October 5th, 2011
In memory of a great man
Thank you Steve Jobs for all that you have done to make our lives easier, better, and a whole lot cooler. You will be greatly missed.
Archive for the ‘Videos’ Category:
September 26th, 2011
This guy’s got game!
What do Yakko Warner (from the Animaniacs), Pinky (from Pinky and the Brain), Raphael and soon Donatello (from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Hadji (from Jonny Quest), and about another billion animated characters have in common?
The answer: ONE incredibly talented voice actor!
His name is Rob Paulsen
No, I'm not talking about a quote from a popular 1999 movie. (Actually, the quote was "His name was Robert Paulsen" but without Googling it can you name the movie?)
I'm talking about one of the most gifted voice actors in the business: Rob Paulsen — a man who has a list of voice acting credits that make the phrase "a mile long" seem tiny. (You can check them out at Rob Paulsen on IMDb.)
A major influence
I grew up listening to the man perform in many cartoons. And yet from TV show to TV show I never suspected it was the same guy doing the voices. All I knew is that whichever character he happened to be performing, I gravitated toward it.
Some videos:
Here's just a tiny sampling of some of his work along with a 3-part series on voice acting!
September 9th, 2011
We are more
I recently stumbled across this great video of a poem called "We are more" written and read by Shane Koyczan at the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.
It's a powerful performance of some very moving words. (Special thanks to Paul Strikwerda for posting this on his blog where I found it. Paul, you're awesome!)
I recommend checking out more of Shane Koyczan on YouTube.
September 6th, 2011
A new job, a disease, and long hair
I realize that I haven't written in about a month, but there is a very good reason.
Well, actually two good reasons.
A new job
The first is that around the middle of August I landed a new voice acting job, and it's the kind of job that voice actors salivate over: a full-year-contracted-guaranteed-pay kind of job! So I was busy going over the contract and getting acquainted with my new job. I'll write more about it in a later post.
A disease
The second reason is that I "contracted" pneumonia — ouch! Luckily though, it hasn't affected my voice, just my lung capacity. I know I know, I shouldn't push myself. But don't worry, I'm still resting and taking it easy... in-between VO jobs.
Long HAIR?
Call me late to the party, but just recently I saw Disney's Tangled and WOW was that a great movie! And so, for your viewing pleasure, here are two "behind the scenes" videos of the movie.
Video One:
Tangled's two stars, Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi, getting directed and singing the movie's love theme.
Video Two:
Interviews with the stars and crew:
(Listen to what Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi say: the two actors were NEVER in the same room together when performing their lines. It was all made seamless by through the directing!)
July 29th, 2011
What are you worth?
Here's a great video by voice actor Jonathan Tilley about what are you worth as a voice actor. After the video, check out some of my additions to his list.
In addition to Jonathan's list of what clients say to justify paying a lower fee, here are a few more I've heard (with my comments in parentheses.)
"Any voice actor who knows his craft can get this done in no time."
(True, a trained voice actor can get a quality recording out faster because we have the training and experience. But should we accept a lower payment just because we are good at our craft? NO! That training and experience demand a higher fee, not lower.)
"We can only pay a small fee for this project, but we have more work that we can send your way in the future."
(Really? More work? Great! Before you get too excited, keep in mind that this is a COMMON ploy in many freelancing fields. I hear it quite a bit in the website design biz I dabble in. Remember to charge for ONE job at a time. "Future" work is just that, in the future. It should have no influence on the present.)
"It's only a few lines."
(Yes, it might only be a little ten-second blurb, but it takes a voice actor longer than 10 seconds to record it, clean up the audio, and correspond with the client. In addition, we get paid for having and maintaining a home studio, having professional equipment, and some ROI (return on investment) for the money we put into our training and education — just like any other profession.)
April 26th, 2011
Something every beginner should know
Ira Glass of This American Life is no stranger to the trials and tribulations of being a person driven by creative ambitions. In this video, Ira shares some extremely profound advice for beginners to any creative field. It doesn't matter if you're an up-and-coming writer, designer, musician, actor, or voice actor, these words will hit home.
Check out the program's website at:
This American Life
April 17th, 2011
How to do voice acting without getting caught!
A while back I stumbled across this excellent audio seminar by voice coach extraordinaire Nancy Wolfson (the audio is brought to you by voice actor Dan O'Day) titled How to do voice acting without getting caught! It's probably one of the most eye-opening seminars I've ever listened to. In it you learn exactly how to not sound like you're selling something. Instead, the vital skills needed to put the sound of truth, honesty, and believability in your words (plus a whole lot more 
) are taught.
The 2-hour 45-minute audio seminar isn't free, however. But hey, the only way to become successful is by investing in your eduction right now, right? And in my opinion, investing in anything Nancy Wolfson teaches is a good deal.
Check it out:
How to do voice acting without getting caught!
April 9th, 2011
Do you know HISHE?
Today's post introduces you to the world of HISHE — How It Should Have Ended: original videos of new and funny endings to popular movies.
What I like about HISHE isn't only that the videos are a hoot, but it's proof of what people can do when they have an idea and run with it. Too many beginners to voice acting whine and whine and whine "No one will hire me! No agents will represent me! Wah!" To them my answer is always "Get off your butt and create your own career!"
Ok, enough preaching. Video time:
Check out more at the HISHE website or YouTube channel.
