Welcome to episode 103 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

Welcome to the third and final part of my interview with my personal voice acting mentor, the amazing Richard Horvitz!

Richard has worked on many famous animated shows including Angry Beavers, Invader Zim and the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.

Richard is also a teacher of voice acting and offers both classes and private coaching through his website at RichardHorvitz.com

In the last episode, Richard shared with us his incredibly useful 5 step process for helping an actor play pretend more fully. If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, I recommend you go back and check it out. We reference those 5 steps quite often in our discussion.

In this episode, I get to reveal to you the famous animated character from the late 60’s/early 70’s that Richard and I both dearly love. It’s fascinating to me that Richard and I are such different types of actors and yet we both have an amazing appreciation for the same character. Richard also talks about when it’s appropriate for a voice actor to say no to auditioning for certain projects. We wrap up our conversation with Richard’s final advice to aspiring voice actors as well as information on how to contact Richard in order to take class with him. I’m honored to present you the final part of my interview with my voice acting mentor.

If you are interested in taking class or being coached by Richard, please check out the classes section of Richard’s website!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #103 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 102 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

Welcome to the second part of my interview with my personal voice acting mentor, the amazing Richard Horvitz!

Richard has worked on many famous animated shows including Angry Beavers, Invader Zim and the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.

Richard is also a teacher of voice acting and offers both classes and private coaching through his website at RichardHorvitz.com

In the first part of our interview, Richard talked extensively about the importance of playing pretend when it comes to acting. He gave numerous examples of how we sometimes get in our own way when trying to portray a character believably. His examples and exercises were incredibly insightful and practical!

In this episode, Richard shares with us his 5 step process on how to play pretend more fully. Not only are these 5 steps what he uses in his own acting, but they also form the backbone of what he teaches his students as well. Afterwards, Richard shares with us some of the challenges he faced early in his career. It seems that almost every actor has experienced what one could call the “dark night of the soul”. It’s that time in your life where everything seems bleak and hopeless, even though you’re doing your best to pursue a successful career. I’m very grateful to Richard for sharing with us his own struggles and how he overcame them. I think you’ll find his journey very inspiring.

If you are interested in taking class or being coached by Richard, please check out the classes section of Richard’s website!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #102 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 101 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

Prepare yourself, because you’re in for a real treat!

Welcome to the first part of my interview with my personal voice acting mentor, the amazing Richard Horvitz!

Richard has voiced some of the most iconic characters in animation including Daggett in the Angry Beavers, Zim from Invader Zim and Billy in the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.

Not only is Richard an accomplished voice actor, but he’s also an amazing teacher. When I first arrived in Los Angeles back in 2001, I was in desperate need of a competent voice acting coach to get me up to speed in this competitive market. Even though I had extensive theatrical acting experience and had gotten my voice acting start in New York City, moving to LA meant taking my skills to a higher level. I was overwhelmed and a bit intimidated by the world of Hollywood voice acting, and I wasn’t sure how best to gain momentum or achieve success.

Fortunately, I was introduced to Richard, and I immediately recognized how insightful his coaching was. I studied with Richard regularly in the early part of my Los Angeles career and I’m deeply indebted to him for his generosity, his candor and his encouragement. Richard’s coaching was my secret weapon for gaining a solid foothold as a voice actor in LA, and I’m so happy to be able to share his wisdom with you!

Before we get started, I should let you know that Richard’s enthusiasm is infectious and because of that we ended up talking for far longer than I usually do with my interview subjects. That means you’ll be getting some extra long episodes in this series of interview sections. I can’t think of a better way to introduce my new monthly podcast release schedule than to provide my listeners with some bonus content, so I hope you enjoy the extra time as much as I did!

If you are interested in taking class or being coached by Richard, please check out the classes section of Richard’s website!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #101 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 83 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 the last episode, I talked at length about agents and managers. Specifically, I explained how to build a fruitful relationship with an agent by understanding what is their responsibility as your representative and what is your responsibility as their client. I also discussed the differences between agents and managers to ensure that there was no confusion among my listeners about the different jurisdictions and approaches of these two kinds of professionals.

