Welcome to episode 121 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 Adam from Scranton, PA and Matthew from Flagstaff, AZ.

Adam wants to know how he can expand his vocal range.

His is a very common question. I’m often asked by aspiring voice actors how they can expand their vocal range. Usually the question comes from male performers who want to know what they can do to lower or deepen their voice. I’ve almost never been asked how someone can learn to pitch their voice higher while voice acting. Now I’m not sure if Adam is specifically asking for advice on how to speak in lower tones, but allow me to address vocal range from a technical standpoint first. Then I’ll touch on some psychological issues that may be informing why I get asked this question so frequently.

Matthew wants to know how to change the timbre or quality of his voice.

I thought Matthew’s question was a great follow up to Adam’s about vocal range. Matthew uses the word “timbre” which is a very specific term that usually describes the tonality of an instrument. For instance, a violin and a trumpet might be able to play the same note or pitch, but the timbre or sonic quality of each instrument is very different. The technical reason for this has to do with the types of overtones or resonances that each instrument produces which give them their characteristic sounds. This means that you’d never mistake the sound of a violin for that of a trumpet because of their different timbres.

If Matthew will permit me, I’d like to use the term vocal quality in place of timbre in order to address his question. Based on the kinds of sounds he’s trying produce, I believe vocal quality is a more accurate description. Matthew says that he has difficulty performing a raspy character without hurting his voice or throat. Raspiness is more of a vocal quality than a timbre because it has less to do with overtones and more to do with breathiness, sibilance and other vocal qualities.

I help explain my approach to changing the quality of my voice and the importance of avoiding vocal injury when doing so!

I also recommend Kristin Linklater’s book, Freeing the Natural Voice.

If any of my listeners would like to call in with your own thoughts, thank you’s or questions, the number 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 #121 Here (MP3)

VAMFR 016 | Interview with Mela Lee, Part 1

Welcome to episode 16 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

In this episode our newest correspondent, Maureen Price is thrilled to share her interview with the multi-talented voice actress, vocalist, and songwriter, Mela Lee.

Mela’s roles in anime include Rin Tohsaka in Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, Yuki Cross in Vampire Knight, and Erika Karisawa in Durarara!! Mela also plays Tikki in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. She has provided background voices on shows like Gotham, True Detective, and The Good Wife. Mela is also the vocalist and songwriter for her band Magnolia Memoir.

Maureen is so grateful to Mela for taking the time to share her insights on her voice acting journey.
In this episode, Mela talks about her entry into the entertainment industry. She had many ups and downs along the way as as she did her best to balance her voice over pursuits with her career as a financial analyst. Maureen and Mela also discuss the importance of cultivating a community of support and the power of being your own advocate. Lastly, Mela shares the evolution of her work as a vocalist and songwriter and how all of her many passions found a way to coalesce into a career path she molded for herself. This first section of the interview is full of great insights!

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 #16 Here (MP3)

VAMFR 014 | Interview with Tony Oliver, Part 3

Welcome to episode 14 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast!

In this episode, our correspondent, Tom Bauer concludes his interview one of his personal voice over mentors: Tony Oliver.

Tom first met Tony while taking class with him in November of 2012 and Tom has had the good pleasure of working with Tony since as a voice actor. Tony‘s voice over roles in anime include Rick Hunter in Robotech and Lupin in the Lupin the Third TV series. Tony also worked for many years as a writer and producer on the famous Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers television series for Saban Entertainment. He is also a talented director and teacher, directing such popular anime titles as Gurren Lagann and Hunter X Hunter.

In part 2 of this interview, we learned about Tony’s personal methodology when directing his actors and teaching his students. He stressed the importance of focusing on a character’s feelings and emotions in order to deliver a more believable and natural performance. Tony also gave advice on how to handle rejection and the importance of staying positive and finding joy in your craft to sustain your momentum and maintain your stamina while pursuing your voice acting career.

In this final episode, Tom asks Tony about the differences between directing veteran and younger voice actors. Tony also talks at length about how he became a teacher and how he helps his students ‘get out of their head’ when performing in the booth.

If you are interested in taking class with Tony, make sure to visit the Workshops Page of the Adventures in Voice Acting Website.

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 #14 Here (MP3)

VAMFR 013 | Interview with Tony Oliver, Part 2

Welcome to episode 13 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast!

In this episode, our correspondent, Tom Bauer continues his interview one of his personal voice over mentors: Tony Oliver.

Tom first met Tony taking a class with him in November of 2012 and he’s been fortunate enough to work with him as an actor on a few anime shows. Tony is probably most famous for his voice acting work in anime, taking on such roles as Rick Hunter in Robotech and Lupin in the Lupin the Third TV series. Tony also worked for many years as a writer and producer on the famous Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers television series for Saban Entertainment. If that wasn’t enough, Tony is also a talented director and teacher, directing such popular anime titles as Gurren Lagann and Hunter X Hunter.

