Pinoy voice talents put heart behind animated characters

Pinoy voice talents put heart behind animated characters

By JENNIFER CHAN
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak

Behind every good work of animation is a group of great voice talents.

For Filipino anime fans, both kids and kids at heart, quality dubbing is extremely important. Since many of these animated programs have been imported from other countries, there is sometimes a need to translate the script into the local language and of course, hire voice actors and actresses to give life to the characters.

Charmaine Cordoviz, who has been in the voice acting business for around 14 years now, remembers the first time she decided to become a voice talent. It was during the early 1990’s and she had just graduated from high school.

Inspired by the English version of the animated series "Yaiba" (a comedic Japanese anime series about a young boy on a quest to become a samurai that became popular in the 1990s), she immediately called the producer up and offered her voice talent services. She admits that the move was pretty gutsy for someone whose experience consisted only of imitating character voices together with her friends.

Her persistence finally paid off when six months later, said producer called back and told her to form a team for the Tagalog version of Yaiba. Without a professional team, Cordoviz picked out the members from her group of friends and siblings who were just as passionate about anime and had good voice quality.

"We weren’t taken that seriously but we got the experience," she shared.

Many voice talents start out with a simple love for animation. In the case of David Sta. Maria, he had been fascinated with cartoons from the beginning.

"I was really fond of doing impressions, too, and I openly told my friends given the chance, I would love to give it a shot," he said.

Challenges encountered

Being a voice talent is a lot harder than it looks. While many people think that dubbing for an animated program or even a foreign telenovela can be done by just about anyone, the truth is that it can be just as difficult as any serious acting job. You have to make the character real and believable only through your voice, especially intonation.

Sta. Maria who has been voice acting for a little less than five years knows this very well. In one instance, he was asked to do a romantic scene for the Mexican telenovela, "Pasion de Amor". His character, Oscar, was a bit on the brusque side and so Sta. Maria used his regular voice.

"My director, Josie Galvez, buzzed me and said, ‘David, lagyan mo ng konting lambing.’ I said, ‘eh, diba tita, maton nga? Di dapat barumbado?’ She replied, ‘Barumbado man, may puso parin."

Still, Sta. Maria said challenges like this can only make a person grow stronger and better.

"It wasn't momentous occasion, but on that moment I learned a lot about acting and life, and people," said Sta. Maria.

According to Cordoviz, some voice talents have a very difficult time changing their intonation or the way they pronounce certain words. Even though they can manipulate their voices to sound higher or lower, the intonation can always give the voice actor or actress away.

"For me, the most challenging and the most fun is being given a role na mahirap i-portray," she added.

Pay per project

Voice talents are also commission-based employees. While they are taxed just like any other member of the labor force, they don’t have access to the usual benefits. In a way, their situation is quite similar to that of contract workers. There is no real certainty to a job.

"One day you might be fully booked for 5 projects where you play the lead, the next you might be sitting at home, wishing for a project some time soon," Sta. Maria remarked.

That is why other voice talents have day jobs to support them. While it’s not impossible to juggle both, one might end up getting lesser hours of sleep.

Most voice talents also play multiple anime characters. In some animated series, each voice actor dubs an average of 10-15 characters! However, they are usually paid at a fixed rate.

In some recording studios, voice talents get an additional php100 for every extra role. Unfortunately, such cases are rare.

Dubbers vs. Otakus

Otaku is the general term for people who are obsessed with anime and manga. They are usually very discerning of details and are likely to have strong reactions to dubbed animation.

Such reactions are usually triggered when a character sounds different from the original dubbing or when the script isn’t faithful to the original story. Many anime voice talents also turn out to be real anime fans. This poses a problem for them since they are torn between staying loyal to the character and trying to imbibe the Filipino spirit into the series.

"It’s very difficult to balance both," said Cordoviz.

Although she follows characters and their development very meticulously, there are instances when she would find herself using a completely different voice from the original.

Actors as dubbers

Many animated films have taken up celebrities to voice certain characters. Disney, in particular, seems to have embraced this concept completely. Whether it’s because of the artist’s actual voice quality or his or her popularity that drives these decisions, what matters most is the end result.

In the Philippines, some companies have also started inviting celebrities to the recording studio.

"Being a voice actor is different from being an actor," Cordoviz explained, although she also didn’t want to generalize.

Some screen actors don’t realize that acting on screen is different from acting for a character on screen. This is most often prevalent in anime projects where the characters they portray are two-dimensional.

Actors have their facial expressions to help them express emotion. Two-dimensional characters on the other hand will need a powerful and moving voice in order to make the scenes come alive.

Unfortunately, some actors fail to understand this concept and end up producing lifeless voices that sound bland and boring on television.

However, it isn’t only screen actors who commit this mistake. Some voice talents are only in it for the pay. They treat voice acting as a tiresome job. More often than not, they end up not doing justice to the character.

Work ethic

Cordiviz considers herself to be very meticulous when it comes to voice acting. Although still an active voice talent, she also writes and translates scripts and directs recording sessions on the side.

Anime, which is probably her specialty, needs a more in-depth analysis. A ditzy female lead character is not always as shallow as everyone thinks. As part of her work ethic, Cordoviz researches the manga where the animation originated, its original voice talents and the actual character development.

She believes that there is great talent in Filipinos. Unfortunately, with the wrong director, voice talents might not be able to develop their full potential.

To be a successful voice talent, one must know how to act and how to speak. One must also be versatile and have a passion for his or her craft.

"A friend of mine always says: 5% talent, 95% patience. You do more commuting and waiting and auditions before you might actually land a job. Persevere and be open to change. Open your eyes to learn from those around you," said Sta. Maria.

Although the local voice talent industry here is not advanced as those in Japan or in the United States, Filipino dubbers are slowly making their mark as great voice talents.

Charmaine Cordoviz is known for being the voice behind many characters in the tagalog versions of "Prince of Tennis"; "Pokemon"; "Shaman King"; and "Magic Knight Rayearth" among others. Aside from voice acting, she is also a translator, scriptwriter and director.

David Sta. Maria is known for being the voice behind Armando Mendoza in "Betty La Fea" (Studio 23); Oscar in "Pasion de Amor" and Aerrow in "Storm Hawks" among others. He also has a day job.