Welcome to episode 29 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, I thought I would play some of the voicemail questions that I’ve been getting from my listeners and do my best to answer them. For those who don’t know, in the last episode I gave out a phone number where you can call in and leave me a question 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 two of my listeners, Kimberly from Bernie, CA and Wes from Palm Springs, CA.

1. Kimberly asks me how she can know when it’s safe to use her voice again after she’s recovered from being sick.
2. Wes asks me if I could give him some tips and tricks for how to do voice matches.

I think you’ll find the answers very helpful.

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!

If you’d like to purchase the tea I recommend, you can find the Throat Coat Tea on Amazon.com.

To rip audio from DVDs you own, you can download the Handbrake program here.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #29 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 26 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 talk about a very important aspect of voice acting that is often overlooked and sometimes deeply misunderstood. I mentioned it in episode 22 of the podcast, where I outlined 5 Essential Steps for Voice Acting Beginners. It was step 3 in that list of 5 and it is this:

You must discover your Character Types.

It is vitally important to your success as an actor to understand which kinds of characters you can believably and competitively play. This is true of acting regardless of the medium in which you’re performing, but it is especially true in voice acting. Most people think that a voice actor can and should play any character they want to. While this is theoretically true, the reality is that there are always going to be certain types of characters that suit your voice better than others. Without understanding which characters are most appropriate for your voice, chances are you will try to audition for roles that do not suit you. Doing so lowers your chances of getting hired. This can make you incredibly frustrated as you try out for role after role and can’t seem to make any headway.

Let me help you avoid that headache. I want to explain to you just how important it is to understand which characters do and do not suit your voice. Armed with that knowledge, your chances of getting cast will improve astronomically.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #26 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 22 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 talk about 5 Essential Steps any Beginner should take when approaching Voice Acting. I get inquiries from many people who are brand new to the idea of voice acting and would like to pursue it professionally. Often, they would like a clear recipe on how to become a working voice actor. The irony of this, of course, is that there is no one recipe for becoming a voice actor.

While there may not be a linear recipe to follow, there are certain abilities or criteria that I find common among the most successful professional voice actors. These are concrete things you can work on in order to improve the likelihood that you will be able to take advantage of voice acting opportunities. Any beginner, (and even some veterans), will benefit from focusing on these steps. I’ve narrowed them down to 5 Essentials:

1. You must become an actor.
2. You must learn how to use your voice as an instrument.
3. You must discover your character types.
4. You must become capable of and comfortable with recording yourself at a professional level.
5. You must be confident.

I explore each of these topics in depth in the podcast itself. While these essentials may seem obvious, you must truly understand and internalize these ideas if you want to become a successful professional voice actor. A superficial understanding is not enough. I encourage you to listen to the podcast thoroughly!

I hope you enjoy it!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #22 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 21 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 and final part of my interview with my fellow voice actor and accent expert, J.B. Blanc.

In this episode we conclude our discussion by talking about a number of different topics including:

1. What someone can do to work on an accent by themselves.
2. JB’s favorite resource online for researching accents. (Hint: it’s the International Dialects of English Archive or IDEA)
3. Realizing that not everyone speaks a certain dialect in the exact same way.
4. How to contact JB to get individual coaching from him. (Hint, visit his website: http://www.jbblanc.com/)

A big thanks to JB for spending time with me talking in so much detail about such an important topic. And thanks to you for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #21 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 20 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 fellow voice actor and accent expert, J.B. Blanc. In this episode we explore the difference between having regionalisms in your natural speech patterns versus actually having a physical speech impediment.

We also discuss the psychological aspects of accents. Your accent is the survival technique you adopted when you were young in order to survive in your surroundings. For some people, being asked to modify the way they speak can feel very threatening. J.B. shares with me the techniques he uses when coaching A-List celebrity actors with their accents.

You can find out more about J.B. at his website:

http://www.jbblanc.com/

We’ll finish up our discussion of accents in the next episode!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #20 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 19 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

Many of you have asked me about the subject of accents or dialects. I usually get similar questions from my listeners:

1. How do I learn an accent?
2. How can I remove or lessen my own accent?
3. How can I overcome a speech impediment?

I thought the best way to address these questions was to interview a wonderful friend of mine and fellow voice actor: J.B. Blanc.

J.B. and I first met working on the anime show Hellsing. Since then, both of us have gone on to work on many important and influential anime, video games and American animated series. J.B. is not only a fantastic actor, but he has an amazing facility with accents. I think you’ll really enjoy what he has to say!

You can find out more about J.B. at his website:

http://www.jbblanc.com/

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #19 Here (MP3)