Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Dec 16, 2016 2:40:38 GMT -8
Auditions for FANDUBS are not allowed on our forum or Discord server. However, auditions for certain FAN-DERIVED CONTENT are.
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FAQ: Why aren't fandubs allowed?
While we've received great support of this decision before the new site even opened, there's bound to be a few of you who are confused as to why this rule applies. While it's true that doing fandubs on one's own can be good practice for ADR/matching lip flaps, there are a number of reasons why we are not allowing them on this site.
1. There are legal issues involving fandubs because they involve distributing copyrighted footage. Anyone who has ever attempted to upload a fandub to YouTube has very likely had it quickly removed by the copyright holder or an automated algorithm. While it's true that parodies---which we ARE allowing---may also contain copyrighted footage, there tends to be more protection for parody content when it comes to things like this (plus, they also encourage creativity...which we'll get to later.)
5. There are already other online voice acting sites and servers which allow fandub auditions, and contain plenty of them. One of the things that differentiated the VAC from the beginning is that it was originally started on Newgrounds, a flash animation site, so the board originated as a place for animators to find voice actors and vice versa. While it's obviously expanded since then, keeping in line with the original vision helps us fill a distinct niche in the online voiceover communities. Which brings us to...
- For the purposes of this rule, a "fandub" shall be classified as dubbing over existing footage from a show, including (but not limited to) anime or Western animation, whether or not the original property has been already licensed.
- Dubbing over game footage is allowed IF it involves a significant creative contribution on the part of the producer: for example, adding voice to a text-only game or voicing over a game in a different language that hasn't been voiced yet. For example, simply redubbing over a game cutscene that already has English voices would not be allowed, but voicing over game scenes that originally had minimal/limited VO would be acceptable.
- Fan-DERIVED works, such as parody, fan animations, spinoff games, machinima, game mods, abridged series and comic dubs are allowed. Again, we want to encourage originality and creativity in the projects posted here.
- Song cover projects are allowed IF you are not dubbing over original scenes (such as concert scenes) from the show the song is from. In other words, the same rules apply whether the words are spoken or sung.
- If you wish to post or audition for fandubs, there are several other online voice acting sites which allow and contain them, such as Casting Call Club.
FAQ: Why aren't fandubs allowed?
While we've received great support of this decision before the new site even opened, there's bound to be a few of you who are confused as to why this rule applies. While it's true that doing fandubs on one's own can be good practice for ADR/matching lip flaps, there are a number of reasons why we are not allowing them on this site.
1. There are legal issues involving fandubs because they involve distributing copyrighted footage. Anyone who has ever attempted to upload a fandub to YouTube has very likely had it quickly removed by the copyright holder or an automated algorithm. While it's true that parodies---which we ARE allowing---may also contain copyrighted footage, there tends to be more protection for parody content when it comes to things like this (plus, they also encourage creativity...which we'll get to later.)
2. The pre-2016 era VAC was almost exclusively a site for aspiring/amateur voice actors. While all levels of voice actors are welcome here, we want to encourage contributions from professional voice actors and producers, too, especially with the launch of our paid content section. Having a ton of fandub auditions tends to alienate people who work in the industry, especially older actors, and brand a community as "amateur" or "unprofessional". Whether this is entirely fair or not can be debated, but it is the current reality. We also want the VAC to be a place that industry pros, teachers and coaches feel comfortable promoting as a resource, and hosting projects that certain clients tend to frown on (such as fandubs) could jeopardize this.
3. While there are plenty of motivated producers who DO get things done, anyone who's been around amateur/online voice acting communities in the past decade has seen more than their fair share of people who have big ambitions but don't quite understand the sheer amount of work involved, and will post auditions for fandubbing an entire series. This is a near impossible amount of work even with a dedicated team, and many would lose interest, get too busy, or quit the project altogether. Many hopefuls would audition and even record hundreds of lines for free for projects like these, only to find out they'd never actually happen. Yes, this is a risk with any project - but it happened time and time again with this particular type of project. Having loads of fandub projects unfortunately clogs the site with large amounts of unpaid endeavors with only a small portion of them that actually get finished.
4. Because sites such as YouTube tend to crack down swiftly and heavily on fandubs, even if a project was finished, there would be very few places where they could actually be shown to any sort of public audience.
5. There are already other online voice acting sites and servers which allow fandub auditions, and contain plenty of them. One of the things that differentiated the VAC from the beginning is that it was originally started on Newgrounds, a flash animation site, so the board originated as a place for animators to find voice actors and vice versa. While it's obviously expanded since then, keeping in line with the original vision helps us fill a distinct niche in the online voiceover communities. Which brings us to...
6. With the 2016 relaunch comes the new slogan of the VAC: "Connecting voice actors and content creators." This isn't to say that there's not a large amount of work and talent that goes into producing a fandub, because there absolutely is! But the types of projects we really want to encourage here at the VAC are projects which involve a significant creative contribution on the part of the producer... not just dubbing over someone else's footage. The grand majority of our community wants to see animations, indie games, etc. Now, that's not to say that no fan CONTENT is allowed - if you read the audition rules, you'll note that fan animations/games, parodies, comic dubs and the likes are still perfectly fine.
Final notes
We apologize for any confusion caused by this policy. We are trying to limit the amount of traditional "fandubs" that tend to clutter up online voice acting forums as well as promote original works, while still allowing room for creative content inspired by existing properties. If you're not sure if something is okay, always feel free to ask in the #server-discussion channel of our Discord!
Again, if you want to do fandubs within your own friend groups, that is entirely up to you! However, we recommend using them primarily as a tool for self-practice and/or a just-for-fun group project. If you intend to pursue VO professionally in the future, many people suggest not being credited under your real name for such projects, and not putting them on any sort of professional resume or talking about them in industry settings.
Thank you for understanding, and we look forward to the future!