Voice Acting

Voice Over and Recording from Home

February 13, 2017 by MaryMorgan

Do you record at home in a small closet or room, buy a whisper room, build a home studio from scratch, or invest in a booth?

I’ve recorded in all kinds of spaces at my house and in professional studios, but these days you MUST be able to primarily record at home. No excuses, no exceptions. There’s no need to spend thousands of dollars; however, that can also depend on your location and outside environment. If you live in a nice quiet suburb, then a good closet space will do fine. But if you’re able to hear a 60 Hz hum in the walls from electricity, planes flying over your house or leaf blowers and lawn mowers every other day, you’ll need to find ways to work around them. [Read more…] about Voice Over and Recording from Home

Voice Over Classes, Workshops, Webinars, oh my!

February 7, 2017 by MaryMorgan

Now that I have your attention here’s a warning! There are lots of questions that need answering. Still want to venture forth? Good! You’re very brave. Here we go!

How badly do you want to be a voice over? Like, really how badly? Quite a bit? A lot? Really? Great, now what are you prepared to do to make it happen?

The above questions are for you to answer. Over the next few weeks I’ll post questions with my answers so that you can determine if they’re of any help in where you want to be as a voice over.

Ready to begin? Alrighty then!

-Do you train with just a few people or with lots of people?

Whether you work with 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 10 coaches in voice over, you’ll never learn all you need to know. Why? Because as I type this and as you read this the business is changing rapidly. Think about it. Decades ago (in no particular order) there were announcements, then came advertisements, then came promos, then came jingles, then came animations, then came audiobooks, then came movie trailers, then came ADR (automated dialogue replacement), see where this is going? And to add on what we have already there are also medical narrations, on-hold messages, industrials, corporate narrations, museum tours, video games, toys, award show announcers, e-learning, translations, motion capture and now virtual reality is on the rise.

So with all that said, you need to find your niche. You might be great at commercials but not comfortable with animation. You might be terrible at medical narrations but terrific with promos. Audiobooks might be too much for you to handle, yet you can rock the house with video games.

But how, you ask, do you find out? Take workshops!

As I’ve said quite a few times, if you have a computer with internet then you have no excuses not to work with others in VO. The only downside is that they do cost money, some much more than others. You also have to do some research because a person may claim expertise in something but not have nothing to show for it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen continuing education classes at colleges taught by supposed experts yet find nothing about them on the internet: No website, no LinkedIn page, no IMDb page, not even a mention in forums or message boards. But in the bio of the course taught they’ve been a VO talent for 20 years doing commercials, narrations, video games, etc.

Here’s something I do when anyone claimed to work in cartoons or video games. I search the Internet Movie Database.

For example, look at Dave Fennoy, who teaches video game voice acting workshops. http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0271965/?ref=m_nv_sr_1

Or Pat Fraley who teaches animation and audiobook voice over workshops. http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0289710/?ref=m_nv_sr_1

Or Bob Bergen, who was the first true VO talent I learned from. http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0074036/

Now unfortunately not all animation voice over talent have IMDb pages, but they have experience and knowledge with companies like Nickelodeon, Disney, and others. Lisa Biggs for example is a phenomenal voice actress with 20 years of experience. I know Lisa and always recommend her. Sadly I can’t find an IMDb page for her. But if you visit her top-notch website you’ll hear amazing demos, see video clips of various jobs and toys that she’s voiced! You can ask if anyone knows Lisa Biggs in a number of voice over groups and discover that she’s not only well known but widely respected and incredibly generous. http://lisabiggs.com/

If you’re drawn to the world of commercials you still want to work with more than one person. Why? Because you still need to find out what kinds of commercials work for you. Always use your natural voice for commercials unless the client is looking for character voices (talking tomatoes, talking pets, etc.). If your voice is young you probably won’t book many ads about banks, real estate, or automotive spots; however, you might have luck with ads for cosmetics, restaurants, fashion, or vacation packages. If your voice is older or deeper you can do sultry ads for perfumes, authoritative commercials on serious subjects, pet foods, cleaning products, wine or beer products. Get the idea?

Can you talk for hours without sounding tired or damaging your vocal chords? Then try audiobooks or narrations. The hours are long and sometimes deadlines are short, but lots of people make good money recording audiobooks and it continues to be a market in high demand. But what genres fit your voice? Mystery? Science fiction? Fantasy? Horror? True Crime? Romance? YA? Children’s books? Non-Fiction? Erotica?

