ACTORS
ACTORS
The Actor’s Vocal Gift and the Voiceover Industry
|
|
|||||
|
ACTORS
|
ACTORS
|
||||
|
|
|||||
| Last updated |
|||||
The Actor’s Vocal Gift and the Voiceover Industry |
|
||||
Naturally, the voice is vital to acting. And it stands on its own as a ubiquitous field of endeavor with regard to voice-over acting. But there is also the task for the cultivation of vocal techniques (especially to eliminate, neutralize, or develop accents) that aids an actor in the role of a character, and there is the knowledge, care and training of the vocal instrument, not unlike what a well trained singer experiences, that also becomes part of any complete actor’s regimen of activity to master the craft. This triumvirate of the voice as a resource: exercise and care; the crafting of pronunciation to bring to life an actor’s character; using the voice in its own right to secure work opportunities, intertwined though they may be, is what will be the focus of this section.
In many countries voice and speech can be taught together by the same acting teacher. In the United States, the two are often taught separately and by different specialists. For young actors that are confused by the differences between voice and speech work, voice training primarily deals with the production of vocal tone -- the range, openness, expressiveness, and flexibility of the actor’s voice. Speech training concentrates on articulation, dialect and scansion. Stemming from a general field where there are many schools of thought put forth by varied instructors, expect overlap. Both often incorporate breathing, physical relaxation, and emotional work. And both kinds of training are equally important to the actor.
Terms To Know |
|
Balls. A deep and resonant vocal tone. DAT. Digital Audio Tape. Dub. An audio or video copy. Also called a "dupe" (short for duplicate). Hook. A phrase or melody line that repeats itself in a song; the catchy part to a song. Hot Mike. A microphone that is turned on. Master. The original recording. The tape from which dubs are made. Also, a finished recording of the song from which records are pressed and distributed to radio stations and record stores. Mix. The final audio product combining all the elements into one composite soundtrack. "Mix" also applies to the act of creating the mix. This is sometimes referred to as the "mixdown." Mouth Noise. Also known as "clicks and pops." A dry mouth produces much more mouth noise than a damp one. Cigarette smoking also contributes to a dry mouth. The less mouth noise you have, the less editing has to be done later. Off-Camera. A part for which you supply your voice to a TV spot or video presentation. On-Camera. A part in a TV spot or video production where you actually appear on screen. It pays more than off-camera voice-over, but often requires more work, as well as applying make-up. Protection. You may be asked to "do another take for protection." This means that you have given the director a take she likes but she wants you to do it again to make sure it was the best. Also referred to as "insurance." SFX. Abbreviation for sound effects. Sometimes also written as EFX. or FX. Voice Over. The act of providing one’s voice to a media project. Called voice-over because the voice is usually mixed over the top of music and sound effects. |
In The Art of Voice Acting, James Alburger describes PVRs as the fundamental elements of vocal variety that create the dynamics of a performance. When you understand and apply pacing, volume, and range, you will be able to make any vocal presentation captivating. Pacing is the speed of your delivery. It is closely related to the rhythm and timing of the copy and to the tempo of your delivery. Pacing is how fast or how slow you are speaking at any given moment. Volume refers to how loud or soft you speak at any given point in time. Range refers to the performer’s ability to put variety into the performance by adjusting the pitch of the voice -- and its ability to scale high and scale low -- to maintain interest. Voice actors, in the field of animation, have developed a wide range from which to create many characters.
PVRs referring to the degree of variety in a performance are achieved by adjusting pacing (rhythm, timing, and phrasing), volume (loudness), and pitch. Excitement, enthusiasm, awe, sarcasm, pity, wonder, sorrow, cynicism, and sadness are all expressive modes in which a person (or an actor), makes use of a vocal range to bring out these feelings. Other areas that the prospective voice-over actor must be concerned with include articulation, the clarity with which words are spoken; diction, the clarity of your delivery through the correct pronunciation of words; rhythm, the flow of words and the placement of emphasis on certain words; timing, the space between which one character pauses, and another chimes in; phrasing, which encompasses the flow of your deliver, the variations in tempo as you speak, and the subtle nuances of your tone of voice.
Any actor willing to do the work of learning accents can find the possibilities for employment widened. The amount of work requiring accents in recording books and commercials, and in the theater, television, and cinema, both on camera and in dubbing, is considerable. Work on accents consists of memorizing a new pattern of sounds and drilling them as they become easy and habitual. In order to study accents you must learn not only to hear, but also to analyze what you hear. You must then learn to reproduce or imitate, the sounds which are different from your own way of speaking, and to do that you must constantly drill. This includes recording yourself and listening for accurate reproduction of the sounds. You also need to listen to tapes of foreign languages, and do the exercises accompanying them. Aiding the effort to gain a concise analyses of the sound systems of languages, the International Phonetic Association (IPA) makes a good starting point. The aim of the IPA is to promote the scientific study of phonetics and the various practical applications of that science. The Association has edited the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, published by Cambridge University Press (1999), and also publishes a chart of the International Phonetic Alphabet.
