Metal Gear Solid - Solo Character Dialog for Audiobook (female roles only)

Metal Gear Solid - Solo Character Dialog for Audiobook (female roles only)

Project Overview

Hey All,
I'm casting for the female characters in the official Metal Gear Solid novelization by Raymond Benson.  I made this as a self-imposed challenge to voice all of the male characters (as well as the narrator) myself.  I loathe my own female character attempts, so I thought it would be cool to open it up to the community as well as possibly get more regional authenticity.

So sadly, there are no (significant) Male roles available.  I'm sure many of you could do much better voices than me, but at this time and under these constraints, this is how it is.  

The project is to add audio drama elements to the books reading (chiefly sound effects and music).  I'm creating this casting to help smooth over the fact that I can do no female voices (convincingly) haha.
I'll be updating this notice periodically if there are common questions/concerns.

As far as production goes, I have recorded the principle narration and voices for the whole book, and I'm about Chapter 21 of 26 in adding the Sound Effects and Music.  By the time this audition deadlines, literally everything else should be in place, making it a short dealing of splicing in your beautiful voices.

https://youtu.be/hgQ6d4fYKcg
here's a sample of the first chapter.  

It's by no means a highly caliber affair though I would like for as many of the pieces to 'fit' as possible.  The book itself takes a few liberties when writing it to a novel, so it's expected to be a distinct adaptation of MGS at any standard.

Roles
The roles available are for:
Dr. Naomi Hunter,
Sniper Wolf,
and
Mei Ling

The roles for Meryl, Dr. Clark, and Nastasha Romanenko have already been filled (as well as the two extras).

As noted in the descriptions, the characters come from diverse origins and, while ideally the correct accent augments the performance, the acting is much more important than a perfect localization.

Expectations
I am NOT looking for a voice-match to the original characters. You can use them as references, but ultimately none of the voices in the book will be 1:1 recreations. (Even if you did manage to recreate a perfect copy, it wouldn't match with the quality of the surrounding characters whom also aren't 1:1). I'm pretty flexible about the interpretation as long as it's in the ballpark. My Colonel Campbell for example is no where near Paul Eiding's performance superficially, so I did my best to match the energy and cadence, rather than try and imitate a perfectly pitched rasp.

I DO expect relatively clean audio with little/no background noise, a decent microphone, and clear articulation. For the purposes of Auditioning, please do slate with just your name. I'm not worried about pristine quality as much as not breaking immersion/flow.

Full disclosure - Mei and Nastasha can have more leniency for a lower quality mic because their communication is by radio 95% of the time, whereas Dr. Hunter and Sniper Wolf get more time 'on-screen' and in-person so the quality is more demanding.
For Dr. Hunter, Nastasha, and Sniper Wolf, they have some monologues in some form. If you are not familiar with how to 'Punch and Roll' in your DAW, then you will either need to learn, or just get the monologue in one take.  I can give you resources to learn if you have no idea what it is, but googling is probably more accessible than me trying to remotely teach.  End point being that longer speaking lines need to not sound cobbled together.  I will send it back for revisions if I can tell it's just clipped together (or possibly reject it if it's an audition).

Deadlines
The deadline for auditions is June 22 (a month from now). I will repost the project as necessary. After being awarded an audition, you will be given the full scripts and then 2 weeks (flexible upon request) to get the recordings back to me at which point I check for needed revisions and then I will complete payment.

Payment
This is a non-commercial, not-for-profit production. The budget is out of my pocket at no profit to me. Also, I'm not sure where the project in it's totality will be posted, but I haven't consulted the author about it's IP; therefore while I'm more than happy to accredit your contribution, it may be something you choose not to have credited (which I will respect). There is a large possibility the project will barely reaches any public circulation. I'm fine with that as this is a project to challenge myself, rather than a commodity to sell.

I calculated all of the prices at $300 per finished hour.  The most time estimated is Dr. Hunter at 12 minutes.  The format for the dialog has been (painstakingly) converted into script form from the book by me.

As for revisions as mentioned in 'deadlines', if I am at fault for missing something critical and need an updated version then we can negotiate a fee to add to your pay.  Being a voice actor myself, I try to be pretty reasonable and fairhanded about what merits extra effort and therefore pay.

If you would like a general feedback on your audition such as, if it was rejected for background noise, or for performance, or simply no-fault competition, just add a note asking for it. I won't be able to elaborate very much if there's many auditions, but I can appreciate how rare feedback is for voice-over. Also, keep in mind that my judgments can be pretty subjective and because I'm very much human, I'll make bad calls. I'm not seasoned, nor a connoisseur. Ideally, if I've given feedback to a rejection it is because I've already chosen a different voice and committed to it or there was something tangibly wrong. Arguing or giving excuses will not improve your odds; it's just food for thought for other future projects. I'm just some guy on the internet. Again, feedback only upon request.

I hope that's digestible. I'm really not taking it that seriously.  Have fun with it!

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Latest Updates

  • Yay! much excite!

