I had the idea for this project in 2018. When I came across this Japanese Drama Series, it was only in Japanese, with no other languages dubbed.
I came across a site, CastingCallClub, with tens of thousands of profiles of people seeking to grow their portfolios into the VA (Voice-Acting) hobby/career.
This was my main image used when trying to recruit voice actors for the roles that needed to be filled.
Recruiting VAs
Using CastingCallClub, I had created a project meant to recruit those who wanted to audition.
With over 14 roles needed for the project, I had over 100 auditions to choose from.
With over 14 roles needed for the project, I had over 100 auditions to choose from.
Making The Music
Once I had my team picked and scripts figured out, I had a big obstacle to tackle to avoid any legal trouble.
The series is already copyrighted and trademarked by Masakazu Katsura and SkyPerfecTV, and I knew I couldn't make any commercial transactions or trades. Which was not a concern.
However, when it came to the original intro music for the show, it would get flagged during upload due to the track being listed in the USA. ("Yesterdays" by Migiwa Takezawa)
The series is already copyrighted and trademarked by Masakazu Katsura and SkyPerfecTV, and I knew I couldn't make any commercial transactions or trades. Which was not a concern.
However, when it came to the original intro music for the show, it would get flagged during upload due to the track being listed in the USA. ("Yesterdays" by Migiwa Takezawa)
To get past this, I needed a different track, one that won't get flagged or tagged. Coincidentally, I have been working on creating original music and short tracks for a few years, using Ableton Live.
There were a few genres I could go with, pop, classical, and dubstep, but I chose more of a tropical-house style.
I obtained vocals from a studio Dropgun Samples, and needed to get the instruments and drum beats to feel like they would belong in this show.
I saw the intro was nearly 1 minute and 20 seconds long, and I was able to create a track that was that length.
But, another issue appeared... With the original audio removed from the intro, and I'm just replacing it, the cuts and transitions DO NOT match up at all. Now I have to go through the intro video and slice it up to match my music.
That was quite fun. I easily found the BPM (beats per minute) of the original track, paced it to mine, while also moving over some cue points in the video to line up with certain transitions.
There were a few genres I could go with, pop, classical, and dubstep, but I chose more of a tropical-house style.
I obtained vocals from a studio Dropgun Samples, and needed to get the instruments and drum beats to feel like they would belong in this show.
I saw the intro was nearly 1 minute and 20 seconds long, and I was able to create a track that was that length.
But, another issue appeared... With the original audio removed from the intro, and I'm just replacing it, the cuts and transitions DO NOT match up at all. Now I have to go through the intro video and slice it up to match my music.
That was quite fun. I easily found the BPM (beats per minute) of the original track, paced it to mine, while also moving over some cue points in the video to line up with certain transitions.
The following video is my completed version of the intro, using my music and having proper timing.
"Breathe" By Jagged Jason
Creating The Credits
I took screenshots of the credits of the Japanese series, which were displayed in Japanese text. And had to go to the internet to translate the words into the English alphabet.
A task I had to do was remove the Japanese words and replace them with the alphabet. It wasn't too difficult, but it required some creativity.
A task I had to do was remove the Japanese words and replace them with the alphabet. It wasn't too difficult, but it required some creativity.
An example of the credits in Japanese
It's hard to explain what I did.
But I would go frame by frame until I found a section of the shot with no text. Screenshot as an image, and cycle through the clip until another patch of the screen is free of text, and use that image over the text.
The shot with no text would look like this.
But I would go frame by frame until I found a section of the shot with no text. Screenshot as an image, and cycle through the clip until another patch of the screen is free of text, and use that image over the text.
The shot with no text would look like this.
After I had these "moving pictures" with no text shown in the scene, I would put in my own credits.
Either of the voice cast I recruited, or put in the translated credits to show the crew with their names spelled using the alphabet.
For my voice cast, I added their logo or avatar that they chose to provide for their credit name. I put them in their own turquoise circle and made sure they lined up with each other.
The credits screen was created using Photoshop, and I saved the PNG image and imported it into Adobe Premiere, rather than loading all the images and text into Premiere individually.
Either of the voice cast I recruited, or put in the translated credits to show the crew with their names spelled using the alphabet.
For my voice cast, I added their logo or avatar that they chose to provide for their credit name. I put them in their own turquoise circle and made sure they lined up with each other.
The credits screen was created using Photoshop, and I saved the PNG image and imported it into Adobe Premiere, rather than loading all the images and text into Premiere individually.
Putting It Together
This was clearly the hardest part.
Voice actors had their own roles, each role having anywhere between 44 words and 844 words.
I would have some voice actors give me multiple takes of each line.
Gathering each voice actor's audio and putting it in the project, done using Ableton Live as well.
The reason I used Ableton was that it made moving certain audio markers to where I wanted, and it could speed up or slow down the audio and make the voice match the mouth movements better.
Keep in mind, I am working on one episode at a time, and each episode is just over 50 minutes long.
