VAM 014 | Interview with Jack Angel, Part 2
Welcome to episode 14 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!
As always, you can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes:
http://www.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast
In this episode, I continue my very special interview with one of the great talents in the world of voice acting, Jack Angel.
As we heard in the last episode, Jack’s journey towards the world of voice over has been very unconventional! He started out wanting to be a cartoonist. When that didn’t pan out, he joined the army where he discovered his love of performing. After returning from the Korean war, he became a radio DJ.
In this episode, Jack shares with us how he made the transition from radio DJ to voice actor in cartoons. It was a sort of homecoming for him. He had always wanted to work on animation, but he thought his contribution would be as an illustrator. Little did he know that he would be giving voice to some of the best loved characters in cartoons!
Jack was actually fired from his job in radio, but that didn’t deter him! After being let go from the radio station, Jack redoubled his efforts and broke in to the world of voice acting for cartoons. What’s even more impressive is the mindset that he developed when facing the challenges that arise when pursuing a voice over career. The attitude he has towards voice acting is one of the most insightful and uplifting I’ve ever heard. I hope you enjoy it!
If you have any questions, please post your question as a comment to this blog post. Chances are, someone else has a similar question. By posting your question here on the blog, I get to communicate with all of you at once.
Thanks for listening!
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #14 Here (MP3)
17 Responses to “VAM 014 | Interview with Jack Angel, Part 2”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Book Review: “How to Succeed in Voice-Overs Without Ever Losing” by Jack Angel | Voice Acting Mastery: Become a Master Voice Actor in the World of Voice Over - [...] good friend and legendary voice actor, Jack Angel. You can listen to the interview in episodes 13, 14 &…
- VAM 045 | Dealing with Rejection | Voice Acting Mastery: Become a Master Voice Actor in the World of Voice Over - [...] Some of my listeners may remember Jack from the interview we did together back in episodes 13, 14 and…
I have so many questions about voice acting, so I decided to ask you some of them. First, I have so much trouble trying to find ways to practice voice acting, I kind of have stage fright and I have no idea how to get rid of it, so I don’t usually put myself in a position where I have to talk in front of people, do you have any advice on that? I read that you do vo on your laptop and I will be getting a laptop soon so I was wondering what it was that you used. I will also be going into college next year and I was thinking about getting into some acting classes, but I have no experience, so I worry that I won’t do well. Secondly, how long does it generally take to get the first job? To get continuous jobs? I only ask because I worry about in between. Thanks for listening and I would also like to hear an interview, if you could, with Yuri Lowenthal and/or Johnny Yong Bosch, just a suggestion. Thanks for the podcasts they are very helpful.
Well, it seems like you’ve come to the right place to get your questions answered!
If you have troubles finding ways to practice voice acting, might I suggest you listen to the earlier episodes in this podcast, Episode 9: Building Confidence and Episode 10: How to Practice Voice Acting Anywhere. I think you’ll find those helpful.
As far as equipment to use, check out the Toolbox section of the site. I work on a Mac laptop but you can use either Mac or PC, whatever you’re most comfortable with.
As far as how long it takes to get a job, you need to listen to the first couple of episodes where I explain that voice acting isn’t a job, it’s a business. Listen to Episodes 1, 2 and 3. I also suggest you download the Special Report, “The Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid in Voice Acting”. You’ll find that helpful as well.
Thanks for the advice, I’ll be sure to do so!
Wow. Jack Angel is such an inspiration! His philosophy on the ratio of auditions to jobs is very enlightening. Certainly opened my eyes. I will definitely adopt his philosophy, even though I have no idea what my ratio is. I suppose it doesn’t matter. When a door closes, a window is open somewhere.
What is your audition ratio, Mr. Freeman?
Can’t wait to hear more from this wonderful man!
So glad you’re enjoying Jack’s wisdom! There’s more to come!
