The Stars Below Us- an Animated Short Film
Based in an anthropomorphic version of Hong Kong, this short film follows a young trainee pilot cat named Ren. Although he's a hard working, focused cadet, his biggest challenge isn't flying a plane, nor knowing which button to press, but his fear of failure consuming him. But this anxiety comes into question when he met his two crewmates- The bubbly Captain Kibbles and Effo the laid back F/O, who join him to fly over the South China Sea's most marvellous sight...
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Requirements and what you should expect
The film itself is approximately six and a half minutes long- despite the film relying significantly on visual storytelling, the voice and dialogue of the characters still play an important role in the story. All roles are airline pilot roles. The lines are relatively short, and there isn't a large amount of dialogue for each character. Despite that, I'll still be looking for good performative skill.
The content of the dialogue mostly consists of short conversations- a lot of the characters' personalities are portrayed through such dialogue, so I'd expect decent level of performative skill- the characters do not emote like the opera but at the same time they aren't a pile of stones :) .
The voice acting also involves of dialogue related to aviation- such as doing checklists, talking to air traffic control etc. This would probably involve some jargon, so I promise to help out if there's any confusion.
I would also like to add that there's a short singing part for all characters. Don't worry- the singing does not have to be good at all, it's more like singing in the car rather than singing for a Disney movie (in fact, the more amateur the better). This is just a heads up.
And finally- I would expect good audio quality as well as good voice acting skill. Please ensure that your microphone does not pick up any background noise and excessive peaking. Also, I'll be running on the assumption that the mic you use for the audition lines are the same as the mic you'd use to voice act for this short film.
What you should expect from me
Once your part has been accepted, you'll be given access to the script, the full storyboard and the full animatic. I will provide as much help and advice I could so you're clear on what to do. I appreciate your time and I'll do my best to avoid any re-dos.
As for communications, Discord would be the recommended option, but if you got any special requirements for communications please don't hesitate to ask, and we'll come up with something.
Please note that I am on a rather unconventional time zone (Australia time, around UTC +10). For direct communications, I'd probably prioritise you and your timing. This is just a heads up to reduce any nasty surprises.
If you have any concerns or questions throughout the process, I would be more than willing to help out. Full disclosure: This is my first time hiring voice actors, so it would be great if we work together and help each other out :)
Straight after you're done, you're free to use your recordings in your own demo reels- you could even ask me to put your voice acting with part of the animatic for that purpose! Once the film is complete and is submitted to Youtube/any film festivals, your name will be properly credited at the end of the film.
Payments
Payments will be on a one-time, 'per project' basis, since this is a standalone short film. Rates vary by character- for Ren it's up to $10, and for Captain Kibbles it's up to $20. Rates differ between characters due to the varying amount of lines and required technical ability.
Payments will come from me personally through Paypal. If you do not have a Paypal, you won't get the role unless you're willing to work for free.
Once payments are complete, I will have a brief call with you on Discord (or any other communications app), and then I'll pay you half the sum upfront. Once you're done with the voice acting, I'll pay the rest of the sum.
Deadlines
The audition will have a soft, target deadline of the 15th of August 2020- so you could expect to receive a notification on whether you got your role on that date. Once you have been chosen and we get in contact, we'll find a voice acting deadline that works well for everybody. Most likely, you'll have the latter half of August and maybe the beginning of September to record the lines, so if you're unable to record during this time period, then please do not audition.
Audition requirements/tips
1. Please submit clean recordings on pro-sumer mics, and please use the mic that you'd use for the post-audition recording. Make sure there aren't any background noise like fans or people talking. In short, pretend that the audition is the real deal.
2. You may do a little bit of audio clean-up to reduce any background humming or increase the volume etc, but the less the better. Also, please do not add any additional sound effects or filters.
3. Feel free to do as many takes as you want- but please post your best take only for us all to hear and enjoy :)
4. Please read the character description and think through it before you give it your go- it provides a considerable amount of tips to get the character right.
5. Please do not read the red italic text such as, for example: (in a serious tone) It's used to give context and advice for the line.
6. Obviously, you could take some creative freedoms with your voice acting, but try your best to stick to the script, and please do not slate your auditions.
7. And of course, have fun!
Thank you for your time put into auditioning and reading about my project, I wish everyone the best of luck!