Can you sound like a young and energetic little boy or girl? A hyperactive robot? A bitter old woman? A sarcastic villain? A magic creature from folklore? A foreigner from a little-known country with a bizarre accent? Then you might have a place in the world of animation, anime and video games. But keep in mind all the above as just a few examples of what you might be expected to do just for one show. These days voice actors are expected to voice at least 3 different characters for a single game or show. And they must not sound similar!

Nancy Cartwright is famous as the voice of Bart Simpson, but look on her IMDb page and see the other voices she created for the show during the 27 years it’s been airing on T.V.! http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004813/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

What about Trey Parker and Matt Stone who created South Park? http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0121955/fullcredits/cast?ref_=m_tt_cl_sc

Browse Tara Strong’s list of credits and see how many shows she had to provide more than one character voice for: http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0152839/filmotype/actress?ref_=m_nmfm_1

This blog post could go on and on. Yet I imagine the info mentioned thus far is already taking its toll on your brain. You don’t have to be good with all voice over markets, but the more you can add to your repertoire, the more likely you’ll attract work and opportunities.

So after everything I said above, what do you think? Should you train with just a few VO coaches or as many as you can?

I’ve worked with LOTS of people. And I’ll probably work with more, because I never want to stop learning.

Here’s a list of people I’ve trained with as well as what I learned from them and a list of people I have not worked with but whom I trust in what they teach.

People I’ve trained with and highly recommend:

Lisa Biggs: Animation, kids voices, voice over for toys

Pat Fraley: Animation and Audiobooks

Bob Bergen: Animation

Mary Lynn Wissner: Commercials

Bill Holmes: Commercials

Everett Oliver: Animation

Marc Cashman: Commercials

Dave Fennoy: Video Games

Ginny McSwain: Video games

Lani Minella: Video games

Richard Horvitz: Animation

Marice Tobias: Commercials and Narrations

MJ Lallo: Animation

Katie Leigh: Animation

Joyce Castellanos: Promos

Ned Lott: ADR Looping

Cliff Zellman: Commercials

People or Places I haven’t trained with (yet!) but still recommend:

Anyone who teaches at Global Voice Acting Academy

Nancy Wolfson – Commercials

Angel Burch – Beginning Voice Overs, Animation, Techniques

Elaine Clark – Narration, Commercials, Video Games

Debi Derryberry – Animation, Commercials

Terri Douglass – ADR Looping

Bill Farmer – Animation, Commercials, Trailers

Marc Graue – Video Games, Trailers, Commercials, Narrations, Promos,

Often the names above will teach workshops across the USA and sometimes abroad. Unfortunately, one or two only work with talent in person. Otherwise, the majority will also teach workshops over Skype, group classes through Zoom or webinars. Take advantage of the opportunity to work with them!

Google their names and see what you find or find them on social media.

Always remember to do your research and follow your instincts!

Think about what you say…

January 22, 2017 by MaryMorgan

The other day a VO talent I’ve known for a few years asked for referrals to agents I work with and agents I know personally. I VERY rarely give referrals because 1. I must be comfortable with you as a talent and as a trustworthy source. 2. I must believe in the potential of what you’re able to do as a voice over (commercial, animation, narration, video games, radio, etc.) and 3. You must have trained or worked with people I know in voice over. [Read more…] about Think about what you say…

Respect Vs. Fame

January 8, 2017 by MaryMorgan

It’s 2017 and I’ve decided to do my very best to add VO related articles to my blog 3-4 times a month, primarily on Sundays.

I encourage readers to subscribe if what I have to share is of value. If not, no worries.

As a kid, I wanted to be famous. I won’t lie. The 1980s was just such a magical time for me when it came to movies and cartoons. I wanted to be part of it all. Then the 1990s came and the magic slowly began to fade. When the 21st Century arrived, it wasn’t about wanting to be famous as much as being part of amazing projects. And as time passed the thought of being famous sounded more like a nightmare.