In part 1 of this interview, Tony was telling us in detail how his personal life experiences led him to where he is today as a voice over director. He also emphasized how important it is for an actor to be training constantly so that they’re ready for anything when it comes time to perform.

In this episode, Tony talks about what he learned in the early days of his voice over career and how he applies his personal acting methodology both as a director, when he’s guiding the performances of other actors, and as a teacher, when he’s working with his students. Tom and Tony also talk about what it takes to succeed as a voice actor and how to thrive in an industry where you constantly face rejection. They begin this part of their chat with Tom asking Tony about the kinds of challenges he faced while he was developing his skills as a voice actor.

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 #13 Here (MP3)

VAMFR 012 | Interview with Tony Oliver, Part 1

Welcome to episode 12 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast!

In this episode our correspondent, Tom Bauer is honored to interview one of his personal voice over mentors: Tony Oliver.

Tony’s résumé runs the gamut in the entertainment and voice over industry. He is probably most famous for his voice acting work as Rick Hunter in the ever-popular anime series Robotech. He’s also played the voice of the mischevious Lupin in the Lupin the Third anime TV series. Tony worked for many years as a writer and producer on the famous Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers television series for Saban Entertainment. If that wasn’t enough, Tony is also a talented director and teacher, directing such popular anime titles as Gurren Lagann and Hunter X Hunter.

Tom first met Tony when he took one of his voice acting classes in November of 2012. Soon after, Tom had the good fortune of getting to know Tony as a director when they worked together on the anime series, Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, where Tom was cast as Nero and Ren Hakuyu.

In this first episode, Tom focuses on Tony’s early career. Tony explains how he got his start as a voice actor and how his breadth of experiences and the challenges he faced led him to where he is today as a voice over director. He also stresses the importance of continually training yourself as an actor so that you’re prepared for anything when it comes time to perform. But Tom is happy to let Tony tell you more about that!

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 #12 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 112 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 what it takes to become a wildly successful voice actor. And when I say “wildly successful”, I mean working on the most well-known and prestigious projects out there. These are the shows you or your kids watch every day, or the video games you spend hours playing. These are the movies that move you, or the characters who inspire you. Many are household names and billion-dollar franchises. Some are not as well-known, but still very respected in their own niches. Aspiring voice actors often tell me how passionate they are about getting to work on the things they love the most, so chances are that if you’re listening to this podcast, you want to become a good enough actor to work on some of the most admired and beloved shows and games in the world.

This is certainly the case with most of my students. When they come to me to learn, they want to know what it takes to work in the most celebrated areas of character voice acting. As I show them how to analyze scenes and portray characters, they can sometimes become frustrated that they are not as facile as I am at interpreting a script or understanding a character’s motivation. They are always grateful when I can help them break down their acting scenes in clear and useful ways, but they want to know how to do it on their own more effectively, and they often ask me how it is that I can figure out a scene so quickly. I usually explain to them that one huge advantage I have over them is experience. I’ve been doing this a lot longer than they have and so I’ve had more opportunities to take risks and learn from my mistakes. I try to reassure them that if they consistently apply my acting techniques and spend more time practicing and gaining experience, they too will start to be able to understand characters and scenes with more depth and facility.

As you can imagine, this slow-and-steady approach doesn’t always satisfy some of my students. Every so often I’ll get one who’s convinced that there is some sort of magical secret I’m not telling them. They usually ask, “So what’s the trick?” as if there’s some simple, catch-all technique to acting well on a moment’s notice, and that if I’d just stop holding out on them, they could learn that technique and get on with being wildly successful.

While I’d love to come out and say that I’ve distilled how to achieve success in voice acting down to one crucial, sure-fire technique, I’m going to be 100% honest and say that if there is a such a “trick”, I’ve never heard of it. In all my years as a working voice actor, I’ve never encountered just one sure-fire way to nail a performance, or any technique that’s guaranteed to work for everyone, every time. Acting just isn’t that formulaic. While there are certain approaches and techniques that can help get you in the vicinity of a believable performance, in the end, it’s your own fascination and dedication that is going to help you consistently bring characters to life. The most successful actors I know don’t think in terms of looking for “tricks”. They are so immersed in their fascination for the craft of acting that they eat, breathe and sleep it. Acting is not a skill for them. It’s a lifestyle. So in order for you to get on that level and play with the big names in the industry, I’ve got to impress upon you once and for all that techniques are only a small part of the larger acting picture. Furthermore, no acting “trick” will ever be powerful enough to compete against these “lifestyle” voice actors. They will beat you, every time. So, it’s time to up your game and embrace acting as a lifestyle rather than just a set of skills you need to get a job. What does it mean to make acting your lifestyle rather than just your skill? Let’s find out.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #112 Here (MP3)