Mary Morgan
Actress
http://www.letmarysayit.com/

Voice Over for Animation

HOW DID I GET INTO VOICE ACTING?

As a child through my late teens I longed to be a movie star and nothing else. I performed in a few plays, and took acting and singing lessons outside of school. Around the age of fourteen during the summer I volunteered at a local library to perform puppet shows for kids. The volunteer coordinator was one of the first people in my life to recommend looking into voiceovers. But I was set on a career in film and TV. As I got older, I took more acting classes with multiple teachers and almost all of them suggested I consider voiceovers. For years I ignored their advice and eventually pursued an experience living in Los Angeles. Over there, the people I met in the business and trained with also told me to try voiceovers. After nine months in LA I gave up acting and returned home. But the travel bug bit me and I found myself spending a year in New Zealand attending a very small drama program. Can you guess what the teachers told me by the end of the year? Yup. They advised me to try the voiceover industry. So when I got home in 2003 I gave in and took a voiceover class I found in Dallas. The story goes on quite a bit from there, but that’s what led me into VO acting.

The Billion Dollar question: HOW CAN YOU BECOME A VOICE ACTOR? 

I’ve made friends with many, many, many wonderful folks in the business and like countless others I asked them the very same question. Each one of them gave me a different answer.

Voiceover is terrific, great fun but the one thing people need to consider at all times is that it is a very competitive industry. There are risks, and they do not guarantee rewards. For some actors it happens quickly, for some it takes a little longer and for the rest, a lot longer. The essentials to make a career successful are passion, determination, practice, money, time, and pure luck.

Having the ability to change your tone of voice or doing silly voices doesn’t make you a voice actor. It’s the acting that matters most.

You might have the ability to imitate Robin Williams or Homer Simpson but can you maintain a performance, exhibit a convincing range of emotions, and take direction?  You have to be able to breathe life into a character, and convey his/her story, with not just your voice, but your body too. Only a handful of people in the industry have a thousand voices at their disposal.

The majority of voice actors use their natural voice, and make a nice living recording commercials, narrations, radio announcements, and promos for movies and TV shows.  Those who have more versatility and vocal range are heard in cartoons, anime, and video games.

Anime/cartoon projects are plentiful depending where you are, but they are not the largest part of voiceovers.  Eventually, you will HAVE to live in a major city if you wish to nurture a career.  It doesn’t make any financial sense to you or a studio to have you fly/drive long distances.  This causes delays in production.  In the end, why would a studio cast someone who lives five states away, when there is already a vast amount of talent locally available to them?

In the anime English dubbing industry there are studios in Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Thousands of anime fans want to dub anime shows but believe it or not it doesn’t pay a lot.  Most voice actors rely on multiple means of income.  Some have home studio set ups (delivering projects via MP3), day/night jobs, etc.

In animation and video games casting calls are rarely publicized so as to avoid confrontations with obsessive fans. Having an agent or knowing somebody on the inside, such as a current actor, director, or producer is what will most likely get you an audition.

-The first step to breaking into animation voiceover:  getting acting experience.  With theatre classes you’ll learn how to overcome stage fright (which helps if 6-7 people are watching you record in a booth), learn how to act physically with your body and how to project your voice. Lots of video game directors use theatre trained actors. On-camera acting classes help bring out the more natural approach to acting (without Shakespeare and loud drama) which can be good for cartoons and anime shows.

You need to develop these important skills whenever and wherever you can. You don’t have to live in a big city like LA or New York just look online for theatre groups, classes and/or seminars in your area.

-Second make a demo. There are all kinds nowadays. There’s the commercial demo, the narration demo, the audio book demo, the industrial demo, and then our favorites (or mine at least) the animation demo and video game demo.

The length of a demo is roughly 90 seconds of excerpts of different characters in different situations. No two should sound alike. Find what character archetypes best fit your voice (superhero, little girl, tough boy, villain, dark wizard, magical being, etc). The excerpts need to show range (energetic, warm, authoritative, etc).

If you are just starting out you need to construct a demo from scratch.  Use a legit, experienced and well known producer/director to help you on your demo…..someone who knows the trends and types of sounds agents are looking for.

