Voicebank Blog

Recording Engineer Segues into Voice Directing

I met Juan Carlos Bagnell (a.k.a. Some Audio Guy) when he began commenting on the Voice Registry podcast/blog site. I was particularly interested in the fact that he’s adding Voice Director to his recording engineer career.

-Tracy Pattin

Here’s a little background on Juan Carlos:

After studying Theater, Dance, and Psychology in college, SomeAudioGuy (Juan Carlos Bagnell), made the logical jump to recording engineer. This year marks a decade of recording, the last three years of which dedicated almost exclusively to casting, commercial voice over, and radio production in LA. And now Juan Carlos is parlaying his vast recording engineer background into voice directing.

TJP: What is voice directing?
JC: I think of directing as assisting. Often actors are cast for a particular skill or attitude, so I’m usually just there to help fill in the gaps. I try to anticipate any questions the actors might have, and try to help with scene, context, and relationship to other characters (almost always recorded separately). I’m there to make sure the performance stays consistent, and I also try to make sure that the actor is taken care of (especially with video game sessions).

TJP: Why are you so passionate about video games?

JC: I never grew out of comics? LOL! I think we’re seeing gaming taking its first baby steps as an emerging art form, and that’s really exciting to me. It’d be like if someone had just invented painting or photography, and we’re getting in on the ground floor. When my parents went to arcades, all of the games were about reflex and memory (check out ‘King of Kong’ for example). As gaming evolved it included story lines, but it’s only been recently that we could even store the human voice on game cartridges and discs, let alone realistic performances. This last year has been really exciting watching companies like Bungie, Bioware, and Valve deliver intelligent, stunning, and engaging content with great story lines, characters you care about, and fantastic performances.

TJP: What about animation?
JC: To the same token, I think we’re seeing a generational shift in animation as well. Whereas before animation was “just for kids” we’re seeing some great content being produced for audiences across the board. DC and Marvel are both producing very savvy direct to DVD features, sort of acknowledging that their audiences are probably more mature, and I’m continuously impressed with Pixar’s ability to address very mature concepts in a way that’s friendly to kids and satisfying to adults.

TJP: Any tips for voice talent looking to get into animation and video games?

JC: Take classes. Take workshops. Start a workout group and invite animation actors and producers. Do everything you can to meet the people performing in and producing animation and video games. Also, doing a little research for your auditions is key. Throw out your notions. If you see “cartoon” and think Scooby-Do or Thundercats, you might miss that the producers are wanting “Blade Runner”. If you think games are for kids, you might miss that the producers are looking for “Black Hawk Down” or “Fight Club”. I’m not saying you need to play every game or be an animation expert, but knowing just a little about what type of game (first person shooter, real time strategy, role playing, etc), and what genre the game or show is (action, horror, sci-fi, party/social, fantasy), can help tremendously in nailing a role. Hey Google is your friend right?

TJP: What’s the latest in the video game industry and the opportunities in voice over?

JC: Geez! What to say? It’s just so huge, and it’s only going to get bigger. We’re into our 3rd or 4th generation of people that have never known a world without gaming, and games are generating blockbuster income. Where there’s money, there’s interest in making more. Look at Halo 3 (2007’s best seller). It did $170 million it’s first DAY (Spider-man 3 did $150 million it’s opening weekend), did $300 million it’s first week, doubled XBox console sales the week it came it out, and generated almost 4500 YEARS of man-hour online game play it’s first month. I can’t think of any movies that drive that kind of following. All arguments of “games as art” aside, that’s extreme success. Heck, we’re seeing Wii’s in retirement homes, Xbox 360’s in military simulation, and PS3’s in scientific research. 2008 is going to be a banner year for game development, and the opportunities for actors will be better than ever.