Welcome to episode 47 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

This week, I continue my interview with my good friend and amazingly accomplished voice actor, Steve Blum. In part 2 of our conversation we discuss how Steve’s musical background helped him improve his acting skills. We then spend some time breaking down the acting process from a left brain/right brain perspective. Afterwards we talk about the importance of truly becoming a character and how it’s not something you can accomplish by just following a recipe. What I appreciate about Steve’s journey is that he has learned all of his lessons from personal experience working in the industry. This gives an authority to his insights that you cannot get from someone who may have studied a subject, but has never tried to do it themselves. I’m sure you’ll find it useful.

If you’d like to learn more about Steve, please visit his website: www.SteveBlumVoices.com

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #47 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 46 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

This week I’m excited to share with you an interview I did with a voice actor who has been an inspiration to me and who I’m fortunate enough to call a friend, Mr. Steve Blum. Steve has worked extensively in Animation, Video Games and Anime, playing major characters in all three art forms. Whether he’s playing Wolverine in the Marvel Animated versions, voicing Spike Spiegel in the popular anime series Cowboy Bebop, or setting a Guinness Book world record playing more characters in video games than anyone on the planet, Steve is everywhere. I was eager to talk to Steve about his career and to get his advice on voice acting, because the story of how he broke in to the industry is so unique. I think you’ll really enjoy it!

If you’d like to learn more about Steve, please visit his website: www.SteveBlumVoices.com

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #46 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 45 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

I recently posted a review on here on Voice Acting Mastery about a book written by my good friend and veteran voice actor, Jack Angel. Some of my listeners may remember Jack from the interview we did together back in episodes 13, 14 and 15 of the podcast, and I encourage those of you who enjoyed that interview to check out my review of Jack’s book. Jack has a wonderful outlook, not only on voice acting, but on life in general. In his book, which is appropriately titled “How to Succeed in Voice-Overs Without Ever Losing”, Jack shares some great advice on how to approach auditioning for voice over jobs, and how to deal with the feeling of rejection when you don’t book the gig. I found Jack’s thoughts on this subject so inspiring that I thought I would share with you some of my own insights on the topic of rejection and how to deal with this dreaded, but seemingly inevitable part of pursuing an artistic career.

In this podcast episode I explain how to use Jack’s rule that “There ain’t no damn rejection” to change your mindset about dealing with this negative emotion. By realizing that rejection doesn’t actually exist, you can begin to separate your own self-worth as a person from your abilities as an artist. This will not only help you feel better about yourself, it will help speed up your artistic growth as well. I think you’ll find this technique incredibly useful.

If you’d like to read more of Jack’s wisdom, you can purchase Jack’s book on Amazon. I highly recommend it!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #45 Here (MP3)

Regular listeners to the Voice Acting Mastery Podcast may remember the interview I had with my good friend and legendary voice actor, Jack Angel. You can listen to the interview in episodes 13, 14 & 15 of the podcast. During that interview, Jack discussed his thoughts and insights from many years working on such famous animated series as Superfriends, G.I. Joe, Voltron and the original Transformers. Many of my listeners found Jack’s wisdom helpful and encouraging.

Well, Jack has now published a book about his approach to voice acting. It’s called:

How to Succeed in Voice-Overs Without Ever Losing

This book takes an inspiring and refreshingly candid look at the world of Voice Over, offering some perspectives you may have never heard anywhere else. In it, Jack expands on many of the concepts we touched on in our interview together, especially the idea that auditions in voice over are not a “rejection” process, but merely a “selection” process. To quote Jack on page 5 of his book:

“The plain truth of the matter is that there ain’t no damn rejection! The process of auditioning is one of selection, not rejection. Rejection happens only when you cause it.”

The power of Jack’s book is in the upbeat yet professional mindset he shares with his readers. His explanations are detailed, accessible and entertaining. They also come from experience. Jack’s view of the industry has been battle-tested, yet he remains essentially optimistic about a newcomer’s chances of breaking in to the world of voice over. On page 1 he begins his book by saying:

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say, “You can’t break into voice-overs. It’s a closed profession.” Well, it may look that way, but guess what? All you have to say is, ”I’m in!” and everyone will scooch over a tad to make room for you.”

In Jack’s paradigm, it’s almost like the world of voice over is a mirror that reflects back to you what you believe about it. However, this doesn’t mean Jack believes that all you need to do to make it as a voice actor is to think positively. Far from it. He continues on to say:

“Of course, we’ll eat you alive if you jump in without knowing what you’re doing. That’s why classes were invented. So take a few classes, learn the language of the game… Then, practice, practice, practice!”

