How do I get my VAs to talk like real people?
Full disclosure I am an amateur (or less) in the world of hiring and directing VAs, I've hired some community voice actors that came highly recommended for my price point, and for the most part have enjoyed working with them.
Giving direction has been the biggest struggle, conveying the emotions and such that I mean for them to convey has been difficult, and I do semi-frequently have to act out what I mean (and I'm not a VA so it's always embarrassing, but they're gracious about it)
There are three VAs, two of which are voicing female characters and one of which is voicing a male character, and their delivery is what I call the "anime dub". No disrespect to dub VAs but they almost never sound like 'real people', it's distinctly 'cartoony' because of the way they have to work with the translated dialogue and how scenes are put together. The women talk with this marginally up-pitched, ever so slightly breathy delivery, and the guy talks like he's 40 trying to mimic a highschooler, constantly sounding simultaneously bored and overly excited like some kind of Shonen protag.
The problem is, they cannot seem to turn it off, or they CAN, but it's only for one or two scenes and then I have to go in a big circle and start the conversation over. They're not only experienced in voicing anime dubs, so I'm just not really sure what to make of it. I took the lines around to some editors and VAs I've known to confirm there wasn't anything especially awkward or difficult about them. Obviously this is an issue of direction but I am just not sure how to make it more clear to them.
Is there any way I can really get through to them that I want them to talk like normal, English-speaking people and not like cartoon characters? Would I be better off just cutting my losses and finding VAs who will be easier to work with?