Welcome to episode 81 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 answering questions from my podcast audience! For those who may not be as familiar with the podcast, in past episodes, I’ve given out a phone number where you can call in and leave me a question about voice acting 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 questions from Anthony of Ladyville, Belize and Steven of Savannah, GA .

Anthony wants to know whether or not producers and directors pursue actors in order to cast them in their projects, or whether actors pursue producers in order to work on their shows.

Many people get their understanding of the acting industry from celebrity interviews or sensationalized entertainment magazines, where it can seem like actors are pursued to play certain roles and can then “pick and choose” which roles to accept. While this can be the case with high-profile on-camera celebrities, it’s not usually true for voice actors.

I explain to Anthony exactly how the casting process works in voice acting and how it differs from on-camera acting casting. I also share the 3 different ways that voice over casting tends to get done these days:

1. Agencies
2. “Pay-to-Play” Sites
3. Direct Marketing

Depending on where you are in your career, and what types of voice acting projects you’d like to pursue, one or more of these casting paradigms might be appropriate for you.

The question that Steven is asking is if voice actors decide to limit themselves to one field of voice acting, or whether they audition for anything that comes their way.

I picked Steven’s question because I feel it’s a good follow up to Anthony’s question about the casting process.

I explain to Steven the balance one must strike between discovering what one’s niche is in the voice acting world and making sure not to limit one’s possible employment opportunities.

I hope you find the answers useful in your own voice acting endeavors!

If any of my listeners would like to call in with your own thoughts, thank you’s or questions, the number 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!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #81 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 80 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 answering questions from my podcast audience! For those who may not be as familiar with the podcast, in past episodes, I’ve given out a phone number where you can call in and leave me a question about voice acting 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 questions from Andrew of Indianapolis, IN and Ryan from Piscataway, NJ .

Andrew finds that when he is reading a script that he tends to rush his acting resulting in a monotone or emotionless performance. He’d like to know how to solve this problem.

The challenge Andrew is facing is that he has a misconception that acting is about “performing” a voice or character other than oneself. This is a common misconception, especially in voice acting where people expect voice actors to be able to perform many different types of character voices.

I explain to Andrew what it takes to make sure you are speaking with your own authentic voice and how to a voice putting on a performance that an audience will feel is inauthentic and unbelievable.

The question that Ryan asks segues perfectly from Andrew’s. He finds it difficult to play characters that are very sad or are having intense emotions.

I assume that Ryan is comfortable acting in more casual or everyday circumstances, but when someone asks him to play something more passionate or dramatic, Andrew feels uncomfortable and unsure of what to do next. He may try to increase the intensity of his performance, but it always feels pushed and inauthentic. What’s going on?

The root of the problem is that Andrew is not giving himself permission to go to the emotionally dangerous places that the story is requiring of him. This is a common fear of actors, but it also a necessary aspect of great acting. If you’re playing pretend on a deep level, and you are asked to be believable in some horrible circumstances, the audience will not be satisfied unless they feel you go through that extreme experience. They want to hear you cry or sweat or scream as if you really are going through what the character is going through.

While such emotional vulnerability may seem unappealing or even irrational, I explain not only how important it is in order to create a captivating performance, but also how satisfying it can be to the actor if they commit to it fully and generously give to the audience an intense emotional experience.

I hope you find the answers useful in your own voice acting endeavors!

If any of my listeners would like to call in with your own thoughts, thank you’s or questions, the number 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!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #80 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 74 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 expand on a subject I addressed in my previous episode, #73. In it, one of my listeners asked about how an aspiring voice actor who may be a fan should approach an established professional they admire. Trying to answer this question made me realize that I needed to spend much more than just part of an episode talking about the fan/creator relationship.

In all my years as a voice actor, no fan has ever asked me what they need to do to prepare psychologically for the huge identity shift that must occur once you’re no longer a fan looking in, but a creator looking out. Maybe it’s because the two paradigms are so different that fans can’t imagine what it’s actually like to be on the receiving end of their own attention, or maybe it’s just a case of “the grass is always greener on the other side”, but being a well-known creator comes with its own challenges, and if you’re thinking of getting into voice acting for the “fame”, there are some things you need to know before you “make it big”.

First, you need to make a decision: Your choices are to “Impress” or to “Express”. Depending on which choice you make determines the nature of your artistic career.

