The Story of Briana White, the New Voice of Aerith in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Part Three.
In the third part of this four-part interview, Briana talks about the often-tricky dynamic of being both a content creator and a voice actress for one of the most anticipated games in recent memory.
The Content Creator
Briana White is both Aerith Gainsborough and TheStrangeRebel — gaming content creator, streamer, lover of stories and narrative savant.
When it comes to Final Fantasy VII Remake content, it’s a dichotomy that keeps her on her toes with all its complexities and benefits.
“Well, mostly it just doubles my work and it’s exhausting,” Briana takes a deep breath. “But besides that, it’s awesome because I get twice the reward. I get twice the engagement.”
The hard part is finding a balance between her content creator and voice actress sides. While wearing both mantles opens up opportunities for special projects, creating content for a video game you helped create isn’t simple. It takes what’s already a detail-oriented undertaking and makes it even more intricate.
“As content creators, we have so many things flashing at us,” Briana describes with an edge to her voice. “We’ve got OBS over here with our framerates dropping. We’ve got our stream alerts going crazy and someone [in chat] has a bad username…Our phones are going crazy because we just tweeted right before. So, it’s really, really hard to just focus on the content.”
This cacophony of distractions and technological whoopsie daisies makes gaming immersion as a content creator difficult enough. Add to that her voice acting persona with its collection of privileged information and non-disclosure agreements and you get more obstacles she needs to work around.
If immersion and unfamiliarity go hand in hand, as Aerith’s voice actress, Briana’s at a disadvantage. She knows too much. But it’s not about finding reasons to stop doing what she loves and engaging with a community that adores what she makes. It’s about finding a way to make it work — and she does.
“I have to remember that I helped create this content [Final Fantasy VII Remake] and I know some things about it that other people don’t. I have to immerse myself while, at the same time, separating the part of me that made it — while also sorting through for little details that I can mention.”
The dipping and twirling of the giddy content creator that wants to experience the game like everyone else and the informed voice actress is a complicated mental tango. But it’s one she seems to have figured out with planning and by always being one step ahead. This is effort you won’t see on camera because she makes it look seamless.
“Everything that I say is super intentional for that reason,” Briana explains about working toward balance. “That’s why making my content is so exhausting. I do not just turn on my camera and my lights and go live and just chill. There’s no part of me that makes content like that.”
But there’s another angle to this. What about the content she takes in? We’ve seen her in action through the game’s cinematic trailers. How does TheStrangeRebel react to hearing Aerith’s voice actress?
“It depends on the line,” she answers. “Some of Aerith’s voice lines are exactly the way that I would say them because, as an actor, you have to bring a little slice of yourself to the table. And then, some of her lines are not at all like me; not at all what I would’ve said or the way I would’ve said them…There is some separation there where I get to enjoy it purely as a fan and then, sometimes, it’s very jarring for some reason.”
It seems there’s no real way to remove entirely the content creator from the voice actress and vice versa. Sure, she has to work harder to balance things just right, but it’s worth it to her. In the end, they’re two sides of the same coin: they’re both Aerith fans. That’s their common denominator. That’s where the joy comes from.
“I’m going through and processing memories of recording at the same time as listening as a fan,” Briana says about watching the Final Fantasy VII Remake trailers. “Seeing the character come to life in a way that I never have before, at the same time as living that acting moment, is absolutely crazy.”
There is, however, one guaranteed benefit of having a content creator helming the voice of a major character in Final Fantasy VII Remake: You know we’re going to get to watch her play the game. Days away from the official release, Briana still can’t fathom what to expect or how she’ll react once she finally takes control of the beloved ancient. But that doesn’t stop her from making a prediction.
“I’ll probably cry 800 times,” she guesses plainly.
For all the Strange Rebels reading, you know this is probably true.
You can follow Briana White on Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out her gaming content as TheStrangeRebel on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. And don’t miss her playthrough of the original Final Fantasy VII being streamed live on Twitch.
