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* * Sytra Languages Inc. * *
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Delta Force Black Hawk Down. Neverwinter Nights. Kessen II. Ultimate Ride. The Weakest Link. What do all of these games have in common? Their sound quality has been greatly influenced by Bill Black, a sound effects and voice over specialist.
For Black Hawk Down, Bill was in charge of deciding which voice actors would be used in the game. He was also the editor for the dialogue, making sure that everything blended nicely together.
He had similar duties for Neverwinter Nights, and in addition to working as the associate producer of Kessen II, he also did the voice actor editing, script preparation, managed pre-production and handled the localization from Japanese to English. Bill Black designed Ultimate Ride’s sound effects, and helped localize The Weakest Link from British to American English.
With so many big games under his belt, GameZone Online was thrilled to have the unique opportunity to interview Bill Black.
What do you look for in voice actors? Are there any particular acting styles, traits, etc., that tend to achieve better results than others?
Bill Black: I go for actors with animation and lip synch experience. Like actors that do Japanese anime dubs. These guys have great characters in their head.
How does the auditioning process work?
BB: I am very particular about that. I raid the developer for all the character info I can get. I create a sample script that covers the range of emotions for each character. I do a pre-casting session going over this with Doug Stone, an actor/director I have worked with for years. We select from actors we have worked with in the past mixed with any new actors we wish to try out. We can have from 3-6 actors read for the part. Then I make a CD with all the characters as wave files. Everyone puts their heads together and we cast the parts.
Was it hard to find the necessary voice talent for games like Neverwinter Nights?
BB: That was a real challenge. There were so many dialects. Doug Stone and I worked on the American voices and we brought in a British actress Jean Gilpin to line up auditions for the British talent. The cast was enormous and I can’t recall how many people we auditioned but it took 3 days.
On average, how much time will an actor spend recording his or her voice for a game?
BB: That depends on the size of the part. I have gone from 30 minutes to one week on a part.
Is it difficult to translate Japanese into English without losing any of the story’s impact? (Lots of Japanese words and sayings have different meanings in English and vice versa.)
BB: It has been my experience that when localizing a game is to first translate. Then from that point the script needs to be refined to make it work for the respective culture and dialect. An example would be when I was recording I-76 in German. The director adapted a line this way. In English you run over a bad guy the character says “Road kill.” Direct translations didn’t work in German, not funny. They changed it to “Strassenpizza”: Street pizza. Now it’s funny. This is the type of analysis that is needed to make a game work.
Now when you are doing localization, for example, taking a game from Japanese to English, you add in the lip sync factor and then you best know some great sync writers and sync actors…which I of course do!
The sound effects that you provided for the Return to Castle Wolfenstein E3 Trailer - were they generated using a PC, or were any of the sounds captured from real life?
BB: The E3 trailer was a two-part theme. The intro SFX were about creating the anticipation and fear of dreaded third Reich. I put in a real Hitler speech to give it real authenticity. Then the music takes over. Later I come back with hard hitting impacts for the Activision and Grey Matter logos and other credits. That was good fun.
How soon do you begin working on a game’s sound? Do you work on the sound throughout each game’s development, or do you start working on it after the title begins to take shape?
BB: When I get involved in a game for voice over I am really looking at getting character descriptions, I try to see what is done so far to get an idea of the scenes and characters. I look at script and get into pre-casting.
As for sound effects I want to get a copy and start to play the game, I want cut scenes, stills, anything visual to start plugging in ideas. With creature sound effects I really rely on screen creature of the sprite movements.
The developer often has placeholders in already as a starting point. The challenge is try to stay unique.
Is there a major difference between directing actors in a live action movie and directing voice actors for a game or an animated feature?
BB: Yes, substantially. On camera is usually a movie. You are telling a linear story, you have make-up props, lighting, floor makers and a litany of other elements. You are spending days on one scene capturing it from different angles.
A game isn’t always linear; the actor does not have the other actor to play off of. With voice you have none of that. You just close your eyes and listen to the voice, you manipulate the actor, create an illusion, a character that for the moment has nothing other than it’s naked voice to create this imaginary character. This is the true craft and challenge of voice acting. When well cast and well acted it really creates magic.
Are actors ever allowed or encouraged to improvise a little bit, or must they always stick to script?
BB: Both really, we often improvise and come up with some good lines; we also diligently stick to the script because in addition to telling a story our character often gives specific instructions to the player.
How do you design the sound effects for a game? Do you use the same techniques as a Foley artist?
BB: Not really. A Foley artist is watching a motion picture and making the human sounds, clothing rustle, footsteps etc. This is a linear process.
In a game you are generally creating a list of sound assets based on the action. Games are repetitive and non-linear. By that I mean you will hear the same explosion 50 times. Except for pre-rendered cut-scenes the sounds are attached to actions. So you are faced with making weapons, ambient environments, button and switches with many alternates to keep it interesting and on the edge.
I do go into the studio to create source material for sound effects. I also will bring in voice actors to create source material for creature sounds.
Is it difficult trying to edit dialogue for a game in more than Chinese voice over?
BB: Not in general but the challenge for me is when the language does not use a western alphabet such as Arabic or Korean. That can be tricky. If I have recorded it then I have a system that really makes it easy.
Which game(s) have you had the most fun working on?
BB: I love games in general. I really liked Fighter Squadron - The Screamin’ Demons Over Europe and Call To Power II. Galerians was really fun because I had already played the game before I did the localization. Delta Force: Black Hawk Down was a blast as well.
Did you get to meet Anne Robinson while doing the localization for The Weakest Link?
BB: The producer Stephanie O’Malley, who I have worked with for years, shot Anne’s parts at the TV studio, and I was ok with that because Anne can be scary.
Can you reveal any details about your next project(s)?
BB: I could tell ya but then I’d have to kill ya. It is a competitive business and I have to sign non-disclosure agreements. All I can tell you is I have military style shooter game coming up and I did some of the creatures for another title. I imagine they will be out by Christmas although I am not certain.
I’ll keep an eye out for those games 
Thank you Bill for such an interesting interview!