Writers in the Recording Studio - Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing - page 107

You can help a voice actor by telling him where the character is located, where the
action is taking place. Give him a physical space that he can create in his mind's eye.
If he's on top of a mountain, he needs to feel the cold, hear the wind, and experience
the sensation of standing over the edge of a precipice. If the actor uses his senses (or
sense memory), the truth of the situation will come across in his voice. If someone
is chasing him, he needs to run in place, get his heart racing, create the physical
sensation of fear and flight. If he's supposed to be eating, give the actor something
real to eat. If he's supposed to be reading, give him a topic. You don't need him to
create the actual sound effects; what you need is verisimilitude.
Sometimes an actor will get nervous and tighten up and fall back on his bag of
facile tricks. Every actor has them. Sometimes they can be useful, but often they
can become a crutch that causes the performances to become less visceral and more
superficial.
If an actor is tense, you want to help him to relax. A relaxed actor is more likely to
be in touch with what he's really feeling inside. And those emotions are the gold you
are trying to mine. There are numerous relaxation techniques, and most experienced
actors will know the ones that work for them. Some of the most helpful are vocal
exercises, focused breathing exercises, and physical movement. Stretching. Running
in place. Rolling the neck. Anything to loosen up and relieve the tension.
How you communicate with an actor will have a direct bearing on his level of
relaxation. The director should always stay calm. Keep a sense of humor. You want
to keep all pressure out of the recording booth. If you're frustrated, if you're nervous,
don't let it show. Be positive. Be encouraging. Try to keep negativity to a minimum.
Don't frown when the actor delivers something that isn't working. Everything you
say or do will affect his confidence and tension level.
The exception to this is when you purposely act a certain way in order to elicit a
specific response from the actor, for instance, if you purposely try to anger the actor
in order to elicit believable rage. This can often work, but it can also be difficult to
bring the actor back from that emotion. The technique should be used very sparingly
and judiciously, if at all, especially if you don't like getting punched in the nose.
You want your actors to be good listeners. Whatever they say needs to reflect the
imaginary conversation they are having with either another character or the player.
You want their responses to sound spontaneous. This requires the actor to play
moment to moment. He shouldn't anticipate what he's going to say next. “Happy
accidents� are when the actor veers from the text, or even flubs a line, and creates a
genuine emotional moment. The actor has succeeded in elevating his performance
beyond the page. You want to encourage those happy accidents by not always being
a slave to the text.
Improvisation can also be a great tool to help your actors to relax. They'll try the
unexpected and may just come up with something brilliant. The end result can be a
more believable, vulnerable, and emotional performance.
As the director, your job is to tell the actor what to do, but this must be done
inanobliquemanner. Youneedtodirect...indirectly. Theidea is to leadtheactor