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Crunchyroll's Move Back to In-Person Dub Recording Sparks Union Discussion

While it is true that there are still people from outside of Texas in these shows, it seems that those are almost entirely (or maybe entirely) reprisals from previous shows with news show being from the region, so it, for now, appears that they have shut out people entirely for new shows.

PurpleWarrior13 wrote:

I agree that SAG contracts should be used for future dubbing for multiple reasons, but did anyone really think they were going to be recording remotely forever? From what I understand, it’s very difficult and expensive compared to doing it all the in the studio, and from what I could tell, several indie studios have already moved back to doing it all in-person (and I don’t think Sentai was ever doing anything remotely. Could be wrong). I think the best compromise is to do what FUNi was starting to do in the past, and utilize a satellite studio in LA for actors out there (though it seemed to mostly be used for reprisals). Chris Sabat’s Okatron 5000 also has an LA satellite studio that seemed to work out well. If the dubs go union, it would make it easier to cast actors from the talent pool out there to find the best of both worlds.

I don't think anyone ever truly expected all-remote to continue being a thing for dubbing, but I do think that most expected remote to continue to be used as an option, especially for those who don't work out of two specific regions (Texas & LA). Instead, outside of likely very specific exceptions for certain reprisals (though there have already been re-castings so that it could be done locally), it looks like Crunchyroll wants to essentially return back to dubbing things all in-house, despite the positive response that remote dubbing has had when it comes to giving tons of new talent a chance to shine, when they otherwise never would have before.

Instead of biting the bullet & having to spend a little extra to accommodate remote dubbing when needed (& they obviously have the experience to continue doing it), Crunchyroll instead is just going to penny pinch as much as possible in order to maximize potential profit & focus almost exclusively on in-house work in Texas. It's essentially telling anyone who finally got a break via remote dubbing "Sorry, you were always expendable, so if you want to actually be valuable then you have to uproot your entire life to where we record from, because 'Status Quo is God'. Otherwise, start your own studio & then you can do it local, too.", and that's just messed up.

It's taking advantage of a bad situation & then going "Thank you for your service; now leave" when you no longer have to rely on the people who benefitted from it.

did anyone really think they were going to be recording remotely forever?

I’m not sure it’s a great idea to just open casting to any voice actor in the world that has a home studio unless maybe you need a very specific accent or dialect. At that point, you may as well just make the entire project remote, which is far from ideal from a production and budget perspective.

ZeetherKID77 wrote:

Ak Animax wrote: There's a certain other things also Ex Funimation higher ups now at crunchyroll have their hands tied with old well known Funimation Texas voice actors To keep most popular/hard hitting and long running shows to keep under texas voice over only only Where are you getting this information from?

Chris Sabat once owned the old Dallas Funimation inhouse dubbing studio....


The EX Ceo of Funimation Gen Fukunaga knows all of this about Voice casting system at their Texas based studio

I agree that SAG contracts should be used for future dubbing for multiple reasons, but did anyone really think they were going to be recording remotely forever? From what I understand, it’s very difficult and expensive compared to doing it all the in the studio, and from what I could tell, several indie studios have already moved back to doing it all in-person (and I don’t think Sentai was ever doing anything remotely.

I can definitely understand remote still being an option for actors with health needs or with disabilities, especially while COVID still lingers, and I can also understand using remote recording to allow out-of-town actors reprise previous roles, but I’m not sure it’s a great idea to just open casting to any voice actor in the world that has a home studio unless maybe you need a very specific accent or dialect. At that point, you may as well just make the entire project remote, which is far from ideal from a production and budget perspective

I don't know why you went to the extreme like that. Opening up casting/auditioning to more than just the LA/Texas/NY regions doesn't mean that you're needing the entire project to be remote, it just means that you're opening up the pool of options. If the best option for a role is one that require remote dubbing, then that should mean that they are worth the expense, because they're the best person for the job. However, it doesn't mean that the majority of roles have to be remote, because I doubt that kind of situation will ever happen. The talent in each of the major dubbing regions can continue to get consistent work in their respective regions just fine, so this would just be about keeping the door open for those who DON'T live in those regions, which I imagine are a comparatively smaller number.

