VAM 137 | Interview with Keythe Farley, Part 1
Welcome to episode 137 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’m happy to share with you part one of my interview with the amazingly talented and astoundingly accomplished, Keythe Farley! Keythe’s work is so varied that it’s difficult to reduce him to categories! He’s acted on stage, on screen and in front of the microphone. He’s voice directed animation and video games. He’s also one of the creators of the hit musical Bat Boy. He’s even produced an animated series version of the Spy vs. Spy comics from Mad Magazine! 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. When the Rugrats video game was in development, Keythe was asked to voice direct it and so began his work in Interactive media. He’s voice directed such high profile game franchises as God of War, Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Final Fantasy 15. And those are just the highlights of his work in games and animation! His theatrical and radio accomplishments are too numerous to mention here! Suffice it to say, I was very eager to sit down with Keythe and get his insight into the voice over world.
In the first part of our discussion, we talk about the early part of Keythe’s career and how his passion for Top 40 radio hits eventually led him towards storytelling and theater. His love of story in all its forms is what gave him the flexibility to be open to whatever entertainment opportunity came his way, whether it was an acting job or some other position in production. In fact, it was his willingness to take a relatively low level production assistant job at an animation studio that allowed him to learn the process of creating cartoons. The education he got from that experience not only lead to more and better opportunities at the studio, but it has helped him immensely in all aspects of his career. I really admire Keythe’s openness and his humility when it comes to working in an industry that can often be emotionally challenging, and I’m eager to share his wisdom with you!
To learn more about Keythe and his VO Lounge, visit his website at:
www.KeytheFarley.com
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #137 Here (MP3)
VAMFR 032 | Interview with Taliesin Jaffe, Part 3
VAMFR 032 | Interview with Taliesin Jaffe, Part 3
Welcome to episode 32 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
This is the third and final part of DanWill McCann’s chat with Taliesin Jaffe.
If you missed the first two parts, you can find them on VoiceActingMastery.com. Just search for episodes 30 and 31 of the Field Report. Taliesin has been involved in the entertainment industry since he was a young boy, working with actors like Michael Keaton in the movie Mr. Mom and Suzanne Somers on the T.V. show She’s the Sheriff. As Taliesin grew older, he transitioned into a portion of the industry he felt more passionate about: providing voices in the English dubs of Japanese Animation titles like 3×3 Eyes and directing voice actors in dubs like Read or Die, The TV. He has also voiced characters in video games, such as Highlord Darion Mograine, Leader of the rebelling Death Knights in the World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack.
In the previous episode, Taliesin shared with us which projects he most enjoyed working on, both as a voice actor and as a director. He talked about what made those projects stand out for him, as well as what artistic lessons he learned from working on them. I appreciate how Taliesin is able to successfully balance being a fan of the mediums he works in, while still maintaining a professional demeanor at the same time. We also discussed how to make professional connections with voice actors we admire at fan conventions and on social media. Taliesin stressed how important it is to find genuine connections with them on more than just voice acting while also making sure to respect their time and privacy. He also told stories of his own early attempts to make professional connections at conventions and how some of those interactions were more successful than others. He learned a lot from those experiences and I hope you found his adventures both entertaining and educational! I know I did.
In this final segment of our interview, Taliesin begins by sharing his advice to folks that like to make fan dubs. For those who are not familiar with the term, fan dubbing is the practice of taking an established anime property and dubbing it into English for fun or for improving one’s voice acting skills. While fan dubbing is not officially sanctioned by the companies that hold the copyrights to anime shows, many aspiring voice actors try their hand at fan dubbing in order to get more experience with the process of dubbing animation. Taliesin also offers some suggestions about how to listen to professional performances so that we can learn from the pros and take what we admire about their artistry and incorporate it into our own acting. He then adds some of his own directorial advice, especially when it comes to recording challenging lines like fighting sounds or efforts. While the majority of actors rightly spend most of their time learning how to deliver dialogue in a believable way, the non-verbal efforts, exertions, death screams, and other fighting noises are crucial to master as well. This is especially true in the world of video games, where your characer will likely have many different battle encounters over the course of gameplay. I definitely find Taliesin’s methods for creating efforts very helpful, and I believe you will, too.
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 #32 Here (MP3)
VAM 136 | Interview with Anjali Bhimani, Part 3
Welcome to episode 136 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 third and final part of my interview with theater, on-camera and voice actress, Anjali Bhimani! You may know Anjali from her performances on Television in the shows Modern Family and Alex, Inc. as well as her extensive Theater experience both regionally and on Broadway.
However, for my podcast audience, Anjali is probably most familiar for her voice acting work as Symmetra in the hit game, Overwatch. Anjali is not only a talented actor, singer and dancer, but she also runs a YouTube channel called “I am Fun Size” where she shares her life wisdom and experience. I was fortunate enough to be a guest on her YouTube series and I’m honored to have her with me here on the Voice Acting Mastery podcast!
In the previous episode, Anjali and I talked about the differences between acting on-camera and voice acting in front of a microphone. We discussed her singing training and how her experience discovering her own voice applied not only to her ability to sing but also helped shape her identity as an actress.
In this episode, Anjali shares with us her advice for aspiring voice actors. She also talks about what inspired her to start her “I Am Fun Size” series of videos on YouTube. It may seem hard to believe, but she was actually nervous about starting her YouTube channel. However, she had an amazing experience with some of her Overwatch fans and their courage motivated her to share her own thoughts and opinions online. Anjali has a lot to talk about in this part of our interview and I’m eager to share it with you!
