Critical Role has once again given Critters an inside look into the making of the highly anticipated animated series The Legend of Vox Machina. Fans are eager for any news on the long-awaited Critical Role animated series and in the newest behind the scenes video Critters got a peak into the recording process for the series both before and during the global pandemic.
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In the newest The Legend of Vox Machina behind the scenes video Critical Role revealed that Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is the voice director for the upcoming animated series. Mary Elizabeth McGlynn has had an impressive career as a voice actor (Star Wars Rebels, Steven Universe, Carmen Sandiego) and voice director (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, Naruto), but most Critters will recognize her from Campaign 1 when she played Zahra. Zahara is a Tiefling Warlock who Vox Machina met when they were tested by the Slayer’s Take. Zahara became a member of the Slayer’s Take guild and an ally of Vox Machina helping the adventuring party on multiple occasions.
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During The Legend of Vox Machina behind the scenes video the cast and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn talked about how she was not only a guest star on the live stream Dungeons & Dragons game, but a fan as well. Laura Bailey recalled McGlynn watching Critical Role and texting after major events happened in the game sharing her own excitement. The cast revealed that McGlynn was at the top of a short list for possible voice directors and one of her strengths for this project specifically is she knows the material and she knows these characters going in.
Many of the cast members and McGlynn herself explained why it was important to bring in an outside perspective in the form of a voice director. With many of the cast members being talented voice directors themselves and all of them being producers on the project, McGlynn was essential in helping them get out of their heads and be in the moment to embody these characters that so many people love.
McGlynn’s excitement and passion for The Legend of Vox Machina is clear as she shares how important Critical Role is for her personally:
“Those few episodes that I actually got to go on as Zahra in Critical Role changed my life. It changed my perspective on so many things. And it taught me how important storytelling was.”
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The Legend Of The Voices Of The Legend Of Vox Machina not only announced the series voice director, it also revealed what the process of recording has been like. The video begins pre-pandemic and shows the cast actually recording together. Sam Riegel reminisced about how recording together as a group had the same feel as the early home games where the friends were playing at a kitchen table together. All of the cast shared how thrilling and joyful it was to record together as a full cast. Travis Willingham explains why this experience was not only somewhat unique, but how recording together can elevate the performance.
Travis Willingham explained, “Not all animation allows actors to record in group settings, but it invariably gives a more nuanced performance, and also provides a better opportunity for chemistry to happen in the group.”
But almost as suddenly as the lock down itself, The Legend Of The Voices Of The Legend Of Vox Machina cuts to when the pandemic hit and in person became a distant fond memory. The cast showed off their different at home recording booths with many being repurposed closets.
Marisha Ray explained what made them nervous about going from the full main cast recording together to the individual recording session at home:
“It was definitely hard not to feel concerned that we might be losing a piece of the magic by having to switch to a remote recording session.”
However, it seems that is not the case. The cast of Critical Role are no strangers to recording separately especially with their experience working in video games. They quickly adjusted and actually found silver linings in the experience including the fact that it is easier than ever before to re-record lines if a cast member wants to because they have their own at home set up. And while the cast was recording individually that doesn’t mean they were always recording alone.
There were times that they would set up zoom calls to make the conversational nature of the exchange feel more authentic, but because they are each in their own booth the reactions can be more natural. Actors can laugh and talk over each other without effecting someone else’s recording because they are in separate locations and on their own microphones.
The Legend Of The Voices Of The Legend Of Vox Machina also revealed that Matt Mercer will not be voicing every character that he did in Campaign 1 of Critical Role. This isn’t necessarily a huge shock given the fact that he voices every NPC, but he will still be voicing a number of characters. Matt explained that he will be voicing some of the characters he feels a connection with and one such character is Sylas Briarwood. Matt wouldn’t reveal what other characters he will be voicing, but he did say he will be “popping up here and there as all sorts of random characters and NPCs in the world.”
Hopefully Matt will reprise his role as Gilmore as well. The video ends with the cast sharing their excitement for Critters to see The Legend Of Vox Machina and enthusiastically teasing the high caliber of the project. Although no release date has been announced yet each video teases more and more for Critters to get excited about for The Legend Of Vox Machina.
Critical Role: The Legend Of Vox Machina is set for two twelve episode seasons on Amazon Prime.
Are you excited for The Legend Of Vox Machina? What did you think about this new The Legend Of Vox Machina behind the scenes video? Which characters do you want Matt Mercer to voice in the animated series? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media and check back with The Illuminerdi for more The Legend of Vox Machina and Critical Role news.
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