Creative Voices: The Hope of Voice Acting

Creative Voices: The Hope of Voice Acting

Filipinos are well known for their talents in singing, dancing, acting, etc. This just proves that we are inclined to arts and are artists by nature. Being artists, we always have the urge to be the best and popular in the field we have chosen. When it comes to having powerful vocal chords, we have been popular in the field of voice acting since the sarzuela and radio drama era. Many actors have been popular in different musicals. Radio Dramas such as Gabi ng Lagim and Tiya Dely were big hits many years ago. We cannot deny that Filipino voice artists really are something.  However, voice acting in the Philippines is taken for granted in the market today.  Most of the talents are underpaid only getting P80 per script. Even if radio drama today is not as popular as it was before, voice talents are still the ones giving life to the radio stations. Dubbed teledramas and animé are also popular in television.  This is where Creativoices Productions comes in.

                        Creativoices Productions is a company that serves as a host that protects the rights of voice talents while ensuring not only the needed quality but to as much as possible exceed the client’s expectations on voice services. In line with this, the company is popular in the world of voice acting and has earned clients ranging from politics to advertising industries. Though there are a number of voice providers in the country, Creativoices is the only one that focuses on the welfare of voice artists. The company proves that voice acting is not a dying industry but in fact just as popular as the celebrities on screen today. The quality of the services that the company provides is just as high as the quality of voice acting abroad. This is the reason why Creativoices is considered as the number one provider of pre-qualified and professional voice artists in the Philippines.

Let us first define what voice acting is. Voice acting is an art. And like all other art forms it has tools and techniques which must be mastered in order for you to succeed in the level of success you want to deserve. It’s about finding the kid in you. It requires dedication and passion for doing Voice-over jobs, and lots of patience to master the skills. It means that not anyone can do voice acting for it’s a job that should be taken seriously. It also requires skills in oral-interpretation that not everyone possesses.  This art form echoes everywhere. You can hear voice-overs when you are in the mall, train stations, restaurants, in radio, in television etc. Thus, this proves that it is an essential part of the industry.

Voice Actors or Voice Artists play a very important role in sales, marketing, and delivery of information. It is the voice actor’s job to play a role that has been written into the script. To effectively play the role and thus sell the message, the performer must, among other things, be able to quickly determine who the intended audience is, what the key elements of the message are, and how to best communicate the message using nothing more than the spoken word.

Voice artists give life to commercials, radio or television, Tagalized Animés and imported dramas such as Naruto and Fated to Love You. This is very evident in the leading TV networks and radio stations. Animés, Asian and Mexican series are still dubbed and aired today. In fact, Asian TV series are always shown on primetime. Viewers patronize the Tagalog versions of these shows for they can understand it much better than watching it on pirated DVD with English subtitles. It just shows that voice talents are playing important roles in the field of entertainment and media industry. In order to be a good voice artist, one should be versatile and knowledgeable in what he or she is doing. Voice acting requires skills in interpretation thus needing the said characteristics.

In spite of these evidences, many people do not consider that Voice Talents are essential parts of the entertainment and media industry. Some also think that Voice Acting is not a prestigious job. Others look down on these artists for they think that voice talents can be found everywhere. Many do not believe that this kind of work is fun and enjoyable.

These opinions are very obvious in the way people deal with voice talents nowadays. Let us consider their pay as an example. From P300-P500, now they are only paid P80 per script causing them to find an extra job to support their everyday needs. Most of the voice talents do not share the limelight other celebrities has in radio and television. Viewers, as much as possible, will not miss a single episode of their favorite Asian series but do not bother to know whose voices are behind the characters.

These opinions and stereotypes regarding the world of voice acting are untrue. There are evidences and testimonials that can prove that these are just some of the misconceptions of those who do not have much knowledge in voice acting. Let us first discuss the belief that Voice Acting is not a prestigious job.

In Hollywood, people think highly of voice actors. They play important roles in animation, movie industry, advertising industry, etc. These artists are the source of income of many film companies in America. Celebrities like Cameron Diaz, Natalie Portman, Antonio Banderas and many others also do dubbing in highest grossing animations such as Dreamworks’ Shrek and Disney-Pixar’s Cars. 

