Welcome to episode 60 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, the 60th episode of the podcast, I thought I’d spend some time talking about the 5 things I love most about voice acting and why I find voice acting such an enjoyable and enriching occupation. Many of you may also appreciate the same aspects of voice acting that I do, but haven’t really put your thoughts into words. Others of you may not know as much about voice acting and might wonder what the appeal is of pursuing such a career. Whether you’ve just started researching voice acting or are completely committed to finding your niche in the world of voice over, I find that it can really help clarify one’s goals in life to sit down and take stock of all the things one enjoys about a certain pursuit. Focusing on all the things you appreciate about being a voice actor will not only inspire you to follow your voice acting goals with more vigor and enthusiasm, but I believe it will actually accelerate your journey towards your goal. You become what you think about. So let’s spend this episode thinking about some of the positive aspects of a voice acting career in order to bring that vision to fruition.

The 5 Things I Love Most About Voice Acting are:

1. As a Voice Actor, I get to work in a field of entertainment that I’ve loved since I was young, namely Animation, Video Games and Anime.
2. Voice acting allows me as an actor to play characters I would have very little chance of playing in live action productions.
3. Voice acting feels like more of a meritocracy to me than on-camera acting.
4. As a Voice Actor, I get to live where I work and work where I live.
5. Voice acting allows me perform while still being able to maintain my privacy and anonymity.

I expand on each of these topics in detail in the podcast.

I’m eager to hear what you love most about voice acting! Please let me know by leaving a comment on this blog post!

All the best to you in your voice acting endeavors!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #60 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 59 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’d like to share with you what it’s like behind the scenes when you’re voice acting in Animation, Video Games or Japanese Anime. Each one of these mediums presents unique challenges to a voice actor. While the goal in all of them is the same, to sound believable as a character, they each require a different mindset and set of skills in order to accomplish that goal. It’s incredibly helpful to to have an understanding of what acting demands will be placed on you in each of these professional recording environments before you arrive at the studio! I think you’ll find it an invaluable introduction so you’re not caught flat-footed when you enter a studio!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #59 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 58 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 Matt from Duluth, MN and Felocity from Tampa, FL.

Matt wants to know what he can do to expand his character types once he’s found his signature sound.

In both this podcast and in my classes with my students I stress over and over again how important it is to know which characters suit your voice the best. I call this your character type. If you want to work as a professional voice actor, you need to know which characters you can play better than anyone else. If you don’t know your character type, you will most likely be fighting an uphill battle trying to get cast as a voice actor. Episode 26 of the podcast is entitled: Discovering Your Character Types. For those of you who haven’t heard it already, I suggest you give it a listen.

There are two aspects to understanding how to expand your range to allow you to play different characters believably:

1. The Technical Aspect
2. The Emotional Aspect

The technical side is the actual physical adjustments you need to make to your voice to create a character’s sound. But the emotional side of a character voice requires you to understand the psychological basis of a character. That emotional aspect of a character can often be far harder to master than the technical side. I discuss this in depth in the podcast.

Felocity wants to know why certain acting schools ask their prospective students to audition even before they attend the school. This seems backwards to her since how can one know if one is talented at acting if you aren’t able to take an acting class first?

I explain that there are plenty of voice acting classes that do not require you to audition, including the classes that I offer both in LA and Online.

However, I also address this issue of “talent” and how I think the notion of talent is not only overrated, but misleading. Talent is not the determining factor in having a successful voice acting career. Fascination is the key to success in any art form. If you are truly fascinated with a craft like voice acting, you will do whatever it takes to get better.

I explain the difference between talent and fascination and how I overcame my own lack of talent in the podcast!

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

As a reminder, the number where you can call in and ask your question 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 #58 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 57 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

It’s time for another round of Questions and Answers 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 Ben from Washington D.C. and Leonard from Calgary, Alberta.

Ben is recording a number of projects from home and he has discovered that when he raises his voice or screams, he ends up getting a lot of unwanted echoes or reverb on his recording. He wants to know what he can do to improve the acoustics of his recording space without spending a lot of money. There are two aspects to acoustical treatment:

1. Isolation
2. Absorption

Isolation can be very expensive, but sound absorption is far more achievable. One of the best ways to increase sound absorption in your booth is to use acoustical foam. The foremost manufacturer of acoustical foam is a company called Auralex. You can visit their website for more information including tutorials on how to treat your recording space.

If acoustical foam is outside your budget, some of my students have recommended using a Porta-Booth solution which is marketed by the voice over artist Harlan Hogan.

I discuss 2 other possible solutions in the episode as well that are even less expensive.

Leonard wants to know what to do when you encounter a rude or demeaning voice director. While most voice directors are incredibly professional and respectful, you may run into voice directors who can be quite obnoxious. I share with Leonard my techniques for keeping my cool in the booth when trying to work under ridiculous or even hostile circumstances!

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

As a reminder, the number where you can call in and ask your question 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 #57 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 56 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 part 3 of my interview with the wonderfully talented Monica Rial! You can check out her amazingly long list of anime credits on the Anime News Network website!

As we wrap up our discussion of the Texas voice acting market, Monica explains how to approach companies like Funimation and Sentai Filmworks in order to audition for voice acting roles in anime. She also explains what you’ll need to do in order to be truly competitive as a voice actor.

Then, Monica shares with me her 3 part checklist of things she wants every aspiring voice actor to know about before going in to audition:

1. Study your craft.
2. Find your archetype.
3. Don’t fan out.

Monica expands on this checklist and shares all sorts of insider information. Trust me, it will save you a lot of heartache!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #56 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 55 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 part 2 of my interview with the wonderfully talented Monica Rial! You can check out her amazingly long list of anime credits on the Anime News Network website!

In this part of our conversation, Monica shares with us the skill from her theater acting background that she has found most useful in her voice acting career. Turns out, it’s a secret, and Monica shares with me how to use that secret to your advantage! Also, she talks about her own challenge in figuring out which character types suited her voice the best and she gives advice on what you can do to find the character types that fit your voice. I think you’ll find it very enlightening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #55 Here (MP3)