VAM 091 | Voice Acting Is a Physical Art, Not Simply a Mental One
Welcome to episode 91 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 discuss the vital importance of incorporating one’s physicality into a voice acting performance.
This is a challenge that comes up often when I am teaching my students, both in my group classes and during individual private coaching sessions. Often, I will be working with a student who is quite capable, knows how to listen and take direction, and may even have wonderful natural acting instincts, but their performances consistently fall flat because they do not engage their body when acting. Their mind and even their emotions may be fully engaged, but something is still missing, and it affects the believability of their reads.
What is this mysterious missing something, and why is it so important to put your physicality into your performance when voice acting? After all, you’re in a small padded room with a mic in front of you. How physical can you really be anyway? Because voice acting does happen in a booth and not on a stage or in front of a camera with sets, props and costumes, it can sometimes seem less like a physical performing art and more like a mental exercise. There is a common misconception that if you speak the words correctly and understand the emotions in a scene, your acting should be believable regardless of what your body is doing.
I’m here to set the record straight and to explain that all acting, even voice acting, is actually a physical artistic craft. If your performance is not rooted in your body, and if the character you are playing is not influenced by your physicality, your acting will never sound believable on a professionally competitive level. Allow me to explain to you how this works in this episode.
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #91 Here (MP3)
I know that I hold myself back sometimes when I act, for many different reasons. Adding physicality to will help me get over that
Thank you for your time and wisdom
You’re very welcome.
I used to be more imaginative and creative when I played with my Legos as a child. I would build characters, make up adventures for them and everything else. Then, as I got older, I just became more quiet and reserved and have been pushing myself to be more expressive.
With all of my concerns about getting into the mentality of a character, I didn’t consider the physical aspects as well. Thinking about it now, voice acting in video game would definitely require this physicality, given the dynamic action most characters are typically put through.
Yup. Video game voice acting definitely requires committed physicality. I often start sweating when having to do fighting noises in the booth. That’s why I always dress in layers so I can adjust my body temperature during a session!
Amazing! I love this episode so far and this one really dears me to my heart. Thank you so much for sharing the most important things that I need. It really bring back my memories about the experiences from my childhood. I still wanted to rise up above my shell and my flaw as a voice actor.
During my childhood, I always love to do something creative and imagination because I love Disney and fairy tales so much. I love pretending that I’m dancing, playing dolls/stuffed animals, and all kinds of games. I’ve been taught so many disciplines like ‘Don’t cry’ and ‘Sit Still’ as a child as well. I always love to dressed up as a princess, especially Cinderella.
But, I lost my physical experiences because of my puberty and being teased and harassed by peers. About rejection, I’m very sensitive young woman with feelings (even I have mild autism). I’m still struggling about my flaws though.
Thank you so much for your amazing time and your important wisdom as always, Crispin 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed the episode so much.
I don’t suppose there’s any chance of getting in-booth video of this episode…
Not really. I don’t record video while I’m recoding the podcast. Sorry about that. 🙂
Does anyone have any advice for the opposite problem? When I’m playing a character I incorporate their physicality to the point of taking on their muscle tensions. For example, my throat will get really sore after rehearsing an angry scene even when trying to keep my throat relaxed. How does one keep their body flexible and relaxed enough to maintain vocal health while assuming the stance of a tense character, or a character with unusual posture?
Thanks!
Holding tension in one’s body is not the same thing as physicalizing a character. Holding tension means that there’s some part of you that’s resisting the character or the script in some way. The body tenses when it’s trying to defend itself. Playing a character should not be a defensive activity. You should embrace the character’s situation and mindset.
There is no secret technique to staying relaxed while performing. Awareness of holding tension is the first step. You have to be aware that you’re tense. The challenge then is to give yourself permission to relax while you’re portraying a character. You may need to work with a speech or singing coach to help isolate where you’re holding tension. Chances are your breathing is not relaxed. Most of our tension while vocalizing comes from bad breath control.
