Rad.
For these kinds of franchises, I really do feel locking the film actor who played the role can help a video game feel more immersive and realistic. That and I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm bro-crushing pretty hard core on Pine, who is also tearing up the new BMW commercials.
In addition to Pine and Quinto, the game will also feature the rest of the JJ Abrams film cast including Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg (another bro-crush there), Karl Urban, John Cho, and Anton Yelchin (you should SERIOUSLY watch Fright Night).
Jim was kind enough to indulge me a few candid shots during a video game session I recently engineered. The man is ridiculously talented, and I hope to work with him many more times in the future!
I usually don't post a lot on things like Machinima, but this one is kind of incredible.
What would happen if you took 44 minutes of audio from 28 Weeks Later and painstakingly animated every scene (sometimes even matching the camera angles used in the actual film) using the videogame Halo 3?
I meant to post this up sooner, but my pals Pizzuto and Sobolov were down in Austin for the Game Developer's Conference. They were manning the S.A.G. booth there, and talking to people about actor's increasing role in new media and video games.
In an industry where games like GTA 4 can gross $500 million in one week, production relying more and more on seasoned performers bringing their creations to life (yet still paying very little comparatively), and with new media contracts up for negotiation in the Fall, I think it's a conversation worth having.
Gaming blog Joystiq covered the booth, and even posted audio and video of some of these guys in action.
Here's the vid:
If you watch to the end, you can see the guy who replaced me as the booth director at Abrams, LOL!
Check out the rest of the post for audio samples of Pizzuto and Sobolov, and more coverage of GDC08.
We are writing you on this Labor Day holiday as we celebrate the contributions American workers have made to the strength and vibrancy of our nation. Regardless of category or type of employment, like all union workers, AFTRA members stand strong for the basic principles of organized labor -- freedom to organize and bargain collectively and the right to have fair wages, protections, and benefits in return for their labors and talent.
As we celebrate Labor Day, we look forward to AFTRA members' new challenges and opportunities in moving those principles forward in our day-to-day work. AFTRA members and staff are working on implementing details of the new Sound Recordings Code, and moving forward our legislative work on copyright protection for performers. AFTRA will soon roll out informational material and programs for members who work under the AFTRA Television Agreement to assist you in understanding your new contracts in primetime and non-primetime programming. AFTRA members at CBS and other broadcast companies are coming together to address the impact of HD radio and new technologies on their working lives. AFTRA members around the country will soon begin intense preparations for negotiation of our Television and Radio Commercials Contracts, which have been extended to March 31, 2009. More immediately, we are preparing to address the AFTRA Interactive Agreement.
With respect to the Interactive Agreement, yesterday afternoon, an elected officer of the Screen Actors Guild Hollywood Division circulated an email regarding the AFTRA Interactive Agreement to performers around the country, many of whom are AFTRA members. The insertion by an officer of another labor organization into AFTRA’s internal collective bargaining processes has again generated unnecessary confusion and the dissemination of inaccurate information. It is hoped that the facts outlined below, will address any confusion that email may have caused you.
The AFTRA Interactive Agreement has been in existence for two decades since AFTRA members first organized the area of interactive gaming to ensure that they, and the working performers that came after them, had the protection of union rates and conditions. AFTRA was the first performers’ union to organize and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with Electronics Arts and since then AFTRA members have continued to expand union protections for performers working in this field. The Interactive Agreement is not now, nor has it ever been, a contract negotiated under the Phase One Agreement between AFTRA and SAG.
The current AFTRA Interactive Agreement is set to expire on December 31, 2008. In June 2008, the AFTRA National Board authorized the appointment of an Interactive Steering Committee (ISC) to guide strategic approaches for negotiations of the Interactive Agreement in 2008. In authorizing this Committee, the National Board was keenly aware that the Commercials Contracts expire on October 29, 2008, (now extended to March 31, 2009), and wanted an authorized working group of performers invested in the Interactive field to actively monitor and ensure that progress towards reaching a timely successor Interactive Agreement was not overlooked during the intensive preparations necessary for the Commercials Contracts.
