comes to personality.
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Here are some sample lines I'd like for you to record if you're interested. It requires you to watch the first video of the second source here. If you can't view it for some reason, try the other sources or let me know if none of the videos work for you. You're just required to watch the first half of the second episode. Feel free to watch the entire episode to get more of a feel for her character. I'm not dubbing anything from this episode just so we're clear. I don't start dubbing any scenes until episode seven.
Lines:
I've provided time stamps for you. This is based on the first video of the second source on that you can find here.
( 00:14 ) 01_Saya: Humans eating humans? What a sick joke.
( 00:50 ) 02_Saya: Here's a question for you: Do you prefer to live or is dying all right with you?
( 01:11) 03_Saya: You're gonna stay alive! You got it? So let's move it, chubby!
( 6:14 ) 04_Saya: It's just my stupid luck to get stuck with fatty over there! I wanted to be with Takashi!
( 10:50 ) 05_Saya: What'd you say!? You think a nobody like you has the right to order ME around!?
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Email the lines to [insert your e-mail address]
Title your lines however you want. Put all your lines in one .mp3 file (256kbps, 44100Hz stereo OR mono).
I won't start doing anything with this anime until the last week of September, but I want a full main cast now before then. I'll give you till August 30th to get the sample lines done. This message has been sent out to other females too, so please try to do your best. Once the deadline hits (or once I get sample lines from everyone), I'll contact you telling you whether or not you got the role.
Anyway, if you're interested (or not), reply back once you've read everything.
Thanks!
-Sapphire