Macky McRae, a product of Creativoices workshops called Voiceworx takes pride and prestige in being a voice talent. To her it’s something unique and different, something that she can be proud of because not all people can do what they do. For artists like Macky, dubbing is a form of self-expression where she experiences fun that cannot be compared to anything.

Voice actors can be found everywhere. Voice acting is not a hard job at all. This opinion is unacceptable. Some people may think that all you have to do to be a voice actor is show up in auditions and voila! A new career for you! Let us not forget that voce-acting is an art. Therefore there is a lot of work and skill involved in this field. According to a professional voice actor you have to make sure you have a good background in acting and a good voice with very clear diction. "You have to be able to transfer [everything] through voice - you can’t use body language or anything else that works on camera”. An aspiring voice artist should have a talent or at least a good background in oral interpretation. Unlike actors on screen, voice talents do not have anyway to transfer emotions but their voice. Therefore the notion that these artists can be found everywhere is wrong.

Some others also think that voice acting is boring. In fact, just as a professional voice actor said, it is finding the kid in you. And what is more fun than being a kid again? Kathlyn Rose Tolentino, remembers the fun of her first dubbing experience. She said, “Nakikita ko na yung ginagawa nya. Mahilig din kasi ako sa anime kaya nung tinanong ako ng tatay ko kung gusto kong ma-try mag-dub, I said yes right away. Ang saya niya kasi makikita at maririnig mo na sa iyo yung boses nung anime character”. This girl divides her time in going to school in the morning and her dubbing activities at noon. No matter how hectic her schedule is, she doesn’t mind because of the rewarding experience she gets in voice acting. Jill Fernandez, a product of Voiceworx also considers dubbing as a fun experience. The people in the voice acting industry are also really friendly and easygoing; everybody respects everybody else. It is  different from the film or TV acting business, which has a lot of politics.

For those who take this prestigious form of art for granted, they might want to have a second thought. The belief that voice acting is not an essential part of media and entertainment industry is a falsehood. Try to imagine yourself in world without voice-overs, dubbers and DJs. That would actually be a gloomy planet. Voice talents give life to different many commercials and radio stations. It is also much better to watch dubbed imported series than taking much effort in reading subtitles on the lower part of your television screens. Some may say that celebrity actors and actresses can do what a regular voice talent can do. One cannot generalize but on screen acting and voice acting are two different fields of arts. 

Since voice acting is taken for granted by many people today, I would like to enumerate and put emphasis in my claims regarding this matter. These are some of the things we forgot to consider when taking a look at this field of art.

1.     Voice-Acting is a serious job

                        Though we cannot deny that voice acting is fun job it doesn’t mean that it is an easy job.  In order to be a great voice talent you have to undergo extensive voice training. Unless of course you are one of those few blessed people with in-born talent in voice acting. Most aspirants have to attend workshops to achieve their dream of being a voice talent. According to Debbie Cope, founder and managing director of Cope Management, you need to be educated, passionate, and determined to succeed in this field. If this is something you really want to do, know that it’s going to take a few years, maybe several years. It is also not so much about the voice quality, but about the read and the interpretation of copy, which again makes it important that a talent be versatile and knowledgeable about their craft.

                        Creativoices has an eight week long seminar workshop called Voiceworx that trains people who aspire to be good voice talents. Being the number one provider of voice actors, this workshop produces quality talents that are now working as professionals. Jo Carol Fernandez, Heinie Hartendorp and Pia Serrapio, now distinguished dubbers, are just some of the quality products of Voiceworx.

2.     Voice Talents should be well compensated

                        Voice talents should get higher pay than what they are getting nowadays. Since voice actors are not as in demand as other jobs such as Computer programmers or nursing most of them are underpaid. In my opinion, P80 per script is not the rightful amount that a talent should get. Most of these artists are contract workers and they only get paid whenever a project comes in. While they are taxed just like any other member of the labor force, they don’t have access to the usual benefits. There is no real certainty to a job. Although, voice acting is a rewarding experience for them, a number of these talents get another job to support their everyday needs. One of the reasons why voice talents are not well compensated is because TV networks prefer to spend more on promoting telenovelas than exceeding on effort on the quality of voice acting.

