Voice actor & Game writer
Fia in Old Skies | Weeoo in Harold Halibut | Dread Delusion | Hob’s Barrow | PRIM | Loco Motive
info at Sally Beaumont . com
She/Her
@GBBranstetter
It’s the “of course…” that gets me.
He knows he’s surrounded by men who feel the same. Emboldened to say he didn’t think his wife was a person for ten years.
Get out.
Casting voice actors:
Fantastic actors get rejected for roles.
I honestly wish I could cast 90% of the auditions I get because there is so much talent out there.
Rejection is a part of the job, and not an indication you should quit.
Keep going- the right role is out there.
Voice actors:
you cannot only be about voice acting.
Acting is life- you have to fill the well with life.
And you need hobbies that feed your soul whether or not you're getting booked.
For me it's wildlife gardening-you?
So far today a AAA game has offered an NPC voice acting gig as a prize to a fan (no pay mentioned) and I’ve seen a job with public auditions on TikTok where fans vote.
Voice acting is a skill, a craft and an art and we deserve to be paid for our efforts because they add value.
Voice actors:
A "casting" is going around that looks like a producer is adding VA to an existing successful RPG game, HOWEVER he's nothing to do with the developer, they don't want voice acting and he's highly manipulative, using Pick Up Artist stuff to get VAs to work for free.
@Sonic_Screwup
Waiting for the loo at a conference I commented to a man waiting for the lift that it was very Egyptian inspired, he said like being in a pyramid. Chit chat.
As he got in and the doors were closing I (for reasons I still don’t understand) yelled out “enjoy your sarcophagus!”
Voice acting is a tough job- rejection, competition, disappointment, envy.
It’s worth remembering though, that someone out there loves a performance you gave.
It might be a jam game, indie, AAA.
A line, a sound, or a huge performance.
Your work is someone’s favourite thing.
@MaliceDaFirenze
If you need a voice actor who is a genuine horse girl, give me a shout!
(I should clarify that I mean I used to ride horses, not that I sound like a horse, but also….I have voiced a horse so…)
This woman (and everyone who agrees with her) should never be allowed to listen to music, wear clothes designed by a person, enjoy TV, films, art, read anything written by a person, actually lets include hairdressers, food, the furniture she's sitting on, IT'S ALL CREATIVE
@SamanthaBeart
Make hay while the sun shines!
This role is so good for raising your profile- the idea we should be coy about such a big achievement is so weird.
If we’re quiet about success…what are we allowed to be happy about?
The thing about Baldur’s Gate 3 is, that while it’s sweeping awards, it’s put its performers front and centre. Even though I’m not in it, I’m benefitting- players care about voice acting more, follow our careers and are curious about what we do.
Amazing work, long overdue.
CASTING: male voice actors for small video game role!
Indo-Canadian, late 40s scientist, world weary has a great emotional monologue so looking for acting chops!
PAID ROLE application details below:
Lord Captain! We arrived in the Koronus Expanse and are ready to announce that Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is officially released on all the platforms!
Getting in on this:
I’m Sally, and I’m a Voice Actor, Casting Director, Voice Director, Narrative Designer and Game Writer!
I’m 42, have a (mostly) invisible disability and live in the UK whilst working worldwide.
#WhatAGameDevLooksLike
Voice actors: please please please label your auditions as per the instructions and definitely WITH YOUR NAME!
Developers are getting hundreds of applications and they don’t have time to hunt you down. Just heard of a great audition on the scrapheap because of this!
Paid video game casting 2:
Male VA for narrative game demo- I want to hear from deeper voiced US natives (or US English with a bit of something else) with their own studio the client can Skype direct via. Character is ageless, 200 years old or more.
Voice refs: Gandalf
DM links!
I got a shout out in Forbes!
"voice actor Sally Beaumont delivers the game’s standout performance by offering an incredible depth of emotion and warmth to the character, despite effectively serving as the game’s version of Siri."
In the next few months I’ll be casting the role of a black, female wheelchair user- I’d like to cast as authentically as possible, so if that’s you, please get in touch.
It’s a paid role, remote recording (can be yours or a loan), and ambulatory/part time use is fine.
That’s me voicing the trailer!
I also voice the intro and ending to Dread Delusion, very excited for players to hear some of the consequences of their actions…
Urgent paid casting:
looking for a black British voice actor for a female role- a corporate animation that’s very realistic, looking for regional accents (England, Scotland, Wales, anything except RP).
