VAMFR 036 | The Final Episode of the VAM Field Report

Welcome to episode 36 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast!

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.vamfieldreport.com/podcast

Greetings everyone! This is Crispin Freeman, voice actor and host of the Voice Acting Mastery Podcast. As you may know, we started this sister podcast, the Voice Acting Mastery Field Report, back in October of 2015. Since then, our Field Report correspondents have produced some amazing episodes including in-depth interviews and detailed special reports on a number of important topics! It has been so great to learn along with them as they’ve explored many relevant and helpful subjects that continue to be of value to our listeners.

However, all good things must eventually come to an end. As we announced this week on the Voice Acting Mastery blog, this will in fact be the final episode of the Voice Acting Mastery Field Report.

I’m very grateful to all of our correspondents who have contributed such great content, and I’m very proud of the work they put into their episodes. Each correspondent has shared their unique insights into the world of voice over as they’ve pursued their own voice acting careers. In fact, these careers and other aspects of their lives have gained so much momentum that our intrepid correspondents inform me that they have less and less time to commit to the Field Report! So even though it’s bittersweet to say goodbye, I’m so happy for their success and wish them much more in the future!

For our final Field Report episode, I’ll be doing one last round table interview with our current correspondents, Tom Bauer, DanWill McCann, and Maureen Price. They’ll be sharing with us how their careers have grown over the past couple of years, what lessons they’ve learned from working on the Field Report, and what they’re all looking forward to in the future!

I hope you’ll all join me in giving a heartfelt thank you and farewell to each of our correspondents!

You can find their websites here:

DanWill McCann
Tom Bauer
Maureen Price

Thanks again for listening and for joining us for the Field Report. We truly appreciate it.

(P.S. – For those of you who are about to ask: Yes, I’m still releasing monthly episodes of the main VAM podcast on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, so please continue to tune in for those. Thanks!)

Download VAM Field Report Episode #36 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 140 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 first part of my interview with the incredible Fred Tatasciore! Fred’s body of work is enormous. At the time of this interview, he has almost 700 credits listed on his resume at the Internet Movie Database. The character he is probably most famous for playing is the Incredible Hulk whom he has voiced in numerous animated incarnations. Some of Fred’s other familiar characters include Saren Arterius in the Mass Effect series of games, Master Shifu in the animated TV series, Kung-Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Zeratul in the StarCraft Franchise, and one of my personal favorites: Soldier 76 in the game Overwatch.

Fred is well known for his creature voices, especially the large screaming ones! In addition, because of Fred’s vocal flexibility, he’s also a good utility player, meaning that he can play many different parts when a show or a game requires it. However, it was his standout solo performance as Soldier 76 in Overwatch that really got my attention. I was so impressed with the sensitivity and vulnerability he brought to that character, I just knew I had to bring him on the podcast.

In this first episode, we talk about how Fred broke into voice acting. He had a pretty unique journey! When he was young, he not only spent time recording himself doing funny voices, but he was also pursuing art and drawing as well! During his time in school, Fred was never quite sure whether he was going to pursue an animation career or a voice acting career! Having such a broad educational background enriched his understanding of playing characters immensely and I’m very excited to share his journey and his insights with you! Let’s get started!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #140 Here (MP3)

VAMFR 035 | Interview with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Part 3

Welcome to episode 35 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast!

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.vamfieldreport.com/podcast

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first two parts of Maureen’s interview with the phenomenal Mary Elizabeth McGlynn!

To recap, Mary Elizabeth is an industry veteran who has worked on both sides of the glass as both a voice actor and a voice director. Her acting credits include Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Governor Pryce in Star Wars Rebels, and Dr. Maheswaran in Steven Universe. She’s also an accomplished voice director having taken the helm on titles such as Tangled: The Series, Cowboy Bebop, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

In the previous episode, Maureen and Mary Elizabeth had a great conversation about dealing with self-doubt. They also spoke about the importance of using positive language with ourselves in order to combat our internal critic. Then they explored how Mary Elizabeth suffered a significant professional failure and was able to recover from it and get “back in the saddle” so to speak. This lead directly into a discussion of the value of failure and how Mary Elizabeth handled the challenges that came with being a first-time director on Cowboy Bebop.

In this, the final part of their interview, Mary Elizabeth and Maureen talk about how voice directing as a career path currently seems to be more accessible to women than on camera directing and our theories as to why that might be. They also discuss what excites Mary Elizabeth most about the industry right now. Then, Mary Elizabeth is generous enough to share a recent experience that pushed her way out of her comfort zone. They draw their time together to a close by focusing on the importance of storytelling in dark times, and before they say goodbye, Mary Elizabeth leaves us with her number one piece of advice for aspiring voice actors.

