Recently Accepted for USA based accented voice over, running into issues.
Hi Bunny Studio Team!
I'm happy to have been recently accepted for American voice over,
However, the adjustment to this is proving to be difficult as there seems to be an inconsistency in what slides with Quality Control as an accent versus my standard accent.
I wouldn't be writing this if there wasn't a single recent rejection that caused trouble:
During this adjustment period, I'm experimenting with what flys past quality control and what doesn't, so far it would appear that neutral voice over with no emphasis on words or emotion is immediately accepted, whilst any attempt to add emotion/closeness to audio (even at the request of a clients description) results in an 'incorrect' accent notification.
This would be completely fine with me, as with a quick QC revision (as has already happened on a prior job) I can just rerecord the voice over in a quick, neutral NA American tone and accent and have it pass fine.
However, I've just received an instant rejection without chance to revise from Juan David Martinez, I can completely understanding wanting to throw an immediate rejection as you may assume that after hearing my British and Scottish voice overs many times through a month or week, you may have bias towards believing I am only capable of these accents despite being approved for more.
I'd like to dispute this recent rejection on the basis that a fair chance was not given with at least one quality control revision for the project, as has been done in past projects this week that has resulted in work that is of acceptable standard to quality control to show the client.
I understand I am not perfect, nobody is, American voice over is a skill that is not as developed in my repertoire as my English/Scottish voice over. However, an immediate rejection without a second chance given despite my availability is an unfortunate outcome and I am absolutely aware that you would have given a chance to revise had this have been a pop, equalisation or other issue.
I ask that you please be considerate of giving chances for Bunny Pros to revise and submit the best work they can, I really appreciate you telling me what my failings are and I love to revise with a version that makes quality control happy.
As it currently stands, I will be contributing to all American voice over jobs I receive in the future with only a netural NA accent, pacing and emotion to ensure that they are accepted by quality control in order to avoid immediate rejection, despite the chance to revise given by individual quality control agents or not until there is a steadier band on this.
You can see the project I was rejected on here: https://bunnystudio.com/voice/projects/#/timeline/35DC6E9FCB9201A4D483?version=default
You can see American voice overs I have recently had accepted by quality control here:
https://bunnystudio.com/voice/projects/#/timeline/34C7188764A33CD49D1B?version=default
https://bunnystudio.com/voice/projects/#/timeline/718282E703B7856A71CE?version=default
And this is a case in which quality control was kind enough to give a chance to revise on the accent, rather than an immediate rejection, which led to a result that was able to pass QC:
https://bunnystudio.com/voice/projects/#/timeline/57875BC284FB6ACB48F0?version=default
I appreciate very much the opportunities that Bunny Studio grant me, but would like to seek a fairness in judgement across the board when it comes to QC revisions of this kind.
I have taken the liberty to upload both the original audition and a revised version to a google drive for your feedback if you would be able to kindly provide it, I'm very much interested in producing exceptional content at a quick speed for the Bunny Studio team and clients.
The revised version features the Neutral, Pitched Up American accent that has been accepted across a variety of jobs, I have previously had clients request an American voice actor over my English voice for some UK based jobs (On Bunny Studio) for which I have revised with a deeper American accent that has been accepted by a pleased client, much like when they have rejected teenage jobs to request a Young Adult voice actor instead, for which I have provided the accepted voice over.
You can find these voice overs at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fJCHZ96m4O0KhiGMhmL7uFZgYa7qbIW0?usp=sharing
The clip titled 'QC Check' is the revised version I would of submitted if given the chance instead of an instant rejection.
The reason I am so adamant in requesting feedback and the resolution of these issues is that I seek to consistently improve and increase the quality of my work for Bunny Studio in lieu of making voice over my full time career. I have found that a single rejection on my statistics usually greatly affects the amount of work I receive on the site from your algorithm until it is removed/voided by the QC team.
The sooner I can submit work that I know is of an acceptable accented standard for USA jobs, the better the situation is for everyone.
Thank you for your time and the great effort you put into your work,
Kind regards,
Thomas Moore
ps. I am in the process of creating a portable voice over setup to use while travelling whilst aiming to keep to the same high quality standards Bunny Studio rightly request, I would very much like to check over several samples in the future with the QC team to ensure that these are of passing standard in the future. Where would be the best place to post/check this over?
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Hi Thomas, thanks for reaching out!
We completely understand your annoyance. We as QC team use to give a second chance when there are issues related to quality like room echo, background noise, etc, however, when we find things like incorrect accent, age, gender or language, we tend to reject because in very few cases a pro, that for example is a native England speaker, can sound like a native American Speaker, and since contest and speedies are projects that need to be completed fast, we prefer to invite other pros that fit the client needs.
I brought your case to a meeting with all the QC team and we discussed the files you shared in the drive, the conclusion was that in both files there are words that sound with a British/Scotland accent, so we can not approve it. For that reason we decided to remove the American accent from your profile because we have had many situations in the past when clients complained for receiving files of non-native speakers.
Regarding to the last question, you can always reach out trough the community and we will be more than happy to help you!
We are really sorry for the inconvenience caused with the accent rejection but is something that goes out of our hands.
Best Regards,
Steven.
Hi Steven,
Thanks for your feedback, I respect the decision of the Bunny Studio QA team in this manner.
I would like to query if the team looked at the already accepted American jobs that have been completed by me for this QC check too and not just the drive that I shared? Feedback regarding these and what allowed those to be accepted would give me great information on what to improve in the future.
Over the next few months I'll be training my accent work, I have been avoiding American based jobs until I would receive a response to this thread to avoid unneeded rejections/delays for clients and the QA team.
I understand that accent applications nor age applications are not currently available, I was informed previously that they would be open again some time this year. Could you perchance give an estimate onto when this would be?
By the time these applications re-open, I'll be putting forwards a demo for American voice over work once again, if found suitable, would the ability to do American jobs be re-stated on my account, or is this a permanent affair?
As you are probably aware, I am not Scottish (I am from the West Midlands which has quite the distinct accent comparatively.), yet can do a variety of Scottish accents ranging from Glaswegian to a more subdued Edenborough accent. So it is surprising to hear that you think I sound Scottish naturally when I attempt to be american!
I aim to be able to provide a similar skill set for American voice over, if I must impersonate rather than adjust my pronunciations in order for this to be acceptable for Bunny Studio, then I shall do so.
Always looking to improve.
Kind regards,
Thomas Moore