I’m honestly not sure what my booking ratio is. It’s high enough to support myself as a voice actor! I don’t usually focus on the numbers. I tend to just focus on each opportunity and not try to keep score. I find it more enjoyable that way.
Wow this is so inspiring hearing this podcast i hope you will make more interesting podcast like this sometime and have a happy New Year 2012 and have a nice day 🙂
i love your voice, especially in wolfs rain ;D
Hello Mr Freeman,
To say that I am a huge fan of your work would be a huge understatement. You’re one of my favorite voice actors of all time and I am so excited to be listening to this podcast (I’m still on episode 2).
That’s enough geeking out, I have a question for you. I’m currently involved in a fan dubbing project for the anime “Fruits Basket”. I’m sure you’ve probably seen or heard fandubs before. They’re all over Youtube.com and various amateur voice-acting sites. I was asked to participate by some people I met at an anime convention and I have since received some positive feedback.
My question to you is whether you’ve heard some of these fan dubs and radio shows and what your opinion of them is? I’m thinking of doing other projects like it and I’m wondering whether this kind of thing will really ever lead anywhere professionally or if this tends to be more the path of a “hobby voice actor”. I guess if nothing else it’s good practice and a little bit of exposure?
Anyway, sorry this is so long. I just wanted to know what you thought about all that. Thanks in advance!
Your biggest fan,
Javi
I’m flattered that you enjoy my work! Welcome to Voice Acting Mastery!
As far as fan dubs go, they can be very good practice to work on your acting and your ADR skills (that is, matching the lip flap of characters on the screen.) So in terms of an acting workout, fandubs are fine.
But remember, fandubs are technically copyright infringement. You are illegally using the intellectual property of others and posting it online without compensating the original owners or getting their permission. Therefore, it can be questionable whether it’s a good idea to submit your copyright infringement to the original copyright holders in order to be considered for a job. See the problem there? Also, you want prospective employers to notice your brilliant acting ability, not the fact that you’re playing a character that’s already been voiced by a professional voice actor. If you were to submit some of your fandub work to a studio that had worked on that same show, they’ll spend most of the time comparing your performance to that of the actor they actually hired. You don’t want them doing that. You want them admiring your artistry, not comparing you to others.
Hope that helps.
Jack’s comments really resonate with me something that you mentioned early in your podcast, and that’s that if you want, truly want, to make it into voice over, then you will find a way to do it.
It really speaks to the heart in that Jack never gave up and always pursued what it was he wanted to do to such a degree, and I’m very much looking forward to hearing more of his personal views in the next segment.
Something that I’m also quite interested in hearing about however, is what went through your mind whenever those supposed “negatives” came up. Did you ever get depressed or questioning about whether or not what you were doing was correct, and what kind of a mindset saw you through those trying times?
I certainly got depressed at times pursuing my acting career. I still feel frustration at times. I think I kept at it because I wanted to do it. It gave me satisfaction. When I realized that I wasn’t skilled enough to do something, I would get frustrated and then I would figure out what I needed to do to improve. It mattered to me so I would keep at it until I got the result that I wanted. That’s the way with most successes.
Dear Mr. Freeman,
Thank you for taking the time to put all of these podcasts together. It seems that you are a rarity as far as helping people get in to this field. If there are others who do similar things, I’m not familiar with them yet. You are the first I’ve known to be as helpful as you are.
My questions have more to do with the ad-libbing and improv part of VA or acting in general. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a Comedysportz show at Clackamas Community College in Oregon where I happened to be attending at the time. I have to say I loved every minute of it! I wondered where such great material is drawn from.
In relation to acting, I have long been fascinated by actors in TV shows that improvise materials in a similar way for a more dramatic, or enjoyable effect. I know the best I could do is take acting courses if I’m interested.
I wanted to ask you specifically as to what degree of you involve improvisation or ad-libbing? I’m wondering how far that extends into your characters. I’m sure it varies from show to show, and this may be a difficult question to answer.