Personally, it really just comes down to the simple fact that Crunchyroll didn't even bother to fake any potential interest & say something non-committal, like "We'll keep out options open, and cast someone remotely if they're the best pick for a role", only to almost never actually do that. At least with this route, they would have avoided the instant backlash they're getting now, and it would be extremely hard to prove that they were actively avoiding casting remotely. However, they didn't even bother to do that, instead just admitting that the door is closed for all but the most specific exceptions.

I don't understand why it would be a bad thing to allow anyone around the world to participate. Dragon Goes House Hunting's dub had a global cast of VAs from around the world and it was a really solid dub. They also had Australian VAs in the Sleepy Princess From the Demon Castle dub which was another fantastic dub. It's also remote dubbing that allowed for the original Canadian cast of Inuyasha to return for Yashahime which wouldn't be possible under a studio only recorded dub.

Ak Animax wrote:

ZeetherKID77 wrote: Ak Animax wrote: There's a certain other things also Ex Funimation higher ups now at crunchyroll have their hands tied with old well known Funimation Texas voice actors To keep most popular/hard hitting and long running shows to keep under texas voice over only only Where are you getting this information from? Chris Sabat once owned the old Dallas Funimation inhouse dubbing studio.... The EX Ceo of Funimation Gen Fukunaga knows all of this about Voice casting system at their Texas based studio

Okay, but where did you hear this? Did Sabat or Gen say any of this or are you getting it from another source?

Instead of biting the bullet & having to spend a little extra to accommodate remote dubbing when needed (& they obviously have the experience to continue doing it), Crunchyroll instead is just going to penny pinch as much as possible in order to maximize potential profit [...].

This mandate has completely stifled any wage/union talks and re-erected the wall between TX and non-TX actors, which is certainly in CR's best interests financially [...].

Maggie Russell-Brown, National Director of Organizing for SAG, put it bluntly: “Employers have the right to hire and make decisions about their business. Workers have the right to either accept that or not.” When those workers collectively refuse to accept non-union work they give SAG the power to get the company on board and negotiate a contract. “That's where the organizing piece comes in,” she said.

I know they aren’t exactly the same situation, but my point is that producers need a good reason to make accommodations for any actor. I do sympathize with the actors that can’t come to the studio for medical reasons, and think they should absolutely receive accommodation, but I don’t see why the line needs to be drawn much further, maybe if an actor was well-established, has a quality home studio, and the director knows they can do an excellent job.

Stephanie Sheh was spot-on with her remark as there is indeed power to be found in numbers, but the sad truth is that workers going on strike cannot overhaul a multi-million-dollar industry. Funding on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars would need to be available for this corner of the industry to be overhauled, and unless someone with the money of Elon Musk and the heart of a disadvantaged worker wants to get in on the dubbing scene, I don't see it happening with all the ambitions reached and every employee and consumer satisfied.

C'est la capitalism, the ultimate maintainer of the exploitative status quo.

LightningComet wrote:

Stephanie Sheh was spot-on with her remark as there is indeed power to be found in numbers, but the sad truth is that workers going on strike cannot overhaul a multi-million-dollar industry. Funding on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars would need to be available for this corner of the industry to be overhauled, and unless someone with the money of Elon Musk and the heart of a disadvantaged worker wants to get in on the dubbing scene, I don't see it happening with all the ambitions reached and every employee and consumer satisfied. C'est la capitalism, the ultimate maintainer of the exploitative status quo.

They may as well try anyway. Apathy about this isn't really the best way to go.

Funding on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars would need to be available for this corner of the industry to be overhauled, and unless someone with the money of Elon Musk and the heart of a disadvantaged worker wants to get in on the dubbing scene, I don't see it happening with all the ambitions reached and every employee and consumer satisfied.