Making that choice also helps you decide on another important skill you need to develop: your public persona. This is how you will interact with the world as public figure. It’s vital that you shape your professional avatar in such a way that it stays true to your artistic values.

I talk about both of these subjects in depth in this episode. It’s heavy stuff, but important if you want to maintain a healthy career, both artistically and emotionally.

Fame can be a very fickle thing and I want to give my listeners the tools they need to deal with becoming a public figure.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #74 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 67 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 explain to you how to become a voice actor. Now, you might think it ironic that it’s taken 67 episodes of this podcast for me to finally address this topic directly. The fact of the matter is that over the last 66 episodes I’ve been doing my best to explain to you what it takes to become a professional voice actor. I’ve shared acting techniques, mindset tips, technical information and extensive interviews with industry insiders

However, even with all those episodes and all that information available, I still get asked the same question by new and aspiring actors: What do I need to do to become a voice actor? My usual response is to tell them to listen to every episode of my podcast from the beginning. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to satisfy some of them. While they do realize the podcast contains useful information, what they really want to know is if there is some “secret” or magic formula for becoming a voice actor. Surely there’s some checklist or a recipe, some guaranteed course of action one can take in order to become a voice actor, isn’t there?

Well, it turns out, there is. There is a simple, straightforward solution to becoming a voice actor. It’s not a checklist or a recipe. It’s a one-step process and I’m going to share it with you in this episode. But prepare yourself. It’s probably not what you’re expecting!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #67 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 66 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 episode of Voice Acting Mastery falls near the end of the year in 2013, and in most of the Western world, the holidays are upon us. During the holiday season, many people spend time with family and loved ones. This also tends to be a time when people look back over the year and evaluate what they’ve accomplished.

Many begin to look forward to the new year and to think about what they hope to achieve in the future. It’s a time for year-end planning and New Year’s resolutions. It’s also a good opportunity to do some mental housecleaning while you visualize your goals for the new year. So in the spirit of planning for another orbit around our sun, I thought I would share with you my experiences and insights when it comes to getting motivated to accomplish your goals.

If you’ve ever run out of steam or felt overwhelmed when trying to achieve your dreams, this episode is for you!

Happy Holidays and all the best to you in you voice acting endeavors!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #66 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 64 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 answering questions from my podcast audience! For those who may not be as familiar with the podcast, in past episodes, I’ve given out a phone number where you can call in and leave me a question about voice acting 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 questions from Wallace from Savannah, GA and Jacob from Melbourne, FL.

Wallace is unhappy with his regional accent and would like to know what he can do to get rid of it.

It is true that one of the first things you should become aware of as you begin your voice acting career is how you sound to other people. If you don’t become aware of the way you speak, then your artistry will be limited since you will not know what you need to change in order to adapt your voice to different characters and situations.

However, there is nothing inherently wrong with the way someone naturally speaks. Our speech patterns are influenced by the environments in which we grow up. We adopt the regionalisms of the people around us in order to be more socially acceptable and to “fit in”.

So rather than thinking you need to eliminate your accent permanently, begin to see it as just one tool in your toolbox, or one costume in your wardrobe. You don’t want to invalidate your native accent, you just want to learn to turn it on and off when you need to.

I give Wallace a couple of suggestions on what to do to work on his accent including listening or re-listening to episodes 19, 20 & 21 of the podcast where I interview J.B. Blanc on his expertise and experience in accents. I also give him detailed directions on how to voice match talented actors as a way to become aware of one’s habitual speech patterns.

Jacob wants to know why his voice sounds different when recorded on a microphone versus when he is recorded on someone’s video camera.

If one is recording oneself on a high quality microphone like the ones I recommend in the Toolbox section of this website, then chances are it is a large diaphragm microphone. Video cameras and smartphones tend to have small diaphragm microphones that are of much lower quality. Also, when recording on a large diaphragm microphone you are often much closer to the mic whereas in a video, the camera person may be many feet away from you.

It is best to evaluate your voice on a large diaphragm microphone, since that is the most common recording situation you will find yourself in as a professional voice actor. However, I also give Jacob some advice on what to avoid when working with a large diaphragm microphone.

I hope you find the answers useful in your own voice acting endeavors!

If any of my listeners would like to call in with your own thoughts, thank you’s or questions, the number 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!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #64 Here (MP3)