For example, I’ve seen the English dub of Ghost Stories, and they improvised completely because they weren’t given a script as such. They were able to do something like long-form improv freely. As a result It turned out to be a lot funnier than the very dramatic Japanese version.
I’ve seen the bloopers for Durarara and realized that that is improv. Perhaps not completely on purpose, it’s just thinking on your feet. One blooper I saw involved a reference to another actor in the same scene having been a power ranger. This was a rare case where I knew where that came from. That would’ve been the same thing I said in that situation.
That’s always the first thing on my mind when I see Johnny Yong Bosch. It made me think about his journey into English dubbing that started from a fairly early age. All of the action scenes where they’re in the suits and one can’t see their face or lips move to match, with ADR and everything.
I also consider the fact that their voices sounded cooler in suit as a big selling point for my generation, and it still is. I now know that that’s probably a similar mic to what is used for Anime dubbing. I would love to hear an interview on the podcast with Johnny or Steve Jay Blum.
This is a very long message, and I’m sorry. I am a big writer. I’ve heard all of your stuff so far, including the five mistakes. I’ve done some research on improv via wikipedia which I’ve heard is a cardinal sin to use as a reference.:)
I have difficulty phrasing my questions once I get going and always aim to be a perfectionist. I read and reread after each word because I feel that I can do a better job. I am my own worst critic.
I’m not sure if I’ve completely asked my question, but I’m sure you get the idea. Thank you for your time, as I know it is a valuable commodity. I look forward to speaking with you soon. I often find that I have more to ask later where I didn’t necessarily know it was a question in the moment. I greatly appreciate this.
That is a lengthy comment. Let me see if I can answer your points.
Improv is a wonderful way to learn how to make quick acting decisions and commit to them fully. Part of improv is making up your own dialogue. However, that rarely happens in actual animation work, whether it’s American or Japanese. I don’t think I’ve ever improved a line while recording in the booth, unless it was to make a funny outtake. The more important aspect of improv is the acting flexibility it gives you, not necessarily the ability to come up with funny lines. The former is improv, the latter is ad-libbing. There’s very little ad-libbing in the majority of voice acting.
I’m not sure what you mean by the power ranger voices sounding cooler “in suit”. Chances are they did do ADR for those scenes and they probably did use a professional level microphone like the ones I outline in the Toolbox section of this website.
Hope that answers your questions.
Thank you very much for the reply. You’ve definitely answered a lot of my questions. I appreciate the time and effort you put into the podcasts, and answering questions from people like me. So the majority of VA work is not always improving or ad-libbing lines. It’s more about the acting, and bringing the character to life.
When I said ‘in suit’ I was thinking of the scenes with their helmets on. I’m sure it was one of the mics listed in the toolbox. They did sound more professional in those scenes, and without lip flap to match; they managed it very well. So much that before I knew better, I always thought they were the ones wearing the suits. Some scenes they were, but that’s beside the point.
Thanks for your time, it means a lot. I’ll do my best to keep them shorter from now on. I look forward to hearing more of these podcasts.
Hi, Crispin 🙂 The second part of the interview was pretty impressive. Whenever I’d listen the whole of Mr. Angel’s lifetime, I felt bad how this story was remind me of the history of the Great Depression. But, I’m glad that he’s not giving up. For me, I had a hard time for being through special needs. I also got back in the 3rd grade again because I won’t be able mature at age 18 to graduate from my autism and expressive language problem. Now, I’m doing a Fashion Marketing major with my 2nd degree of Art. I have a question. No matter what classes you take, especailly the marketing business, is it possible that you’ll have a chance to get a bright future along with your artistic skills?
I’m not quite sure I understand your question. If you are asking me if it’s possible to succeed no matter what classes you take, I would say yes. Everyone can succeed if they follow what they are truly interested in whether that is marketing, art or any other subject or combination of subjects.
That’s an excellent answer, Crispin. Thanks 🙂 I’m sorry that my question confused you, but I did my best for the grammar.