Books and stuff

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Taking Steps to Become a VO Actor

Here's some of the stuff I have done or am doing to move forward as a voice actor.

OK, I took a class with Pamela Lewis Pamela Lewis for Cartoon Character / ADR in 2005. She's the author of Talking Funny for Money : An Introduction to the Cartoon/Character/Looping Area of Voice-Overs. I highly recommend her book and class if Cartoon Character work is of interest to you. I also have taken the cartoon/character intensive class at the Edge studio with Paul Liberti which was very good. I am currently taking the Advanced Voiceovers class at Actor's Connection with J.J. Adler which starts ends week.

Harlan Hogan has some fantastic information regarding VO coaches on his site.

Some of the people on this list that have been recommended to me are Joan Baker Author of Secrets of Voice-Over Success: Top Voice-Over Actors Reveal How They Did It (which I am currently reading) , Wendy Dillon and of course, the Edge Studio.

Harlan also has a fantastic list of books that you may want to take a look at. The books written by him are really great and very funny. I highly recommend Pamela Lewis' book which I mentioned above, and The Art of Voice Acting, The Craft and Business of Performing for Voice-Over by James R. Alburger. You can take a look at my list of books a couple of posts down from this one.

There is a wonderful message board called the VO-BB which is run by a professional VO people and has many, many full-time professional voiceover people on board who love to share tips, information and bust each others chops. It's a great group of people that you should get to know.

There is an acting podcast you should listen to created by Darbi Worley and Roz Coleman at EverythingActingPodcast.com where they interview people from all areas of the entertainment business including voiceover casting people and actors. In Episode 22 bonus is an they interview with Joan Baker, In episode 18 they interview Johnna Gottlieb, a VO coach and consultant, In episode 6 they interview J.J. Adler, an agent at Abrams Artists and VO teacher. This is all great stuff too.

I hope the information I've provided is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any additional help and good luck!

Masterful Minimalist Acting

I've just come from seeing a most amazing film called "The Lives of Others". The film is in German with English sub-titles but that does not take away from the dramatic impact of this piece at all. This film has no shootouts, no wild chases and no explosions but kept me completely engrossed for the entire 137 minutes.

I was absolutely blown away by Ulrich Mühe who plays the role of Captain Wiesler, a state interrogator, teacher and surveillance expert. Watching this gifted actor's performance is truly an education. To witness the character arc as he goes from loyal Police Captain to what is essentially a disloyal criminal of the state, is an incredible minimalist masterpiece. Every emotion, every nuance, comes across on his face and that is were the all the magic happens. One reviewer said "it's like watching someone being born".

OK, it's not really voiceover related, but I highly recommend this movie for any serious student of film acting. You will definitely learn something watching this man perform.

Pay to Play

So I've enrolled in an "Advanced Voiceover Class" at the Actor's Connection with J.J. Adler who is also an agent at Abrams Associates. I am really looking forward to it.

The class was recommended to me by Darbi Worley of EverythingActingPodcast.com. I have to tell you, if you haven't heard of this Podcast, you are missing something good brudda! Darbi and Roz Coleman do a fantastic job of enlightening us on the ins and outs of the acting profession. They interview actors, directors, casting people, voiceover people and many other people in the industry, who share their stories candidly and entertainingly. I highly (is that too many "ly" words in a row?) recommend you crank up your iTunes, go to the iTunes store and do a search on "Acting". They should come up as the #1 podcast on the subject and with good reason. Subscribe today people, you'll thank me!

Happy Birthday to Me!

So another year has gone by. Born on the Ides of March, I have been doomed to desire a life full of creativity yet have a life full of the mundane. Mortgages, fence repairs, gutter cleaning, dogs and flat tires and car accidents oh my. Yet there is so much creativity in dealing with these mundane things, isn't there? At any rate, this year will be my most creative ever. I've already made that my determination. I WILL make this year my most creative ever, no matter what! There, I've said it. I've asked. I will believe. I will receive.

Academy Awards Recap

My thoughts about The Oscars.

Don LaFontaine did a great job as one of the Live Announcers. Kudos to Don!

Ellen Degeneres as the host - I love Ellen. I don't care what anybody says, I love Ellen. Is she the funniest person on earth? Maybe not, but I love Ellen.