Please read below before applying:
Here’s a perspective I hope helps other voice actors:
You have no idea how many people may be writing with you in mind, right now.
Or hoping the next job will let them cast you.
You may be someone’s muse, and you don’t even know it.
Keep going, and keep sharing your work.
VA casting:
Looking for native US or US English as a second language to play a rusty-voiced 80 year old woman. Esp want to hear from older voice actors.
Needs own studio with option to Skype direct, extra points if you can also cover a 7 year old, teen and forty-something.
DM me!
The idea of the “big break” is SO pervasive in voice acting- and it can certainly look like that from the outside.
But it’s more like watching one of those domino videos- impressive, fast, but you’re not seeing the hours dedicated to setting each one up…
Auditions that pay below standard rates have no business demanding you have a Neumann U87 mic “or similar quality”.
That’s even before we talk about the amount of acoustic treatment a mic of that quality needs!
I’m attempting to push back against British “modesty” and be a bit more proud of my achievements:
Today I hit my audition target for 2024! I also had a booking rate of 13% which I’m really pleased about.
(Oof I hate “bragging”)
It’s my birthday!
Am I where I thought I’d be at 42?
Absolutely not.
Am I having fun?
Yeah, some of the time.
I get to audition for an incredible game, write for another, then go hang out with my physiotherapy class.
Is that the meaning of life, the universe and everything?
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is 30% off in the
#GameOverT1D
Steam Sale!
Join intrepid antiquarian Thomasina Bateman on her visit to the mysterious village of Bewlay in our folk horror adventure... 💀⛏️
➡️
Old Skies currently holds my record for number of death noises recorded.
If you're going to kill off your protagonist in this many ways, hire a VA with chronic pain- I know my pain emotes!
(also a moment for how gorgeous the art is)
I just want to say to my fellow actors who’re disabled, chronically ill, neurodivergent, that if the industry has made you feel unwelcome intentionally or otherwise:
YOU BELONG HERE
More than that, the industry NEEDS us.
VOICE ACTORS
Please do me a favour, and check your spam folders. Now-ish.
And a few times a week.
And your social media messages. Things slip through the cracks and I know of at least one person who’s about to lose a great role because they’re not responding to multiple messages!
Incredibly proud to announce: I’ve been doing some writing on Old Skies!
So excited to help bring a time-looping mission to life, especially for
@WadjetEyeGames
I’ve learned SO MUCH from him and this game, and I’m looking forward to voicing this part of it especially.
I'm doing my least favourite part of casting today: rejections.
It's useful for me as a VA to have this perspective, and I hope it helps others:
a rejection doesn't mean you were bad or wrong, it just means someone else was more right for the role.
That's it.
@Charliecondou
A one line film role opposite Meryl Streep and Simon Russell-Beale.
I couldn't bear to watch the film til a few years ago and realised the role had been cut.
I’m back as voice acting moderator, so if you’d like to do some VA for a jam game we have a whole discord channel with advice, discussion and a place to show off your reel.
Devs who’d like to experiment with adding voices: now is the time!
#indiedev
#gamedev
#AdvJam2023
has begun!
We are around here to help you during these two weeks! Here are some useful links:
> Discord
> Tools & resources
Looking forward to see what you all create this year! Have fun 🎉
@BlondeHistorian
@GuideDogAva
My jaw dropped. I’m so sorry!
I’m afraid that does read as them deliberately humiliating you- putting you back in your place.
You’re such a great mum and human and I really wish people respected your autonomy.
@kimmacaskill1
Can confirm every word of this. We’re doing our best, honest, but acting is reacting- if we can’t react to something… that’s what you end up with.
The Vile has taken over & your arm feels...different. Ah, but don't worry — it'll probably be fine!
🏚️Explore rich dynamic environments on a 2.5D plane
🎭Fight the Vile's horrors with your odd new powers
☠️Save the town before it's too late
OK, so creative work has no value and we shouldn't be doing it.
So why steal countless creatives work? If it has no value why are you trying to sell our own creativity back to us?
Remote voice acting life:
Record job.
Go out to back garden and eat raspberries straight off the plant.
Audition.
No travel, expense or stress. Clients are happy, I’m happy.
An oft-overlooked reason for hiring British voice actors for British roles is that we instinctively understand how dialect relates to class.
