VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[JBarrett]

Yeah, that title is a mouthful, but so is the subject of this post.

I recently got a two-book audiobook deal (yay!), and in my conversations with the author, he decided that he wants to play with accents for some of the characters. The books are sci-fi young adult titles set in some other region of space, so there are no references to any known locations or languages. In that light, how much should I care about accent authenticity?

A couple examples: the author suggested that one character have an upper-class British accent, while for another he suggested "a more lower-class accent, that kind of 60s British Invasion rock-n-roller sound." The listener doesn't know this. They're just going to hear my take at two different British accents. If I take my best crack at them but end up crossing who-knows-how-many regional boundaries with them, does it matter, or is it enough that the voices are distinct from each other (and hopefully consistent throughout the book)?
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Justin S. Barrett
http://www.justinsbarrett.com/

[Yonie]

Personal opinion, not professional:

As long as it is consistent, the actual accent in itself isn't as important to me. Granted that I listen and read mostly fantasy, which gives some leeway.

I also think that the author should be serviced. It is his story and characters, after all. Perhaps give some suggestions as to what you think would be a good choice? Crudely speaking, it seems he wants one that has excellent articulation, while the other tosses his words out after having them pass through a grinder, bonesaw, and pool of sludge (heavy scouser).

2 pence and a fag worth. Wait for the other narrators to appear with their wisdom.

[Bish]

If you've got two Brit accents to do, and the only reason is to differentiate between the two characters, then I wouldn't get hung up on any regional accuracy at all. My suggestion would be to select two disparate Brits and keep their characters in mind when voicing. You could try Alan Rickman vs. Jason Statham... (or maybe Jeremy Irons vs. Bob Hoskins) again, don't try impersonations, just keep them in mind and channel their "class".

Yonie's right with emphasizing consistency, but personally, I'd avoid anything demonstrably regional, especially scouse... you're all too familiar with The Beatles, and it may be one of the few regional Brit accents that Americans may be critical of, if not matching their memories of the lovable mop-tops.

But please... eradicate all thoughts of Dick Van Dyke from your mind. The cheeky chappie from Mary Poppins never happened... repeat, never happened (revisionist history at work).

Cheers
Professor Higgins
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

[Lance Blair]

First off, congrats.

Next: if it's YA and it's Sci-Fi and not taking place in the UK, just have at it and keep the characters consistent. Just keep the two voices different from each other in a manner that is appropriate for the characters. Dont' worry about accents. It's all about characters and distinct personalities in Audiobooks, no?

Furthermore, if it's YA and for a US market, you can get away with not being authentically British.

Everything that Yonie said was spot-on. If you hit it the way the author wants, then don't fret.
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and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

[Diane Havens]

Cool, Justin -- congrats! Brits in space, eh? I didn't even know they had a space program. I go with something reminiscent of Monty Python.
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Diane


Veni, Vidi, Voci
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[Yonie]

[Bish]

Not so much Python as Izzard... the British space program is a very long ladder.
I though of another good disparate pairing, fictional this time... James Bond and Harry Palmer
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

[JBarrett]

Many thanks for the replies so far! Some great thoughts in there. Admittedly I have no idea what "scouse" is, so there probably isn't much danger of me hitting it accidentally...I hope...

I probably should have also mentioned that these two Brit voices will also differ in other ways that should make the separation a bit easier than if I only had the accent to work with: the upper-class one is a young female, while the lower-class one is a middle-aged male.
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Justin S. Barrett
http://www.justinsbarrett.com/

[Yonie]

Just for your information, Justin: "Scouse" is a colloquial term for the accent that originates in and around Liverpool.

[Philip Banks]

[Lance Blair]

Man, I used to love the Brits in Space skits on The Muppet Show.
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Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

[Bruce]

It's science fiction, yes? It takes place in a time or Universe way beyond ours, yes? So who knows what Brit accents, or any accents, would sound like then or there? I agree that class distinction and internal attitudes would be good guides, and once you set your character, consistency is crucial. Plus if you're reading a woman's role that should rely much more on attitude too.

A tad off topic, but one of the reasons I truly enjoyed the Firefly sci-fi series was that they frequently threw in Chinese expressions amongst the English. A hint of what happened between their time and ours?

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[heyguido]

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