Best Motion Picture: "The Departed" - Not my favorite picture but still a really great film. The end of the movie was a bit of a letdown for most of the people who I've spoken with but the consensus, a great film! I was rooting for Babel.

Lead Actor: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland" - Forrest Whitaker is one of my heroes. Here is a guy who is not classically handsome, not thin, not this, that or the other, yet here he is, one of our most respected and talented actors. I love this dude! One of my goals is to work with Forest someday. In a way though, I was really rooting for Peter O'Toole since I don't know if he'll ever get another nomination and I'm pretty sure Forest will.

Lead Actress: Helen Mirren, "The Queen" - I didn't see this film but I love Helen Mirren. Early in the show there was a song done by Jack Black, John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell where they made reference to Helen Mirren being "hot"! I must agree. For a more "mature" actress, Helen is a real hottie and I mean that in the best possible way. I really loved Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada" and Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal".

Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine" - I have been a fan of Alan Arkin's since "The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming" in 1967 (for which he also won an Oscar!) and one of my all time favorites, "Popi" in 1969 (I was 7 when I saw that movie and I still remember loving it!). What an amazing actor and another of my heroes!

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls" - Jennifer is the embodiment of what can happen when we move courageously in the direction of our dreams. I am so happy for her though I think that Cate Blanchett was amazing in "Notes on a Scandal", Jennifer did an amazing job for a rookie actress in this role. I wish her much success in the future.

Directing: Martin Scorsese, "The Departed" - What can anyone say about Martin Scorsese? The man is a bona fide genius and I really can't wait to work with him someday.

Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan, "The Departed" - Best Picture should have the best screenplay, no?

Original Screenplay: Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine" - I heard an interview with the screenwriters of this film on the Creative Screenwriting Podcast. My wife and I really loved this movie and I'm glad they won.

Animated Feature Film: "Happy Feet" - Loved it, but I also loved Cars and Monster House. I love animated features. I can't wait to work to do voice-work on some of them!

Art Direction: "Pan's Labyrinth"
Cinematography: "Pan's Labyrinth"- I really liked this movie a lot. It was rather dark, but an amazing film.

The rest of the categories went to well-deserved winners as well. Overall I thought it was a great show.

I'm glad I got it on Tivo and I'm glad that we had the forsight to record the two programs scheduled after the Awards so I was able to see it all, commercial free! Don't you just love technology!

Guilty Pleasures

Someone asked a question on another forum and I thought I'd like to share my response here.

Question: I just don’t get it! WHAT is the big fascination with American Idol?? Has TV gotten so bad that THIS is what passes for entertainment? Can someone please explain why this show is such a phenomenon??

American Idol is the number one show in the U.S. because it is a show about dreams. Young people working as clerks, laborers, bank tellers, waitresses or burger flippers, can step up and make a grab for the brass ring. We watch this process and we root for those people because we secretly wish that we had the balls to do it ourselves. And when someone wins, we are thrilled because it reinforces in us the conviction that dreams really can come true.

Ultimately, the people who have won American Idol (and many who didn't win) have had their lives changed forever! Kelly Clarkson was a cocktail waitress and now she is a multi-platinum recording, grammy winning superstar! Reuben Studdard was a college student in Alabama and now has had a number one album and a number one single. Fantasia Barrino went from an illiterate single mother to the star of "The Color Purple" on Broadway. Carrie Underwood's first album went 5 times platinum and she won the Best Female Vocalist award at the 2006 CMAs and Best Breakthrough Artist at the 2006 American Music awards. Taylor Hicks was a second rate performer in small venues in the South and now he's had a number one single and his star continues to rise. Clay Aiken (who didn't even win!) was nerdy special-ed teacher, now he's a star.

Why are we fascinated with American Idol? Because if it can happen for these people, these nobodies from nowhere, then it can still happen for us. It shows us that dreams can and do, still come true. And that's what we all want, isn't it? Isn't that why we are all here chasing our own dreams?

More Turkish

The people at EBRU TV have been keeping me busy. My friend and director Tom Wayland has booked me for another 10 hours of work next week! Keep the VO work coming guys! I love it!

Soap Star

So I booked a soap opera gig with EBRU TV, a Turkish TV company where I've been doing ADR work for over a year now. They hired a new director for this new prison drama soap opera. He auditioned me during a session for another show and hired me as one of the series regulars. HOO HAAA!!