Voice actors had their own roles, each role having anywhere between 44 words and 844 words.
I would have some voice actors give me multiple takes of each line.
Gathering each voice actor's audio and putting it in the project, done using Ableton Live as well.
The reason I used Ableton was that it made moving certain audio markers to where I wanted, and it could speed up or slow down the audio and make the voice match the mouth movements better.
Keep in mind, I am working on one episode at a time, and each episode is just over 50 minutes long.
Screenshot of Episode 1's Ableton file.
After the first episode was uploaded, I took some notes on things I rushed and needed to keep an eye on for future episodes.
- I needed to scout for replacement voice actors for a few roles that just didn't match the characters.
- Be more mindful of the audio levels. (Since there were loud parts and others whose volume was too low)
- Correct some voice actors' pronunciations.
- & Be more accountable for missing lines. (There were a few lines that had the subtitles up, but no audio)
- I needed to scout for replacement voice actors for a few roles that just didn't match the characters.
- Be more mindful of the audio levels. (Since there were loud parts and others whose volume was too low)
- Correct some voice actors' pronunciations.
- & Be more accountable for missing lines. (There were a few lines that had the subtitles up, but no audio)
Screenshot of Episode 2's Ableton file.
Where's The Project at Now?
As of January 2026, we are currently working on Episode 3.
What I am currently doing, while waiting for audio files, is preparing for future roles to get filled. There are more characters that are introduced in future episodes, so I didn't focus on filling those roles and letting the cast wait around for months until their episode was announced.
So on Casting Call Club, I created a new audition link. This link featured the 8 characters that will be introduced in upcoming episodes. But one thing I did differently was create reference clips.
I went through the episodes in Japanese and searched out lines I would want the potential VAs to audition with.
Because these clips were going to be posted on YouTube, I needed to create Icon Images. So, I created a template, made sure to use the same fonts, and image placements for each character.
What I am currently doing, while waiting for audio files, is preparing for future roles to get filled. There are more characters that are introduced in future episodes, so I didn't focus on filling those roles and letting the cast wait around for months until their episode was announced.
So on Casting Call Club, I created a new audition link. This link featured the 8 characters that will be introduced in upcoming episodes. But one thing I did differently was create reference clips.
I went through the episodes in Japanese and searched out lines I would want the potential VAs to audition with.
Because these clips were going to be posted on YouTube, I needed to create Icon Images. So, I created a template, made sure to use the same fonts, and image placements for each character.
Advertising
With episodes being made and uploaded to YouTube, there wasn't much of a way to share the completion of the project. We could post on Discord, Reddit, and on Casting Call Club. But with the number of posts every hour, our posts would get buried and lost. Casting Call Club does offer ad space for anything related to the site, such as projects.
The ads need to be square and either a still image or a GIF, I liked the GIF idea.
I opened up photoshop and created a few different layouts. I thought about what I"s was about and who the main characters were. Clearly the main character, Ichitaka, and his 4 love interests. So I need a square ad, with 5 sections for the 5 characters. But I also have the logo and call to action, so that made it easier, 6 spaces inside a square.
This was my first concept.
The ads need to be square and either a still image or a GIF, I liked the GIF idea.
I opened up photoshop and created a few different layouts. I thought about what I"s was about and who the main characters were. Clearly the main character, Ichitaka, and his 4 love interests. So I need a square ad, with 5 sections for the 5 characters. But I also have the logo and call to action, so that made it easier, 6 spaces inside a square.
This was my first concept.
First square advertisement concept
It felt fine, but something was wrong, the two characters on the bottom haven't been introduced yet, why am I showing them?
But I kept the idea of the corners being the moving character sections, getting rid of the middle character space, and made a few variations.
But I kept the idea of the corners being the moving character sections, getting rid of the middle character space, and made a few variations.
I was happy with the final result. I added the YouTube logo in the space, as well as added a mouse cursor to "click" on the icon. I also kept the I"s logo in the natural color, rather than disturb the eyes more by having a gradient rainbow moving.
This FIF has the 4 main characters that have been introduced, rather than 5 characters shown in the first concept, where 2 of them weren't seen.
Next Steps
We are working on episode 3, as mentioned before. But I also want to make more advertisement mediums.
My next idea is a flyer or poster. Why? Because of local anime conventions that are coming to my region soon.
These conventions welcome posters and flyers being hung or stuck wherever there is space.
I want the poster to have a QR Code to send viewers to the videos finished, but also have a way to send aspiring VAs to the Casting Call Club audition page for future castings.
As of Jan 2026, I have not completed any drafts. But I will post them to this project when I get some work done.
My next idea is a flyer or poster. Why? Because of local anime conventions that are coming to my region soon.
These conventions welcome posters and flyers being hung or stuck wherever there is space.
I want the poster to have a QR Code to send viewers to the videos finished, but also have a way to send aspiring VAs to the Casting Call Club audition page for future castings.
As of Jan 2026, I have not completed any drafts. But I will post them to this project when I get some work done.