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Audio Beowulf Goes To SoCal

Kai

Kai

Go Home And Be A Family Man!
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Night_Phyre
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This here is the thread where I describe my trip to beautiful Burbank, CA, and tell you all about the magical experience of meeting the people that make up Lab Zero. I'm typing this out on my phone because my flight got delayed and I'm killing time until they glue the wings back on or something. I'm going to be continuously updating this post as I un-forget stuff. I'll post a bunch of fun pictures when I sit down at home later tonight.

First things first: I am not a representative of lab zero, and therefore nothing I say should be taken as a statement from lab zero. I'm a paid performer who asked a lot of nerdy gameplay and lore questions, and am relating that to you all. I won't talk about anything that might spoil story mode until it's released, and I won't talk about super secret Lab Zero stuff ever.

Another thing that I want to come out and say right now is that this job was not awarded based on anything I've ever done with Skullgirls. It wasn't because I did Saturday Night Salt, it wasn't because I make Skullgirls theme remixes, and it wasn't because I tell everyone I know to play Skullgirls. Beowulf's voice wasn't picked based on some, "who's the best Skullfan," points system. I got to be Beowulf because I sound like Lab Zero wanted Beowulf to sound.

Now for the people!

Earl is an angel, and a vision of beauty, if I may say so (such luxurious hair). He's the kind of guy that every team of professionals needs: he cares, he puts in the effort, he's got a great attitude and he's quick to smile. I frankly can't think of a cooler guy to have hung out with all week going from place to place as he shuttled me around town.

Cristina was a sweetheart, and kept the sessions relaxed enough to have lots of fun, but tight enough to get the best performance out if me, and on time, too. She's an LA girl at heart, and in the best way. If I ever did any other voice work, I'd be ecstatic to work with her again.

Alex is a funny guy, really full of that nerdy-but-excited-to-tell-you-about-it energy that's just infectious and charming. He humored all of my lore questions and stayed in good spirits despite my constant boisterous shouting and laughing.

Jon was a treat, because I hadn't really been following him as closely as some of the other team members, so I wasn't aware that he was A COOL MOTHERFUCKER. Jon's so cool, he'd rob a bank with you on short notice. He reminds me of the kind of guy that a group of friends would say, "wait, we can't go out without Jon!" The only bear-hugger on the art team <3

Mariel is exactly as in her self portraits. Constantly enshrouded in a blanket as she huddles in her chair, drawing with intent, focused eyes. Very friendly, though, and after talking to her over lunch about female representation in games, I'm very much looking forward to her talk on the subject at GDC.

Mike is Mike. He's the design lead on my favorite fighting game, so I kinda think the world of him. He's obsessive, over-thinking, critical and self critical, and we're lucky to have him work on this game. He's not Jesus: he's a real person with goals and flaws, and he breaks his back for you. I know it's as fashionable as ever to post some lulzy bullshit about Mike or Skullgirls, but seeing Mike and Lab Zero as a whole work on this game has solidified to me that if you don't appreciate what Skullgirls is, you don't know how good you have it. Say I'm riding their collective dick if you want, but I've seen it with my own eyes, now: Skullgirls is made of blood, sweet and tears.

I'll post more stuff (including L0 folks I didn't type about yet) and format this all better when I get back, but it's time to board my flight, so that's it for now.

edit 1, from my plane seat:
I forgot to say something really important. I expected more haters, frankly, and there were really only a couple. The overwhelmingly positive reception by the Skullgirls community has filled me with the kind of manly joy that makes me want to high five each and every one of you. A community is only as good as the people in it, and your hype has reaffirmed that this really is the community I belong in.

edit 2, from my desk at home, only 3 hours later than planned (thanks spirit airlines!):
I'm attaching some choice shots of the trip, with a more complete album to come later.
"The art side"
artside1.png


"The design side"
designside1.png


"inside the booth"
studioin1.png


"outside the booth"
studioout1.png


"but srsly I'm beowulf"
saltygroup1.png


"blue steel"
sexmachines1.png


"me and some hot chick"
wifephyre1.png

edit 3, end of the weekend:
Here's what Alex drew for me and for my wife, who cosplayed as Ms Victoria a little while back
IMG_20150214_165611~2.jpg IMG_20150214_165142~2.jpg

edit 4, President's Day Edition:
 
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Okay but what did you have for lunch
I assume it wasn't sandwiches because Mike has the monopoly on those throughout all of SoCal
 
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That was beautiful, you have me in fucking tears right now.
You magnificent bastard, bless you.
 
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It's good that you are developing a bond with the people of Lab Zero and enjoying your trip! Can't wait to hear more.
 
Hate to be that guy, but how is this considered "character discussion"?
 
I heard your voice concepts a long time ago, and from that point onwards, I can't imagine Beowulf to have a different voice.

It's very awesome that you had this wonderful experience with such a lovely team, and even more awesome that you are sharing this experience to us, let alone being yourself a fan of this and then they contacted you to VA this, with a nice bond between the group to boot.

Like people said here, and we all can agree with this, you are a magnificent basterd~
 
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Congrats Kai, just realising now that you did that awesome Aeon's theme remix that i'm a fan of.
 
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You've got such a cool life man.
When you see 'em again, tell 'em Zen says hi.
 
