Getting you to think about your voice

Listen to this brilliant clip by Actor/Impressionist Jim Meskimen.

It encapsulates a listening exercise into a nice compact couple of minutes. One person shifting his voice and cadence to replicate many different familiar voices. While what he is doing is fabulous, there simply isn’t a lot of work out there doing other people’s voices, so being an impressionist is not why I want you to listen to this.

Your task is to simply listen and try to understand what makes YOU different.

Voices in this piece:

IAN MCKELLAN
JACK NICHOLSON
GREGORY PECK
STROTHER MARTIN
RICHARD BURTON
WALTER CRONKITE
PETER LORRE
GARRISON KEILLOR
GROUCHO MARX
TOM WAITS
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
JACK LEMMON
GEORGE CLOONEY
MAGGIE SMITH
DAVID LETTERMAN
JOHN MALKOVICH
COLIN FIRTH
ANTONIO BANDERAS
PAUL LYNDE
GEORGE W. BUSH
WALTER BREUNING (world’s oldest man)
PETER O’TOOLE
ARAB MAN
WOODY ALLEN
DAVID HYDE PIERCE
PEE WEE HERMAN
INDIAN MAN
JAMES GANDOLPHINI
HUGO WEAVING
BURGESS MEREDITH
KEVIN SPACEY
JEFF GOLDBLUM
CHRISTOPHE WALTZ
ROBOT
JOE PESCI
MORGAN FREEMAN
ANDY ROONEY
HARRY BELAFONTE
ROBIN WILLIAMS
HENRY FONDA
PAUL HARVEY
ROD SERLING

Homework for Mon, May 13, 2013

Other than your final project – this is the last for credit assignment this semester…please turn it in on Monday, May, 13, 2013

Fill out the last page of your Workbook – the Self-Evaluation. Yes, some of the questions may seem a little snarky, but they are intended to get you to reflect on all the self-evaluation work we did over the semester. You need to know where/if you fit into any area of voiceover work where people pay money for voices. You need to know how you compare to the people who are actually getting the jobs. You need to establish this baseline understanding and evaluate your potential for improvement.

You need to understand that this is a free lance business and whether or not you have the mind set to be an independent business person. So, please think about your answers – and also consider the other areas of this business – other than the voiceover acting – where you might find a better fit.

Extra Credit Has Been Moved to Mon May 6, 2013

Had a session come up during the class break today that I had to zoom out to and did NOT collect the extra credit assignment, so please bring it in on Monday.

 

Final Extra Credit Assignment Due Wed, May 1, 2013

LOOK FOR THE CLUES!

The assignment is on Page 25 of your Workbook. Writers have something in mind when they create a spot. Since they are not always at a recording session, they only have the words and the way they are written on the page to communicate with you. The talent has to interpret the copy as close as possible to the way the writer and/or the producer are hearing it.

Look for the CLUES in the way the spot is written. Writers will underline, italicize, bold, enclose in “quotes”. They will start a new paragraph to indicate a new thought. They will use ellipses to try to communicate what they are hearing in their head. Learn to understand these hidden signals. They can help you understand what is expected, but not always! In this script, do not change any of the words – they are “correct.”

You must also not be locked into these markings. Your job is to find the ”right” read – the read that the producer likes the best. So make sure you understand the spot. Figure out what is REALLY going on. Then use or lose the markings. (Sometimes the writer has underlined the “wrong” words and you have to un-underline them in your head!)

Refer to page 22 for the Written Assignment.

 

Another Extra Credit Assignment due Wed, Apr 24, 2013

Want another point? Then do the assignment on Page 24 of your Workbook. Call Central. The instructions for the written part of the assignment are on Page 22 – as we discussed for the previous assignment.

There will be at least one more opportunity for extra credit coming up.

ATTENTION! Very important lecture/discussion coming up on Wednesday – Marketing. Please be sure you attend this class. Part of your Final Project is to identify some legitimate marketing contacts – 20% of the Final Project in fact.

Wow! Want to do Video Games? Check out this clip!

A big thank you to a former student for sending me to You Tube to check out a couple of videos about the making of BioShock Infinite. This is about the character of Liz who is with the player throughout the game. The clip starts with the voice actress, but also looks at the motion capture actress, the facial model and the animators.

 

Be Ready for Wed, Apr 17, 2013 – Private Meetings

This class is for each of you to meet privately with me to whittle down the 12 selections for potential spots for a commercial demo to 6 to use for the Final Project.

Please have a NEAT grid filled out as described in the assignment. Please also have them sorted so that the 6 spots YOU think offer the most variety are in order.

So, as soon as you get to class, put your name on the board and we will go in that order.