The ISC was appointed from among working AFTRA members who have substantial employment under, and working knowledge of, the AFTRA Interactive Agreement. The ISC consists of working AFTRA performers from the three major centers of AFTRA’s Interactive employment: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. During the month of August, the ISC also met with groups of working members from these and other cities. Every one of these members has substantial work experience under the AFTRA Interactive Agreement, and is also a dual card holder.
Members of the ISC and working groups have provided their talents on games such as Grand Theft Auto, Gears of War , Halo II & III, Final Fantasy, Trilogy III, Mercenaries, Metal Gear IV, Speed Racer, Godfather II, Batman, Unreal Tournament, Halo Wars, Spiderman III, Lord of the Rings, CSI 3, Kane and Lynch, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars Force Unleashed, to name just a few. We are deeply appreciative to these working AFTRA performers who are volunteering their time to participate in and guide our process, and for sharing their extensive experience and understanding of this field on behalf of their fellow performers.
The ISC has determined that it is in the best interests of working members to attempt to resolve a successor agreement sooner rather than later, and it would not be in the best interests of working performers to delay our work and possibly compromise timely implementation of any wage increases and improved conditions that are ultimately negotiated. To that end, it is in the best interests of performers to hold off-the-record conversations with representatives of the AFTRA signatory employers in early September to determine if a framework for reaching a successor agreement in a timely fashion is possible. Once we have had an opportunity to determine whether reaching an acceptable framework is possible (or not), meetings will be held for AFTRA members working under the AFTRA Interactive Agreement for their information and input. Those meetings have not yet been scheduled, but we anticipate they will be held in late September.
The ISC members have also determined that, having successfully achieved more than 30% increases in base rates in our 2005 negotiations, establishing a structure for residual or “back-end” payments is one of the priorities that must be addressed in reaching a successor agreement in this 2008 cycle.
We are all committed to executing a sober, thoughtful and strategic approach to reaching a strong successor agreement for working performers. As such, AFTRA will not engage in any discussions in the press, on blogs, or viral e-mails nor allow the AFTRA Interactive Agreement, or any other contract, to be used for political purposes. Official notices of informational meetings where AFTRA members can receive accurate complete information and provide their input will be sent to interested members later this month.
We were also pleased to learn that during recent discussions with FIA’s English-speaking unions, our sisters and brothers in Canada, Great Britain, and Australia are also committed to coordinating efforts in the future to raise conditions for performers worldwide.
We wish you all a safe and happy Labor Day as we celebrate the achievements and contributions of AFTRA members and the proud traditions of American Labor which enrich our society.
In Solidarity,
Roberta Reardon Nation al President
Denny Delk National Vice President National Chair, Interactive Steering Committee
ALERT TO THE VOICE-OVER COMMUNITY "PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO EVERY VOICE-OVER ACTOR YOU KNOW"
It has come to the attention of the S.A.G. Interactive Committee, that AFTRA is about to negotiate the Interactive contract without the participation of S.A.G.
As you probably know, AFTRA and S.A.G. jointly bargained the Interactive Contract three years ago. Although the joint committees both agreed that RESIDUALS were the number one priority of the negotiations, the AFTRA committee members ultimately agreed to a contract with NO residuals. As a result, the S.A.G. committee members were left no choice but to accept the same terms.
In the three years since those negotiations, the Interactive industry has grown from $9 Billion dollars per year to $27 Billion dollars per year.
Also during that time, your S.A.G. Interactive Committee has been successful in organizing efforts that have turned a long time major non-union employer into a S.A.G. signatory with two huge projects in production.
We have been informed that AFTRA claims to be holding Wages and Working Conditions meetings with Interactive actors in preparation for their negotiations (which are said to be imminent.)
We know for a fact that a majority of the top Interactive actors (those who record numerous games each year) know nothing about AFTRA’s present W&W meetings or AFTRA's plans to go it alone in the upcoming Interactive contract negotiations.