In this episode, I’d like to talk about how best to interact with Producers and Casting Directors. I want to help you understand the mindset of producers since they are the ones who usually have the final say about who does and does not get hired to play a voice acting role. This may come as a surprise to some aspiring voice actors who might think that this decision gets made by a show’s voice director. While a voice director’s creative input is definitely considered during the initial casting stage, it is almost always the producer who finally decides which actors will play which characters.

Sometimes, producers will hire an industry professional known as a casting director to help with this process. A casting director can save a lot of the producer’s time by helping them narrow down the number of auditions submitted by actors. The casting director serves as a filter, listening to hundreds of submissions and bringing the producer only a final few to be considered for each available role. Even though it has become more common recently for producers to approach actors’ agents directly in order to solicit auditions, a good casting director can still play an important role in bringing actors and producers together.

Both producers and casting directors have a problem, one that only you can solve! Check out the episode to learn how best to help them!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #83 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 82 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 the last episode, I explained the basics of how the casting process works for traditional Hollywood style voice acting productions. I talked about the interaction between actors, their agents, casting directors and the producers of these projects.

However, after releasing the episode, I realized that some members of my audience might not be as familiar with the job descriptions and/or responsibilities of agents, managers and casting directors. Others may be familiar with what these industry professionals do, but may not know the best way to approach or work with them.

I’d like to take the next couple of episodes to clarify how you as a voice actor might interact with these types of industry professionals in the most fruitful way possible.

One of the most important business relationships you will have as a working voice actor is the one you share with your agent, so I want to spend the majority of this episode explaining what an agent is, what they are not, and the best practices for collaborating with them. Even though it is possible, especially in the beginning, for a voice actor to gain a certain level of experience and success without the professional representation that an agent can provide, it’s useful even for beginners to learn how actors and agents work together. This way you can be prepared to approach an agent with confidence once you’re ready to reach the next level in your career. I’ll also explain the difference between agents and managers, a distinction that can be confusing to actors new to the entertainment industry.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #82 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 76 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 episode 75 I explained the importance of creating and maintaining a positive and consistent voice acting brand. I gave specific advice on how to start with your “signature sound” and how to make sure your website, e-mail and other marketing items represent you as a voice acting “product” in a consistent way. Building and maintaining a clear brand makes it easier for casting directors and producers to remember who you are and what you have to offer as a voice actor. As I mentioned in the last episode, your voice acting brand should be based on your full name. This makes it easier for potential employers to reliably contact you for audition and job opportunities. I also touched on the importance of backing up your marketing message with absolute professionalism.

In this episode, I’d like to take the idea of branding yourself even further by introducing you to the concept of “external” vs. “internal” branding. You see, your voice acting brand is not only about your signature sound and your marketing materials. These things do promote you by showing others what you can do as a voice actor, but they are only part of your branding story. Things like your demo, your website and other promotional items contribute to your “external” brand. Your body of work as a voice actor is also part of your external brand, since your list of credits and your finished performances show your unique creative contribution to anyone who sees or hears them. As powerful as this is for promoting yourself as an actor, these external brand items are not actually you. They are “reflections” of you. They are the artifacts or manifestations of your brand in audio and visual formats. These external brand items are your representatives; they communicate who you are as an artist to casting directors and producers when you’re not around. But what about when you actually are there, in person, interacting with industry professionals, the press, or the public? How do you apply the idea of branding yourself to your face-to-face encounters? The answer is to develop not only your external brand, but your internal brand as well.

In the podcast, I outline in detail how to develop your internal brand to make sure it supports and does not detract from your external brand. I think you’ll find it incredibly useful.

If you’re enjoying the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could give me a positive review in the iTunes Music Store! Here’s how:

1. Follow this link to the Voice Acting Mastery Podcast in iTunes. Your browser should open up to a page listing the podcast.
2. Click on the View in iTunes button which looks like this:  in order to view the podcast in iTunes. (NOTE: You must have iTunes installed on your computer for this to work)
3. Once you’re inside the iTunes program, click on the stars to rate. They look like this: 

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #76 Here (MP3)