Archive for the ‘Tips & techniques’ Category:
December 29th, 2010
Found in Careers in voice over, Tips & techniques | No Comments
On January 4, the good people over at VoiceOverXtra will start the new year with "7 Steps To Building A Better Brand" - an info-packed webinar led by voice over expert, Bettye Zoller.
In this webinar, Betty will detail how to analyze your current brand marketing, offer effective marketing techniques, and show you how to keep your brand consistent everywhere - even in personal networking.
Learn more here: 7 Steps To Building A Better Brand
December 7th, 2010
Found in Careers in voice over, Tips & techniques, Voice over acting | No Comments
In two previous posts (one titled Wanna become a voice-over actor? and the other titled I really hate to scare you but…) I threw down two challenges to aspiring voice actors; challenges that are meant to get VO beginners into the habit of acting like, well... actors.
Working on the two challenges is all fine and dandy if you like living in a vacuum. But one of the things that voice actors really enjoy is having people actually hear what we've done. Maybe it's our inner creative child wanting to be heard (or just our fragile egos needing some attention 
) Whatever you call it, it's good to be heard, even when you're just doing things for practice.
Enter the world of volunteering your voice.
There really is a whole world of opportunities where you can get valuable practice and experience as a voice actor while helping out your community. You don't need a professional demo or years of training. Just a mic, a computer, your voice, and the drive to do something really cool (and sometimes all you need is the drive!)
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November 16th, 2010
Found in Studio tips, Tips & techniques, Videos | 1 Comment
While doing a little YouTube surfing the other day I came across two short but informative videos about mic placement for vocals. These videos are meant for singers, but I found that they're also quite relatable to recording voice overs as well.
Click the Read more link below to check out the videos. Enjoy!
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September 19th, 2010
Found in Tips & techniques, Voice over acting | No Comments
Voice acting has very little to do with the kind of voice you have and has everything to do with how well you can act. And the only way to get better at acting is to study it from as many sources as you can and practice, practice, practice!
One source of acting inspiration for me has come from the writings of acting coach, Mark Westbrook, of The Acting Blog. Since his teachings are very good, I've decided to put a few of my favorite posts from his acting blog here for others to benefit from:
Within your own character
Preparation
The other
Uncertainty
A handy guide to acting emotions with Steven Seagal
(This one's funny 
)
September 12th, 2010
Found in Careers in voice over, Tips & techniques | No Comments
If you're a beginner to voice acting, then you might think that there is a tremendous amount of work and practice that needs to be done before you can even get your budding career off the ground. And you'd be right — there IS a lot. So much so that the mountain of work might appear to block out the sunny skies of a successful future career.
I used to think that very way. I'd focus my attention and energy on all of the skills and techniques that I had yet to learn. It was heartbreaking. At times "giving it up" seemed so much better than "giving it a try".
Then one day I changed my perspective, shifted my paradigm, and did away with the one thing that was sapping my motivation: the "To Do" list.
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July 23rd, 2010
Found in Tips & techniques, Videos, Voice over acting | 2 Comments
A buddy of mine tipped me off to these four videos on YouTube about how to learn foreign accents for voice overs. While I'm not yet at a level in my voice acting journey to delve into practicing foreign accents (I'm still working on mastering my own accent! ) these videos are still a great learning tool. If anything, they will help you to better understand your own accent just as much as other accents.
Click the "Read more" link below to check out the foreign accents for voice over videos:
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May 15th, 2010
Found in Script analysis, Tips & techniques, Voice over acting | No Comments
Have you ever had one of those slap-your-hand-to-your-head-and-say-"d'oh!" moments? You know the kind. It's when all of the facts have been patiently staring you in the face while your brain stubbornly refuses to acknowledge them. Then suddenly "WHAM!" the connection is made and you find the palm of your hand applied firmly to your forehead. You hear words like "Duh!", "D'oh!", or "I'm such an idiot!" flying from your lips.
I had one of those just the other day...
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May 10th, 2010
Found in Tips & techniques, Voice over acting | 2 Comments
I admit it, I love American Idol. Not the first few episodes where the weirdos and freakish fame seekers crawl out from wherever they lurk and attempt to be "unique", but anytime after the top 12 are chosen. It's during this time in the show's progression that one can truly see and hear talented individuals. Having a music background myself, I love to pit my opinions against those of the judges.
But just recently while envisioning myself in a battle of opinionated wits with Simon Cowell, I discovered a very close connection between the musical performances and voice acting...
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May 9th, 2010
Found in Script analysis, Tips & techniques, Voice over acting | 2 Comments
If you asked a professional voice actor to perform a script like a regular person reading out loud from a book, he or she could do it — and you would immediately recognize the poor performance. If you asked for a natural, conversational read, then you would immediately recognize that one as well (and be much, much happier with the result.)
Why is that? Why can we recognize when someone is reading and when someone is truthfully speaking?
In this post, I'd like to put on my "speech therapist" hat and offer up to you the answers. Be prepared, though. The explanation might get a little long-winded...
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2011 is here! And man do I have a bunch of cool posts planned for this year!