    Thanks everyone! we'll be listening to auditions soon and will make decisions within the week if not Friday.
Project Roles: Dr. Naomi Hunter Sniper Wolf Mei Ling Nastasha Romanenko Nurse technician Automated Voice
Voice Actor
Voice Actor
Dr. Naomi Hunter
closed
Paid: Flat Rate 60 USD
Role assigned to: Heidi Fischer

Dr. Hunter is the second largest female role in the book.  Mid-novel she is revealed to be an impersonator though still penultimately an ally of the books protagonist, Solid Snake.

>{Author’s In-Book Description: ‘Dr. Naomi Hunter [HUN] dressed in a white lab coat, came into the room. She carries a hypodermic and is smiling. Snake guessed that she was in her late twenties. Dr. Hunter speaks in ‘a cultured accent that was not quite British but certainly Ivy League’.}

[[Editor’s Summation - Naomi is a generally brilliant and spirited scientist. Very knowledgeable in medical topics. Her accent is as the author said: slightly sophisticated but not over the top. Vaguely like Hermoine Granger of the Harry Potter series. She is on Snake’s radio support (ie; an ally of Snake); below the surface though she harbors a grudge against Snake and is troubled by her past.]]


Total word count: ~2,111 words
 2,111 @ 3 Words-per-second = ~12 minutes finished product

`12 @ 300 per finished hour = $60

  • [instructing Snake via radio]

    HUN: "Snake, the DARPA* chief, Anderson, was injected with the same GPS-transmitting nanomachines as you, so you should be able to track his signal with the Codec. We’re not picking him up yet, but you should be able to once your farther inside the complex."

    [*DARPA is an acronym but read as if it were a word - darpa]

  • HUN [astonished]: “What? You killed Big Boss?” [pause...] “I had no idea!”

    HUN: “So it’s true, then?” [pause...] “Big Boss is really your father?”

    HUN: “And you were able to kill him even though he was your father?”

    HUN [baffled]: “How?”

    HUN [reviled]: “That’s patricide!”

  • [telling her tragic backstory]

    HUN: “We survived that hell together, Frank and I. He protected me. He’s my one connection… the only connection, that I have to my past.”

Favorite role Save Role for Later Total Submissions Toggle 23 Submissions Apply / Audition
Voice Actor
Voice Actor
Sniper Wolf
closed
Paid: Flat Rate 25 USD
Role assigned to: Abigail Carey

'Sniper Wolf' is one of the minor antagonists of the book, and enemy to the protagonist, Snake.  She is technically of Kurdish decent so I will give extra consideration to a believable middle eastern accent, but otherwise it is not a dire focus. Making her personality come alive is more important than trying to inflect an accent. Please don't shoot yourself in the foot trying to go out of your range.

[[Book’s Description – Sniper Wolf: “A door slid open and a tall woman with an extraordinary body emerged. Her uniform fit tightly and was open at the neck to reveal magnificent cleavage. She had short blond hair and green eyes. It was too bad she was one of the enemy—the woman was definitely a babe. [...] She speaks with an accent. The woman was a Kurd from Iraq. […] Gorgeous but deadly”
Editor’s note: Her trope is a fem fatal sniper, perhaps akin to DC’s ‘Catwoman’ or Overwatch’s ‘Widowmaker’. A seductive and playful voice when she’s toying with her ‘prey’, occasionally icy, but her tone shifts when agitated. She is Kurdish, making her voice have a ballpark middle eastern accent (honestly I can’t say I’ve heard a Kurd before, so there’s a fair leniency for an ambiguous accent)]]

Total Words ~517
 517 @ 3 Words-Per-Second = ~3 minutes Finished Product
@ 300 per hour = $15

  • [Confronting Snake]
    WOL [laughing]: “Is that right? Well, at least you’ve got spirit. I am Sniper Wolf, and I always kill what I aim at. You’re my special prey.”

  • [looking down a sniper's scope]
    WOL: "I can see you perfectly from here. I told you I’d never quit the hunt. Now, you’re mine."
    HAL (via radio): Wolf! No!!!"
    WOL: “Quiet, Hal! Don’t get in our way!”

  • [[In this instance Sniper Wolf is dying of gunshot wounds, so "..." connotes her struggling to speak.]]

    WOL: “But… I have shamed myself and my people. I’m no longer… the wolf I was born to be… in the name of vengeance, I sold my body and my soul. Now… I’m nothing more than… a dog.”

Favorite role Save Role for Later Total Submissions Toggle 12 Submissions Apply / Audition
Voice Actor
Voice Actor
Mei Ling
closed
Paid: Flat Rate 20 USD
Role assigned to: Jackie

Mei Ling [MEI] is an ally and radio support of the protagonist, Solid Snake.  She is a 17-19 year old Chinese-American [born in the US] and natively fluent* in English. Extra consideration will be given to a matching accent, but Please!!! I beg you, do NOT attempt a Chinese accent if that is not a natural inflection you express yourself with. More important than her accent is her earnest and almost naïve demeanor.

>{Authors Description: ‘First, Campbell introduced Snake to Mei Ling [MEI], a very young Chinese girl who sat at a bank of computers.’ ‘ Snake thought she looked like a manga character come to life’ }
[[Editor’s summation: Mei is a very wholesome, young, and smart young Chinese girl. She has a bright voice with a very light Chinese accent and is (usually) articulate.]]

