Extended Design: Voice Actor and The Script

As I am creating a pilot episode, I wanted to include dialogue with the main characters as well as background characters voices. This immediately makes the episode feel more complete with the inclusion of voices, enhanced by the later inclusion of sound effects and backing track for the animation. I normally create a short story that doesn't need any dialogue, instead it relies on body language, the shot and facial expressions. I wanted to include dialogue as a challenge, to see how I would combine these elements together. Additionally I did look into voices and how it would work within a storyboard in the previous year with the applied module, A History of Cake.  I asked the same voice actor, James Wood to help me with my voice acting for this latest animation. Having worked with James on a module before, I know that he is reliable and hard working so I wouldn't have a problem later down the line of production with obtaining voice recordings. 

Using Facebook to communicate with James has been the most easiest form, of sharing files and giving each other feedback on the current work flow and managing time. I asked James to voice my main character, shadow ghost and thug characters in my animation. I knew James would be fantastic with the main character and shadow, however I wasn't sure with the thug character, purely for how deep I wanted the tone to be; James said that he would be able to distort it lower digitally which could be a possible future solution. 

Using Facebook

Originally I wanted this project to be storyboard driven to link to my COP3 theory and practice, however with the inclusion of dialogue and the form of communication with my voice actor, I needed to make a script so that James would be able to act for the characters. Having stated this I created the script from the initial storyboards that I had designed which helped me with considering the content of the script. As I had never written a script before, I treated it as more of a premise with the addition of dialogue, therefore I could describe the expression and body language that the character would have. This helps to describe the personality of the character as well as the tone and emotion. Critically reviewing my script, I preferred this form of a script/premise, it was not only easier to describe to James but also gave him room to tweak parts of the dialogue to what he felt would be more suitable to the character.

I have changed my script twice, mainly due to the dialogue, as I really struggled with this aspect. I prefer showing the atmosphere and action happening in the scene without dialogue therefore the addition of voices was quite bizarre. However after gaining feedback from James and fellow students I was able to cut out alot of the dialogue compared to the original amount, which worked considerably more successful as it allowed me to add the expressions and body language to depict most of the pilot with the added voice acting being more towards the ending of the animation.

Script page 1-2

Script page 3-4