Bayonetta 2 is a bit special, as you'll be aware if you've already read our review. The sequel to the 2010 cult classic (also now available on Wii U), this title is Platinum Games at its finest — over the top action, incredible visuals and a spunky female lead with spider-like limbs and plenty of witty one-liners.
The guys over at Nintendo News were lucky enough to speak to the voice behind Bayonetta's barbed replies, Hellena Taylor. She reveals that during recording, she was given little direction and often had no idea what she was actually fighting against:
I was influenced by the brief five-line description of her and the line drawing in black and white. The fabulous Kris Zimmerman-Salter helped me a lot in the recording, as they wouldn’t give me any plot points at all. I had no idea if I was fighting demons, dragons or flying giraffes. I just imagined the biggest thing I could envisage in my mind to up the stakes for her. Kris also gave me permission to be really sassy with her.
Taylor, who is based in the UK and attended the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, also reveals some of her techniques during the recording process:
I had no practice whatsoever. They do not release the script to actors beforehand as they are afraid of plot leaks. This is difficult for an actor who likes to rehearse and also annoying as I would never ever work against the creators and the people who employed me by giving anything away. So I had 30 seconds to read the line and then do three takes. I like to be a one take wonder, but they always record three for safety, so you just try to vary it a bit to give the director something to work with. I have to envisage what I am saying and who I am saying it to. The hardest things were the fight grunts. Apparently men love to do them and women find it harder. Plus it blows your voice out if you are not careful. I move around a lot in the booth as it sounds more alive. I did a lot of her movements while saying the lines and the sedate Japanese creators must have found this amusing to see me flail around in there like a mad person with a make-believe gun. I wore high heals in the booth this time to give her more of a confident swagger. In the anime Bloody Fate I recorded her barefoot, I’m not sure why, it just felt right. I never sit down to record, that depresses the diaphragm and gives the voice a tired quality. Other than that I keep my voice lubricated with room temp water or herb tea, and do full LAMDA voice and movement warm up beforehand.
Finally, Taylor — who admits she is nothing like Bayonetta — explains why she feels the character has become so popular with gamers of both sexes:
She is the women all women would love to be and no woman is. Formidable enemy, great and loyal friend. Relaxed witty, admired, sexy, she outwits everyone, except Jeanne and Cereza, who she loves. She has this void inside her that drives her on and spurs her righteousness. This comes out of not knowing about her past.
Bayonetta 2 launches in North America and Europe on October 24th.
[source nintendonews.com]
Comments 70
Always nice to see the face behind the work. I love the Kid Icarus interviews you did a while back!
Thanks for sharing, Damo. She sounds like a great person and I love her work with Bayonetta.
Enlightening interview...It's always interesting to hear he process that goes on with voice over work. Especially since I'm such a nerd and aficionado of animation, video games, anime, etc...
I liked Bayonetta's line delivery in the demo, so looking forward to this game!
Is it just me, or she is hotter than bayonetta?
Wow. A pretty woman voicing a sexy woman. That works perfectly.
She's actually hot.
She's a beauty!
Damn she's beautiful.
I was getting the game day one anyway.... um, maybe I'll pre order and hope it gets here a day early.
I really like Bayonettas voice, so she is doing a great job!
@KodyDawg
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/03/interview_meet_antony_del_rio_voice_actor_for_pit_dark_pit
Who was doing the Japanese voice of Bayonetta?
She looks like Tina Fey I don't know why.
^ Why did you say that!?! Now I want to play "30 Rock Warriors"!
Wow, what a lovely looking woman. She did a great job as Bayonetta. I'm adding her to my list of voice actors to watch out for.
I love her work Bayonetta's voice is awesome.
@KodyDawg
Feast your eyes:
https://www.nintendolife.com/interviews
Sounds like a talented and creative voice actress.
Remember the rule, if you want a sadistic, cruel, mocking voice, choose an English actor. We all sound like Bond Villains over here.
@ModestFan93
Nah. Tina Fey is way more sexy than Bayonetta.