I would suggest working with a vocal coach or acting coach to help you find ways to communicate without holding tension in your body.
This episode is worth a college tuition in knowledge. I learned so much from this episode, it seems so silly to think back and realize how physically inactive I was when I was performing lines in the past.
Also seems ironic that in stage acting, the actor has to do everything in their power NOT to do anything. They feel like they HAVE to do something on stage, be dynamic and interesting. Though, even stillness has its powerful moments as well.
Lovely podcast as always, Crispin. Looking forward to the next~!
~ Kalyn
Thank you Kalyn! That’s high praise indeed!
Stage acting does require physicality, but what is believable on stage is not the same as what’s believable in animation. When a character on stage is moving, it can be difficult to understand what they’re saying. It’s as if we can’t watch someone move and listen to their words at the same time. That’s why stillness on stage is so powerful. The opposite is the case in animation. When an animated character goes completely still, they tend to fall dead. An animated character tends to move while they speak while a stage actor rarely does. It’s just the demands of two different artistic mediums. You need to be even more still on-camera. I think that may be why most voice actors come from theater backgrounds and not film backgrounds. Theatrical actors do have to learn to use their bodies in space, whereas film actors don’t always have to.
Sir, I honestly wish I could shake your hand right now.
I’ve been following the podcast on and off for a couple years now, and it’s been such a font of knowledge that I can’t quite find the appropriate words to sum it all up. This episode however, might just be the absolute most helpful to me personally thus far. So much so, that for the first time I’m finally writing a comment here on the site.
When I was a kid, I truly was a lot more creative and outgoing, not caring about how I looked to others or how I was perceived. And then, as you said, I got older and started to become much more sensitive to the judgement and criticism of others, and as such began holding myself back for fear of being ridiculed or looked down upon. Fittingly enough, not long after this mental shift took place, I temporarily lost my interest in artistic pursuits in general, be it acting, playing music, and even my love of anime. I’ve come to look back on that part of my life now as a phase of being “dead inside”, and after hearing this episode, I realize it was all because of how I restrained myself.
I know the point of the episode is to demonstrate that movement in voice acting is critical to sounding believable, and that makes total sense to me now. However, the underlying message of learning not to hold yourself back is one that can be applied in a much broader manner, and frankly is just the advice I’ve been in search of for about 6 years now. Thank you so much.
Well, in lieu of shaking my hand, I’m glad you wrote such a wonderful comment on my blog! Thank you!
I’m also glad that you found the episode so helpful! That was certainly my intention. Thanks for listening!
Much like Tim Smith said, I feel this to be one of the most helpful podcast episodes you’ve done (and I’ve listened to all of them).
While I have noticed more and more that I’m getting closer to being competitive on a professional level, I have felt that I’m still lacking in a few areas, particularly in my acting.
This is a huge part of what’s been missing. My mom was really hard on me as a kid for acting stuff out, and she didn’t like it because she didn’t understand what I was doing. This has certainly been something I’ve done very little of during my practice sessions.
Physicality in acting does make a big difference, and even though I’ve heard it before from others, it didn’t stick until you talked about it during this episode.
So I’d like to thank you once again. You’re a great teacher, and I think some day I’d love to be in one of your online classes. Here’s hoping I can get the money to do so.
Thank you Peter. I’m glad you enjoyed this episode so much. I look forward to working with you in class in the future.
So many good points here, and absolutely true. I remember when one of my high school drama classmates and I made our graduation piece duologue (everyone in the class had to devise a piece of theatre from scratch). There was a scene in the middle where only my character was on stage because my friend’s interrogator character had left the room, and we had written it as a monologue. It essentially took elements from both Brechtian and Stanislavskian theory, where the audience was directly addressed (Brecht) but characterisation was evident, and not alienated from the actor (Stanislavski).
