VAM 127 | Q & A Session 25 – What Makes a Successful Voice Acting Student?
Welcome to episode 127 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 a question from Jeremiah of Bealton, VA .
Jeremiah knows that I’ve taught a lot of students in my Voice Acting Mastery workshops and he’s curious if noticed any common elements or personality traits among the most successful students that I teach.
Jeremiah’s question is very insightful, and I appreciate him giving me the opportunity to answer it. In fact, I think it’s so important, I’d like to make it the focus of this entire episode.
It’s true that I started teaching voice acting workshops in late 2010 and I’ve worked with hundreds of students since that time. While every student is unique and each has their own journey that they must take in order to improve their voice acting skills, I have observed some patterns. There are common challenges that many students face and I have noticed that certain types of students rise to those challenges while others struggle, become discouraged or give up.
Let me preface any further discussion by saying that I do not claim to know for sure whether every student who attends my classes will succeed as a professional. I don’t think any teacher can truly anticipate that, because there are just too many variables in play. In the end, it’s always up to the student themselves.
That being said, I can share with you the personality traits and psychological attitudes that I believe can give one the best chance of becoming a professional voice actor. Students who adopt these mindsets tend to be the most resilient in the face of adversity and are the most inspired as they pursue their career goals.
In the episode I give Jeremiah and my listeners 3 pieces of advice:
- Pursue voice acting for the right reasons.
- Be willing to take criticism.
- Be resourceful and proactive.
I talk at length about what I mean with these pieces of advice and give concrete examples of the different kinds of students that I encounter. I think you’ll find it very helpful!
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 #127 Here (MP3)
Thank you as always Mr.Freeman. I will be attending voice acting lessons next month so this is invaluable. I will be sure to take your advice to heart.
I’d wish I could say, “Mr Freeman I’ve been the best student. I’ve done everything you’ve said.” But I haven’t been proactive, like at all. I must confess, I’ve barely done anything. I work a full time job and a part time job, so whenever I have free time I just wanna watch Star vs the Forces of Evil and sleep. I just bought a car and all my money is going into that.
Worst part is I’ve hit an artistic roadblock. I keep getting cast in those Sims Machinima dramas on YouTube as the bitter guy who swears a lot. I did an episode where I played a younger version of my character and the comments where surprise that I could be light hearted and believable. Am I really that unbelievable as an actor?
I really wanna get other aspects of my life in order before I hop into the voice acting train full time.
Thank you for your time and wisdom.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any extra questions on me, but I wanted to make sure I took the time to say “Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.”
It was a pleasant surprise in my email box. Thank you so much!