What the... Guys, just knock it off, you sound like a bunch of desperate preteens...
@WinterWarm: Well, she does have a beautiful face.
@Everyone_Else: Not interested in the game, but the explanations of how the VAs go about their work is kinda interesting. Also, I do know a few women who are loyal. Also, with how gamers, & gamer press can be about leaking anything game related online, I'm kinda not surprised by the script withholding from the vas(voice actors).
Gah... as an actor these practices really get on my nerves. That's incredibly risky, to assume anyone can portray a character accurately with a one-paragraph description, thirty seconds and three takes to rehearse and deliver the lines individually... and without knowing the direction the script and character need to move in.
One more way game design needs to get into the 21st century.
>"Look! Is... Is that a WOMAN?!"
>Community explodes
@MrGawain Excuse me for saying this but...youre absolutely right xD
I freakin love british accents, the thicker it is, the better !
And yes, there is no other accent thats better suited for a sassy, sadistic and dominant undertone than most of the british ones.
On the other hand, it also suits so well for a more lighthearted, comedic approach...gah, lets just settle with the fact, that its universaly great
@Phantom_R Absolutely right and at the same time, leaks can really ruin a game.
Think of it, if a films plot is leaked, you waste maybe 2 hours to watch a movie you already know about. WIth a game, its much much longer. And since gameplay has become so unimportant to most people, knowing the plot is basically end of the line.
I can understand their fear of leaks but youre right, its hell on earth for actors, especially since the "VA is crap" card is so quickly played.
@Capt_N I'm not saying she's not attractive I'm saying it's pathetic how whenever NL has an article about or interview with a woman, people just talk about how attractive she is. Why does that even matter? They never talk about her talent or work, just her looks. It's a problem that needs to be fixed and it's the reason you see the misrepresentation of gamers in the media as people ( usually guys ) who can't play a game with a woman in it without fantasizing about her.
Really sexy.
@Einherjar Right, there's no shortage of examples of terrible voice actors, but it's not their fault. It's the disrespectful system they're thrown into.
Even Kid Icarus: Uprising, which has hours of terrific dialogue, has a few really cringe-worthy flops in it. You can tell where the actors weren't given enough of the script or enough time to rehearse, whether alone or together.
@AyeHaley You work fast, didn't that commercial only come out like, 24 hours ago?
@DarkEdi Why would you say that? How does that benefit anyone?
Kinda wished there were videos of her acting this out like a mad person. lol
She is beautiful, its all i have to say.
@DarkEdi Except you don't have to say it. But you did because apparently you have no self-control.
What a hottie.
@WinterWarm commercial? what are you talking about?
I mean how I love her VO work for Bayonetta 1 and (what ive seen of) 2.
Bayonetta sounds just right, I'm amazed at how she made it work. especially while being kept in the dark plot-wise.
@DiscoGentleman true! its hard resisting making comments about how good/intriguing a guy looks. Its this primal urge. If I see good booty imma praise that booty.
(still, character/charisma/humor and kindness are the most important aspects of liking/admiring someone)
@Phantom_R Well, to be honest, no, i cant really tell.
Im german, and although my english is pretty solid, i lack a general understanding óf what is considered awful and what not
For a foreigner, it all sounds very solid. Heck, i dont even get why people give the original RE so much flak
But yeah, if its not your first language, its a bit harder to judge and youre generally more leniant when it comes to it.
@Phantom_R While doing placeholder video game voice over work, my only descriptions were "devout priest", "angry man" and "happy villager". Some of the lines were important plot lines, but when I'm told "Angry voice: you did it!", I have no idea if the person who did it spilled a cup of milk, or murdered the speaker's family. I feel like a lot of that can lead to some odd voice work in games. "Oh... I was a mass murdering sadist? I was just told to laugh and say 'I regret nothing'! I thought I was some kinda Simpsons character..."
I think i love more Cereza's japannese voice over the English one, but it is also perfect, and while seeing the Movie, that was a great dub
@russellohh Oh man. I can hardly believe that. I wouldn't expect game designers to know anything about acting, but to be this ignorant and not realize it? This industry just gets worse the more I look at it.
