I had never in my entire life been head of security for a space ship! But now that’s become a reality ! Thanks to the character of Sloane Kelly in the famous video game MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA.
When I found out that I’d been chosen to play the part for this character I was thrilled and pretty nervous too: I knew nothing about the world of video games and had never done dubbing for a warrior! To get to know this world a little better, I did a lot of research on the web. ANDROMEDA was still in project mode and it took me three days to even find a picture of Sloane Kelly.
And then I asked my nephew to play one of the earlier versions of MASS EFFECT so I could get an idea of the atmosphere and listen to the dubbing work.
This is how I prepared for the role and was able to confidently approach the recording sessions.
Sloane is a tyrannical woman and very sharp in the way she reacts.
Listen to an excerpt here and you will see what I mean !
As the character developed over time, the artistic direction I was given asked me to bring in a ray of sensitivity and even a hint of some deeper sorrow : the warrior’s armour
cracks as the game progresses making her increasingly captivating to the players.
Dubbing a character for a video game is entirely different work from doing animation cartoons or film dubbing.
The skills required and the working conditions are not the same either. It’s a new and specific type of work in the world of voice over artists. For example, I didn’t work
with images, I only had the American vocal version which guided me in terms of intention and in finding the right timing in order that the speech pace be identical. Lots to master
in addition to the acting.
And now I’m excited to see what my nephew thinks ;-)
- Virginie Bodin