Since AFTRA has not told the S.A.G. Interactive Committee anything about these negotiations, here are the questions all SAG actors that work that contract or expect to work that contract must ask:
1) Is AFTRA really holding Wages and Working Condition meetings with Interactive actors? And if actors are part of those meetings, who exactly has been invited? 2) What criteria did they use for their invitations? 3) Why have not all AFTRA members which are comprised mostly of VO talent been officially informed of these meetings? 4) Who is on the AFTRA committee that will be negotiating this contract? 5) What employers will be involved in these negotiations? 6) Why hasn't AFTRA contacted S.A.G. to coordinate negotiations? 7) When are the AFTRA Interactive negotiations set to begin? 8) Are RESIDUALS part of AFTRA’s proposals? 9) And most importantly: Will AFTRA abandon RESIDUALS once again as they did three years ago?
You can write directly to the AFTRA Interactive negotiator Mathis Dunn.
Please demand that AFTRA hold a caucus of the entire Interactive community of actors before beginning any negotiations.
Demand that AFTRA coordinate their negotiations with S.A.G. instead of de-leveraging S.A.G. as they did in the current TV/Theatrical negotiations.
Please send a copy of your correspondence to the S.A.G. Interactive Committee.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Interactive Contract is completely independent from the TV/Theatrical contract currently being negotiated by S.A.G. The outcome of those negotiations have absolutely nothing to do with the Interactive Contract. No job action, if any, will have anything to do with this contract.
In solidarity, Michael Bell S.A.G. Interactive Chair
Heaven forbid we get an honest opinion out of someone in this information age, right?
The accent doesn't hurt either...
We all know this has been a big deal for me. Performance capture will become more and more important as we cross through this uncanny valley that we're in right now, and quality performance has been championed by others as well, like Adam Sessler.
This review doesn't hinge on voice acting. But in a game as HUGE as Oblivion (estimated to have HUNDREDS of hours of game play), keeping the player engaged is crucial. Having a limited number of performers, with poor writing, and poorly directed performance, makes this immersion SO much harder.
Gamers ARE paying attention to this, and Yahtzee nails it!
Here's his review. It's funny (savage and savvy), and I agree wholeheartedly. Portions (as always with Yahtzee) might be inappropriate for younger viewers or NSFW.
Congrats to the cast of The Simpsons! Deal negotiated without Fox execs (jerks) threatening to replace them (they're just voices right), like in 1998 when they hired casting directors to replace voices (or how Tress MacNeille's roles showed up in my hands before The Simpsons Movie). You're now paid ALMOST HALF what you're worth!
Missed this story from a couple weeks ago on IO9, about the passing of two great sci-fi soundtrack composers. Bebe Barron who scored Forbidden Planet (AWESOME flick), and Alexander Courage who scored the theme to Star Trek. Great post on IO9, I just find it a lil creepy that the Federation in ST is loosely based on Forbidden Planet...
Hey this is a pretty good show! I've never seen this podcast before, but I think I'll be subscribing. Wonder if I can Miro it? ... hmmm ...
Anywho, a reader sent in this specific episode knowing my about my love of all things audio, and ... they also just happen to be one of the guys interviewed. LOL, I love my readers!
This entire episode of The Reboot is on video game audio, it's development, and evolution into a more cinematic form, so check it out. It's pretty cool.
Crazy in a good way! David is asked to give them some voices, and boy does he deliver! It's been my pleasure to work with Dave in the past, and the man plays evil well ... maybe a little tooo well... hmmm...
Seriously though, Dave is a great voice actor, and has recently become a driving force in getting actors better compensation for their work in videogames.
GameZombie.tv presents a conversation with the David Anthony Pizzuto, a major voice actor who's performed in Pride and Glory, Blazing Angels 2, SWAT 4, Steel Horizon, 50 Cent: Bulletproof; Credits: Producer: Spencer Striker, VJ: Jessica Frasher, Editor: Gabe Goldstein
Reading through Kotaku's interview with Patrick "Puddy-The-Tick-Brock-Sampson" Warburton, I just can't shake his voice. It's just plain funny.
Anywho, if you haven't figured it out, Warburton is a pretty accomplished voice actor, and while the interview is pretty interesting, I found this bit to be the most telling:
"Videogames are fun to do," said Warburton. "I don't really see how you could make a living off of it. These games can make jillions of dollars, but the piece of the action that actors get is really miniscule compared to what these things do. But any paycheck is better than a kick in the pants. It's fun to work on them and be part of them."
