Casting Voice actors. Union or non-union?

First post on these forums, hopefully someone around here can point me in the right direction and help clear some things up for me.

I am producing an pilot for an animated webseries which, if all goes well should be out and about by late summer. While I have been able to purchase all the equipment needed from pre, post and everything in between the one aspect I cannot check off quite yet is voice actors. I would like to have people who are known to be professional, trained, and versed in doing their job, problem with that is it means I would more likely than not have to 'go union;. I've poured through the animation agreements of AFTRA and its Canadian counterpart ACTRA (Specifically UBCP) and have been disheartened to learn that their rates for a single session of animation is well out of budget for me. $800 for a single 4 hour session not even counting residuals and other lovely fees.

Add all the horror stories I have read about how they essentially own your project till the day you die and then some and it makes me very leery. Working the minimum wage daytime job and only having a savings of about $500, there is no real way I could even begin to work with these people without taking out a loan which I don't want to do.

I am curious if anyone has dealt with this or can clarify the points above and/or correct some assumptions I have.

Thanks in advance :)
 
The VO and VA (Voice Over and Voice Acting) community is very tight, and difficult to get into. However, there are always up-and-comers who want to get into it, and need a solid reel.

Since you don't have the budget for Union folks you're stuck with good old fashioned "work within your budget" indie style. You are going to have to do TONS of research/auditioning. Start with combing through Vimeo and YouTube looking for animation projects where you like the voice performances. Then the usual places (Mandy, CraigsList, etc.) and see what you can find. Also check out productions by animation students and at festivals. You may also want to try local acting programs at colleges and universities.

Compile your list, weed out the Union voices, and start making phone calls and sending emails. Have a tentative date for doing the sessions, and make sure that they are on-board for pick-ups.


BTW, what is your plan for the voice sessions? Are you booking a studio, or is it strictly DIY?
 
I think you can find decent voice actors without going through that process.
Now, this following link is to a forum on the site Newgrounds which is not IDEAL but there are many talented voice actors if you're willing to be patient and look for them. Don't let the immature kiddies put you off. Offer up a little pay to attract the good ones.
http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/816629
 
The VO and VA (Voice Over and Voice Acting) community is very tight, and difficult to get into. However, there are always up-and-comers who want to get into it, and need a solid reel.

Since you don't have the budget for Union folks you're stuck with good old fashioned "work within your budget" indie style. You are going to have to do TONS of research/auditioning. Start with combing through Vimeo and YouTube looking for animation projects where you like the voice performances. Then the usual places (Mandy, CraigsList, etc.) and see what you can find. Also check out productions by animation students and at festivals. You may also want to try local acting programs at colleges and universities.

Compile your list, weed out the Union voices, and start making phone calls and sending emails. Have a tentative date for doing the sessions, and make sure that they are on-board for pick-ups.


BTW, what is your plan for the voice sessions? Are you booking a studio, or is it strictly DIY?

For sure DIY, renting a studio seems a bit much for what I am after. I am getting a quality microphone with the screen, stand, and various other things as I a doing a few principal voices and need it for other endeavors. I am also hoping to do more remote work as I have a server capable of handling the kind of media and throughput to make it happen.

MetalRenard said:
I think you can find decent voice actors without going through that process.
Now, this following link is to a forum on the site Newgrounds which is not IDEAL but there are many talented voice actors if you're willing to be patient and look for them. Don't let the immature kiddies put you off. Offer up a little pay to attract the good ones.
http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/816629

Haven't been to Newgrounds in ages! Will be sure to scan around there as well.

Thanks for the replies!
 
I am curious if anyone has dealt with this or can clarify the points above and/or correct some assumptions I have.

You're talking yourself into an ulcer, with all the hyperbolic "issues" you've listed.

Just as there are thousands of extremely talented non-guild regular actors, the same goes for V/O actors. If you need straight-up work-for-hire voice actors, that'll never bother you again in the future, you'll find 'em. (Not that there's anything inherently wrong with using guild actors, mind you - there are many benefits to using them; just get over your crippling fear of paperwork)

Fwiw - I'm quite affordable. No reel, but I've voiced several animated shows.
smiley_creepy.gif


.
 
You're talking yourself into an ulcer, with all the hyperbolic "issues" you've listed.

Just as there are thousands of extremely talented non-guild regular actors, the same goes for V/O actors. If you need straight-up work-for-hire voice actors, that'll never bother you again in the future, you'll find 'em. (Not that there's anything inherently wrong with using guild actors, mind you - there are many benefits to using them; just get over your crippling fear of paperwork)

Fwiw - I'm quite affordable. No reel, but I've voiced several animated shows.
smiley_creepy.gif


.

Well I don't want them to 'never bother me again'. This is planned to be an episodic series that would branch into other things like video games and such.

The thing of it is, it isn't the paperwork that scares me, it isn't the residuals that scare me as the plan with non-union folks would be to split the revenue with them and to have us all benefit from the success of our product...its the muddy legalese and the lack of clarity, compound that with the price and I could do it, it just would be a very dumb move on my part unless I delay my project until winter when I have the funds to invest into a pilot. :)
 
You might consider producing your pilot in a right to work state with a big pool of non-union professional working talent.

You can find that in Atlanta. Secondarily, Wilmington.

Now, most of your talent will not want to do "split the profits" but you will find plenty of talented folks willing to do deferred compensation for nice indie people who treat them respectfully So you might say, "If we get picked up and use you, you will be under a SAG-AFTRA contract going forward. And if we get picked up but don't use you, we'll pay you for what you've done at a rate the same as scale for the hours you put in."
 
I am producing an pilot for an animated webseries

have been disheartened to learn that their rates for a single session of animation is well out of budget for me. $800 for a single 4 hour session not even counting residuals and other lovely fees.

Working the minimum wage daytime job and only having a savings of about $500, there is no real way I could even begin to work with these people without taking out a loan which I don't want to do.
This is a no-brainer. Non-union.
 
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