Ian Corlett on why he quit playing Goku

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

There's a really interesting clip from a panel with Ian Corlett that I wanted to talk about (I've known about this for awhile but haven't seen it discussed here). You can watch said clip here: https://youtu.be/m58Cv0eT-W4
In it Corlett, without going too much into "union shakeups" and "awful producers" said that he quit voicing Goku because he found out that Funimation/Saban weren't paying him for the screams he was doing. The reason is that the contract the actors who worked on Dragon Ball Z were given was the same contract that an actor who does an on camera job is given to do an ADR session to fix any line reads in post production. i.e. the kind of contract that an actor is given after being fully paid for bulk of their job.
I don't know if all ADR contracts were like this at the time, or if it was due to the union issues Corlett mentioned (it sounds like union pay/protection was at a low point in mid to late 90's Canada). But, regardless Corlett said that the producer (he didn't give names, but he most likely would've answered to Barry Watson) refused to pay him for screams since they were considered as "vocalizations", and this wasn't disclosed to the actors. Once he realized that he quit and never looked back.
My big takeaways from this are 1) that's scummy treatment of the actors and 2) just how little were the in-house cast getting paid if the Canadian union payment was as bad as Corlett implied?
What do you think of this? Did you know about this already? What's your takeaway?

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I've been aware of this for years. It's well documented Ian James Corlett and the Ocean Group didn't see eye-to-eye because he was paid so poorly for the job he was doing.

In Corlett's interview with Geekdom101 he dispelled the myth that Funimation couldn't afford the Ocean cast as the reason Funimation outsourced to Ocean Studios in the beginning was because they could get the work done for cheaper than other companies.

In that interview when asked about how voiceover in Vancouver grew he said it was what the industry calls a race to the bottom, as producers were always looking for new ways to do it at a lower cost.

In another interview Corlett said this about Ocean "They are notorious for chiseling and paying fractions of what actor's are paid elsewhere".

This is of course the same reason original Dragon Ball and GT were not dubbed in Vancouver in 2003, because there was an opportunity to get them dubbed for cheaper in Calgary.

Corlett also stated in that same interview "I could make more $$ washing windows for goodness sake!", which really puts into perspective how badly he was rewarded for very vocally strenuous work.

Thankfully the industry has changed and vocalisations like screams are now paid for, but there was once a lot of ignorance on the subject, likely because Dragon Ball Z was unlike any show that had ever been dubbed before.

As Corlett said (I think in the Geekdom101 interview?) it was the wild west of animation at the time.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Yes, it was basically said that the reason why FUNimation transitioned to in house dubbing back in 1998/1999 after the syndicated Z broadcast run ended (right at the point where Goku's fight with the Ginyu Force started) was due to them wanting to do things more cheaply that continuing to outsource the voice work to Ocean Group. So after Saban had already pulled out on the production end, they brought things internally to cut down on costs. Among other things Barry Watson's frequent airline flights to Vancouver to oversee the recording sessions.

Similarly, after the Westwood dub had finished the reason why the OG DB and GT dubs were done at Blue Water rather than at Ocean itself (though they were initially going to until the dub recording was moved over there) also partly for cost cutting reasons.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

I've been aware of this for years. It's well documented Ian James Corlett and the Ocean Group didn't see eye-to-eye because he was paid so poorly for the job he was doing.

In Corlett's interview with Geekdom101 he dispelled the myth that Funimation couldn't afford the Ocean cast as the reason Funimation outsourced to Ocean Studios in the beginning was because they could get the work done for cheaper than other companies.

In that interview when asked about how voiceover in Vancouver grew he said it was what the industry calls a race to the bottom, as producers were always looking for new ways to do it at a lower cost.

In another interview Corlett said this about Ocean "They are notorious for chiseling and paying fractions of what actor's are paid elsewhere".

This is of course the same reason original Dragon Ball and GT were not dubbed in Vancouver in 2003, because there was an opportunity to get them dubbed for cheaper in Calgary.

Corlett also stated in that same interview "I could make more $$ washing windows for goodness sake!", which really puts into perspective how badly he was rewarded for very vocally strenuous work.

