Unless we’re thinking of the likes of Tom and Jerry, it is the voice that truly brings an animated character to life. From the complex speech patterns of Porky Pig to the simple ‘Meep Meep’ of The Roadrunner; the skills of the voice actor are what give any animated character true depth.
Animation has come an incredibly long way in there mere 100 years that it has been with us, and it is common practice these days to hear the voice of a Hollywood A List actor inside a newly animated character.
Animators themselves now frequently voice their own creations. Perhaps most well known would be Seth McFarlane who lends his voice to an array of characters in Family Guy, or Justin Roiland – the voice of Rick Sanchez in Rick and Morty. These actors are able to direct themselves because they created the characters, hence no one is going to come closer to the voice that they have in mind.
People often ask if the voice over artist flips between voices when recording a voiceover session. This is rarely a good idea because in the process of switching, one voice might ‘bleed’ into the other. Generally, the voice actor will record one character’s lines, with a director reading the other character’s dialogue for pacing and reaction. After that, the voiceover artist will switch and record the next characters lines, and keep repeating this process until every line is done.
It’s also important to recognise that it’s not just about dialogue. When voicing a character in a video game, the voice actor will also have to voice what are referred to as ‘efforts’. Every grunt, breath, expression of pain and non verbal expression of emotion has to be recorded. These are rarely scripted – the director will just ask for a selection of sounds, ramping up in effort from mild to extreme! It’s common for a voice over artist to leave a video game recording session utterly exhausted and with a rather sore throat!