Tom Keegan

TOM KEEGAN came to Judith Weston Studio for Q&A on Tuesday December 7th. The subject - VIDEOGAMES! Tom Keegan is one of the top talent directors for games in the U.S., having been Talent Director/Creative Affairs at Vivendi Universal Games, where he cast and voice directed a wide range of console and PC projects, from VAN HELSING with Hugh Jackman, CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK with Vin Diesel, THE INCREDIBLE HULK:ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION and MEN OF VALOR with Sean Astin, to AMERICAN IDOL, JUMPSTART, and BARBIE. He is now an independent Voice and Casting Director, having directed major franchises such as CALL OF DUTY, NEED FOR SPEED, THE MUMMY, and he directed performance capture for Starbreeze's critically acclaimed THE DARKNESS.

Tom has taken numerous workshops with me, starting back in 2002. He is generous and wonderful. He has completely amazed me with his descriptions of how he has been able to bring feature film-style tools of script analysis and communication into the world of videogames, bringing life and connection into the performances.

At the Q&A he shared stories, expertise and insight on a level that you can’t get anywhere else. He said that games are becoming more and more story- and character-driven. He talked about the ways he breaks down a script, looking for subtext – even when the script is mostly lines like, “Look over there” and, “Let’s get out of here.” The secret, he said, is to find real characters, real relationships, real emotional circumstances, a “moment before,” intentions, subtext imagery, “as ifs.” He always prepares by looking for three different possible adjustments for every line. He demonstrated for us three different screams – one with the subtext, “All is lost, I ruined everything,” one with the subtext, “I’ll get you back, you bastard,” and one with the subtext, “I thought there was another step here” – each one fascinatingly and sometimes hilariously unique.

Tom also talked a lot about what he looks for in casting:

• A theater background – he says that motion capture work is much more like theater than like film.
• Good acting training, to bring emotional reality. A trained voice – so the actor doesn’t get raspy after a morning of screaming.
• Someone familiar with the genre and the technology.

He described what’s going on now in video games as a “Wild West” – it’s still new, so there isn’t a set of “formulas” yet – it’s all informal, non-glamorous - invention as you go along. He says video games are a great place for creative people to be.

Tom himself comes from a theater background, and he began and ended by letting us know that he has always done what he loved, without a goal of fame or riches. He is proof that that is the best path to success.

Thank you, Tom!!! This was a special evening.