Thankfully the industry has changed and vocalisations like screams are now paid for, but there was once a lot of ignorance on the subject, likely because Dragon Ball Z was unlike any show that had ever been dubbed before.

As Corlett said (I think in the Geekdom101 interview?) it was the wild west of animation at the time.

I didn't know all that, but reading it was very eye opening. I can see why Corlett wanted nothing to do with that back then. I guess Barry Watson being a "nice guy" must mean that he wasn't the "awful producer" in question.

[TheGreatness25]

Ian Corlett quit and was replaced with Peter Kelamis way before the in-house dub was a thing. So, Ian wouldn't know the ins and outs of that.

By all accounts, Ian was not being paid for ADR--grunts, screams, etc. He was only being paid for "lines." Of course, the most grueling part was the screaming and that took up a lot of the work, but Funimation didn't interpret those as something they had to pay for. So, Ian quit.

I really liked Ian as Goku. I think he's my favorite English-speaking Goku, though he might not have been as good at the screams and whatnot. I just felt like he brought a very natural, lighthearted voice that was perfect for Goku... and yeah, he had his deep superhero voice, but that matched what they were going for. I honestly enjoyed all the English-speaking Gokus in their own way, but Ian is the best for me.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

Ian Corlett quit and was replaced with Peter Kelamis way before the in-house dub was a thing. So, Ian wouldn't know the ins and outs of that.

By all accounts, Ian was not being paid for ADR--grunts, screams, etc. He was only being paid for "lines." Of course, the most grueling part was the screaming and that took up a lot of the work, but Funimation didn't interpret those as something they had to pay for. So, Ian quit.

I really liked Ian as Goku. I think he's my favorite English-speaking Goku, though he might not have been as good at the screams and whatnot. I just felt like he brought a very natural, lighthearted voice that was perfect for Goku... and yeah, he had his deep superhero voice, but that matched what they were going for. I honestly enjoyed all the English-speaking Gokus in their own way, but Ian is the best for me.

The video I shared he mentioned the "75% rule." That if you have to scream for a show that you only give 75% of your voice, and give it a little boost if you absolutely have to. That way you can preserve your voice, because if you scream 100% the entire session then you won't be able to perform "the rest of the day or the next day" as Corlett put it. That's probably why his screams sound more reserved than other actors. There's a more recent video interview with Peter Kelamis where he mentioned loosing his voice or not being able to speak for a full day after finishing a Dragon Ball Z session for going 100% screaming for multiple takes.
https://youtu.be/oW3W4e-WT1w
Sean Schemmel has mentioned having to get steroid shots in his neck after some very grueling sessions. I think he name dropped the Blue Kaioken X10 scene as one that blew out his voice and required a steroid shot.

[JulieYBM]

If you can't talk after screaming you're screaming wrong. Jesus, these guys aren't going to be able to speak by the time they have grandchildren.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I can see why Corlett wanted nothing to do with that back then. I guess Barry Watson being a "nice guy" must mean that he wasn't the "awful producer" in question.

From what the actors have said Barry Watson was a very kind and generous man that everyone loved spending time with and travelling with (ADR director Karl Willems and actor Terry Klassen recalled going on trips skiing and to Mexico with him). He was just very misinformed about anime and thought a show like Dragon Ball needed drastic changes to appeal to American audiences.

Its easy to vilify the man (I know your not, but other fans have over the years) as he's the reason the "Say-An" pronunciation has stayed in dubs amongst other things, but I don't think being an "awful producer" was a knock on him as a person.

[Marty Kirra]

If you can't talk after screaming you're screaming wrong. Jesus, these guys aren't going to be able to speak by the time they have grandchildren.

These are very different screams from the screaming you'd do in metal music, so the "safe screaming" techniques are mostly, as mentioned before, "not going 100%" in on a scream. I can't blame the actors for giving it their all in key scenes.

[JulieYBM]

If you can't talk after screaming you're screaming wrong. Jesus, these guys aren't going to be able to speak by the time they have grandchildren.

These are very different screams from the screaming you'd do in metal music, so the "safe screaming" techniques are mostly, as mentioned before, "not going 100%" in on a scream. I can't blame the actors for giving it their all in key scenes.