And you need to record at a professional studio, not at home on cheap equipment. Be prepared to spend some serious money and keep in mind that this is an investment in your future career. Visit www.videovoicebank.net for examples. Listen to names under agents in LA like William Morris, CESD, SBV and TGMT. They’re your competition. Can you do what they do and sound believable?

The third thing to do, or at least consider, is building your own home studio. Don’t fret, you don’t need to spend thousands, in fact most studios can be under $500. All you need is a small space (closet or corner of your room with acoustic form on the walls), a good microphone (you can get opinions from others on forums and message boards. Some use cheap brands, others use very expensive brands), then get a recording software that works for you (Soundforge, Adobe Audion, Pro Tools), a preamp (to hook your microphone into), some good speakers and good headphones. That’s it. Some more experienced talent have more advanced tech to their studios, look for pictures online. Many have photos of what their studios look like. With a home studio you can record auditions/jobs for clients around the country.

-The last thing to do is make industry contacts.  Join groups. Network, meet and mingle with others.  Many are more than happy to swap a business card and correspond to emails.

The subject of voiceover coaches is tricky. Some are terrific, some are good and some might be experienced but not honest or up to date with the industry. In Texas, there are no VO teachers who specialize in animation and video games. If there are, I have yet to find them. I personally believe the best animation voiceover coaches are in Los Angeles. That’s where the majority of work is: Nickelodeon, Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks Animation, and those are just a couple.

I always do immense research on a coach before considering a workshop with them. Do they have an imdb.com page with known projects? Are the names on their testimonials page people I’ve heard of or met? What do their demos sound like? What makes them experts in the field?

For example, if a coach says they’ve voiced video games, and cartoons but have no credits to back up their claim I know he/she doesn’t have a clue what they’re teaching. And in the early beginning my voiceover education I put my trust in one of those false teachers. He/she did have knowledge and experience but from a long time ago. This person claims to still be active in voiceovers but primarily makes a living teaching workshops, private lessons and convincing beginners to let her produce their first demo, which is VERY wrong.

And as since the voiceover industry changes everyday, literally, you want to take a class with someone who is up to date at all times.

To pursue a career in animation and video games you almost always should have a talent agent. There are a small amount of people who have been successful booking this kind of work on their own. But if you want work that pays more and will be seen by more, then consider working with an agent.

Agents are most helpful because they have access to legit auditions, negotiate contracts, and help to market you.  Having an agent to facilitate this process is standard business practice. It’s wise to get a talent agent but hard at the same time. Almost all agents won’t consider brand new voice actors without a brilliant demo and a strong industry referral. So get a demo made and use it to build your resume. Volunteering for low budget projects, short films, college films or try a pay to play site and see if it works for you. After you have a few credits on your resume then you have something to show an agent.

Agents spend most of their time trying to book work for their current actors, so unless you’re able to really grab their attention, your demo runs the risk of not even being heard at all.

But don’t rely on your agent alone to get work. You have to do your part too. Market yourself online with a website, join forums, and get advice from other voice talent. Unlike the movie actors voiceover actors are supportive of one another.

You’ll need to always strive to improve your craft through more acting classes.  Clients tend to use their favorites over and over, and if you’re new, you’ll have to work hard to be noticed and be given a fair shot.  In a major city such as Los Angeles, most of the work is union, requiring the talent to join SAG (even for cartoons and video games) and AFTRA (radio/TV commercials/Promos).

You WILL go through A LOT of frustration, and failure. We all do. A thick skin is required.  The way to succeed is to NEVER give up, no matter how long it takes.

BORROWED ADVICE FROM AN ANIME EXPERT:

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANIME AND CARTOON ACTING? By Kyle Hebert