@Phantom_R I'm not sure how much more the official actors are given, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it isn't much. Placeholder actors are used a lot- the lip movements and length of dialog in a video game aren't individually programmed in, but are based on the voice acting. If a character in Skyrim talks for 10 seconds moving his lips, those ten seconds weren't programmed- the system itself set the time based on the 10 second audio file. Likewise, the subtitles appear on screen for the amount of time the audio file plays. If the sound file is missing, the captions shoot by in a flash, and their lips don't move at all.
For those reasons, placeholders are used. It also makes it easier to estimate what size the files will be. That's the only reason I've seen a few of the scripts. My current job asked me to be an "southern crocodile" and I went... in completely the wrong direction with it.
@WinterWarm: "Why does that even matter? They never talk about her talent or work, just her looks. It's a problem that needs to be fixed and it's the reason you see the misrepresentation of gamers in the media as people ( usually guys ) who can't play a game with a woman in it without fantasizing about her."
For myself, the answer to why is sometimes humor, & sometimes my honest opinion. For example, this past E3 had Nintendo showing off their games via their Treehouse branch(pun intended), & the man(forgot his name), & woman(Krista) from Nintendo Minute. For a part of the NL coverage of E3, I kept going on about how Krista was beautiful. She was alright looking, but it was more of a joke.
On the other hand, sometimes I will comment on a woman's beauty, but also show I am interested in the other topic material, such as the comment I made above.
Gamers in general, just unfortunately get a bad rap anyway.
@Capt_N If you think gamers in general get a bad rap anyway, wouldn't the suggestion by @WinterWarm regarding self-control seem like an excellent start in another direction?
Ooooooooh! That Iwata! What a hottie! He's president of nintendo? That's not what really matters as much as his booty!! (Faints whilst clutching pearls.)
Silly, innit.
@k8sMum Get this lady some smelling salts stat! She couldn't handle the Iwatavision!
you people are so sad...
I'm all the more impressed with her voice work now hearing how little she really has to go on. What a talent!
@jariw: Oh, I'm not saying "We're already at a low point, so what's the hurt in going lower?". I'm simply saying that in my opinion, it's completely normal for a guy to remark about a woman being beautiful. I don't consider it sad, or pathetic. I believe a line can be, & often is crossed, where commentors, &/or article writers can get lewd, & perverse, but simply remarking on a woman's beauty, or a man's handsomeness does no harm. For the record, I'm talking about both online, & offline forums, & publications.
@k8sMum: To my knowledge, he's not married, so... there ya go. On the other hand, he may prefer being single, in which case, "Please understand".
@Ralizah: "how little she really has to go on." That very same thing atm makes me wonder if this is why Mark Hamill doesn't do the Joker anymore. I know that's not relevant to B2, but what made me think of it were the Arkham games. Furthermore, it seems that Vas have an easier time on games less-plot heavy; Charles Martinet comes to mind(Let's-a go!).
@Everyone_Else: I bet the "grunts" were killer on her vocal chords, like she kinda said. It eventually bothers my throat when I imitate Christian Bale Batman for longer than maybe a minute, or 2. I think recording studios should be using more audio tech to alleviate such things.
If I didn't know any better I would think I was watching gameplay of wonderful 101.
Great voice acter even hotter lady.
Go listen to Smash Bros voice clips of Palutena 12-18. If you haven't heard of it, you're in for a "surprise"
Hellena Taylor is truly one of the best voice actress in video games... especially in the original. It's gonna be extremely epic to hear her voice in FUNImation's Bayonetta: Bloody Fate and Bayonetta 2 (including the enhanced orginal) for Wii U from the Big N and P-star.
@Priejv
Once again, her job wasn't to be some eye-candy for you, it was to deliver strong acting. If you aren't commenting on her acting ability, or her interview, and just run to the OMG SO HOT nonsense, what you're doing is being sexist.