Training of the voice is done through persistent exercises to enhance vocal technique. Vocal exercises accomplishes two important goals for the actor. They develop the vocal instrument, and they enable the actor to learn how to use the voice to express his or her emotions for that role. Actors seeking the widest possible opportunities to work in their craft must be able to use their voices in a wide variety of situations: in small theaters, huge barn-like spaces with minimal amplification, in television studios, on feature film sound stages, and on-location film sites. Actors may work in situations where electronic amplification blows their voice out of human proportion, and in situations where there is no sound enhancement at all. They may record their lines in a studio completely unrelated to the actual scene in which their filmed images appears.
Speech on the theatrical stage requires speaking (or projecting) to large numbers of dispersed listeners so that every word carries clearly and with reality. In the craft of acting, it is felt that the actor’s voice is developed in much the same way that one learns to play a musical instrument, using the same study, practice and application to master it. In considering a course of study or a plan of action to improve one’s vocal quality, there are four aspects to be primarily concerned with:
Although the above four aspects pertain solely to vocal production, building blocks for an efficient vocal instrument that need to be taken into account include:
According to Webster’s Dictionary, a voice-over is "the voice commenting or narrating off camera, as for a television commercial." James Alburger in The Art of Voice Acting defines voice-over as any recording or performance of one or more unseen voices for the purpose of communicating a message. The main union and guild covering voice-over artists, AFTRA, defines a voice-over performer as someone who reads copy and is not seen on-camera. Voice-overs on radio and television commercials are considered to be anything up to three minutes in length. Anything over three minutes is considered voice-over narration.
There are varied types of voice-over projects for which you could be hired. They include:
To get up and running in this field consider the virtues of how to Jump-Start A Career With Non-Paying Acting Opportunities , and find any outlet that gives you the opportunity to read aloud. Possibly there are oral interpretation classes available in your area. Maybe you can find reading groups for poetry or Shakespeare. Get into community theater or try "open mike" stand-up comedy. Your city may need volunteer radio readers for the blind or storytellers for schools and daycare. If all else fails, get yourself a tape recorder and read anything into it. Practice using your vocal instrument. Also, get used to hearing yourself played back. You are accustomed to hearing yourself not only through your own ears. You usually sound warmer and more resonant to yourself than to others, or to a microphone. Start learning your own voice and how to manipulate it.
The primary areas to search for work in voice-over acting include:
On television shows, it’s the voice that you hear while watching action going on. If you hear the person speaking while on-camera, that is not a voice-over. Don’t confuse voice-overs with "dubbing." Dubbing is putting your voice in place of another person’s
Voice-overs are suited for people with personality, flexible voices and acting skills. And like any other part of acting requires hard work and persistent marketing and networking to keep working steadily. This career is cyclical: some months are better than others. Things may go smoothly in a given year, then taper off the next. Agencies and the companies they book talent for go with different sounds all the time. They may want to change in order to bring in a different type of audience.
Regardless of the level of audition performance you put in you still may not book a particular job. Knowing how to interpret the copy and read according to direction is what clients and casting directors look for. If you don’t book the job after doing what was your best audition in the world, you may never know why. More than likely, the client wanted another style of voice, and you don’t know what any other voice-over artist did in their read. Don’t spend too much time worrying about why you didn’t get the last job. Move on to the next one.
Your main start up costs include classes to learn basic skills. Having a great voice isn’t enough. Learning what to do with that voice and how to showcase key skills and talents the industry requires is the key to success. If you make a demo tape without training, you are taking a chance of having your work not seen in a great light. Hold off making that tape (homemade or produced) until you have taken classes, and begin to receive favorable assurances from your instructors. If you’ve already got a demo tape, bring it to the class. Let the teacher listen to it, before you continue sending it out.
Costs for these classes can run anywhere from $100 to $500. Find out the best prices for the kind of class that you are looking for. Ask around. Ask agents, teachers, and fellow actors. Usually casting directors, producers and even other very successful voice-over actors offer classes and even produce tapes.
