Chapter 219: Dubbing Sample

Chapter 219: Voiceover Samples

"Director Chen, you're here! Why didn't you give us a heads-up?"

Seeing the group enter, Charlie immediately stood up and greeted the man in the lead—the stoutest of the lot—with practiced warmth.

"Brother, I’m truly at my wit's end!"

Chen Daming wore a look of impending tears as he spoke: "If you don't finalize the voice actors, the production team is going to hire their own casting crew. Brother, I’ve moved mountains to secure this gig for you. I’m under immense pressure here; you can’t let your little brother down!"

"Oh, heavens!"

Charlie slapped his forehead and laughed: "This is all on me, entirely my fault! I’ve actually already found the actors. I meant to tell you yesterday, but something came up and it slipped my mind. I was just about to call you when you walked in."

Chen Daming ignored the excuse and pressed: "You really found them? Can you provide the voiceover samples today? We have to lock this in before the producers take matters into their own hands."

Chen Daming was genuinely anxious. As the assistant director of the animated series *Forest Adventure*, he had fought hard to land this major voice-acting contract and naturally wanted everything to go smoothly. But Charlie had been stalling, and with the producers threatening to find a new team, Chen Daming had no choice but to intervene personally.

Post-production dubbing is a massive undertaking for an animated series; having finally secured the contract, he couldn't afford to lose it.

Although *Forest Adventure* was a preschool series—intended for young children—its production quality and budget were substantial.

Furthermore, the production had strong backing; the broadcasting rights had been negotiated even before the animation was finished, meaning the stakes were far higher than one might imagine.

"Yes, of course. I’ve already received quite a few samples, and the rest should arrive within the hour," Director Charlie said with a hearty laugh. "Director Chen, rest easy. Even if you hadn't come, I would have sent the samples over today. You thought of me and entrusted me with this project; I’m determined to do it right!"

"Are you sure?" Chen Daming remained skeptical.

"Absolutely."

Charlie signaled for Meng Fan to wait a moment, then led Chen Daming and his team out of the studio toward the lounge. Once there, he had tea served and produced the samples he had already collected. "How about this? You and your team can listen to these samples first. I have a task that will take at most an hour to wrap up. Once I’m finished and the remaining samples arrive, we can continue our discussion. Does that work?"

"That works."

With the samples in hand, Chen Daming finally felt at ease.

"Xiao Li, take good care of Director Chen and his guests."

After giving instructions, Charlie returned to the studio. He rubbed his hands together, gave Meng Fan a brief overview of *Forest Adventure*, and said: "I’m actually short on samples for a few male roles. You know how it is with animation—female voices are easy to find, and if all else fails, they can often cover the roles. But finding the right male voice is incredibly difficult. I brought you here today to audition for one specific role, but now I think you might be able to handle the others as well."

Without Meng Fan, he would have had to scramble to find more talent; he was desperate to keep this contract.

Charlie added a few more words about how popular preschool animation actually was, clearly worried that a newcomer like Meng Fan might look down on the genre.

In truth, the market for preschool animation was vast—often broader than other genres. Looking at recent years, the most popular and highly-viewed animated series were almost exclusively preschool shows, such as the massive hits *Peppa Pig* and *PAW Patrol*...

Meng Fan interrupted gently: "Director, I’m happy to try them all."

As someone who studied animation, Meng Fan knew the market well. In terms of economic impact, preschool animation was often more lucrative than shows aimed at teenagers or adults, especially regarding merchandise, which was in a league of its own.

Of course, that mattered little to Meng Fan. To him, any role was a welcome opportunity—the more, the better.

Firstly, he genuinely enjoyed it; secondly, it was a way to grind for tasks.

"Good. Let me give you a rundown of the show, and then we’ll analyze the roles you need to voice."

"This *Forest Adventure* is an anthropomorphic show about animals and plants. It follows a group of little animals on adventures in the forest. The core themes are family and friendship, encouraging children to explore life. It also weaves in forest knowledge, teaching kids about animals and plants in an educational and entertaining way."

"The main characters are..."

"You need to provide samples for these five roles. They aren't leads, but they are crucial: Grandpa Pine, Teacher Duck, Uncle Elephant, Uncle Crocodile, and Principal Mountain Turtle. There are other roles later, but for now, we just need these five key supporting characters."

"Grandpa Pine is characterized by..."

After analyzing the roles and letting Meng Fan review the script, the plot proved to be very simple: each episode was a short, standalone story lasting only five to six minutes.

Five or six minutes was the perfect duration to hold a preschooler's attention, a standard for many shows in the genre.

"Shall we start the trial now?"

"No problem."

Meng Fan stepped back into the recording booth, his spirits high.

The first sample was Grandpa Pine. Meng Fan found the voice—a bit of a mischievous old soul who loved to shake his branches and shower people with leaves—a mystery he couldn't explain, but it worked. Despite his playfulness, he was wise, and children often sought him out when they were troubled.

Two takes, and he nailed it.

The second was Teacher Duck, the most prominent of the five roles, appearing in almost every other episode. Since it was a duck, Meng Fan tried to make his voice flatter, but Charlie disagreed. He told Meng Fan not to force the stereotypical "duck" sound; this was for children, and a teacher’s voice needed to be warm, carrying a touch of authority and the power to inspire trust.

This was the role Charlie had originally intended for him.

It took four takes to get it right.

Because the role was vital, it was one of the cornerstones of securing the contract.

The remaining three were finished in two or three takes each.

Looking at the time, only forty minutes had passed, most of which had been spent on understanding the show and the characters. The efficiency was incredible!

Charlie pondered for a moment: "How about you try the narration, too?"

Originally, Charlie had decided to do the narration himself and had already recorded a sample, but he felt Meng Fan might be a better fit, and there was still time.

This chapter is a make-up for the 22nd, when I had a cold and only posted two chapters.

(End of chapter)