While they don't pay what American TV companies pay, it's still pretty sweet to be a working professional voiceover actor, which is extremely cool and great experience.

Now if I can get some of that American work, things would really start swinging!

THE Event for voiceover people

Just wanted to let you guys know, in case you haven't already heard, that there is going to be a conference in Las Vegas during the last week of March and if you are involved in voiceovers in any way, you will want to be at this event. It's the Voiceover International Creative Experience (V.O.I.C.E.) . This will be the first of what promises to be an important annual event for us all. For more information, visit their site at http://voice-international.com/

How do I Become a Voiceover Actor?

I was listening to Episode 3 of Avi Melman's Voice-Over podcast. By the way, if you don't already subscribe to this podcast, you should. Great stuff. Anyway, the guest, Rikki Simons mentioned that his friend Crispin Freeman has a great article on how to become a voiceover actor on his site so I thought I'd share the article with you so here it is.

How do I Become a Voiceover Actor?

It's going to be a very good year!

So far, my 2007 has been great vo-wise. Here's an update.

Yesterday I auditioned for Coca-Cola to do a voice for a Mexican penguin who works inside a Coke machine! I had to do a Cheech and Chong type Mexican character for the piece. Keep your fingers crossed.

Earlier this month I booked a narration for a DVD Extra on the upcoming release of "Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea" being released this April. I also got to do a character for one of the DVD shorts, "Pikachu's Mysterious Island" where I played the voice of Exploud. I basically had to yell "EEEEXXXXXXPLLOOOOOOUUUUUUUDDDDD" several times, but it was fun. Actually quite a bit more challenging than I would have thought.

I also continue to work regularly for my Turkish ADR clients. It was my director on the Turkish spots that got me the Pokemon job. It pays to network and it's nice to be nice!

Well, so far my year has begun with a bang. I'm hoping to keep the energy flowing in the right direction and I hope you all will do the same!

Booked one!

I just booked a job for Pokemon. No, I am not going to be one of the little creatures. I am doing a narration for one of the DVD Extras about the making of the movie. It's a nice gig and another step along the path to Voiceover greatness!

Merry Christmas

This year I've had a lot to give thanks for. My life and career continue to move forward and I hope that yours has too. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year!

Playing games.

My friend Dave Gilbert of of Wadjet Eye Games is an up and coming independent game developer. He asked me to voice the part of Dr. Quentin in his latest game The Blackwell Legacy. Before that, I voiced the part of Rabbi Zelig in his earlier game The Shivah. You should check out his site and try out the games. Big fun is guaranteed!

Studio 60 Picked up!

Good news! Studio 60 has been picked up for at least a full season. Someone at the studio must have recognized that the show deserves a shot. NBC took a big chance on The Office and it paid off for them big time. I hope Studio 60 wins the audience it deserves.

Save Studio 60

Dear Friends,

This is a bit off topic but . . .

Studio 60 is in danger of getting canceled by NBC. Sign this petition and tell NBC to keep Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip!

It's a genuinely good show. The writing is smart and compelling. It deserves a shot.

http://studio60.bluestatedigital.com/page/petition/main/kvigc

Thanks!

New Podcast for VO Guys (and Gals)!

Hey folks! There is a cool new podcast targeting those of us who dream of being voiceover gods and godesses. Avi Melman is the host and you can find the podcast here. The first episode features an interview with Steve Staley who has extensive cartoon credits. I gave it a listen and it was good people, real good! I'm looking forward to upcoming episodes.

Being a plant

I am in the Brook Arts Center's current production of The Little Shop of Horrors. I play the voice of the Audrey II (The Plant). While it is live theater, in reality it is a voiceover gig. I am acting, I am alone in a room and I am reading the role into a microphone. OK, I'm not alone. The lighting guy is in there with me. OK, his wife is there too. But I am still the only Actor in the room! Anyway, it's been fun. The show ends November 12th. If any of you are in the Bound Brook, NJ area, please stop in and enjoy the show. Stay afterwards and say hi and let me know you read about the show in my blog. For more information about the show, go to www.brookarts.org

See ya!

How to get started in Voiceovers

Well, I am still exploring this question myself. I found a very interesting perspective on this question here at Dave Houston's Blog. Eventually, when I am rich and famous, I will compose an amazingly pithy and interesting answer to this question myself. In the meantime, I will share the resources I find with you so we can learn together!