WaPo: In $25 billion video game industry, voice actors face broken vocal cords and low pay

Chamomile · Oct 31, 2017

Since the migration seems to have paid off, and things are starting to level out here in terms of discussions about the "other," I hope to begin sharing more politicized, unspoken issues surrounding the game industry. I would have shared this earlier, but I feel like the forum was still stabilizing when this article was initially published. The Washington Post wrote an article on October 27th about voice actors and their rights in the game industry.

Ashly Burch, known as the voice of Aloy from the hit video game title Horizon: Zero Dawn, was one of many that were interviewed for this article.

Select excerpts about vocal cord damage:

She woke up with a tickle in her throat. This was worrying for Ashly Burch, who, at 27, is a rising star in the small world of voice actors, best known for her work in video games. She knew actors who had blown out their voices in the studio. She'd come close herself. So leaving her house that morning Burch sipped a soothing mix of chai tea and pea milk. "It's nondairy," she said. "Dairy creates mucus, and that's not a good sound."

Yet voice actors in this industry are not treated like actors in television and movies. This led voice actors to go on strike last year against 11 of the largest video game developers over bonus pay and safety issues such as vocal stress. The bitter labor dispute dragged on for 11 months, making it the longest strike in the history of Hollywood's largest actors' union, SAG-AFTRA. Burch was forced to give up a critically acclaimed role she loved. Gaming fans feared delays for their favorite titles before a tentative deal was reached late last month. A vote by the full union is going on now.

The lengthy strike highlighted how video games have emerged as the scene of a tense clash between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Voice actors want to be treated more like TV and film actors, who are viewed as central to the creative process. Tech firms often see the developers and engineers as the true stars of the show.

Another voice actor on the show, Courtenay Taylor, mentioned she suffered a hemorrhage in her vocal cords last year while voicing a game. Most injuries come from exertion, such as screaming. But she got hurt whispering. She had to visit a speech pathologist for rehab and was unable to work for three months.

"I can show you some pretty gnarly pictures, if you want," Taylor said, offering to share photos of her damaged vocal cords.

Select excerpts about pay:

The tentative contract doesn't include that. Instead, the game companies agreed to a 3 percent raise for the guild's minimum wage — which works out to about $850 for a four-hour session — and a sliding upfront bonus schedule based on the number of sessions, maxing out at $2,100.

But almost no voice actor can survive on video game work alone. It just doesn't pay well enough.

"I've made more money from one episode of some crappy preschool cartoon than one of the biggest-selling video games of all time," said Phil LaMarr, a comedic actor who has lent his voice to the "Metal Gear Solid" series and cartoons such as "Pound Puppies."

Actors in movies and TV usually earn residuals or bonus payments, typically when their work is re-aired or issued on DVD. And TV actors won improved residual payouts from streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon.com in the union contract agreed to earlier this year. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

But games don't pay residuals. In video games, actors earn a flat fee.

Full article here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...3f7ee4035c9_story.html?utm_term=.66a5ac1c52e2

Jaina · Oct 31, 2017

thanks, but https://www.resetera.com/threads/wa...ors-face-broken-vocal-cords-and-low-pay.2002/ https://www.resetera.com/threads/wp...ors-face-broken-vocal-cords-and-low-pay.2048/

WaPo: In $25 billion video game industry, voice actors face broken vocal cords and low pay

Chamomile

Jaina