Podcast Summary: Everyday VOpreneur® with Marc Scott

Episode: How Monsters Get Their Voices: Inside the World of Creature VO with Sébastien Croteau
Date: October 30, 2025
Guest: Sébastien Croteau (Founder, The Monster Factory)
Host: Marc Scott

Overview

This episode delves into the fascinating world of creature and monster voice acting, exploring the specialized niche of "vocal stunt work" with expert Sébastien Croteau. Together, Marc and Sébastien discuss the rigorous training, vocal health strategies, industry standards, and creative processes that define this field. If you’ve ever wondered how monsters, zombies, and alien creatures get their signature sounds in video games and films—this episode is packed with insider knowledge, memorable stories, and actionable advice for voice actors.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining Creature & Monster VO

• Vocal Stunt Work Explained
  • Sébastien compares vocal stunt performers to physical stunt people in film:

    “We are the equivalent...in the world of voiceover, we are people who are trained to do extreme voices, to scream for a number of hours, and we are able to sustain that.” (02:01, Sébastien)

• Creature voice acting isn’t just about using “extreme” vocal technique; cute or strange sounds can also be part of the job.

2. Discovering the Craft

• Sébastien’s journey began with a love for weird, villainous cartoon voices—think Cookie Monster and Cobra Commander.
• His path included choir singing, discovering death metal, throat singing, and eventually being asked by Ubisoft for unique creature sounds.
• His entry into AAA video games was unconventional, bypassing traditional theatre or VO training, and jumping into 8-hour recording sessions:

  “I found out fast that eight hours was too much. I remember I had blood in my saliva at the end of the second day.” (10:39, Sébastien)

3. Vocal Health, Endurance, and Safe Practice

• Industry Changes: Studios now recognize the risks, scheduling shorter, spread-out sessions (2 hours vs. 8).
• Training is Essential:

  “In 20 years I never had to stop or to reschedule a recording session because of vocal stress...Nor me, nor one of my voice talent ever.” (13:10, Sébastien)

• Proper training turns discomfort into stamina, much like athletic training.
• Warm-ups and cool-downs should be personalized to the effect and the performer’s experience level.
  • Warm-ups are “like gym for your voice”: start gently, build up airflow.
• Many voice actors lack basic vocal anatomy and technique knowledge—a gap Sébastien believes needs to be closed in the VO industry.

4. Danger of Untrained Performance

• Many “voice horror” stories stem from actors trying effects without training.

  “You need to be trained for that...Can you sustain those voices?” (24:30, Sébastien)

• The stigma around vocal distortion (association with pain, anger, sickness) must be deprogrammed for actors to learn safely and playfully.

5. Creative Process — How Are Monster Voices Built?

• For speaking creatures (orcs/goblins), Sébastien uses typical character breakdowns: backstory, personality, archetype.
• For non-verbal creatures (e.g., spiders), the action drives sound design:

  “What will influence the sound I’ll be doing will be the action: idle, breathing, attacking, pain, dying.” (32:18, Sébastien)

• Variation is crucial—a zombie sound may need 20 versions for one action.
• Specific consonants/vowels evoke different actions (attack, pain, etc.).
• Memorable quote:

  “If you lose the vocal effect, you lose the character.” (52:08, Sébastien)

6. Industry and Technology Trends

• Most games still use animal libraries and plugins for monster sounds; only a tiny fraction hire dedicated creature VO actors—a missed opportunity for creativity and authenticity.
• AI is emerging but remains limited in this niche. Sébastien sees it as a new tool/market, but stresses the need for consent, compensation, and credit for talent (“The 3 Cs”—Consent, Compensation, Credit):

  “I view AI as another tool to use and a market to explore...We have to focus on models that can be sustainable for voice actors.” (29:19, Sébastien)

7. Physicality & Performance

• Creature VO is highly physical—even for seated sessions, upper body, face, and expressions all enhance the variation and realism of sounds.

  “Most of the time, I’m more physically tired than vocally tired.” (45:50, Sébastien)

• Facial expressions, movements, and engagement help deliver credible performances—actors should have no vanity in the booth.

8. Experimentation and Collaboration

• Sessions often begin with pure exploration to prototype sounds, especially when clients have only vague ideas.
• Sébastien often acts as the “canary in the mine”—testing effects before directing others.

  “At some point, you need to have a precise idea of what the character will sound like. Otherwise, you’re just going to explore and maybe tire the voice talent.” (51:00, Sébastien)

9. Market, Opportunity, and Training

• Currently, less than 1% of video game creatures use real human creature actors. Marketing the value of authentic, nuanced human performance to studios is a huge opportunity.
• Sébastien’s Monster Factory offers multi-level workshops, including:
  • Vocal health and science
  • Creature-specific technique
  • Action and grunt creation (“onos and grunts”)
  • Personalized “find the monster in you” coaching
  • Phonetic script: a system for consistently creating variations in non-verbal creature sounds

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Training and Vocal Health:

  “Every experience we have with vocal distortion is a negative one...you need to deprogram the brain from its negative perceptions towards vocal distortion.” (24:55, Sébastien)

• On Industry Gaps:

  “I think this is a huge...canyon. Something that is missing in the voiceover community is a real focus on vocal health and a real focus on Vocal anatomy.” (21:07, Sébastien)

• On AI and Human Value:

  “Humans are better. So whenever we have to do that, we have to deliver because otherwise they're going to go back to Animal Sound Library and we lost.” (28:19, Sébastien)

• On Creative Variation:

  “Being knowledgeable about vocal archetype, what are the sounds that are usually attached...[is] what we are expecting as consumers.” (56:08, Sébastien)

Important Timestamps

• Defining Creature VO and Vocal Stunt Work: 02:01 – 03:29
• Sébastien’s Early Path (and Metal Roots): 04:01 – 06:43
• First Big Session, Overuse Warning: 10:39 – 11:09
• Industry Changes & Safe Practices: 11:57 – 13:27
• Training Process & Vocal Technique: 15:30 – 18:15
• Personalizing Warm-ups: 18:48 – 21:07
• Science, Not Luck—The Need for Knowledge: 23:42 – 24:31
• Creative Process, Character vs. Action: 31:47 – 35:04
• Physicality in Performance: 43:38 – 47:15
• The Importance of Variation, Prototyping: 49:54 – 52:08
• Monster Factory, Workshops, and Phonetic Script: 57:28 – 61:57
• Industry Market, Opportunity for VO Actors: 62:52 – 63:40

The Monster Factory: Opportunities & Resources

• Workshops for every skill level—beginner to advanced
• Focus on both vocal effects and vocal health
• Emphasis on science-based, sustainable techniques
• YouTube channel: includes a free, 45-minute video on vocal health with a voice therapist

Website: themonster/factory.com
YouTube Channel: Monster Factory on YouTube

Final Thoughts

This episode is a must-listen for voice actors interested in creature and monster roles or anyone curious about the intersection of vocal health, creativity, and technical mastery. Sébastien offers not just inspiration, but actionable paths for skill development and career growth in this overlooked but highly promising niche. As commercial content and video game markets explode, human-driven monster voices could be the next big frontier in VO.

To learn more and access resources/training, visit: themonster/factory.com
Follow Marc Scott: VOpreneur.com

“If you lose the vocal effect, you lose the character.” (52:08, Sébastien Croteau)