Anime that is dubbed into another language is animated first. Later the audio is recorded.  Actors are recorded one at a time in a sound booth.  Since they have to focus on so much during the dubbing of a scene, this makes it easier to edit.  A distinct advantage to anime dubbing is that the actor sees the final product.  Seeing your character on screen can greatly enhance one’s performance.  A disadvantage is that one’s performance can be limited by the timing of the mouth flaps.  It also doesn’t pay very well.  Most anime work is non union.  This means the pay rate fluctuates and tends to be less than union rates (though union rate isn’t much better).  With domestic animation, the audio is recorded first (this is called pre-lay).  All the actors in a scene are gathered in a session, at multiple microphones.  Sometimes the characters interact, other times the director will record lines from characters individually.  A big advantage to this “pre-lay” system is getting to record with the other actors in a scene and play off each other.  The animators craft the scene based on their takes, which gives the actors a much freer forum for performance.  The standard union pay rate for an animation voiceover session is about 700 dollars.  With some cartoon projects, the actor stands to make residuals, which is where a royalty check is mailed based on how many units are sold or how many times a show airs (true of most union voiceover projects in general).  The disadvantage is the long waiting time to see everything put together.  The animation comes afterward, usually done overseas, and isn’t seen for months.  Over time, the actors might be called back in to re-record lines as the script might evolve.

HOW DOES ANIME DUBBING WORK? By Kyle Hebert

Different studios use different methods, but in Los Angeles, the “3 beep” method is most common.  The actor is in an isolated booth wearing headphones.  In front, is a music stand (for the script) and a TV monitor.  Each line is recorded individually (the footage is timecoded to synch up with the recording equipment and for script reference).  The actor hears 3 beeps, and where the fourth beep would be, the actor begins their line.  In my experience, the actors preview the line in Japanese first to get an idea of the pacing of the mouth flaps, and for the emotional context of the script.  The actors see the script and footage for the first time in their session.  The director studies the episodes and scripts in advance.  So it’s up to the director to convey plot points and motives, and to guide the performance on each take.  The actor has to master the technical skill of matching mouth flaps, maintaining a character voice, act, and taking direction.

COAHCES I’VE TRAINED WITH:

Voiceover: Bruce Carey (commercial), Bob Bergen (animation), Joyce Castellanos (promos), Deb Munro (narration), Julie Williams (commercial), Lani Minella (video games), MJ Lallo (animation), Bill Holmes (commercial)

ADR Looping: John Swasey, ADV Films, Ned Lott

MY VOICE ACTING EXPERIENCE THUS FAR:

• Voice of female lead in The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile for XBLA
• Voice announcer for Zhu Zhu Pets! Nintendo DS
• Voice of Peanut the Elephant in The GiggleBellies Musical Adventure
• More than 30 Anime Titles with FUNimation Entertainment and Okratron 5000
• Word announcer for iphone game
  "Toddler Tap: People!" by Portegno Apps
• Word announcer for iphone game
  "Toddler Tap: Transportation!" by Portegno Apps
• Word announcer for iphone game
  "Toddler Tap: Colors and Shapes!" by Portegno Apps
• Word announcer for iphone game
  "Toddler Tap: Animals Time!" by Portegno Apps
• 25 Monster Sounds for iphone game
  "Monsters in my Closet" by Portegno Apps
• Voice of Layne Kegler in "Bowlopolis"
• Voice of Surfer Mom and Athlete Baby for the video game "Block Party"
• Voice of Mother for a toy product by Stompbox Creative
• Voice of characters Aaron, Cici, Bernie and Mom for computer game "Nightmare"
• Voice of Mother for student film "Erase"
• Voice of White Queen and Black Queen for animation short film "Checkmate"

www.vo-bb.com
www.voiceuniverse.com
http://voice-overs.com/ - V-ZINE
http://www.voiceoverxtra.com/
www.videovoicebank.net
www.voiceoveresourceguide.com

PAY TO PLAY SITES

• Voices.com
• Voice123
• VO Planet
• Voicehunter
• Commercial Voices.com
• Boldago

DEMOS

• Don’t record and direct yourself from your homemade studio. Sound quality is essential and without someone else directing you (a highly experience professional) chances are you won’t recognize mistakes. Also, music and sound effects are necessary so that it sounds like material from actual shows or movies. To record a dry voice with nothing else can sound very boring, very unconvincing and very unprofessional.
• Don’t use scripts from well known animated movies or shows. Casting directors have sharp ears. You might be able to mimic a character from Toy Story using dialogue from them movie but if the actual casting director of the movie heard it they often think about the original actor they cast and not you. Your own originality is what you must rely on.
• A producer might supply copy (scripts of character archetypes) but your best bet is to browse through comic books and borrow dialogue from them. Make the characters your own and make each one sound different from the other. You have an average of six seconds to keep the listener’s attention, otherwise they’ll move onto to hearing someone.