The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it!

Download VAM Field Report Episode #35 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 139 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 part of my interview with the amazingly talented and astoundingly accomplished, Keythe Farley! He’s acted on stage, on screen and in front of the microphone. You may be familiar with his voice acting work as Thane Krios in the Mass Effect series of games, the villainous Kellog in Fallout 4 as well as Eruptor in the Skylanders series of games. He’s also voice directed the incredibly popular animated show the Rugrats for the animation studio Klasky/Csupo. He’s voice directed such high profile game franchises as God of War, Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Final Fantasy 15.

In the previous episode, we discussed how Keythe’s passion for storytelling motivated him to become involved in the performing arts. We also talked about his approach to the character of Thane Krios in the Mass Effect series of games.

In this episode I ask Keythe what advice he has for aspiring voice actors. He’s got some wonderful insight on the topic because of his extensive experience directing some of the best voice actors in the industry! We also talk about the unique challenges that new voice actors face when it comes to emoting, which is the ability to allow your emotions to express themselves freely through your body and voice. Too often, beginning voice actors attempt to demonstrate their emotions while acting, rather than sharing their feelings in a more authentic way. This can lead to performances that sound forced or self-conscious instead of being believable to an audience. To help address this, Keythe and I dig deep into some of the most challenging aspects of learning to act, and I’m excited to share the final part of our talk together!

To learn more about Keythe and his VO Lounge, visit his website at:
www.KeytheFarley.com

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #139 Here (MP3)

VAMFR 034 | Interview with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Part 2

Welcome to episode 34 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast!

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.vamfieldreport.com/podcast

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first part of Maureen’s interview with the phenomenal Mary Elizabeth McGlynn!

To recap, Mary Elizabeth is an industry veteran who has worked on both sides of the glass as both a voice actor and a voice director. Her acting credits include Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Governor Pryce in Star Wars Rebels, and Dr. Maheswaran in Steven Universe. She’s also an accomplished voice director having taken the helm on titles such as Tangled: The Series, Cowboy Bebop, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

In the previous episode, Maureen explored how Mary Elizabeth got started as an actor and how her career progressed from graduate school, to guest starring on Star Trek: Voyager, to a fateful horse riding accident while filming the TV show Xena: Warrior Princess that eventually led her to voice acting. Maureen and Mary Elizabeth also discussed how she made her debut as a voice director on the anime series Cowboy Bebop! Then they spoke about how Mary Elizabeth deals with imposter syndrome, which is a psychological pattern where one doubts their accomplishments. Lastly, Mary Elizabeth shared some tips for how to talk to a director on your first job, and they concluded the episode by revealing which of her many characters was the most emotionally difficult for her to portray.

In this episode, Maureen and Mary Elizabeth dive into a discussion about how to deal with self doubt. They also talk about the importance of using positive language with ourselves. Then they explore how Mary Elizabeth suffered a significant professional failure and was able to recover from it and get “back in the saddle” so to speak. This leads directly into a discussion of the value of failure and how Mary Elizabeth handled the challenges that came with being a first-time director on Cowboy Bebop. Then, to wrap up this episode, Mary Elizabeth shares her philosophy on directing and how she develops trust with actors

The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it!

Download VAM Field Report Episode #34 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 138 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 the amazingly talented and astoundingly accomplished, Keythe Farley! He’s acted on stage, on screen and in front of the microphone. You may be familiar with his voice acting work as Thane Krios in the Mass Effect series of games, the villainous Kellog in Fallout 4 as well as Eruptor in the Skylanders series of games. He’s also voice directed the incredibly popular animated show the Rugrats for the animation studio Klasky/Csupo. He’s voice directed such high profile game franchises as God of War, Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Final Fantasy 15.

In the previous episode, Keythe and I focused on the early part of his career and how he broke in to both voice acting and voice directing. In this episode, we delve into what motivated Keythe to become a performer in the first place. We discuss Keythe’s obsession with storytelling and how serving the story is his first priority, regardless of his position on a project, whether he is acting as a character, directing other actors, or even writing the dialogue. We also talk about how he approached creating the character of Thane Krios for the Mass Effect series of video games. Then we dive even deeper and discuss how Keythe would approach the character of Thane differently if he was directing someone else in the role rather than attempting to embody the character himself! It’s a fascinating insight into the creative differences between acting and directing! I think you’ll find it very enlightening!

To learn more about Keythe and his VO Lounge, visit his website at:
www.KeytheFarley.com

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #138 Here (MP3)