Interview with Donna Burke (Gaming.moe)Date published: 2014.12.31 Who were some of your first videogame clients? One of the most memorable early jobs I had was winning the audition to play Angela in Silent Hill 2. I got to do her motion capture and voice, and I also got to do the motion capture and voice for zombies. Oh, you did the motion capture, too? Yes, that was really fun! Truth is, you don’t do many auditions as a voice actor, everything is done through your demo tape, but the Silent Hill auditions were like a full-on acting audition. It was very disgusting – in the audition, I mean – I had to eat a fetus. I had to watch a fetus of the messiah get aborted and then eat it, and then go mad. I could never watch someone do that, but I could totally do it myself, playing the part. It was really weird! Just so your readers know – I don’t really play videogames. I can’t even watch a lot of movies, they’re just too scary for me. But the weird thing is – I can totally do a zombie voice. *laughs* When I was 16, I watched the original Alien, and the first minute of that movie… I was shitting myself, just from the music! I was just like “oh no…. ohhh nooooo…!” I think I’m just super-sensitive to music and sounds. I’ve learned that about myself… But I can watch someone else do it! I can watch someone else play a videogame, maybe, but… I actually think I’m gonna die, so… it’s parasympathetic, my system goes into overdrive. Well, I’m curious how you came to Konami! This was before I had a company – they just had an audition through local talent agencies, that’s how. In terms of VO and singing, is there any demand for a particular accent in Japan? American is definitely the most popular, but sometimes you get requests for British accents depending on the character. Claudia from Silent Hill 3 had a British accent, for example. Of all the work you’ve done in the gaming world, what is the work that means the most to you? Sins of the Father, without a doubt. There’s something really powerful about that song on a non-language level – just the sound and the chords. For voice acting… I would say Claudia from Silent Hill 3. It was the most evil, and yet, the most sympathetic role… she was just kind of a nutjob. It was really satisfying to do the motion capture and the voice. I wasn’t just reading a bunch of lines, I was doing so much with the character. It took days and days, it was really fun. The weirdest thing is… I look like Claudia now! I was not a blonde back then. I am now blonde, and have long back hair… if I shave my eyebrows off, I look like Claudia! |