George Washington III of Charlotte, N.C., provides the voice of world-weary private investigator K.C. Gaddis in the swamp noir adventure Knee Deep. He shared with us some answers to questions about his career and his experiences working on the project.

Getting started in voice acting.

I was an IT manager for one of the large banks in the Southeast when I was tapped to host an in house video project. As part of the project, I had to go to a local studio to do some voiceover tracks. I asked the people at the studio, Concentrix Music and Sound Design, how I could get into doing more voiceover work? They encouraged me to look up resources and scripts, and to practice, practice, practice. I returned six months later to make my demo with them. I still work with the folks at Concentrix to this day, 13 years later.

Favorite VO project, aside from Knee Deep?

Without a doubt, my favorite project was a video game, DC Universe Online. As a long time comic book fan, it was so exciting to get the audition script, marked CONFIDENTIAL, and to read the words of John Stewart, one of the legendary Green Lanterns. I ultimately won the gig, and got to say the Green Lantern oath in studio, complete with my replica power ring! "In brightest day, in blackest night..."

Most important thing for an aspiring voice actor to remember?

That instant success takes time. It is exceedingly rare that your first job, your 10th job, your 100th job is going to be a big deal. Stay at it, keep working, practicing and accepting that this is a selection business, not a rejection business.

What made Knee Deep different?

I would have to say the difference is the engagement with Prologue outside of the project. Being connected with Wes over social media, being able to see the real efforts made to push Knee Deep forward in a crowded field of video games is a great feeling, and I am so excited to be a part of a very interesting and entertaining project. Also, many of my friends were also voices in Knee Deep, so it brings a smile to my face to know I was "working" with them, even though it was never in real-time.

What appealed to you about K.C. Gaddis?

K.C. Gaddis is carrying an enormous weight of personal and professional failure. Just coming back to Cypress Knee is an indication of how he feels that his life has turned almost entirely against him. Monroe, and to a lesser extent, his mom, is all he has left. That intrigued me, as it felt that during the course of the game, he had to find a new focus and target for his will to live. For people who have never recorded a game, it would surprise them to know how difficult it can be to maintain that kind of characterization across the many takes you do line by line. That challenge really made a difference for me. I can't wait to get the chance to work with Prologue again with a character as interesting as K.C. Find out what happens to Gaddis when the final act of Knee Deep launches on March 8.

[ 2016-03-01 14:50:00 CET ] [ Original post ]