Content Complete Podcast - Voice Actor Strike and More Feat. Directionally Challenged! | #13
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Topics:
IO Interactive and Denuvo: http://www.dsogaming.com/news/denuvo-anti-tamper-tech-has-been-removed-from-hitman/
Voice Actor Strike: http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/05/23/game-developers-begin-to-agree-to-voice-actors-strike-terms
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/actors-behind-popular-video-games-epic-strike/
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/06/13/life-is-strange-before-the-storm-different-chloe-voice-actor/
The 2016-17 video game voice actor strike is an ongoing strike started on October 21, 2016, by the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union against 11 American video game developers and publishers over failed contract renegotiation terms that had been in discussion since February 2015. Principally, the union seeks to have actors and voice and motion capture artists that contribute to video games be better compensated with residuals based on video game sales atop their existing recording payments, while the industry companies assert that the industry as a whole eschews the use of residuals, and by giving the actors these, they would trivialize the efforts of the programmers and artists that are most responsible for the development of the games. In exchange, the companies have offered a fixed increase in rates and a sliding-scale upfront bonus for multiple recording sessions, which the union has rejected. Other issues highlighted by the strike action include better transparency in what roles and conditions actors would perform, more safety precautions and oversight to avoid vocal stress for certain roles, and better safety assurances for actors while on set.
Actors within the union have used both physical and virtual picketing to make the public aware of their complaints, and they have gained support from similar acting unions from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand along with other unions within the entertainment industry. It is the first such unionized strike in the video game industry. On April 23, 2017, the strike surpassed 183 days and became the longest strike in the history of the Screen Actors Guild. Because of the long development period for video games, the strike is expected to last a long time to have its impacts felt by the industry.
By the end of 2016, it was unclear how much of an effect the strike had on the video game industry, as none of the companies struck had reported delays of upcoming titles due to the lack of voice actors. SAG-AFTRA noted that they had only targeted strike actions against a subset of the industry, and other publishers and developers would not be affected by their action.[14] Union president Gabrielle Carteris said that with the production time cycle for video games, immediate effects of the strike would not be easily seen, anticipating the strike to last for a long time. In the interim, they are working to craft amenable contracts with other developers and producers that they have not struck.[28] By May 2017, SAG-AFTRA stated that it had already signed twenty other companies for thirty games under their alternate contract for low-production titles, with "new deals are being signed every week".
One of the first reported effects of the strike was the prequel to Life is Strange, Before the Storm, which is set for release in 2017. Actress Ashly Burch, a member of SAG-AFTRA who voiced lead character Chloe in the original game, was unable to reprise her voice role due to the strike, though she served to help consult on the character for the game.
It was the first such organized strike within the video game industry and the first voice actors' strike in 17 years, as well as the first strike within the merged SAG-AFTRA organization. As of April 26, 2017, it is the longest strike within SAG, surpassing the both the 95-day 1980 Emmy Awards strike, as well as the 180-day 2000 commercials strike.
Other members of SAG-AFTRA, and other entertainment workers' unions, are looking to the voice actor strike as a possible point in their favor during pending contract renegotiations, in light of how many entertainment industries are transitioning towards digital and streaming media; notably, the main SAG-AFTRA contract for film and television industries is due to expire in June 2017, and the solidarity behind the video game voice actors could be used as leverage in these negotiations.