That’s especially important when making a historical project- or (my favourite) subverting class expectations with a character.
V Fast paid casting:
Looking for an East Asian VA, ideally Japanese.
It's for an older lady role for a trailer, able to do aggressive/shouty stuff (she's reacting to a fight she's betting on).
High quality studio needed.
Ideally reels below by the end of today!
Psst-disabled and chronically ill creatives: I think you're amazing, and we don't give ourselves enough credit. Not only for showing up in our lives as we do, but in the joy our creative work brings to others.
I needed to hear that today, so I'm guessing you did too.
It’s a tough time to be a marginalised VA.
In the last week I’ve seen several award-nommed and beloved-by-fans voices frustrated that they’re still shut out of opportunities.
Or we might win the jackpot, be a lead in a AAA…and be harassed.
I love my work, but it’s hard.
Not a formal casting call, just putting some feelers out for a video game client I'm working with:
Black FVAs with northern British accents.
Indian/SE Asian MVAs- again ideally northern British accents.
Include any studio setup if you have it. Comedy chops a bonus!
Paid.
Huge thanks to all the directors and casting directors who make sure clients still consider remote voice actors!
I know it's not always possible, but it is thoroughly appreciated that you try.
Ditto in-person events that stream online. It's all a lifeline!
The outright adoration of the voice work in BG3 (richly deserved) juxtaposed against some pretty egregious AI voice cloning this week has me reeling.
I sincerely hope the quality and scale of the VA on that game builds more respect for our work. It’s overdue.
Role(s) announcement!
Delighted to share that I play six characters in Loco Motive!
You can hear a little bit in the fully-voiced demo now available on Steam!
The fully voice-acted
@LocoMotiveGame
demo will be playable in October edition of
#SteamNextFest
!
Get ready for cheeky British humour, plenty of puns, Oscar-worthy voice acting, a caboose full of charm, & a good ol' fashioned 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚢.
📅 Oct 14-21
🔗⬇️
Sometimes a small role has 300 applicants. Quite frankly any role you are cast in is a huge achievement in this business.
It’s also worth remembering that in a job where perhaps 90-99% of the time you’ll be rejected- ENJOY your wins.
Judge the miracle by feel and not size.
Found some mocking comments about one of my roles online and wanted to address it. The comments weren't saying that I did a poor job or even that they disliked it - rather it was insinuating that my role was too minor to publicly announce.
🚨The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is coming September 28th!! 🚨
Explore the isolated moors of rural Victorian England as you uncover the mysteries of Hob's Barrow.
Wishlist the game (and find out more!) here:
As AdventureX approaches I’d like to gently remind voice actors that “networking” means “building a network” ie community, NOT thrusting your business cards at exhausted gamedevs.
Take an interest, learn about their process, maybe even make some friends!
Have fun out there!
Within the VA community we know
@SamanthaBeart
has worked their socks off to help bridge the gap between voices and devs. And now they have a higher profile, they’re using that to do even more.
Game Voices Connect was brilliant- I’m lucky to have been involved.
VOD from last night's Q&A (Part 1) now up!
Your interest in gamedev and acting was noted, so here's something from 2020 when I got a few of us in a room together to talk about how we can all collaborate better:
Looking for VAs to recommend:
Character is 30s, female with a Spanish accent (from Spain only).
Only looking for authentic accents- so being Spanish or having Spanish heritage etc.
(Paid, high quality home studio needed)
Links below please!
How actors think casting directors listen to auditions: "Pah, what a pathetic excuse for a performance! I shall bin this immediately, and blacklist them FOREVER!"
How we actually listen: "Oh, lovely-nice, nice, yep, see what you did there." <adds to pile of great auditions>
Well well well, if it isn't the client who pays me incredibly late and never apologises, needing a VO urgently.
Let me just... rush... to... do... that.
So, quick pointers for this type of thing:
Trust your gut- if something feels weird, ask for clarification
Fact check online- again, asking
Pay attention to questions that are avoided or any "how could you ask?" responses
If you feel guilty- this isn't a professional situation
Money is not a dirty word- asking for appropriate rates should be a professional discussion, not about feelings.
If someone only wants to speak on the phone, consider recording the call- then follow up in writing.
