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 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...
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...
As the VoiceJockeys.com saga continues to unfold, many beginning voice-over actors (and even some veterans) are scratching their heads about what is a fair price to charge for their time and talent.
I'm still in a fuming state of rage after reading an article that was posted earlier today. It talks about a website where voice talent can sign up to get paying jobs (of which there are plenty.) Voice actor and attorney, Rob Sciglimpaglia Jr., digs into the site's contract to show the voice-over world just how some websites treat the talent that use their services.
While seasoned voice actors usually pay close attention to contract details, those who are just beginning their journey into voice acting may not be aware of some of the "sneaky bits" located in the fine print of some contracts. Beware!
A thousand thanks to Voice Over Xtra and Rob Sciglimpaglia Jr. for helping voice over artists protect themselves!
Pretty much all of the books on becoming a voice-over actor will teach you how to perform a list of two or more items. Basically, each item in the list must sound different than the previously spoken item, with each one sounding better than the last. The most common approach is to assign a different vocal pitch to each item. For example: a low-middle-high or a middle-high-low read for lists of three items. For lists of four or more, alternating your pitch in a low-middle-low-middle fashion is a common practice.
But this approach can often lack the ever-important emotional punch.
In this post, I'd like to share with you a wonderful voice acting technique that will help you to breathe life into the lists that often appear in voice-over scripts.
In the final few pages he includes a quote from Executive Creative Director of K & R Marc Advertising, Jack Badofsky, that paints the perfect picture of what makes a voice actor a great voice actor:
It can be nerve-racking to the beginning voice-over actor: standing there in a small, cramped, sound-proof booth that pokes at the claustrophobic bits of your sub-conscience while your voice-acting coach seemingly bashes your ego time and time again with "That wasn't quite right. Do it again. But this time with more ABC and not so much XYZ." You long to hear the words "Good job!" or "You nailed it!" But those words hardly seem to ever come your way. You feel crushed — a failure. You feel that maybe voice acting just isn't your bag.
But hold on...
Before you throw in the towel, there are a few things you need to know about what direction really is and how to take it without letting your ego, your pride, or even your sanity get hurt. In this post, we'll take a look at those things...
I'm giving everyone a heads up. During this week I'll be updating the design of VAN. Which means that sometimes the blog might look slightly off, sometimes things will be floating around in the wrong places, and if you're using an older browser (namely, Internet Explorer 6 or lower) then it might just be a complete catastrophe until I can get the bugs worked out.
UPDATE:
Most of the basic redesign is complete. Now it's just a matter of checking it out on other browsers and making tweaks.
Here's a tongue-twisting video by Amanda Sellers that contains some really good tongue twisters for voice-over warm ups or practice. I went ahead and transcribed the tongue twisters. They are posted below the video, so make sure to click on the "Read more" link below the video to see them.
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 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.
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.)
As the VoiceJockeys.com saga continues to unfold, many beginning voice-over actors (and even some veterans) are scratching their heads about what is a fair price to charge for their time and talent.
I'm still in a fuming state of rage after reading an article that was posted earlier today. It talks about a website where voice talent can sign up to get paying jobs (of which there are plenty.) Voice actor and attorney, Rob Sciglimpaglia Jr., digs into the site's contract to show the voice-over world just how some websites treat the talent that use their services.
Pretty much all of the 
I just finished reading Harlan Hogan's 
It can be nerve-racking to the beginning voice-over actor: standing there in a small, cramped, sound-proof booth that pokes at the claustrophobic bits of your sub-conscience while your voice-acting coach seemingly bashes your ego time and time again with "That wasn't quite right. Do it again. But this time with more ABC and not so much XYZ." You long to hear the words "Good job!" or "You nailed it!" But those words hardly seem to ever come your way. You feel crushed — a failure. You feel that maybe voice acting just isn't your bag.
I'm giving everyone a heads up. During this week I'll be updating the design of VAN. Which means that sometimes the blog might look slightly off, sometimes things will be floating around in the wrong places, and if you're using an older browser (namely, Internet Explorer 6 or lower) then it might just be a complete catastrophe until I can get the bugs worked out.
