Online Voice Actors Go Global: The Philippines

A small recording studio in Manila, capital of the Philippines.

Local voice actors are dubbing a Turkish TV drama into English.

"When the man finishes the mass a shady person said,

'Give me your blessing, for I took your robe, and I disturbed you.'"

This Filipino voice production firm was hired by an American streaming service

to dub the content for English-speaking markets.

Actors are paid around 50 US dollars for the main role in a two-hour movie.

It's an attractive fee in the Philippines, where average monthly wages are around 330 dollars.

"Let me explain my desire to my Sikh, he will know the best."

"I can already smell the scent of flowers! Hurray!"

"It is obvious that you are looking to excuse your imprudence."

This kind of work is on the rise for voice production firms in the Philippines,

as high-speed internet makes it easier than ever to transfer audio and visual data across borders.

Another key factor is the country's high standard of English.

In the Philippines, English is as common as Tagalog, and both are official languages.

It's taught from the first year of elementary school, and many lessons are conducted in English.

English is also used in official documents and newspapers.

This voice production firm was an early adopter of online work.

"Open your mike and make your favorite animal sound."

"Go! Open your mike."

CEO Pocholo Gonzales is a highly successful Filipino voice artist.

"You just focus on what you love and use technology to your own advantage."

"And to help more people to become creative. The only way you will be happy is to be creative."

An established voice actor can earn a very good income,

and many young Filipinos dream of taking up voice acting as a career.

But most actors can only land low-paying supporting roles, and find it hard to make ends meet.

Some, however, are willing to bet on the future and work their way up.

"I love creating special memories, timeless memories."

Pocholo and his young actors are leveraging the power of the internet

to leave their mark on the entertainment world.

The city of Makati lies to the southeast of Manila.

Voiceover production firm CreatiVoices stands a little way off from the cluster of skyscrapers.

This singer is a young voice acting trainee who has been asked to demonstrate his skills.

The firm's 13 employees are all voice actors, including the directors and sound engineers.

CEO Pocholo Gonzales is a voice acting legend, often called the master of "a thousand voices."

A local radio station is doing a live broadcast.

Pocholo is joining online as a guest.

The DJ asks what he loved as a child.

"I listened to the radio as a kid.
One night they broadcast a scary story."

"One day two children got lost.

'Isn't it fun to play in the forest?'

'We played so long it's already dark!'

'Something's moving! Who is it?'

'I'm going to eat you up!'"

Pocholo is especially gifted at monsters, demons, and other bombastic characters.

His gifts allow him to play multiple roles in a single production.

"I can draw a picture very well..."

"Hmmm... Hmmm... Hmmm..."

"Stop twisting everything to blame me!"

"If you're gonna keep this up..."

He's appeared in thousands of works, both in English and Tagalog.

"And then I put myself online, I put my voice online,

and I became the most sought-after Filipino voice talent on the internet. Until now."

80% of his company's work comes from abroad.

His team takes the scripts and footage of foreign movies and dramas and dubs them into English.

They then edit the recordings to fit the visuals, and send the data to the client over the internet.

The firm has clients in 80 countries,

particularly English-speaking countries such as the US and Australia.

They have over 200 active voice actors.

Pocholo opted to launch his own production company

because he was unhappy with the Filipino voice talent industry.

A childhood fan of radio dramas, Pocholo won a voice acting contest at 16.

He began to land more and more jobs.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing.

"Voice acting and dubbing, advertising in the Philippines is like being in the Mafia."

At the time, the world of voice acting was dominated by the children and proteges of major acting stars.

Talent played little part in landing roles.

Pocholo was considered a rival by many, and was subject to baseless rumors.

He says that radio and TV bosses were pressured to deny him work.

"Only relatives are there. Son, wife, daughter... everybody is related to each other."

"And I hate that. I want to elevate the voice acting industry to become a voice acting artistry."

"An industry helps each other. Not pull down each other."

Pocholo founded CreatiVoices in 2005 to give talented actors a fair chance.

He and his fellow directors launched it with just 200 dollars and a single microphone.

They wanted to distance themselves from the local industry,

looking instead online for international work.

Along with his new company, Pocholo also opened a school for voice acting.

It began with in-person classes, but since the pandemic,

teaching is now done online, connecting with students across the country.

"Three, two, one, go."