Oh man I'm so jealous of you. Good for you though.
 
How was "Winter" down there?
 
You are all so adorable. Enjoy this adventure at your best, Phyre!
 
EA575 said:
How was "Winter" down there?
The sun felt great, and it was shorts weather for sure. It almost made sitting in traffic almost bearable.
 
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How much worse is LA traffic compared to Chicago traffic?
 
why did you fly spirit airlines

I made that mistake on my trip to EVO and that ended in them leaving my mom and I in South Carolina to fend for ourselves when we were supposed to be going to New York.
 
Nap1400 said:
why did you fly spirit airlines

I made that mistake on my trip to EVO and that ended in them leaving my mom and I in South Carolina to fend for ourselves when we were supposed to be going to New York.
NOW I KNOW
 
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Voice Actors get doodles? Maaaaaaaaaaaan.
 
So Kai's wife confirmed for... Ms. Victoria?

I can get behind this.
 
Thanks a lot, now I ship Beowulf and Victoria.
By the way that's a nice banner you got there Phyre.
 
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Night Phyre said:
Somehow, 100x worse.

As an ex-Californian, allow me to humbly apologize for our super shitty traffic.

With that out of the way, congrats on getting cast as Beowulf, man! :)
 
What was the recording like? I mean, giving a few reads on short quips is one thing, but I've always wondered about the minor details. Like all the grunts and gasps for getting hit or dishing out the pain. Was there suggestions like "okay, this is your stagger so pretend like you gotta puke, but you can't because you are still on the Twilt-a-Whirl at full speed" or "give us a punched-in-the-face noise, but dial it down this time because it was a LP." Or was it more of an improvised kind of thing?

(I must say I wish Marvel vs. Capcom 3 had Skullgirls' high standards for sound design. Ever see a Nova match? You'll hear the same annoying "Like that?!" a thousand times.)
 
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BallotBoxer said:
What was the recording like? I mean, giving a few reads on short quips is one thing, but I've always wondered about the minor details. Like all the grunts and gasps for getting hit or dishing out the pain. Was there suggestions like "okay, this is your stagger so pretend like you gotta puke, but you can't because you are still on the Twilt-a-Whirl at full speed" or "give us a punched-in-the-face noise, but dial it down this time because it was a LP." Or was it more of an improvised kind of thing?
For longer lines (round intro/exit) I'd say them 2 or 3 times, and for shorter things (hits, being hit) I would vocalize anywhere from 5-25 times, depending on how often you'd hear it in game. Cristina would generally offer extra direction if what I was doing wasn't close to what she had in mind (and I'd then rerecord those lines until it was right), but I was able to nail a decent amount of them on the first set. The kinds of direction she'd sometimes add would were as short as, "rougher," or, "more bite," to highly specific things like, "say it like you know they don't stand a chance," or, "like you can't get enough of the crowd." A common direction would be her asking to hear multiple takes putting emphasis on different words, or to go up/down at the end of a sentence.

Cristina and I had a pretty good back and forth, and she didn't try to box me in on anything, opting instead to let me explore some really cool methods of delivery when I felt like it, and that combination of excellent direction and willingness to let me direct myself when I wanted led to a performance that I couldn't be more happy with. I can definitely see why her fans & peers hold her in high regard.

Mike informed me afterwards that the sessions went a lot faster/smoother than some prior, and I personally suspect that had a lot to do with the fact that my familiarity with the game sounds meant I didn't need an explanation on what things like, "light attack," should sound like. Funnily enough, the one that held me up for like 5 minutes was, "being thrown." I mean, we eventually nailed it, but for a solid minute or two I was unable to come out of the, "attacking," mindset I'd been in just before that :P
 
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Ooh, that's a really interesting look into the process in the recording booth!

(Also I moved the thread into Art and Other Media)
 
This is awesome. It's great that you went to In N Out while you were out here. I know because those menus in one of the pictures don't lie! Enough about amazing burgers, what was your favorite thing about being out in SoCal? I hope you enjoyed our traffic because I don't.
 
Are you gonna star in a "Voices of Gaming" video to voice over Beowulf's Story Mode? Because those kind of videos crack me up a lot.
 
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MetroKoolAid said:
This is awesome. It's great that you went to In N Out while you were out here. I know because those menus in one of the pictures don't lie! Enough about amazing burgers, what was your favorite thing about being out in SoCal? I hope you enjoyed our traffic because I don't.
If we're not counting the job itself, then I liked the weather the most. Chicago is a great city, but it was fucking -10 or some shit when I got back into town.

Kuzlalala said:
Are you gonna star in a "Voices of Gaming" video to voice over Beowulf's Story Mode? Because those kind of videos crack me up a lot.
I'd like to, but I'll say that it's unlikely due to my not living anywhere near where they film. Not counting it out, but I'd need to be in the LA area already, and that's fairly rare. I promise you, though, that one way or another I'll give you a voiced Beowulf story mode, even if I have to record it myself and upload it to my YouTube channel.
 
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Kuzlalala said:
Are you gonna star in a "Voices of Gaming" video to voice over Beowulf's Story Mode? Because those kind of videos crack me up a lot.
I could just imagine how geeky he'll seem compared to everyone else in terms of lore.
Not to mention all the whoop ass he'd deal out.
 
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