Don’t spend your money to have a tape professionally produced unless you are ready, although it certainly possible to engineer a homemade tape for feedback and constructive criticism. Among other things, this can mean that you can use a microphone and give a natural sounding read. Furthermore, you should be comfortable with your read and not feel the need to re-do each read several times. You must learn characters and interpretations of reads and know how to read and how to act on the microphone. When preparing your tapes, keep each kind of voice-over on a separate tape. Commercials on your commercial tape, promo/narration on our narration tape, animation on your animation tape, etc. A produced demo tape can cost from $300 to $700 depending on if you’ve hired a director/producer to work with you. You will also have to pay the studio where you produce your tape.
Demo tapes are an essential tool of the voice-over trade. They are calling cards and are used to make an introduction to casting directors or agents. Because demo tapes can be expensive to make, calling various studios to compare recording rates and tape duplication costs is part of the leg work Studios might be willing to cut you a good deal if you can guarantee the booking of several people who are willing to record their tapes during one long session. Remember, heading into a recording session, you will need a script which you have prepared and practiced, just the way you plan to record it in the studio.
The ideal length of a demo tape embraces brevity as its main consideration. Generally, demo tapes should run no longer than two and one-half to three minutes. Characters should appear for no longer than the time it takes to establish them. This can range from the few words of a tag to a complete fifteen- or twenty-second commercial.
It is your decision whether to use existing copy or create original material for the demo tape. There are pros and cons to both approaches. In general, it is okay to use material that has been written and recorded by someone else for a real product or company, as long as your use of the material is for talent demonstration purposes only. If you write your own copy (or have someone do it) you can use fresh material to create a surprise element for your auditors. Normally, voice-over artists will use a mixture of prerecorded material and original copy to showcase their talents. There is disagreement in the industry, however, as to whether or not you should include a double on your tape. Some professionals feel that a double is needed to show that you can work well with another person.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click the titles of the above books for their availability, or enter the title of a book not shown in the above listing in the search box below. |
||
Search for magazines by entering the title or keywords in the search box below. |
||
|
American Dialect Homepage |
British Voice Association |
Feldenkrais Guild UK |
|||
| International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA) The Department of Theatre and Film University of Kansas 356 Murphy Hall Lawrence, Kansas 66045 Phone: 913-864-3511 Created in 1998 as a repository of primary source recordings for actors and other artists in the performing arts. All recordings are in English, are of native speakers, and you will find both English language dialects and English spoken in the accents of other languages. The recordings are downloadable and playable for both PC and Macintosh computers. Email: pmeier@ku.edu or shawnmuller@earthlink.net http://www.ukans.edu/~idea/ |
National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS) Conceived as a "center without walls," was formally organized in 1990 with the assistance of a grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The NCVS is an intellectual hub of scientists, clinicians and educators. Physically, they are spread about the country, but they share a common website and hold regular meetings. The NCVS consortium is composed of four highly-respected institutions of education and research: Denver Center for the Performing Arts, The University of Iowa, The University of Utah, and The University of Wisconsin-Madison. Email: julie-ostrem@uiowa.edu http://www.ncvs.org/ |
The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique 1st floor, Linton House 39-51 Highgate Road London, NW5 1RS Phone: +44-020-7284-3338 Fax: +44-020-7482-5435 The Technique is taught in music and drama colleges worldwide and, due to its positive influence on coordination, is seen as an essential element in a performer’s training. Email: info@stat.org.uk http://www.stat.org.uk/ |
|||
| University of Pittsburgh Voice Center The Eye & Ear Institute Building, Suite 214 200 Lothrop Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2582 Phone: 412-647-SING (7464) Fax: 412-647-8450 Dedicated to the evaluation and care of voice disorders, the Voice Center is a resource for both the general public and those who use their voices professionally. Email: voicecenter@msx.upmc.edu http://www.upmc.edu/upmcvoice/ |
VoiceCare Network Department of Music Saint John’s University Collegeville, MN 56321 Phone: 320-363-3374 The VoiceCare Network is a nonprofit educational organization providing lifespan voice education for choral conductors, music educators, church musicians, singing teachers, singers and speech pathologists. Email: vcn@csbsju.edu http://www.csbsju.edu/voicecare/ |
Voice & Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) P. O. Box 524 Laie, HI 96762 Phone: 808-293-3903 Fax: 808-293-3900 To advance the cause of voice and speech training through promotion of better training programs and development of more highly trained voice and speech teachers. The organization and its chief officers are situated among various universities across the U.S. Visit the website for more information. Email: earmstro@roosevelt.edu http://www.vasta.org/ |
|||
|
|
|||||
Homepage | Index of Shopping Choices | Contact Us | Communicate Your Thoughts to Someone | Research With Google Tools | Site Index | Post Your Photo/Send an eCard | Legal Disclaimer and Terms of Use
Copyright © 2004, Cool Fire Technology, LLC, all rights reserved