VAM 111 | Interview with Stephanie Sheh, Part 3
Welcome to episode 111 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
Welcome to the third and final part of my interview with the talented and amazingly driven voice actress, Stephanie Sheh! You may be familiar with her work from shows like the Legend of Korra, Naruto and Sailor Moon. Stephanie is not only a talented voice actress, but she also has experience as a producer, director and even as a recording engineer! I’m so grateful to have someone with her experience on the podcast to talk with us about what it takes to be successful in the industry!
In our last episode, Stephanie talked about how inspired she was by movies as a child. They made her feel giddy and excited and she wanted to grow up to make stories that would inspire others as well! Her passion for performing drove her to pursue any avenue she could in order to develop and hone her acting craft. She persevered even when her parents initially doubted her ability to succeed as an actress. Her “just do it” attitude was instrumental in giving her the motivation to become a professional performer, especially in the face of uncertainty and hardship.
In our final interview segment together, Stephanie shares with us in detail what she’s learned from being a producer and voice director for animation and video game projects. Because she has worked both in front of and behind the microphone, Stephanie has a unique perspective on what actors can do to make themselves appealing to producers and directors. She also talks about some pitfalls to avoid when trying to market yourself as an actor. Listen carefully! Stephanie possesses a wealth of important information!
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- Follow this link to the Voice Acting Mastery Podcast in iTunes. Your browser should open up to a page listing the podcast.
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in order to view the podcast in iTunes. (NOTE: You must have iTunes installed on your computer for this to work) - Click on “Ratings and Reviews”
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Thanks for listening!
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #111 Here (MP3)
Great interview! I definitely appreciate a more practical approach. It’s not that I have everyone doubting me, it’s just difficult to do a lot in South Texas with no money.
Remember, “Do the thing!”
Thanks to you and Stephanie for all your time and wisdom.
Glad you enjoyed my time with Stephanie. It can be difficult to pursue animation if you’re not in a city that has animation studios, but there are still voice over related skills you can work on no matter where you are. Hopefully you’re finding ways to work on your skills. I wish you the best.
Fantastic Interview!
She definitely had great stories! Also that drive to succeed and the “balls” to just do it was really motivating. Since part 1 Stephanie inspired me to show that kind of determination in my craft and anything I am working on. Especially when she talks about her parents and how that she got over that really helped as well.
I am really grateful!
Thanks Stephanie and Crispin for the Interview
Ian Pabito
I’m always blown away by Stephanie’s tenacity and resourcefulness. She should be an inspiration to us all! I’m glad you found her story inspiring! Thanks for listening!
That was a really fantastic interview. Thanks so much to Stephanie for everything.
The thing that struck me is the fact that Stephanie drew the business aspect to the job. I knew previously that you are your business, and you have to continue to get work to turn a profit. Though I never thought of the “continuous improvement” part of it. And to think I took a Business class in university… guess I still have a lot of learning to do.
Thank you for the podcast interview as always, and can’t wait for the next one!
~ Kalyn
So glad you enjoyed it! It is true that if you can get mastery of certain business concepts and mindsets that they will help you immensely as you go forward with your voice acting career. As in most things, if you’re not growing, you’re dying. That’s especially true in the highly competitive environment of the entertainment industry. It’s fun to always be learning though!
I loved this interview series, you two sounded like you were having more than usual amount of fun, in turn it was very fun to listen to. ^^ I’ve a question. A voice actor officially narrated two of my favorite books (and might do the third of the trilogy) and has done a really poor job of it. He’s completely misinterpreted the characters and his range of acting does not lend itself to the story and authors work at all.
So the meat of my question, is it illegal for me to hire a voice actor to re-narrate my favorite books?
Hello Crispin Freeman,
I love listening to your podcasts and find every interview very inspiring. I have just started in developing my acting skills for a couple of months now through classes in LA. I have a few questions and am eager to listen to your response. I am very interested in taking an intro course in Voice over as well as improv classes in LA in order to prepare myself in starting voice over. However, my acting skills, as they are now, are amateurish and not believable at best, but I do enjoy the experience in learning and find the challenge exhilarating.
Should I continue learning and developing my basic acting skills before trying to take on improv and intro voice over courses? Or can I jump straight into improv and intro voice over courses and develop my skills there? Also, is there a subtle difference between acting in films vs theatre? Which art of acting would best be suited for preparation into entering voice-over?
I thank you for your time and response and Hope you have a wonderful day.
Thank you for the wonderful interview.
In response to the topic of running your voice over career as a small business, would you have to apply for permits to practice voice over, like for example a business license?
Also, what benefits do you see in regards of being on both sides of the glass? Are there specific things you find you gain from the experience that help you improve yourself creatively?
If this has been answered in a previous podcast, apologies. I just got subscribed for the newsletter. It is great. Thanks.
Any advice I give you about business permits is a suggestion only and should not be considered legal advice. Make sure to consult a lawyer and an accountant for actual legal and tax advice. That disclaimer out of the way, in my experience you do not necessarily have to apply for business permits as long as you don’t incorporate as a business. If you work as an employee or an independent contractor, you need not get a business license. However, if you decide to incorporate and create a business entity for your voice over work, then you’ll have to abide by the laws of your jurisdiction and most likely get a business license. But make sure to check with local experts in your area to make sure.
I think it’s incredibly helpful to be on the producer side of the glass because it helps you learn how producers think. That means that you can tailor your marketing and your business practices to appeal to producers more which improves your chances of getting hired. After hearing Stephanie talk, what do you think is the advantage of spending time on both sides of the glass?
Hi Crispin I just became really inspired to become a voice actor and I’ve started to listen to your podcast and practice acting. I just wanted to ask real quick about the microphones to buy. I just want one right now to practice using my voice and to get good sound clips so I was thinking about getting the blue yeti but one of my friends recommended that I should just get the Samson Meteor instead if I’m just going to use a mic for practice. Any help solving this issue would be greatly appreciated and I thank you for your time!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the podcast!
Both the Yeti and the Samson are what I’d like to call starter microphones. I haven’t done a side by side comparison of the Yeti and the Samson. You might want to search on YouTube and see if you can find any. But if you’re using the microphone as basically a practice mic, I don’t think you can go wrong with either. I wouldn’t use either of them for actual paying gigs though. You’ll definitely have to upgrade to a better system to do that.
I hope that helps some.
Yea that helps a lot! I looked up some comparison videos and everyone said the extra quality made the price of the Blue Yeti worth it so I’ll go with that. I don’t plan on doing any gigs for a while because I’m still in my second year of college in Illinois so I don’t think they’re any gigs around here haha. Thank you so much for your help!