We realised in rehearsal that when I was sitting at the stage-centred table, not engaging in physicality and merely reading the lines with what in my head seemed like appropriate emotion, it fell flat. Then we tried adding in both some minor blocking and I put my whole body into each line, tapping my foot etc. even if the audience couldn’t see my legs under the table. Honestly, it worked wonders. There’s just something about engaging characterised physicality into dialogue, moving or positioning your body, even when there’s no overt blocking involved, that shows up in the voice and adds a foundation of believability.
Only started this podcast series a few days ago, and ended up binge-listening to them all because this series is just that good. Learn something every time you make an episode and you can tell that you have a passion for teaching. Keep them coming, Mr. Freeman, we all appreciate the effort you put into these episodes 😀
PS, how do you find the time to do all that work, make these episodes, and still reply to people? Are you capable or living without sleep or have discovered some time-travelling secret for extending the hours in the day or something? Really, you do more for your audience, and fans, than anyone ought to be able to. So thanks on behalf of everyone for going that extra mile as a creator.
Thanks for relating that great story about bringing physicality to your character on stage. I had a teacher once that said that language is our last resort. If we could get what we wanted with merely our physicality, we would. Language is what we use when our physicality can’t solve the entire problem for us. That means that there is a physical history that inspires every line we say. I’ve found that insight very valuable.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the episodes so much.
As far as finding time to get all of this accomplished, as you can tell from my delayed response, I can get a little overwhelmed from time to time. I’m honestly very fond of sleep and I think I should list it as my primary hobby. Thanks for your appreciation.
And thanks for taking the time to reply 🙂
I look forward to future episodes
You’re very welcome!
Hey everyone I am just starting out in the voice acting world but I need to definitely increase my acting ability, so I was wondering what is the most efficient way to learn and increase ones acting ability on a limited time frame per week that also doesn’t require going to school full time?
Cheers everyone
Sean
There is not a single formula or answer to that question. It also depends on what you’re looking to get out of it. Is just a hobby, is it something you’re seeking professionally?
Acting by its nature, is a personal thing, and many people have different ways to improve their acting. Acting classes are usually a good start for anyone, if you can make it work with your schedule. I personally do not take well to most classroom environments, but many people do.
Other than that, the best way to learn is by doing. Start reading lots of things out loud, make some projects that get you to do lots of voice acting. Compare your performances to that of professionals to see how you measure up. Listen to all the episodes of this podcast, apply what you hear from them. Do a lot of research online.
I’d be able to offer more suggestions, but since I don’t know you personally, I’m limited to more broad advice. But one thing holds true regardless of the person… nothing replaces absurd amounts of practice.
Thanks for your great response Peter. I appreciate it.
Peter has given you a very solid answer. Thanks so much for chiming in Peter.
Let me rephrase your question:
“What is the most efficient way to learn and increase one’s baseball ability on a limited time frame per week that also doesn’t require going to practice full time?”
How would you answer that question?
As Peter stated, it depends on what you’d like to get out of voice acting. Are you wanting to be a professional? Or is it just a hobby?
There is no substitute for experience and everyone learns the craft of acting at their own pace and in their own way. If you’re looking for a short cut, the only one I can give you is being fascinated with the craft of voice acting. If it truly fascinates you, you will find ways to practice and improve your skills. If it doesn’t fascinate you, then no recipe or list of actions can make you a talented voice actor.
A problem I might have with this is that whenever I get upset, or distraught, my throat will actually hurt. Should this happen to me while recording what should I try doing to make sure I’m still in shape to keep performing?
No, your voice should never hurt when you are vocalizing. If your throat is hurting you, you are holding too much tension in your body. I suggest you take either an acting class that focuses on vocal production or some specific voice classes to learn how to use your voice without tension.
Thanks for that, I have no clue why my throat does that
Hopefully by working in person with a voice expert, you can discover what is causing your problem.
Bit late, but I just found a video of Sean Schemmel and Jason Douglas in the booth recording a DBZ fight scene and thought it was relevant enough to post here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meZcSb39j68
That’s such a great clip! Thanks for sharing it!