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sonicmega · 7 years

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Reflecting on Breath of the Wild’s VO Process

**WARNING: VERY LONG POST AHEAD**

Breath of the Wild is a very special project to me - and Revali in particular an incredibly special character - but it actually has nothing at all to do with the fame of the game or the worldwide recognition of the brand. It's special because nearly every single milestone, from the audition to the final recording session, either taught me something about myself or implemented one of the many many lessons we've been taught time and time again at panels and workshops but probably don't see in action very often.

This is going to read more like an essay than a stream of consciousness, but I feel this will really help me get across the individual facets of the Breath of the Wild 'experience' that went far and beyond anything I have ever gone through before for a voiceover booking. I hope you'll understand that this is meant to be a way for me to reflect on an incredible journey, and not anything intended to try and 'upsell' how special said journey was for bragging rights.

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1) The audition for BotW initially came not from the casting director himself, but from a CLIENT FRIEND the director had from a studio I had done previous work for. The owner of said studio contacted various talent saying that "a fellow client is looking for interested talent for an audition, please email _____ for more information", but otherwise had NO involvement in the actual project at all.

That was it. The door of opportunity for this began not with an intense workshop, or a circle of inside friends making referrals, but with a simple email from a partner studio saying "email this person and send samples if you would like to be considered to receive sides". Not a single detail about the project was included in that email, but I still had to make the choice to dive into that deep end and find out what waited ahead.

This means that the door of opportunity I had for this project came about strictly as a result of my connection network - a recording company I've worked with for YEARS was the source of the initial email connecting me to this brand new person/studio branch, even though they were never involved with the actual game. This is why it's so integral to maintain connections with all your peers and clients - you have no idea where that next opportunity is going to start.

2) Auditioning for the characters was a little more difficult because, as many of you would imagine, pretty much everything was codenamed or altered so as not to make it obvious what the project was for. Granted, it was still easy to find those 1 or 2 sides that I KNEW were right up my alley in terms of pitch and cadence, but even after knocking them out I still had one more to choose for my audition and wanted to maximize the # of shots I got to take.

Believe it or not, I was the one who went to my mentor and said "I really want to read for (Deku Tree)", even though he initially wasn't interested and/or wasn't fully convinced that I could pull off a realistic approach to the character (and for good reason; low-pitch performances have been a weak point of mine for a long time). But I wanted to draw from the many times I've played 'old and whimsical grandfathers/wizards' and finally showcase it to someone in the industry.

So with enough prodding we worked together to refine it by adding elements of my STRENGTHS to what I already had developed; instead of being straight up baritone, I was now slightly younger, but breathy and relaxed in my pacing. Wide-open mouth movements and deep breaths naturally deepened the voice without me having to force my range lower into my throat. I was developing a character from the ground up and making it into something I could present, and the results were obvious; the casting director *could not believe* that "that voice" was coming out of MY face, to the extent that he had the visiting company president listen in as a witness confirmation.

This is why you have to look at key terms in audition sides, and why "making it your own" is a LEGITIMATE approach to surprising studios and directors with options they didn't know were possible. With a few exceptions, don't look at a character and just determine "I can't do this" - try to at least dissect them into elements you're familiar with, and figure out how you can take what you know and apply it to what they're looking for.

3) When I got the callback for BotW, I was smack-dab in the middle of a 3-week vacation to visit Ajai, back while she still lived in Michigan. They had a specific date planned for these callbacks that couldn't be adjusted, and it was in approximately 3 days from the call - a whole half-week before I would have been flying home anyway. Changing my flight meant not only ending a visit that my fiancee had been waiting for SINCE SEPTEMBER, but also a brand new flight ticket (at full-price), and not even a guarantee of the role since this was strictly a callback audition.

I still went. Even without having absolute certainty of the real project name (I had a fairly good hunch at this point), I still went. I ate the cost and chased the chance, because I was not willing to risk it on the alternative option of a remote audition from my old laptop vs. a live in-studio option with feedback and professional-level quality.

I don't know if I still would have booked it via the remote audition, but I know I never would have wanted to risk it anyway. This was one of the moments where ALL those times Tony Oliver said "If you'd rather be doing anything else, go do that instead" actually became a defining factor in my decision; I *wanted* this, wanted it so bad I was willing to throw down several hundred dollars just to better my chances at leaving a great impression. To be honest, I think that decision also said to the director that I was just as committed as he was to trying to create a great production, and that if cast he could trust we would be in it together beyond a basic Talent-Role obligation.

This is why being a voiceover artist sometimes means making sacrifices without a promise of a reward; it's our version of "dressing for the job you want", just a lot more expensive.