"The stakes are high and the action is even higher."

"Get ready for the ride of a lifetime!"

Pocholo and six graduates teach the four-part course,

which is held from 10AM to 5PM on Saturdays.

It normally costs around 90 dollars, though students with disabilities attend for free.

"Your voice is your most important
tool. It is your instrument."

"Use your voice to communicate your
feelings and thoughts. Your dreams."

Over 3500 people have studied at the school.

Once they complete their course, they can register with Pocholo's production firm if they wish.

Some freshly graduated voice actors have gathered today to practice in the studio.

They're preparing to audition for a new radio drama.

Ralph is an experienced actor and director.

He and Pocholo are here to coach.

They practice with a 40-minute locally produced animated story.

The main character is a taciturn boy who adores his grandfather.

Shunned by the neighborhood children, his only friend is a cat.

The actor will read the grandfather's lines.

In the story, some oil catches fire, and spreads to some dry leaves.

The grandfather tries frantically to douse the flames.

"Cut! Why are you running?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't run because the vibrations of your impact will be heard on the microphone because the microphone is sensitive!"

While carrying water, the grandfather mistakenly treads on the kitten, and it is killed.

"I didn't do it on purpose."

"You were already crying."

"You were already crying for the kitten. Whereas you shouldn't be."

"You're worried for the kid, not for the kitten."

The acting course is only four Saturdays of studying, barely enough to learn the basics.

Graduates still need to hone their skills to have a chance at a successful audition.

It's not unusual for some to give up on voice acting before making their debut.

"Okay! Good."

"Wrap up."

"Good job."

"Nobody can do it right
from the beginning."

"First you make a start,
then you improve."

"It's not just you.
It was the same for me."

This aspiring actor graduated three years ago.

Today, he works at Pocholo's production studio while pursuing his goal of making it big.

19-year-old JayJay arrives early every morning to open up the studio.

He cleans, powers up the equipment, and waits for the senior staff.

JayJay is from a small fishing town on the outskirts of Manila.

His father passed away when he was young, and his mom runs a small general store.

JayJay chose voice acting because of the potential to earn a high income

which he could use to help his mom.

"Good morning!"

JayJay trains alongside coach and voice actor Bryan, who graduated a year before him.

They share an apartment close to the studio.

Pocholo pays for their food and rent.

"Just a simple room."

"There's where Bryan is sleeping."

"And this is where I sleep - here!"

"I'm sleeping with my puppet."

The bedroom is just ten square meters.

The apartment has no bath, so they shower at work.

"For the very first time I got my salary, or fee, only 500 pesos."

"With that money, I was so happy!"

"My hometown has a lot of
rain and a lot of flooding."

"When I'm earning, I want to help Mom."

"Give her a comfortable life where
she won't be affected by floods."

"I've told her I will help her rebuild."

JayJay has appeared in over a hundred minor roles in TV dramas and movies.

"It is obvious that you are looking to excuse your imprudence."

"It has nothing to do with the rank of it."

"You're leaning too hard on 'imprudence'."

Expressing emotions with the voice alone is difficult enough in Tagalog.

It's even harder when the role is in English.

Pocholo praises JayJay's sincere dedication and positivity.

However, he feels his student could improve when it comes to his acting abilities.

"So when you do voice acting, at least you have already felt it before, because you cannot convey it."

"If you didn't feel hurt before, you didn't cry, or..."

"Voice acting is the art of becoming. So scripts are meant to be said, not meant to be read."

JayJay may have earned top marks at the school, but it's still a long road to the top.

Pocholo believes that diverse experience is vital for the training of young actors.

JayJay and others head out on a visit to a local elementary school.

Pocholo has been holding free volunteer shows for kids for over a decade.

They start with a popular American cartoon.

"Our family from Spongebob Squarepants."

"I'm ready!"

"SpongeBob! We're in the San Joaquin Elementary School."

"Where is my krabby patty?"

Next, a puppet show by JayJay.

"What will you be when you grow up?"

"How far grown up?"

"Good question. Let's see."

"As big as that guy."

"What will you do when you're that big?"

"Go on a diet."

JayJay and the younger actors rarely have the chance to interact with young children.

It helps them improve any children's roles they might play,

but also offers insights into how to appeal to a young audience online.

Taking part in Pocholo's voice acting school has changed the lives of some students.