THE BUSINESS OF VOICEOVERS

WHAT TO DO

• Do be on time when recording in a professional studio, fifteen minutes early at best.
• Do let producers or your agent know if you’re running late (traffic, accidents)
• Do pay attention to all direction given to you in a session
• Do ask questions if something doesn’t make sense, don’t give the director a hard time pretending you understand if you really don’t
• Do bring your own water. Some studios have some for you but not always.
• Do practice a script if the client sends you a copy to work with. If you can look at your script the day before recording READ it and PRACTICE out loud.
• Do always keep training in some way, take ongoing acting lessons, attend workshops, seminars, watch youtube videos, read articles, listen to other demos
• Do market yourself with business cards, postcards, CDs, websites,
• Do network with others at events like Dallas Producers Association and Women in Film, you never know who you might meet
• Do keep up with what’s happening in the industry. So many do not do this.
• Do make friends with other VO talent. Many pass jobs to each other or recommend friends to agents and studios.
• Do keep a positive attitude, it’s a VERY competitive business and everyone goes through ups and downs. Everyone. But if you’re negative, especially around people in the business, people will not want to work with you or recommend you to clients.
• Do research coaches, classes, to see if they’re legit, ask around forums, get REAL opinions, don’t necessarily rely on online testimonials.
• Do listen very carefully to demos. Recognize what sounds real and what sounds fake. A voice actor (even a coach) may say they can sound like a baby, kids, teens, but vocally they’re incapable of sounding authentic. If you can sound like a baby, have it on your demo or be prepared to have a dynamite audition. First impressions really do matter.
• Do take criticism and learn form it

WHAT NOT TO DO

• Don’t stop in the middle of a recording. If you mess up during a recording or audition don’t ask the engineer to stop recording and don’t waste time apologizing, just go back to the beginning of a line or paragraph and start again. Engineers can edit out mistakes.
• Don’t offer suggestions to the director unless you are asked
• Don’t buy books or material from voiceover coaches, there are plenty of resources online (message boards, forums, V-zines) with information that is free
• Don’t let any coach (no matter how reputable) convince you that you’re ready to make demo after 2-3 sessions, especially if you’re a beginner.
• Don’t spend thousands of dollars on a home studio, ask around for advice on good microphones, recording software, speakers, headphones, etc.
• Don’t show up in person to hand studios, agents, or casting directors your demo. Look at their website for rules on submissions (if there are any), then call to see if the company has a casting department or ask who casts the shows/games. Most casting directors prefer a link to your demo from a website rather than an mp3 as they take up space. But keep CDs handy in case they tell you to send your demo by postmail.
• Don’t tell everyone about a project you’ve recorded unless the client is okay with it. Overzealous anime and video game fans will do almost anything to get the gossip on who voiced what character. Wait until the studio makes a cast announcement online or ask them personally if its okay to share news about your latest voiceover job.
• DON’T EXAGGERATE ON YOUR RESUME. People in this business do look up people and places that you list and if its not legit, word will spread super quickly.
• Don’t call studios, agents or casting directors saying someone referred you if it’s not true. You will never be hired, ever!
• Don’t strike up a conversation with another VO actor at an audition in person. If there’s a script for you to look over, read it, study the available information. Afterwards, make friends, but be respectful to those auditioning after you.
• Don’t beg for a job. Ask about upcoming auditions or share news of a recent project (don’t brag) or new voiceover demo, but don’t e-mail clients asking if they have any work.

SAMPLES TO SHOW

-Projects on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYwesyxvF5k&hd=1
(DISHWAHSER VAMPIRE SMILE at very beginning)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycnbx5_VeU0&feature=channel_page
(CHECKMATE – short film at 04:28 or 07:22)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmcSBxFLi3I
LINEBARRELS OF IRON premiere at yulecon)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpZnlTAxdEI
(GIGGLEBLLES sample sound effects here and there)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LSfUoMf6eE

-Article I wrote on a voice character: http://www.charismaplus2.com/magazine/APRIL10/VOVampire.html