*(the only reason I am searching for a vaguely tinged accent is because of one line in the book where the author implied her English was not 100% perfect -.-)
In the original MGS video game, she had a noticeable accent, however in the remake released years later, they simply gave her a generic North American Accent. Also note that in this novelization of the game, Mei Ling's trademark Chinese aphorisms are absent and her role is (unfortunately) very ancillary.

Total word count: ~316 Words
 316 words @ 3Words-per-second = ~2 minutes
@ $300 per hour = $10

  • [Being introduced to Snake]

    MEI [smiling]: “Hello!”
     SNA: “I didn’t expect a designer of world-class military technology to be so…cute.”
    MEI [bashful]: “You’re just flattering me.”
     SNA: “I’m serious! Now I know I won’t be bored for the next twenty-four, er, eighteen hours.”
     MEI [bashfully akward but professional]: “Hmm, I can’t believe I’m being hit on by the famous Solid Snake.”

  • [Analyzing the radar signals for Snake]

    MEI: “There’s a larger than normal source of body heat in the room with you. I can’t tell if it’s three or more people bunched together or what. Unless it’s an animal of some kind.”

  • [Analyzing the audio for Snake]
    MEI: “We hear him, Snake. We’re analyzing the voice algorithms just in case he’s somebody important. [pause...] He’s a low-level guard, Snake, a rookie, He’s known as simply Johnny. According to the Shadow Moses personnel records, he’s the lead computer technician on base.”

Favorite role Save Role for Later Total Submissions Toggle 9 Submissions Apply / Audition
Voice Actor
Voice Actor
Nastasha Romanenko
closed
Paid: Flat Rate 25 USD
cast offsite

Nastasha Romanenko is an ally of the protagonist, Solid Snake, and provides much of the technical information about weapons and biohazards via radio.  She is detail oriented and described as a 'walking encyclopedia' at one point.  She is from the Ukraine, so has a largely Russian accent.  Again, please don't go out of your normal range.  The challenging part of voicing her will be making her detailed breakdowns of equipment devoted and not monotonous.

{Authors Description: Campbell switched on a monitor and an image of a woman in her thirties Nastasha Romanenko [ROM] appeared. She had short blond hair and an East European appearance. }
[[Editor’s Summation:  Nastasha is an intelligent and precise Ukrainian woman, assisting Snake via radio as well (ie; Snake’s Ally). She gives him data about detailed information about weapons he encounters and is passionate stopping nuclear arms proliferation]]


Total word count: ~ 760
 760 @ 3 Words-Per-Minute = 5 minutes Finished product
@ $300 per hour = $25

  • [Romanenko [ROM] advising Snake via radio]

    ROM: “The colonel asked me to advise you. You have a P.S.G.-1. Is that correct? Excellent. It’s one of the best sniper rifles in the world. It is accurate enough to shoot cleanly through a two-point-five centimeter square from a distance of one hundred meters. Just remember, Snake, the slightest tremble can make you miss your target by inches. Try to keep your hands as still as possible.”

  • [ROM's exposition on nukes]

    ROM: “After the START-II* accord was signed in 1993, Russia and the U.S. reduced their strategic nuclear warheads to between three thousand and thirty-five hundred each. They completely dismantled all the ICBMs that contained multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles. As a result of that, there are over fifteen thousand dismantled nuclear warheads waiting to be disposed of. That is why the Shadow Moses facility was built.”

    [*pronounce as “Start Two”]

  • [instructing Snake on how to defuse a bomb]

    ROM: “Trust me, Snake. If you had left the green wire attached, it would have set off the bomb. But now the chaff grenade will disarm the bomb’s sensory system. Like it does on cameras.”

Favorite role Save Role for Later Total Submissions Toggle 2 Submissions Apply / Audition
Voice Actor
Voice Actor
Nurse technician
closed
Paid: Flat Rate 5 USD
Role assigned to: Hanes Orrock

An undefined nurse subordinate to Dr. Clark.  They approach and notify Dr. Clark when she is engrossed in a conversation with the US president.  One line only.

I have imagined the voice as female, but there is no gender restriction. 

  • [interrupting a conversation]

    Nurse: “Doctor, they’re ready for you.”

Favorite role Save Role for Later Total Submissions Toggle 6 Submissions Apply / Audition
Voice Actor
Voice Actor
Automated Voice
closed
Paid: Flat Rate 5 USD
Role assigned to: Katabelle Ansari

An automated female voice notifier for a nuclear launch protocol.  Should be read clearly, evenly, and with a steady cadence. Do NOT attempt any effects.

effectively telephony

  • [[ P.A.L. is an acronym but is pronounced just like the word ‘pal’ (as in buddy/friend)]]

     An automated female voice:
     “PAL code number one confirmed. Awaiting PAL code number two.”

  • "PAL code number two confirmed. Awaiting PAL code number three.”

  •  “PAL code number three confirmed, PAL code entry complete. Detonation code activated. Ready to launch.”

Favorite role Save Role for Later Total Submissions Toggle 4 Submissions Apply / Audition
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