Challenges in a Voice-Acting Career配音演员的职业困境

Many articles online portray the life of voice acting as if actors are basking in their recording studio. It can be true to some extent—such as when a voice actor’s name is on the map1. And mostly it is false， as no business is dead easy2.

网上有不少文章描绘配音演员的生活，好像他们在录音棚里活得轻松惬意。要是演员已经扬名立万，这种说法可能有一定真实性。不过多数情况下，这纯属无稽之谈，因为没有哪个行业是特别轻松的。

Voice over job requires voice actors an ability to deliver a performance using only your vocal cords， a mastery of craft that requires a huge arsenal of talents， and a readiness and willingness to work at the drop of a hat3.

配音工作要求演员能够仅凭声带完成表演，掌握这门技能需要具备很多才艺，并愿意随时投入工作。

Reality check4， let’s take a look behind the scenes of the amazing voices we hear over the radio.

反观现实，让我们了解一下广播里听到的美妙声音背后的故事。

It’s more than just sitting and speaking

配音不只是坐着说话

Let’s admit it， it’s usually the initial picture when we try to imagine how voice actors do their job—sitting in a booth for a couple of hours， effortlessly reciting the script to a microphone. Not to mention the burden of having to trudge off a casting agency just for an audition uncertain to lead into a paid job.

别不承认，我们想象配音演员工作的场景，脑中最初浮现的画面往往是这样——在录音棚里坐上几个小时，对着麦克风毫不费力地朗诵剧本。我们想不到配音演员的那种压力，为了一场试音搞得疲惫不堪，步履沉重地离开选角机构，连能否通过这场试音获得一份有报酬的工作都不确定。

Nowadays， to produce a dope5 voice-over recording still take in countless errands and tools， and yes—some traveling for some cases， added to the process of narrating the script. From mastering the vocal direction， simulating the character， prepping the equipment， editing the recording， and submitting it to the client， to revisions that involve conversing with the client. A voice actor who has worked overnight for a 4000-word script might feel exhausted when it’s time to polish his work.

如今，要制作一段绝佳的配音，除了读剧本的程序之外，仍得完成无数杂事，运用大量工具，是的——有时还得出差。配音演员不仅要掌握声音要求、模仿角色、准备设备、编辑录音、提交录音给客户，还要和客户沟通修改录音。为了一份4000字的剧本通宵达旦，到了要润色作品的时候，配音演员可能已经感到筋疲力尽了。

Voice actors are always on call

配音演员要随叫随到

Whether actors are at his home studio or out of town for some beach party， some of them are still contactable by clients. At worst， sometimes clients need an urgent revision so voice actors sometimes allow work during a vacation so they have an on-the-go recording equipment to work a project right off the bat6 to help clients chase the deadline.

无论是在家录音还是去城外参加海滩派对，有些配音演员仍要与客户保持联系。最糟糕的情况下，客户可能需要紧急修改录音，所以配音演员有时休假要预留出工作时间。为此，他们配有便携式录音设备，可以随时工作，以便协助客户赶在规定期限内完成项目。

When at home， least chances of delay could just be like waiting for the leaf blower guy to leave your street.

在家工作时，小概率事件也可能造成延误，比如要等外面街上使用吹叶机清理落叶的环卫工人离开。

Voice actors can be put on standby—No Pay

配音演员要无薪待命

There are two scenarios for this. Mostly freelancers， voice actors’ status is called “avail” when they do not have a project to work on at the moment and of course， they are not paid for the avail days unlike corporate employees are.

这有两种情况。多数情况下，配音演员属于自由职业者，没有工作项目时的状态称为“待命”。当然，待命期间是不带薪的，这和企业员工不一样。

Another case is when actors agree to reserve a day or two for a recording session. During that time， no one else can book them until they have been released from the project commitment. To add insult to the injury， there are clients who will reserve them like that and just let go of them if they are no longer needed.

另一种情况是配音演员同意预留一两天时间录音。其间，其他任何人就不能再约该演员，直到当前项目任务完成后演员才能抽身。更糟糕的是，有些客户以这种方式预约配音演员，但说不用就不用了。

Unless you are famous， your income has crutches

演不出名钱袋不稳

If actors are non-celebrity， voice acting is not an easy profession to make an instant and steady living. An average voice actor takes many years of experience before they can have an annual income of at least $90，000. For starters， the lowest to get is $14，500 per year.

对籍籍无名的演员来说，配音并不是一份轻松、稳定、来钱快的职业。普通配音演员要积累数年工作经验，年收入才能达到9万美元以上。新人的最低年收入只有14500美元。

Considering the expansion of the voice-over the market， competition is sky-high. The easier and more accessible things have become because of internet advent， the more people entered the industry， and the rest is history7. It is rather more challenging today despite the help of technological advancement to extend your profile exposure.

由于配音市场扩张，这个行业竞争极为激烈。互联网的出现降低了行业门槛，越来越多的人员涌入，后来的事就不用赘述了。而今，虽然技术进步有助于扩大个人曝光度，但想要出圈难上加难。

It’s not true that voice actors’ face is not always shown

配音并非总不露脸

A common misconception not just to non-actors but to voice actors themselves is that vocal cords are the only asset involved in voice acting. In reality， voice actor’s facial expressions are valuable both to them and to the clients.

不仅是圈外人，连配音演员自己都常会有一种错误观念，认为配音只用得上声带。其实，配音演员的面部表情对自身和客户都很有价值。

For them to actually be able to hit a stellar voiceover performance， the engagement of the facial expressions and body language are 2 main ingredients.

演员若想呈现精彩的配音表演，必须加入面部表情和肢体语言这两大要素。

To clients whose voiceover genre is animation or video games， believe it or not， some of them install a kind of performer surveillance camera in recording studios to capture movement they can use as a reference to animate their characters. Voice actor’s natural gestures as they bring the characters into life play an important role in the visual aspect of the product.