I'm referring to the screams where people are unable to talk afterwards or getting steroid shots, where they are clearly pushing their voices too much, not the "only going 75%" screams. If you're doing that, you're doing something stupid and it's the responsibility of the company hiring them to prevent their talent/employees from hurting themselves.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

If you can't talk after screaming you're screaming wrong. Jesus, these guys aren't going to be able to speak by the time they have grandchildren.

These are very different screams from the screaming you'd do in metal music, so the "safe screaming" techniques are mostly, as mentioned before, "not going 100%" in on a scream. I can't blame the actors for giving it their all in key scenes.

I'm referring to the screams where people are unable to talk afterwards or getting steroid shots, where they are clearly pushing their voices too much, not the "only going 75%" screams. If you're doing that, you're doing something stupid and it's the responsibility of the company hiring them to prevent their talent/employees from hurting themselves.

Peter Kelamis mentioned that he would get annoyed when they'd tell him that they almost had it, but his scream continued for half a second too long. Supposedly he asked: "don't you guys have a second button that you can push to cut my audio instead of me having to do it again?" I don't think that the health of the talent was a big concern. The only change made that seems like a permanent fixture at Funimation was to record dialogue first, screams last. (Which both Kelamis and Schemmel have mentioned being the protocol.) That way the actors wouldn't sound strained when dialogue would show up "after four pages of screaming."

[JulieYBM]

These are very different screams from the screaming you'd do in metal music, so the "safe screaming" techniques are mostly, as mentioned before, "not going 100%" in on a scream. I can't blame the actors for giving it their all in key scenes.

I'm referring to the screams where people are unable to talk afterwards or getting steroid shots, where they are clearly pushing their voices too much, not the "only going 75%" screams. If you're doing that, you're doing something stupid and it's the responsibility of the company hiring them to prevent their talent/employees from hurting themselves.

Peter Kelamis mentioned that he would get annoyed when they'd tell him that they almost had it, but his scream continued for half a second too long. Supposedly he asked: "don't you guys have a second button that you can push to cut my audio instead of me having to do it again?" I don't think that the health of the talent was a big concern. The only change made that seems like a permanent fixture at Funimation was to record dialogue first, screams last. (Which both Kelamis and Schemmel have mentioned being the protocol.) That way the actors wouldn't sound strained when dialogue would show up "after four pages of screaming."

These companies should be held to higher standards, for sure. This is why we have unions and why union-dodging companies like Crunchyroll/FUNimation/whoever should be eternally scrutinized for their bullshit.

[Tian]

Sean Schemmel has mentioned having to get steroid shots in his neck after some very grueling sessions. I think he name dropped the Blue Kaioken X10 scene as one that blew out his voice and required a steroid shot.

It's not like I want to bash Schemmel or something like that but the guy's been into voice acting for like 26 years and he still hasn't learned to use the diaphragm to scream?

Many veteran voice actors recommend to use the diaphragm to protect your vocal cords from the strain of demanding screams and reactions.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

Sean Schemmel has mentioned having to get steroid shots in his neck after some very grueling sessions. I think he name dropped the Blue Kaioken X10 scene as one that blew out his voice and required a steroid shot.

It's not like I want to bash Schemmel or something like that but the guy's been into voice acting for like 26 years and he still hasn't learned to use the diaphragm to scream?

Many veteran voice actors recommend to use the diaphragm to protect your vocal cords from the strain of demanding screams and reactions.

My best guess is that he feels compelled to live up to the fan expectations of him or something. But, to be fair even when using your diaphragm screaming for a four hour session will still cause you strain, and you'll need time to recuperate.
Most people wouldn't expect this but Tom Hanks said that recording a session as Woody would leave his "diaphragm busted" and throat "raw". So if you have to do it for long enough technique can only help you for so long.
I have no idea how Masako Nozawa has done it for so long. She even said at her first US panel with Schemmel that she "never had a hard time" screaming for multiple sessions as Goku despite her age. This was after Schemmel mentioned that screaming was getting harder as he got older.