Wuk Lamat's poor vocal performance will likely be better in Dawntrail

[PredatoryCatgirl]

A bit of background: I edit audio for a living, and have worked with everything from musicians to voice actors before. Everything I've noticed about Sena Bryer's poor performance as Wuk Lamat points to one thing: lack of time.

I listen to Wuk Lamat, and I am very aware of two things. First off, that I am listening to a person read a script. She doesn't seem to know the appropriate amount of emotion to put into the lines. She alternates between sounding wooden and overacting. Secondly, I'm very aware that I'm listening to a person speak into a microphone. Whatever editing was done here was not done well enough. Other voices seem natural, whereas this one sounds like a person in a studio. The best reason I can think of for this: it was rushed.

Now, why doesn't a rush job affect the other characters? Well, oftentimes when you edit someone's voice to sound as it should, you have a preset suite of filters that you perfect over time. This can be done in one sitting, but without adequate time you just have to take your best shot and throw it out the door. Existing characters already had their filter presets figured out, and only required minimal adjustments, whereas Wuk Lamat required starting from scratch. The same can be true about properly voicing a character. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Colin Ryan can drop into character for Alphinaud at the drop of a hat. The same could be said for anyone who's voiced a character for years as a major part of their work portfolio. Whereas for Sena Bryer, this is all new, and she doesn't have the benefit of a fully funded expansion yet to get everything right.

Am I right? Maybe. We'll find out in a few months. But until I hear the bulk of Bryer's work in Dawntrail, I'm holding my judgement.

[Karious]

Sweet, a sixth thread on this subject.

[PredatoryCatgirl]

Sweet, a sixth thread on this subject.

The other five got it wrong.

[Hasrat]

The only thing that really stood out to me was her recording setup (whether studio or home, idk) just felt off. I didn't take much issue with the performance itself beyond recognizing the recording quality didn't seem the same as the rest of the characters.

[Thighland]

Just use the other already existing threads.
This is attention-seeking behaviour.

Here:
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...-English-Voice
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...love-Wuk-Lamat
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...N-Voice-Acting
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...r-in-this-game
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...G-APPRECIATION

[PredatoryCatgirl]

Just use the other already existing threads.
This is attention-seeking behaviour

Which one should I have used? There's an official thread? Better tell the people to stop posting in the other four.

[Carin-Eri]

Just use the other already existing threads.
This is attention-seeking behaviour.

Here:
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...-English-Voice
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...love-Wuk-Lamat
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...N-Voice-Acting
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...r-in-this-game
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...G-APPRECIATION

To be fair, considering the OP's background, I'd argue that there is a little bit more of an informed opinion in the context of this thread.

[Mostly_Raxus]

i just dont care, i'm tired of these threads, and lets be real, if she wasn't who she is then no one would be hating and no one would be praising, i just want to play my video game, leave your politics at home.

[Fortecael]

A bit of background: I edit audio for a living, and have worked with everything from musicians to voice actors before. Everything I've noticed about Sena Bryer's poor performance as Wuk Lamat points to one thing: lack of time.

I listen to Wuk Lamat, and I am very aware of two things. First off, that I am listening to a person read a script. She doesn't seem to know the appropriate amount of emotion to put into the lines. She alternates between sounding wooden and overacting. Secondly, I'm very aware that I'm listening to a person speak into a microphone. Whatever editing was done here was not done well enough. Other voices seem natural, whereas this one sounds like a person in a studio. The best reason I can think of for this: it was rushed.

Now, why doesn't a rush job affect the other characters? Well, oftentimes when you edit someone's voice to sound as it should, you have a preset suite of filters that you perfect over time. This can be done in one sitting, but without adequate time you just have to take your best shot and throw it out the door. Existing characters already had their filter presets figured out, and only required minimal adjustments, whereas Wuk Lamat required starting from scratch. The same can be true about properly voicing a character. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Colin Ryan can drop into character for Alphinaud at the drop of a hat. The same could be said for anyone who's voiced a character for years as a major part of their work portfolio. Whereas for Sena Bryer, this is all new, and she doesn't have the benefit of a fully funded expansion yet to get everything right.

Am I right? Maybe. We'll find out in a few months. But until I hear the bulk of Bryer's work in Dawntrail, I'm holding my judgement.

Sure it will, next thing you'll tell me is that SE actually cares about this game and is actively investing money and manpower to make it better. Fun stuff.

[Jeeqbit]

Well firstly it didn't seem poor at all in the first place. I don't understand where that is coming from, so perhaps players just need to adjust their sound settings.

As for the acting getting better, this is a given for all voice actors. They get better at their character as time goes on and I notice this in cartoons for example.

Other voices seem natural, whereas this one sounds like a person in a studio.

I disagree, actually. I think the other voices sounded more unnatural like they were in a studio, such as Krile, G'raha and Thancred's.

Ultimately, we just have to accept it's because they are in a studio and it's being imported into a game and isn't really happening in the environment it's being portrayed ie. a garden, a desert, a hall or a cosy room, all of which should echo very differently but just don't because it's a game.