4) If Deku Tree was the example of the character I thought would be difficult but actually turned out to be quite easy to do consistently....Revali was the reverse. Revali was the character I expected would soar (lol) with flying colors, who I had developed an entire personality and quirks for before I even stepped foot into his first studio session...but instead gave me immense amounts of trouble and self-doubt.

The problem was that even though I DID have an extremely bold/solid character choice for him going into the studio, the people in charge (and I mean The Big Guys) already had very specific ideas in mind for what they wanted - ideas that did not mesh with my own creation. I went from having a complete character already penned out, to having to scrap nearly every detail of my creation and hang on the word of the director for guidelines on what to do. I was at Square 1 and trying so, so hard to meet what was requested of me because I love Revali as a character more than any other role I have ever played, and I didn't want to lose him.

I actually cried to my mentor over the phone during the middle of that first session while on a break period from the recording; I was so distraught at the differences between what I had in mind and what I was being asked to do that I wasn't sure if I could even accommodate the director's wishes... if I was going to give the character the kind of performance I knew he deserved and WANTED him to have. I wanted Revali to be the best he could possibly be, and I wasn't even sure if I could trust myself to accomplish that even though I felt like no one else could be more passionate about him.

But I learned from this. I learned firsthand that even the best-laid plans can go to waste, and I had to go back into this session ready to be an "actor" in the truest sense - someone who creates magic out of bits and pieces, regardless of whether they have 5 days to prepare or 5 minutes. I learned that to give Revali the kind of performance he deserved, I had to put aside all those negative thoughts and emotions hindering me from being able to focus and PLAY, stop worrying about all the ways I could fail, and work with my director as a teammate while trusting that he - more than anyone else - genuinely wants to see me succeed. I needed this kind of reality check to prepare me for my future in the industry, and no matter how frustrating Ravioli Bird was to tackle I am so grateful that I could experience that frustration over a character I refused to ever give up on.

This is why it's important to have a sense of self-drive and a real desire to improve; no one can help you succeed if even you give up on yourself.

5) The funniest part about Revali was that it wasn't just my audition that helped land the role (it was still the biggest portion by far, don't get me wrong), but also my ability to be a massive shameless fanboy. According to the director, I literally could not contain myself from widening my eyes and giving out small squees of excitement every time he showed up on a sample clip, not unlike a young child getting their first real look at Disney World's Magic Kingdom Castle. Somehow, my overjoyed noises had been shared directly with individuals over at a different studio who plated a part in determining the final cast. It turned out that similar to XSEED, the board members were very interested in having cast members who were as passionate about their product as they themselves needed to be. For them, my passion was the 'oomph' and extra tang that took an audition from Good to Great.

This is why it's important to remember that it's OKAY to be excited and/or proud about the work you do as a voice actor; this profession is supposed to be fun. It's incredible, it's unique, and we get to have some of the coolest adventures ever while being paid for the privilege to do so. Sometimes letting our inner geeks show can be a great thing, as long as it's contained within a professional context.

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Regardless of how much work went into this entire experience for me, I do not expect it to be undeniable evidence that my end-result was perfect, or even subjectively 'good'. I do not expect everyone to be a fan of it, and if you thought the character fell short THAT'S STILL OKAY; so many different elements went into the delivery of each line, the atmosphere of each scene, that my performances were as much a result of the client's wishes and specific demands as they were my own spices added to the recording soup.

But there is absolutely no doubt - not a single shred of evidence otherwise - that I worked incredibly hard on this. Every single step of this project was a new challenge for me to meet or a brand new obstacle I hadn't really faced before but now needed to address and move beyond in order to do what I needed to do. I can be super critical of myself sometimes (all the time), but there is not a moment in my mind where I question whether or not I put my heart and soul into this (Current # of Times I Cried Over Revali currently sits at 3).

Because I put that effort in, and because I did the ABSOLUTE BEST I COULD in every moment of my involvement with this project, I can be proud. I AM proud. I am proud of what I accomplished even if someone comes along and says "TBH this makes the CDi games sound better". I am proud that I threw risk to the wind and put myself out there without fear of rejection just out of sheer desire to be a part of this, and now I'm a permanent part of the Zelda legacy for it.

This entire process was nothing short of an adventure in every sense you can think of. But even as this project finally closes up, my voiceover adventure continues, perhaps now even grander and with more opportunities than ever before.

Thank You for becoming a part of it, however big or small your role, and I hope that no matter what your passion is you find the chance to have an adventure like this for yourself.

#Breath of the Wild #Legend of Zelda #Sean Chiplock #Nintendo #voiceover

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