Voiceacting - Casting calls vs direct approach

Voiceacting is a challenging hobby, especially as each director brings his unique flair to his project. As I’ve branched out more into the general machinima/animation community, I thought I’d share a bit about my experiences in accepting/declining/casting roles.

I’ve gotten spoiled by working with the same core group of people over the past three years, and as a group we have developed fairly specific methods of approaching voiceactors and being aware of the expectations of both directors and VA’s.

Our casting decisions are usually made using one of these method: open casting calls or approaching specific voice actors – or a combination of the two.

Casting Calls

Open casting calls can be a lot of fun and draw attention to talent that the director wasn’t aware of. A typical casting call reads like this:

Casting call for Project Z
Role: Sam
Gender: Male
Age: 20-40
Preferred accent: Mid-western US
Number of lines: 10-20
Character description: A rather grouchy man who only gets cheerful when other people are miserable
Sample line: “These pretzels are making me thirsty”
Send lines to: myemailaddress@fakeland.com

Role: Betty
Gender: Female
Age: 20-30
Preferred accent: Southern drawl
Number of lines: 30-40
Character description: She masquerades as a southern belle but stirs up trouble behind the scenes
Sample line: “Why, I do declare!”
Send lines to: myemailaddress@fakeland.com

When I enter a casting call, I still follow the criteria I have outlined below in making a final decision about a role.


Direct Approach

When a director approaches a VA via email, forum PM, etc. about a role, that means he/she has a specific role in mind for the VA to play.

The first round of information I find helpful to gather up before making a decision includes, in no particular order:

#1 I want to make sure the directors knows that just because I agree to consider a character or read a script doesn’t mean I’ve accepted the role.
#2 I almost always want to read the entire script before I’ll commit to a project. If the script isn’t available at this point, a general synopsis will suffice.
#3 I am looking for interesting characters to play. Who is the character I am being asked to play? What is her relation to the other characters in the movie? I love it when I receive a character background to consider along with the script. I’ve even on occasion received a jpeg of the character as well.
#4 I want to be directed. I hope to see on the script at least some general guidelines regarding the lines. I’ve seen notes from “soft, urgent whisper” to “In this line Rosie is worried about waking up the rest of the house, but she is on the phone with Ray and really needs him to know that she is about to sneak out”, which would bring out a delivery far different from “In this line Rosie is hiding in the closet worried that her attacker will find her, but she is on the phone with Ray and wants to make sure he knows she is in danger”.


My usual list of questions when I’m making a final decision about a role:

#1 How quickly do you want the lines back? It can take me days to weeks to finish up voiceovers and I prefer upfront communication about this at the beginning. If the movie needs to be finished within a few days, I am not the best choice.
#2 What format should the lines be sent in (i.e., .ogg, .wav, .mp3, etc.)?
#3 Where should I send the lines?
#4 Is there a possibility the movie will be used for commercial purposes?
#5 I want the opportunity to watch some other work by the director so I can get a feel for his/her style.


The toughest part of considering roles can be saying no. Sometimes a director can be very persistent, almost to the point of pushiness. I do have a standard neutral response I use when declining roles, but depending on the director, I might provide more of my rationale.

The most rewarding part of voiceacting is working with some simply amazing directors. I have enjoyed that unique privilege over the years and look forward to many more such experiences.