Voice Actors Vs. On-Screen Talents



In my many years as a professional voice performer and producer, I often encounter comparisons to a trend in the industry about Screen Actors taking the job of those who have been doing it decades. This popularity of On-cam Personalities performing behind them mike is nothing new, however it has been a rising factor in movie theaters and animated features nowadays.
Animation is the reality of imagination. The justice to any script for which, depends entirely on the voice actor’s performance. That is why voice overs, require a unique set of skills and mastery of the art, in order to deliver what the animator intends to show. No matter how good an animation is, if you have a poor set of voices, you will end up with something that is worthless. However, if you have a simple animation on hand, but with an exceptional lineup of voice actors, you will be surprised with the results. Here are some pointers why hiring a voice actor against an on-cam actor is beneficial for your animation project.

VOICE ACTOR
ON-CAM ACTOR/MODEL
BUDGET
Relatively Cheaper
20-30 times more expensive
AVAILABILITY
Always
Depending on project/product restrictions
KNOWLEDGE OF THE CRAFT
Perfect
May need to attend workshops and 1 on 1 coaching
MIC SKILLS
Honed thru years of experience
Many are working 1st time on dubbing or voice overs
PERFORMANCE
Flawless
May have difficulty coping up with the microphone
INDUSTRY POPULATION (NO. OF TALENTS)
5 times more the number of on-screen actors
Those who only made an on-screen debut are considered actors
VOICES
Exponential
Limited to Conversational
VOICE QUALITY
Perfect behind the mic
May require additional tuning
EXPOSURE
Popular with a niche market/captured following
Has on-cam/modeling advantages
CHARACTERIZATION
Can work with new set of voices, and experiment. Many voice actors can do atleast 5 voices
Maybe thrown off with the idea of changing his/her voice. Limited to 1
KNOWLEDGE OF RECORDING
Adept
Enough
KNOWLEDGE IN PROCESSES
Knows exactly what’s going on behind the booth
Some Familiar. Some Not.
OVER-ALL PERFORMANCE
FOR ANIMATION
None better
Exceptionally few
ABILITY TO SYNCH AND IMPROVISE
(faced with reactions)
Effortless. Cutting recording time by 75%
Will depend on what the director says and the material. May need to spend more time on recording
SCHEDULING
Always present, easily managed. No star complex
Will have to be adjusted for appearances and confirmation

Like they say, kids go to movies to watch and love the story. They do not care if an on-cam actor is doing the part or a voice over. What is important is that they believe and react to the characters, and be motivated by it.. by statistics anyone can easily spot who can deliver the story between the two. You can always get a screen actor to do the job, but you can never beat a voice over’s performance.
You be the judge of which.

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