Every day, the media shows what it’s like when intrusive paparazzi stalks well-known actors, YouTube stars, and even their children! Anything they say, anything they do, anywhere they go and anything they wear in public is judged. They’re on display like animals in a zoo, and why? Because they appear on a screen for the entertainment of others. That’s fame today. And the viewers who idolize and obsess over them are forgetting there’s more to life than illusions. This can happen in voice over too. Sooner or later people want to know what the person behind the voice looks like, how they talk in real life when they’re not in character, or if they can talk to them in person at a convention. The latter is what I hear about the most. And when I meet young people who tell me why they want to “get into” voice over, that’s one of the top reasons. They never talk about committing time to acting classes, performing in theatre, reading out loud every day to improve their speech, attending VO workshops or participating in improvisation workshops, or networking with experienced VO talent. They want to be the next “so-and-so”. They want fans clamoring to take their picture or asking for autographs. They want to make LOTS of money and fly all over the world attending conventions to feed their egos.

I know more than enough voice actors who enjoy the fame that comes with the work. I however, don’t have a legion of fans, but I do have lots of friends in the entertainment industry as well as lots of colleagues, a great client list, working relationships with creative people — hardworking agents doing all they can to help me – – and a great deal of support from admirers inside and outside my family. Everything mentioned above is what I value far more than fame. It’s respect.

Fame doesn’t make you a great voice over. It doesn’t guarantee more work. It can eat away at the soul, turn people sour against you, and in the end, isolate you from all that’s been good in your life. A handful of people in the world understand how to treat fame with humility. You only need to watch YouTube, or visit celebrity gossip sites to see how the rest handle it.

If you want to be a voice over, ask yourself why. Is it to achieve fame and fortune or respect and creative employment?

If it’s the later you must work hard at your craft, listen to professional wisdom, take criticism whether it be positive or negative, practice daily, network, keep up with changes in the industry, have patience when things don’t go your way, and appreciate others whether they help you or not.

If it’s the former, then nothing I can say in this blog will help you. Just google “How to be Famous” and see what comes up.

Video Game Voice Acting with Dave Fennoy

August 25, 2015 by MaryMorgan

The world of voice over is growing in ways that can’t be calculated. Think about the markets. For example: Commercials, industrials, corporate videos, Internet videos, animation, anime, narrations, audio books, announcers, theme park rides, political endorsements, toys, video games, and as technology progresses, imagine how much longer the list will grow.

Now look at sub-genres of a market like video games: First-person shooters, role-playing games, point-and-click adventure, tower defense, interactive movie, survival horror, MMO (massive multiplayer online), just to name a mere few.

As video games continue to expand, again — thanks to technology — voice over talent must follow with what’s current. Reading lines isn’t enough anymore, because believability is in high demand. For those wanting to pursue voice over in video games it helps to learn from someone steadily working in them such as Dave Fennoy (http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0271965/).

Mr. Fennoy took time out of his busy schedule to travel to Dallas, Texas, and share his incredible wealth of knowledge in voicing video games, and the results were nothing less than impressive.

For example, when reading an audition, it helps to read the character bio if it’s provided. However, for times when one isn’t available, the imagination becomes a most important tool.

Ask yourself these six questions:

-Who, What, When, Where, Why and How?

Depending on what’s in the script, you might need to get more technical with the questions:

-Who am I? What am I doing? Where am I? When am I doing it? Why am I doing it? How did I get here?

Now consider answering those questions. If little to no background of the game or the character is supplied then create them.

Who am I? Leesa, a dinosaur expert and time travel hobbyist in my late 20s.

What am I doing? Protecting a group of travelers from man-eating beasts.

Where am I? A prehistoric jungle.

When am I doing it? Right here, right now.

Why am I doing it? A. Something went wrong and I’m responsible for everyone, B. It’s all about survival, I want to get back with or without the others, C. maybe both.

How did I get here? A time machine malfunctioned at a science convention sending me and a couple of unfortunate participants back to the Jurassic Period.

Although the information above probably isn’t in the script, it helps establish a character and a driven purpose for him/her being in the game. The more detailed backgrounds developed the more you train yourself to be creative with the mind when looking at a new script.

Beginners, intermediates and experts took away valuable insight from Mr. Fennoy’s workshop that will undoubtedly help them as they progress in their careers. The energy and encouragement shared by all over the course of two days proved to be an invigorating experience worthy of recommendation.

Please note the information above is only the tip of the iceberg. To learn more visit Dave Fennoy’s website to see if he’ll be in your city/state anytime soon!

http://www.voforgaming.com

Look for more posts on topics like voice over, food, art, music, writing, travel, animals and other forms of awesomeness regarding the world we live in!

Mary Morgan

Voice Over and Recording from Home

Respect Vs. Fame

Video Game Voice Acting with Dave Fennoy

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