If me pointing this out upsets you, then perhaps you should stop that behavior. Unless you meet every interview or article with a male the exact same way--talking about how sexy his shoulders are or how much you'd love to ride his crotch monster--YOU ARE BEING SEXIST.
This is the reason this industry is netting such a negative firestorm lately.
I know it's not always easy to control, guys, because males have evolved this "hunt for mate" mentality, but it's time to take control of yourselves. If the only thing you can say is to talk about her looks, your comment is pointless and women should probably avoid you.
@Capt_N
When you're defending commenting on a woman's looks instead of her talents, YOU'RE THE REASON GAMERS "GET A BAD RAP ANYWAY."
Do you enter an article about Cliff Bleszinski or Hideo Kojima or Reggie and comment on how great they look or how sexy they are? Because if you aren't doing that, but you defend doing it for women, you're being sexist.
You're treating women differently because they are women. There is a time and a place to comment a woman's looks, and that is when she is in a relationship with you or on a date with you, or genuinely asks for your opinion. Every other place is quite literally inappropriate.
How is it that the voice actress that walked into the game blind understands the character better than some folks that sat down and played the game? Also I now wonder if all voice actors flail around when doing takes...if so the W101 sessions must have been insane.
@Quorthon @WinterWarm Do either of you have a problem when females objectify males in the comments section of NintendoLife or female-oriented websites, too? I know that I don't, and neither should you when males do it. It sounds like you have a double standard, and your opinions are agenda based rhetoric; next you'll be calling us all misogynists and other terrible things.
@yuwarite
You really have no logical base to stand on to even try to call me out on having a double standard, as I have not remotely exhibited having one. You're inventing nonsense from the ether to state such a thing. You're inventing something to argue that I, at least, never stated or even implied.
Agenda based rhetoric? How could you POSSIBLY be able to say that without simply inventing it? Choose your words carefully, because when you start attempting to claim others have "some agenda," you're edging dangerously close to conspiracy theorist territory. Get your tin-foil hat, kid. If that's your focus, you're going to need it.
Indeed, when you treat women differently for being women, you're being sexist--and yes, that leads to misogyny. If you can't get past a woman's looks to actually treat her as a human being, you're being sexist. If you respond to what Reggie says, instead of how he looks, but you respond to how a woman looks, instead of what she says, you're being sexist.
And if you don't want to be called sexist or a misogynist, then don't be one.
If you want to invent some big, evil agenda to make you feel better about your sexism, by all means, damage your life in that way, and say "hi" to the other kooks for me at the "who shot JFK" convention.
But if you actually really like women, and you want to be respected as a gamer, then you might want to listen to those of us who care enough to explain how words demonstrate sexism, and how that makes an entire gender uncomfortable within our modern gaming community.
@Quorthon
Storm in a teacup more?
@Priejv
I love both women and gaming, and I respect and care about both enough that I do not want them destroyed, hurt, or ruined by petty sexism. Women have been driven from this industry because of this kind of crap getting out of hand.
People like to think their words don't matter, yet clearly want to be seen as mattering, but they also don't understand how their words can damage something or create bigger problems.
Sexism is the current biggest problem in gaming--worse than even fanboyism (imagine that). And yes, it starts with even seemingly simple and passive statements such as "oh she's pretty." It doesn't matter if a woman is pretty--what matters is what she says or does, and when we start ignoring that to just gaze at her looks, we're doing that woman a disservice.
When we do it as a large group, say, gamers, we're doing this entire industry and medium a disservice.
Certainly, some of you here have mothers, sisters, or friends who are girls. Imagine if others made the comments you make about women to someone you care about. If you wouldn't accept that, then maybe you shouldn't be doing it. My girlfriend is very pretty, but if someone told her that instead of listening to her ideas or commenting on her talents that she is more than happy to demonstrate (she dyes yarn), then I'd be plenty pissed. That's just grossly disrespectful.
@Quorthon
You are fun: bullying on childhood?
Women dress and make up to be prettier (or less uggly), however it is sexism if we comment on that... **** the logic!
If people don't want to be aknowledge by their appearence, they should not invest so much on it.