                        With all the contributions voice talents in the industry, I think that they deserve to get higher pay than P80. Now, that a lot of people are aware of voiceover and the money that can be potentially made the competition is tougher than ever. You should be great in your craft in order to be in the voice acting market. It’s competitive and there’s a lot of rejection, you have to be able to get along with people. According to an international voice actor, Voice talents in the Philppines can earn decent money if they diversify.

3.     Voice Talents should be recognized

                        Voice acting is not a dying industry; in fact just like celebrities flaunting their beauty in the screen, these talented people whose voices echo through the TV, radio and every other medium, should also have their share of the limelight for they are also stars on their own right. This statement is entirely true. Just because voice talents are not seen on screen it doesn’t mean that they themselves aren’t stars. They are the ones giving a Filipino taste in our favorite animes and Asian series. Still, instead of voice talents having their own limelight celebrity actors are the ones being shared by the benefits of voice acting. This is very evident in especially in Hollywood were in celebrities move in the voice-over community. Mike Myers, Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas and Cameron Diaz are just few of those actors that are now part of the voice over industry. Even here in the Philippines, animes such as Bleach hired celebrities like Marky Cielo and Yasmine Kurdi to do the dubbing.

                        Voiceover is a wonderful business and anytime something is this good, you’re going to find that people in general are going to want to share in the benefits. Of course, we can’t stop the celebrities or anyone from wanting to be part of the voiceover business. In this form of art you are telling stories, painting pictures with your voice, making words come alive and no one cares what you look like or how old you are. Any creative person would want to be a part of this. Since VA is as creative as other artists say, voice actors should be recognized the same way as we do to the on screen actors. Celebrities might bring with them publicity opportunities and a pre-conceived personality for the audience. Still that doesn’t mean they are really improving the quality of an animated voice track.

4. Voice Acting is not a dying industry

Major studios like Disney, Marvel, Warner Brothers and Hanna Barbera have offices in the Philippines. In fact, industry estimates say about 90 percent of American television cartoons are now produced in Asia. Of that, more and more are bringing their business to the Philippines. This is evidence that the Filipinos skills in animation and voice acting are well recognized abroad. Though there are only a handful voice talents in the country, the growing number of animations, imported Asian dramas and radio stations’ voice over show that voice acting is not a dying industry. In the last few years, animation and voice-over have become a source of great interest to folks, but for quite some time it was a field that was enjoyed and appreciated mostly by children. Since voice acting is now appreciated even by adults, this just proves that this industry is progressing in a high speed.

5.     Voice acting is an essential part of the entertainment and media industry

The number of foreign shows that are turned into Tagalog broadcasting and Anime’s that swept the screens of today is a proof that Voice Acting is then and still an imperative part of entertainment. Therefore voice artists are also big players in the industry. This statement is true. Without voice talents most of the things in the entertainment and media industry will not work.

Everything you hear in radio stations are all products of the voice talents. The words echoing in our ears are extracts of the creative juices of these artists. Without them radio stations will be a dying industry.

In the world of television, we can all agree that the Filipino dubbed versions of imported dramas and Japanese animes are still popular. The use of the Filipino language boosted the popularity of Mexican telenovelas and Japanese anime since about 80 percent of local programs are now done in the national language. Reciprocally, the telenovelas and cartoons have also elevated the Filipino language to a commanding level of popular acceptance. Every leading television network has at least three imported telenovelas and animes. These are just evidences that voice talents have great contributions in the industry.

Aside from these TV series, voice talents are also a necessity in the advertising industry. Commercials, most especially in radio stations, benefit from the talents and skills of these exceptional artists. If you are going to observe and study closely, this form of art is everywhere and is indeed a need in our everyday lives.

Voice Acting is now also becoming a part of the political world.  Thus, making it making it obvious that aside from entertainment VA is also essential to other fields.

Conclusion

                   Voice acting is an art. Not everyone can do this. And for those who are blessed to possess this kind of talent they will bear them the prestige and pride that is not common to everyone.

The world of voice acting may still be not that popular in our country, but we must admit that it is a growing industry. Though many voice talents are not yet recognized, time will come that these artists will have their own spotlight.

Creativoices Productions is the only one in the country that has a very evident bright outlook in this field of art. The company also protects the rights and welfare of its talents. Its workshops produce high quality artists making the Voice acting industry prestigious in many ways.

The hope that Voice Acting won’t be taken for granted by anyone anymore is at reach because of the mission and vision that the company has.