Familiarise yourself with Pick Up Artist and NLP manipulation/
Just finished importing the last line of the last Fia session into
#oldskies
. 17 sessions. Two hours each. 34 hours of raw audio just for her alone. Almost as many dialog lines as Rosa Blackwell from all 5 games combined.
@sallybeaumont1
's voice basically lives in my head now.
As a voice actor, I would argue that this is your main goal.
You can’t control the rest of the project, the marketing or how it’s received by critics: you can do your best work.
You’re not ready for Old Skies, I’m telling you.
I’m in the rare position of getting to play the missions before I record the voice acting, and holding these images in my mind while I play Fia is such a gift.
If there’s one thing the Hob’s Barrow loveliness is showing over and over: voice acting is not an expensive extra that will probably sound naff.
We’re part of your team, we collaborate with you to make your game even better, more engaging, more human.
Let us play, you’ll love it
One of the rules of being a voice actor is, as soon as you start putting together a new reel, you'll record some excellent roles that won't be released for at least six months and you'll really want to delay the reel.... ad infinitum.
@RebelWheelsNYC
@4WheelWorkOut
“I bet you’re one of those fake abled people! You don’t even look able-bodied- you just want attention, don’t you?”
Also just shouting
“WHATS RIGHT WITH YOU???” In the street.
Considering putting a panel together for Rezzed- about how scriptwriting changes when the script is performed by voice actors rather than read.
Would that be useful?
If so, who wants to join me?
Looking for game writers and voice actors (or both like me!), esp marginalised folk
I worry that being honest about chronic pain will put off clients from hiring me- but I want to be visible and bring my whole self to my career (and normalise chronic illness for newer VAs).
I also make some of the most authentic pain noises in the business, so....
Just to say I am semi-back on here now: thanks to everyone for the kind messages and checking in.
My bad news was that there’s no more help for me, at least surgically- I wanted to take time to feel my feelings and plan how I wanted to manage life with severe pain.
As game actors strike for AI protections, Amazon Games boss says we need more AI and it's not "taking work away" because "for games, we don't really have acting"
I have a game dev joke. Please give me a few months to see if it works, and if so I'll look for funding and hire a dozen people, and if all goes well I will have the joke ready in 2 or 3 years. The team and I really hope that when it's done you'll like the joke.
New voice actors:
Remember any contracts or release forms can be AMENDED BY YOU if you're unhappy with the terms.
Many employers treat them as yes/no docs, but they're business agreements between equals (or should be).
"The voice acting here is spectacular, an amazing cast, with voice direction from one of the safest hands in the industry, Dave Gilbert. Samantha Béart provides the voice of Thomasina, and is pitch-perfect throughout...and not one puts a word wrong."
Tonight I was blindsided at the
#agff
award ceremony by being inducted into the adventure game hall of fame. Not only that, but I was introduced by my dear friends
@sallybeaumont1
(who narrated the intro video) and
@ivydupler
(who presented me the award). This photo cannot convey
I got a shout out in Forbes!
"voice actor Sally Beaumont delivers the game’s standout performance by offering an incredible depth of emotion and warmth to the character, despite effectively serving as the game’s version of Siri."
@arcane_fiction
I’d have liked to have auditioned for this but I’m not comfortable with the public auditioning/backers choosing.
It’s using auditions as free marketing, when it should be about choosing the right role for the project.
Here’s me on BBC World Service, talking about what AI is doing to the voice acting business, yesterdays developments and what it might mean for the UK industry.
Thanks to
@Cressup
for asking me!
Being a voice over in 2023 means losing out in a commercial because the client wants you cheap, then setting a calendar reminder to check if they’ve cloned your voice from a previous job to use instead.
/comes up with for "not doing what I want you to do". Get comfy with being "strictly business"
If any of this rings a bell, DM me- I'm in touch with the developer.
He's targeting new/amateur voices, likes to slag off professional voices (and
@WadjetEyeGames
VA)
RTs please!
Stuff the acting books don't cover:
Sometimes, for a game VA, you have to read dozens and dozens of names on mailboxes because the artist thought the hallway would look better with more.
And you just know someone is going to click on all of them. "Nosy Parker" achievement?
And that's another AdvX!
I missed you all, truly, and I hate covid for keeping me away.
I am getting all your nice messages about missing me being there (thanks to
@WadjetEyeGames
for passing along) and grateful it's streamed. The adventurers panel was a balm to my bleak soul!