Clearly, in addition to fostering a positive outlook, one needs to develop the craft of voice acting in order to succeed. Voice over is a competitive business. But what I truly appreciate about Jack’s approach in the book is his belief that the mindset of a professional voice actor is the first ingredient. Working on one’s craft comes after the mental and emotional decision that one is fascinated enough with voice acting to make a career out of it. If you can commit to identifying yourself as a voice actor first, the actions you need to take in order to realize your dream will begin to appear to you. While this approach may sound a little mysterious at first, trust me: many successful voice actors have had personal experience applying it in their careers, and those who know Jack appreciate his viewpoint.

Case in point: I was recently filling up my car at a gas station not far from my home in southern California. A man on the other side of the pump recognized me. He asked, “Are you Crispin Freeman?” I was a little wary at first, not knowing who he was, but my fears were quickly allayed. He introduced himself as Scott Menville, voice of Robin in the animated series Teen Titans in addition to many other famous roles. I was honored to meet Scott and was surprised our paths had not crossed before. Scott complimented me on the Voice Acting Mastery podcast, and I thanked him for his appreciation. As we were both turning to leave, he stopped me and said, “By the way, I really loved that interview you did with Jack Angel. He was dropping science!” I totally agreed with him. When Jack speaks about voice acting, it really feels like you’re getting profound life wisdom directly from a veteran of the voice over world.

I highly recommend How to Succeed in Voice-Overs Without Ever Losing to anyone looking to become a professional voice actor.

You can purchase Jack’s book on Amazon, or you can find out more about Jack and his experiences on his website at www.JackAngel.com. I hope you find Jack’s insights useful and best of luck in your voice acting endeavors!

Welcome to episode 44 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 want to ask you a serious question:

Do you think like an artist?

The reason I believe this question is so important is because often I find that many people who are attracted to voice acting, especially for animation and video games, started out as fans of those artistic mediums. That was certainly the case with me. Much of my desire to work as a voice actor was because of my love for animated storytelling. However, as I pursued my dreams of becoming a professional actor, first in theater and then in voice acting, I had to make a mental shift from thinking about working on stories from a fan’s point of view to thinking about collaborating on those stories from an artist’s point of view. You could also think of it as the difference between being a consumer and being a creator.

Consumers and creators don’t just think differently, they think opposite from each other. The best way I know to articulate this difference in mindset is to quote the famous acting teacher and father of modern acting styles, Konstantin Stanislavski. In giving advice to aspiring actors, Stanislavski once told them,

“Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art.”

A pithy statement to be sure, but one that deserves a more detailed explanation. I spend this episode exploring that advice in depth and explain how important it is to have a truly artistic mindset if you want to succeed in voice acting!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #44 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 38 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

For this episode, I thought I would play another of the voicemail questions that I’ve been getting from my listeners and do my best to answer it. For those who don’t know, in past episodes,  I’ve given out a phone number where you can call in and leave me a question as a voicemail. From time to time, I’ll pick the most relevant questions I receive and answer them here on the podcast.

For this round of Q & A, I answer a question from Charles of Reno, NV. Charles wants to know how to find reputable coaches and classes who can help him develop both his voice acting craft and his knowledge of the business, including information about demos.

Charles may not have realized it, but his question speaks to the emotional core of why I created this blog and podcast in the first place. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a number of amazing teachers in my life to whom I am eternally grateful, and as a teacher myself, I take the student-teacher relationship very seriously. If an earnest, sincere student comes to a teacher for guidance and training, then I believe it is vitally important for the teacher to do their very best, using whatever skills they have, to help that student grow as much as possible. So I spend this episode answering Charles’ question in detail. I hope you and the many others I have encountered who have asked this same question will find my response useful.

In this podcast, I not only explain how to find coaches and classes, I also outline 4 criteria for evaluating them:

1. Does the coach work in the field you’re pursuing?
2. Does the coach’s teaching style appeal to you?
3. Do other people recommend that coach?
4. Be wary of all-in-one courses that offer you a demo at the end of the course.

I think you’ll find my in-depth explanation of these criteria very helpful.

As a reminder, the number where you can call in and ask your question is:

323-696-2655.

Please don’t forget to include your first name and what city in the world you’re calling from. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

I also reference a number of websites in my podcast. I’ll list those websites here:

Voice Over Resource Guide (VORG): http://www.voiceoverresourceguide.com
Internet Movie Database (IMDB): http://www.imdb.com
Voice Acting Alliance (VAA): http://www.voiceactingalliance.com
UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that the Voice Acting Alliance is no longer functional. However there is a new message board called:
VoiceActing.Space: http://voiceacting.space
Voice Acting Club (VAC): http://www.voiceactingclub.com
Voiceover Universe (VU): http://www.voiceoveruniverse.com

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #38 Here (MP3)