Today, they're holding a special in-person class.

"Hi, welcome!"

"It's been a while."

Monette Mahinay is known as the first blind voice actor in the Philippines.

Pocholo asked her to talk to the students about how she overcame various challenges to succeed as a professional.

"How do you record lines if
you can't read the scripts?"

"I'm listening to scripts through my phone."

"And then at the right time the director
reads me the script with feelings."

"With his idea, the director and coworkers also who help me, it has become possible."

"'Hello, everyone! Yeah, I might seem a bit tiny but I can do a lot of voices!' Like this one."

"Or I can also sound like an AI. 'Open door. Door is closing.'"

In addition to dubbing work, Monette also appears in online radio dramas.

Monette lost her sight to glaucoma.

She was diagnosed at seven, but it was too late

and the doctor told her she would be blind within a few years.

"I come to realize that how hard it is to actually accept the reality that we cannot do anything about this,

and - sadly it's the most dreadful thing that you can ever hear from your doctor."

"It's the most saddest thing, that they cannot do anything about."

Completely blind by 14, Monette idolized Pocholo,

who she heard playing all kinds of roles in radio dramas.

After graduating high school, she worked as a certified massage therapist.

18 months ago, she made the big decision to focus on voice acting.

Until then, Monette had only left her home to work.

Voice acting has inspired her to become more proactive,

and she now heads out alone no matter where she's going.

"If not for his ideas that a blind could do this - could do dubbing despite all the odds,

despite the challenge of synching the mouth and synching the sound -

it's very challenging but he made it possible because he believed in me."

"I know I have to - I needed to learn a bit more and there's always room for learning."

Today, Pocholo devotes all the time and energy he has free to training young actors.

This pivot was inspired by the darkest moment of his life, which he faced in 2022.

He suddenly lost his voice.

A visit to the hospital revealed that he had developed polyps on his vocal cords.

Doctors told him that there was a chance he'd never speak again.

"Too much of use of my voice for the past 30 years I've been using it - abusing it."

"Using and abusing it at the same time. I feel so sad, then depressed."

"And I felt a lot of pain and suffering."

Undergoing an operation carried the danger of changing the quality of his voice,

so Pocholo chose rest and recuperation instead.

He was forced to turn down work and wait, in the hope that the polyps would shrink.

"I pray one day it will come back, so once it's come back, I will share my voice for free to people,

to make them happy, to make them better, to inspire, motivate them, to help more people."

Although his voice has begun to recover, he feels it may never return to its original state.

Pocholo's main focus now is to pass on the techniques and experience he has acquired to new actors.

He hopes to communicate the heart of his artistry.

Today, he's holding a one-on-one coaching session with JayJay, who has an audition coming up.

"You lied to shame your father's grave!"

"Again. Don't shout yet."

"Stay shocked."

"You need to start slow."

"Was it a crime to protect Father
to the end? Tell me now."

"It needs to be heavier.
Don't shout, push the emotion."

"More like... 'this was a mistake!'"

"Hold in the anger.
Like you're suppressing it."

"Getting there!"

"Nobody else can act like this.
It's why I want you to inherit it."

"I can't act as much anymore."

"Like a basketball player who can't
manage my old slam-dunks."

The coaching continues late into the night.

Pocholo is concerned about a major voice acting rival that threatens his students' futures.

Artificial intelligence.

Over the last few years, it's been used in music, narration, and even dubbing.

"It doesn't matter how good your voice is, if you have a bad attitude

and you have - you want money, I'd rather choose the AI."

Pocholo has bought AI-powered voice synthesis software to see what it is capable of.

"Hi, Kumiko. My name is Sara."

"I just want to say you are beautiful too."

"I'm not a girl, but I sound like a girl."

The AI can use a single person's voice to create countless roles, regardless of gender.

"Hi, Kumiko. My name is Sara."

"I just want to say you are beautiful too."

"I'm not a girl, but I sound like a girl."

But Pocholo believes that a voice actor who can put their personality and experiences into their performances

will never be eclipsed by AI.

"Human need human touch. It is still needed, like what we are doing now."

"You cannot eliminate human by AI because human emotion cannot be replaced."

Experiencing the joys and hardships of life, in body and soul, is what makes a good voice actor.

Pocholo firmly impresses this belief upon his young students.