Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/216003
Audiobook narrator Cassandra Campbell in the studio. M ark Hamill was working as a technical and creative consultant for a video game based on a graphic novel he had written, when he found out the developers planned to use non-union talent for the voiceovers. "What I said to them was, 'I can't tell you how wise it would be to use union actors,'" Hamill said. "You can't put a price on the professionalism that they bring to the table." Hamill, world famous for his role as Luke Skywalker in the first three Star Wars films, successfully turned the developers from the dark side and flipped the job. "I said, 'Look, it's not as expensive as you would think.' I was very impassioned about it," Hamill said. 50 SAG-AFTRA 50-57_voiceover_F.indd 50 When they agreed, Hamill was able to assemble a dream team of voice talent, including Frank Welker, Jim Cummings and Tress MacNeille. Hamill, who has established himself as a voiceover virtuoso in his own right in TV's animated Batman, Metalocalypse Mark Hamill and dozens of other productions, contributed as well. It was a level of acting expertise and skill the developers hadn't used in their previous projects. "They came to my way of thinking," Hamill said "When we did the sessions, [they] were just bowled over. They never regretted that choice." For those unfamiliar with it, voice acting, like so many other creative endeavors, may seem like something anyone can do — they don't see the years of training and preparation needed to create a top-tier performance. Voiceover in all its forms, whether for animation, video games, documentaries, promos, audiobooks, commercials or movie trailers, just to name a few, is a craft. It's a difficult line of work to get into, and even more difficult to do well — even if SAG-AFTRA professionals often make it look easy. "Commercial voiceover performers are uniquely skilled storytellers. We have to deliver a complete message in a few seconds, without selling too hard | Fall 2013 | SAGAFTRA.org 11/13/13 12:06 PM