VAM 089 | Better Voice Acting Through Critical Listening
Welcome to episode 89 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 talk about a skill that is crucial to becoming a better voice actor: Critical Listening.
I touched on this topic briefly in my interview with Edward Bosco and Kimlinh Tran back in episodes 33, 34 and 35 of the podcast. When I asked Kimlinh what advice she would give to aspiring voice actors, she explained that the best thing they could do is to develop their Critical Listening Skills. I agreed.
If you’re going to pursue voice acting professionally you need to be able to listen to an actor’s performance, understand what acting choices they made, and then decide whether or not those acting decisions are the best ones to serve the character and the story. Until you develop the ability to listen to performances critically in both other actor’s work and in your own acting, you won’t know what you need to do to improve your performances. So let’s spend this episode talking about what it takes to develop your critical listening skills.
I hope you enjoy the episode!
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #89 Here (MP3)
16 Responses to “VAM 089 | Better Voice Acting Through Critical Listening”
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I try to better my critical listening skills by putting on a show and facing away from the screen. That way I only hear it and don’t let the visuals distract me.
Thank you for your time and wisdom.
You’re very welcome. I often suggest that my students attempt to voice match characters without the video to distract them. It’s a very good way to depend only on your ears. Good thinking.
I loved the Diner to Chef analogy!
I understand about listening critically and evaluating but there is a slight issue with credibility isn’t there?
For example, a new voice actor might suggest something to an experienced voice actor, but as the new guy lacks the experience the suggestion might not be considered. Does that even happen in voice acting?
I’d like to think that any good artist will consider, even if to discard it later, any suggestions made to him or her regardless of the source.
It’s just a thought that came to mind.
Keep up the excellent work! Your podcasts are a continuous source of inspiration for me. They really do make me want to try harder!
I’m glad you like my cooking analogies!
I’m a little confused about your confusion.
When did I suggest that a new voice actor should give feedback to an experienced voice actor? I don’t remember making that suggestion in the podcast episode.
An experienced voice actor usually looks for even more experienced people to give him feedback. An experienced voice actor also usually has a much better sense of when they are sounding believable and when they are not. Their “experience” has allowed them to develop their acting craft more fully so their acting radar is better calibrated.
I think a good artist considers good ideas regardless of the source. But I don’t have time to consider every idea suggested to me. To me the source of an idea is not nearly as important as the usefulness of the idea.
Glad you’re enjoying the podcast.
I love the analogy! Such a simple shift in mindset, but really effective.
Lovely podcast as always!
Thank you! Glad you liked it!
I definitely find myself in that position where I don’t like the way a particular character is voiced, but I can’t quite place my finger on why.
I like how you made the distinction between being a critic and then taking it a step further with active/critical listening, since critics are not involved with the creation of projects, media, etc.
I’ll definitely need to start thinking in this new mindset.
I’m glad you like the mindset shift. I think you’ll find it very useful. Thanks for listening.
There is actually a website that is dedicated to bad videogame voice acting for those that are intrested. It’s called audio atrocities and it helped open my ears up so now I’m sure of what not to do when giving a performance. It has acting as bad if not worst than the infamous Jill sandwich line if you need more convincing.
I think I’ve heard of that site. It would be an interesting challenge to take some of those bad performances and see if you could perform the same lines and make them sound believable.
Just took a quick look through that site. About half the dialogue there seems to be salvageable, but the rest makes Garzey’s Wing look like Shakespeare.
Then again, I guess trying to make bad dialogue sound believable is a good exercise by itself…
Somebody wrote that dialogue which means that someone has to speak it. I’ve often been cast in video games and been asked to speak what I thought was ridiculous dialogue. You have to do your best with the script you are given. Trying to make awkward dialogue sound believable is a very lucrative skill.
Thank you so much for sharing, Crispin. Very interesting episode about Critical Listening skills 🙂 I do want to learn some listening skills after I get done my college. I also love that cooking analogy you made- excellent idea. I’m still worried and bit insecure about my voice and skills are still emotionally enough for the characters especially with my communication problems. But, I’m still improving. The biggest problem/critical I have is my Business Law class. My teacher is the most strict I’ve ever had- She doesn’t understand how I have some learning problems and doesn’t like me that much because I didn’t get an A on every test I took. I didn’t get enough good grades, because I wasn’t challenge enough to read and study before the test. I did told my current teacher about my Business Law and she totally understand how I feel.
I’m glad you found the episode helpful.
It seems to be a common thing among people who want to get into certain fields that they need to become more analytical of whatever they are getting into so I have to thank you for giving me a reminder to do this.
I’ve heard before that I need to analyze people and performances more as an actor, but I often find myself slipping in and out of this mentality. Do you have any tips to keep myself focused?
Where does this leave things like biases and seemingly arbitrary thoughts? Is it wise to incorporate these thoughts into your own performance, or do they need to be avoided at all costs?
Slightly off topic, artists and connoisseurs often like certain things more than the average person. Is this something you see as a voice actor? Do you find yourself appreciating performances that most people don’t?
Happy to help remind you that any field usually takes serious focus and study in order to master.
If you find it difficult to focus on analyzing people’s performances, then chances are you haven’t found what truly fascinates you about it. Do you appreciate an actor’s abilities? Do you fall in love with a character? Are you committed to creating great storytelling? You need to find what fascinates you about voice acting. When you pin that down, you won’t have problems staying focused because studying voice acting will matter to you on a personal level.
I’m not sure what you mean by “biases” and “arbitrary thoughts”. You’d have to explain to me what you mean by those terms in the context of studying acting before I could respond in a useful way.
Connoisseurs often appreciate things on a deeper level than normal lay people do. The reason they become connoisseurs is because they have a heightened appreciation for certain subjects. Sometimes I appreciate performances that other people do not, but connoisseurs don’t necessarily have different tastes from other people, they just tend to be more experienced which makes them pickier and more sensitive to variations. I appreciate the brilliant performance of Tammy Grimes as Molly Grue in the Last Unicorn because it’s amazing. Almost anyone would agree with that. But I probably appreciate her performance on a more profound level because I’ve studied her work and because I know what it takes to give that kind of performance.