@Quorthon Again, let me ask you the question: Do you have a problem when females objectify males? Yes or No. I'm genuinely curious to see your answer.
@Quorthon It's strange, you're all about equality, yet you treat women as if they're these inferior delicate things you must protect. There's a reason why hashtags, like NotYourShield, were created because females (and minorities) were so sick of people like you using them as a shield for your arguments and rhetoric.
@Quorthon Also, there's so little you can ascertain from an off the cuff comment, such as "X person is hot", that you can't instantly label that person as a sexist or misogynist.
But yes, if a comment goes beyond the line it should be moderated. But for the most part, the comments on this page are harmless (and not moderation-worthy) so your earlier posts are unwarranted.
I appreciate the insight into the behind the scenes for the voice acting for Bayonetta. I was really disappointed that the producers only give the voice actors a half hour to read the script and don't give the actors a lot of detail on the story. Why not just use a non disclosure agreement? Anyway I guess this explains why the english voice acting can be a bit of a mixed bag where sometimes the actors sound like they're over acting compared to their japanese counterparts. Knowing this I will cut them some slack before passing judgement.
Also the actor that voices Bayonetta is really pretty and I don't care who knows it.
Shocking news.
In other news:
Charles Martinet didn't know on what he was jumping on or what he was driving
TC Carson didn't know what he was slaughtering
etc, etc, etc
It's actually no news at all, that's how voice-acting in the game is made and that's why some lines in games/translations sound akward, because of the lacking ability of voice director (and voice-actor too sometimes).
"Is it just me, or she is hotter than bayonetta?"
Absolutely! Nice brunette!
@DiscoGentleman @Capt_N @jariw @yuwarite
Yes, I do have a problem with women objectifying men as well, or anyone objectifying anyone, because people aren't objects, and it's honestly pathetic, it really is, though, the way people think they're actions or words don't have any effect online. This kind of blatantly arrogant comments are the REASON gamers are so misrepresented in the media, that's why I care, I don't want someone's idiotic decisions affecting the way other people view me or my friends. Gamers aren't a bunch of slobbering losers in a basement, we're so much more, and we have proven time and time again we have the ability to make an impact on the world, but when people act like people are acting in this comment section make us look like we never grew out of puberty.
My opinion is in no way unreasonable, or absurd, it's what needs to happen for the view of our community in the mainstream media. Seriously, it's like men cat-calling women on the street, or I suppose vice versa, except for they don't even have the guts to show their face. How hard is it to just shut up? It doesn't benefit anyone for some random user online to objectify a woman or man.
Come on people, we've been to other planets, we've discovered so many amazing things, and we are definitely better than this pettiness.
@WinterWarm You realise people objectify people everywhere, and not just in our little gaming circle? Females scream for and objectify males on TV, reality TV, gossip sites, etc. Sites like DeviantArt, where you see a lot of artistic sexual objectification and further objectification in the comments. And then, of course, there's the pornography industry as a whole.
What I'm trying to say is, you can't say there's a stereotype for gamers objectifying anyone when there are so many facets of human society which do it as well.
And if anyone in the mainstream media has that perspective, then it's pure ignorance and incorrect, and you shouldn't believe it. I mean, how many times has mainstream media been wrong about gamers? Are you seriously on the side of the likes of FOX news?
Anyway, again as I said to the other guy, there were not many, if any at all, truly inappropriate comments that warranted moderation. So your outrage is unwarranted as those comments fell in line with NL TOS, and it's their site, they set the rules, they have discretion to moderate comments unfit for the site, not you.
@yuwarite I agree, people everywhere objectify people, I'm not suggesting its' just gamers or even primarily gamers, all I'm saying is, as gamers we have a choice as to how we conduct ourselves. Just because everyone else does it doesn't mean it should happen. Some people have to set an example.
Also you misunderstand my intentions, I am not attempting to moderate user comments, merely I'm sharing my opinion on this matter, and on all the comments to which I referred. We all have a right to share our opinions, but that doesn't mean they should never be challenged or criticized.
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