If you’d like to check out her YouTube series, please visit her
On Twitter you can follow her at @SweeetAnj.
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #136 Here (MP3)
VAMFR 031 | Interview with Taliesin Jaffe, Part 2
VAMFR 031 | Interview with Taliesin Jaffe, Part 2
Welcome to episode 31 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 for this second part of DanWill McCann’s interview with Taliesin Jaffe.
Taliesin has worked extensively as both a voice actor and voice director. He began his career in the entertainment industry as a child actor in T.V. shows like The Facts of Life and St. Elsewhere. Later, he transitioned into voice acting and has been working on anime and video games ever since. Recently, you may have heard him as the voice of Blanka, the wild man with shocking abilities in the English versions of the video games Street Fighter IV & V, as well as Street Fighter vs. Tekken. Not only did Taliesin play the voice of Blanka in those Street Fighter games, but he also voice directed all the characters in the English language versions of all three games. While he no longer acts in scripted shows on TV, you can still find Taliesin in front of the camera hosting The Wednesday Club, a weekly online comic book show on the Geek & Sundry Alpha channel.
In the previous podcast episode, Taliesin told us about how he began his acting career and the series of events that led him to decide to transition from on-camera acting to voice acting and directing. He realized at a relatively young age that his heart was not fully committed to acting on-camera and that he had a greater passion for working on anime. DanWill admires that Taliesin had the honestly and courage to pursue what truly spoke to him artistically, even if others may not have understood his choices. DanWill also respects the fact that much of Taliesin’s motivation to enter the world of anime dubbing was to see what he could do to improve the quality of work being done in the genre. Once Taliesin realized how he could best contribute, he has continued his efforts since then to raise the standards of anime dubbing. His commitment to quality inspires DanWill to pursue the same excellence in his own work.
This episode begins with a discussion of Taliesin’s favorite voice over projects, both as an actor and as a director. DanWill and Taliesin not only talk about what Taliesin enjoyed most while working on these projects, but also what important artistic lessons he learned from them. Because Taliesin works both as a voice actor and a voice director, he has a unique perspective on the voice over industry and how to succeed in it. Their discussion then moves on to address fan conventions and how best to interact with any industry colleagues you may meet at those events. DanWill is always looking for better ways to connect with fellow entertainment professionals and he’s learned a lot from Taliesin on this subject. So, once again, please welcome Taliesin Jaffe!
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 #31 Here (MP3)
VAM 135 | Interview with Anjali Bhimani, Part 2
Welcome to episode 135 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 second part of my interview with theater, on-camera and voice actress, Anjali Bhimani! You may know Anjali from her performances on Television in the shows Modern Family and Alex, Inc. as well as her extensive Theater experience both regionally and on Broadway.
However, for my podcast audience, Anjali is probably most familiar for her voice acting work as Symmetra in the hit game, Overwatch. Anjali is not only a talented actor, singer and dancer, but she also runs a YouTube channel called “I am Fun Size” where she shares her life wisdom and experience. I was fortunate enough to be a guest on her YouTube series and I’m honored to have her with me here on the Voice Acting Mastery podcast!
In the previous episode, Anjali and I discussed how she began her study of acting at a very young age. When she discovered that it was possible to pursue acting not just as an artistic hobby, but as a legitimate career path, she studied everything she could and developed her own plan for becoming a professional actress.
In this second part of our interview, we talk about the differences between acting on-camera and voice acting in front of a microphone. Then we discuss Anjali’s singing training and how her experience discovering her own voice applied not only to her ability to sing but how it helped shape her identity as an actress as well. There was also a time in Anjali’s career where she got into some vocal trouble. Her voice was hurting her and she went to experts to try and figure out what she needed to do to heal and recover. Her journey to vocal wellness, both physically and emotionally, is very inspiring and I’m eager to share it with you!
If you’d like to check out her YouTube series, please visit her
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #135 Here (MP3)
VAMFR 030 | Interview with Taliesin Jaffe, Part 1
VAMFR 030 | Interview with Taliesin Jaffe, Part 1
Welcome to episode 30 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
Recently, our correspondent DanWill McCann had the opportunity to sit down and chat with the very skilled and experienced Voice Actor and Voice Director, Taliesin Jaffe. Taliesin began his acting career on camera when he was very young, starring in commercials, movies, and TV Shows. You may be familiar with his performance as Kenny Butler in the film Mr. Mom. where his character was deeply attached to his security blanket or “wubby” as it was called. As a young adult, Taliesin’s love of Anime drew him to Voice Acting and since then, he has provided over 100 voices for Anime and Video games, as well as adapted scripts, cast voice actors, and directed a multitude of projects. You can hear him as the Flash in the Injustice 2 video game. He also directed the English dub of the anime series Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate. Currently he is on the popular Geek & Sundry series Critical Role, a show where voice actors play Dungeons and Dragons together and act out the characters in real time. In campaign 1 he played as the character Percy, and now in campaign 2 he is playing as Mollymauk.
In this first segment of our interview, DanWill spoke with Taliesin about his career path. He and DanWill have actually been friends for more than half of DanWill’s life and DW finds his journey both fascinating and inspiring. When DanWill decided to pursue Voice Acting as a career, Taliesin was the first person DW turned to for advice. DanWill has always admired that Taliesin is a consummate professional in addition to being a huge fan of animation and games. Taliesin’s respect for characters and storytelling drives him to always do his best. He not only strives to create fantastic art, but he also tries to raise the bar of artistic achievement, both for himself and those he works with. We hope you will find Taliesin as inspiring as DanWill does!
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 #30 Here (MP3)