This guy is most certainly making bigger deals than scale, and even HE thinks video game voice actors are underpaid. It really is time for videogames to start paying out residuals.
Jerry: So, Puddy, this is a pretty good move for you, huh? No more "grease monkey". David Puddy: I don't much care for that term. Jerry: Oh. Sorry, I didn't know... David Puddy: No, I don't know too many monkeys who could take apart a fuel injector. Jerry: I saw one once that could do sign language. David Puddy: Yeah, I saw that one. Uh... Koko. Jerry: Yeah, Koko. David Puddy: Right, Koko. That chimp's alright. High-five.
We all know how I feel about voice acting in games. All to often it's overlooked for fancier graphics, or it feels like it was tacked on at the last minute, or it's just plain bad. It's made even more disappointing by the fact that it doesn't have to be that way. While I think most gamers value innovative game play over story telling, games like Portal, Oblivion, and Half Life 2 show us that it's the subtleties of good performance that really add to the immersive effect of gaming. In essence good performance helps build that fourth wall around the player, helps create that suspension of disbelief, made all the trickier by the fact that gaming is interactive.
The player controls the action, but also has to lose themselves in the game at the same time.
What's been most frustrating for me, is that all to often you'll hear about games with bad voice acting, but you rarely hear anyone really talk about voice acting positively. In a review you might see some blurb at the end of a review "Oh, uhhhh, I've got 100 words to go, so, uhhh, the voice acting didn't suck...yeah". I mean, this year Spike didn't even include a "Voice Acting" category in their awards show line up!
That's why it's so refreshing to hear Adam Sessler talk about how refreshing good voice acting is.
Really you just have to watch this, but in short, when you write music in MIDI you're really creating a complex piano roll (like those old-tymie player pianos would use), one large sheet where all of your instruments (and what notes they're playing) are all arranged for you visually by little dots, dashes, and lines.
The fact that some one drew pictures using this music note information isn't all that remarkable, the fact that it's not only well composed, but identifiable as a mash up of Super Mario musical themes is incredible.
The SEQUEL! Here's the rest of David Sobolov's and David Pizzuto's interview with Gaming Angels.
Being asked what their favorite characters to perform:
Sobolov: I showed up for an audition for Transformers and they said they were looking for a David Sobolov-type. At the end of the audition I said, "Was I David Sobolov enough for you?" My favorite characters are the delicious villains that are tortured yet powerful and are feeling all this inner turmoil, but then they use it to strike out at people. Again, it's not who I am, but it's fun to play. There was this character called Malebolgia in this game called Spawn. (In Malebolgia's voice) "Down low, and they put the microphone close to my lips and blow it up huge." And it sounds like I could kill a thousand people at once.
Pizzuto:They are the best, in a general sense, the dark twisted guys. It's kind of like a delicious meal that you wouldn't eat every day. I think it's a universal thing with actors, especially if they allow you some latitude and breathing room with this thing, no pun intended, because a lot of these guys are very down low and just kind of wallowing in this sickness and evil. It's a cathartic thing.
These two guys have been working EXTREMELY hard at getting actors a better deal on video game work, and I'm very proud to say I know them.
Gameangels has the first half of a great interview up. They spoke with David and David at the Game Developer Conference in Austin about some of the challenges facing this industry. It's a great read, and I highly recommend checking it out if you're interested at all in what it takes to get a game made these days.
They also touched on briefly, the possible WGA strike, and I think David Pizzuto's thoughts sum it up fine:
Due to legal reasons, they were not able to comment on the impending strike by the Writers Guild of America. However, David P. summed up his personal feelings of strikes in general by saying, "As a performer, it makes people in the town nervous. Even the mention of the "S" word makes people crazy. You see production ramp up and you see a lot of emotional reaction as opposed to appropriate response." Mark concluded, "Consumers don't want that, producers don't want that, actors don't want that. Everybody wants to do business and play games and watch movies and see TV shows. The world's a happy place when that happens."
