Deciding whether or not to provide voiceover for adult content is just such a slippery slope (no pun intended). On the one hand, many of us agree that adults should have all the consensual fun their private lives can manage. On the other hand, as voice talents, we also recognize we often have little or no control over the final production and distribution of voiceover we provide. So there is no guarantee that our narration would remain strictly adult, consensual and private.
That’s something to consider, because voiceover isn’t just performance; it’s business. As business owners, most of us are trying to attract clients that are predominantly, if not exclusively, outside the adult content markets. I think it’s safe to say that some of these clients would be put off by hiring a voice that does Dallas.
Of course, not all erotica is cheesy porn, which brings me to the third hand (someone, lend me a hand). So many of the adult content scripts I get are bad. Really bad. Just because the main objective may not be the telling of a story, doesn’t mean it has to be so poorly written. That really kills any possibility that I may be tempted to voice adult content. Because even if I can be sure the producer markets only to adults, the content doesn’t promote hate or violence, and the distribution is selective enough that any of my other clients are unlikely to ever hear it, I won’t memorialize badly written adult content. What kind of a prude am I?
There’s just nothing redeeming about bad adult content. Not even the paycheck. You can’t even say: “I did it for Art.” Besides, Art just wants to look at the pictures.
