Welcome to episode 71 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 is the fourth and final part of my interview with my good friend, the incredibly talented voice director, Andrea Toyias. Andrea works for Blizzard Entertainment and has voice directed on such high profile titles as World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and Diablo III. We first met while working on Diablo III, where I played the voice of the Male Wizard. We’ve admired each other’s work ever since.

As we wrap up our discussion, Andrea talks about what it took for her to develop her fantastic directing skills. She also recounts how challenging it was for her when she tried her hand at acting. Her experiences in acting class increased her appreciation for the craft of acting immensely. She also shares with me her final advice to voice actors and why the skill she is looking for in people who audition for her is called “voice acting” and not “voice reading”.

It’s not every day you get such intimate knowledge of what is going on in a director’s head. I’m incredibly grateful to Andrea for being so honest and generous in sharing her challenges and her insights as a director with us.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #71 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 70 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 is the third part of my interview with my good friend, the incredibly talented voice director, Andrea Toyias. Andrea works for Blizzard Entertainment and has voice directed on such high profile titles as World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and Diablo III. We first met while working on Diablo III, where I played the voice of the Male Wizard. We’ve admired each other’s work ever since.

In the last episode, Andrea shared with us what she’s looking for from a voice actor when they audition for her. She discussed how important it is for an actor have a playful nature.  She also talked about how helpful it is when an actor truly understands the style or the genre of the project they’re working on and she shared an amazing story of working with the legendary voice actor, Frank Welker.

In this episode, Andrea and I talk about the challenges that a voice director faces when trying to guide a project so that it comes out well. There are many people and many personalities a voice director needs to manage in order to ensure that she captures believable performances that will work well together in the final product. Andrea and I also discuss the nature of collaboration and what it takes to work with other artists in order to create storytelling that is captivating and appealing.

Later, I share with Andrea what I appreciate about talented directors like her and how they help make my work as a voice actor easier and more satisfying. Listening to this segment will really give you an insight into the mind of a voice director so you can understand what challenges they face and how to interact with them more effectively.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #70 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 69 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 is the second part of my interview with my good friend, the incredibly talented voice director, Andrea Toyias. Andrea works for Blizzard Entertainment and has voice directed on such high profile titles as World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and Diablo III. We first met while working on Diablo III, where I played the voice of the Male Wizard. We’ve admired each other’s work ever since.

In the last episode, Andrea discussed how she started out as a production assistant at a video game company and worked her way up through the ranks. She edited dialogue, then became a recording engineer and eventually a voice director. She’s worked on almost every aspect of the process of recording voice actors from the ground up, which gives her an invaluable perspective on what video game companies are looking for in performers.

In this episode, Andrea shares with me what skills, abilities and mindset she looks for for when casting a voice actor. If you’ve ever wanted to know what goes through the head of someone who decides which voice actor to hire for a project, you’re about to get the inside scoop from Andrea!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #69 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 68 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 of the podcast, I’m honored to be able to interview the incredibly talented voice director, Andrea Toyias.

Andrea works for Blizzard Entertainment, one of the most successful video game production companies on the planet. She’s directed voice actors on such high profile titles as World of Warcraft: Cataclysm as well as Diablo III. It was on Diablo III, where I was cast as the Male Wizard, that I first got to know and admire Andrea, not only for her wonderful directing skills, but also for her incredibly supportive and generous personality. I’ve been eager to get her on the podcast for some time now and I’m happy to be able to share our in-depth conversation with all of my listeners.

I think it’s vitally important for all voice actors to understand not only what a voice director is looking for in an actor, but also what challenges the director faces when trying to make an artistic project come together well. I cannot overemphasize the importance of learning how to collaborate effectively with voice directors if you want to have a successful voice acting career. Andrea has a lot of wisdom to share on this subject, and I’m sure you’ll benefit from her insights.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #68 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)