VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[schrecster]

I am not sure if this is in the correct category or not, so please move if it is not.

I have been lurking on the critique site and noticed that a lot of the recommendations say to take an acting class. Like a lot of other people on this board, I am a relative newbie, and I am currently taking a group VO class. WIth future plans of taking individual training once the skill set is built up a little. I also started taking an acting class that is using Sanford Meisner's method. I also plan to find some improvisational acting classes in the area.

I am enjoying the classes I am taking in both VO and the Meisner stuff.

THe Meisner methods seem to be directed more towards theater acting, and I am having some trouble seeing how it would relate to reading a commercial script.

My question is, am I on the right track?
Another question, are there other "acting" classes or types of acting classes that I should be looking for. The advice on the site is to "take an acting class" but usually no specifics are offered. I guess I am looking for some specific advice on what types of acting classes to look into or actually take. I know different things work for different people, so the final call is up to me.
Any advice given will be appreciated.

thanks
schrec

[Bruce]

Yes, yes, yes! you're on the right track. Theater (stage) experience is wonderful for voiceover. First, you have to be loud enough to be heard in the back row...not that we talk that loud behind the mic, but it teaches us how to speak with strength to make our voices rich and interesting. Second you learn how to be "selfless", in essence to lose yourself into someone else's personality. Even if you're reading a straight commercial or narration very much as your own self, it's a much more interesting read if it's an enhanced version of yourself. Third, you learn about interpretation: why and how to say certain words for maximum effect. There are many more reasons but those are the three biggies.

As far as the Meisner technique versus other styles, that's kind of like the difference between Ford and Chevy trucks. They're fairly similar (the end result is roughly the same), but some people love and extol the virtues of one, and hate and disparage the other. Just do what feels best for you. Have fun!

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[ccpetersen]

What Bruce said. Three of my best classes used combined Meisner and VO techniques and I found them to be really helpful.
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Charter Member: Threadjackers Local 420

[melissa eX]

Improv. It's great for making choices.

[Mike Sommer]

I have to disagree a little with Bruce. Let me explain

In theater one needs to be heard in the back of he theater, but in VO we are talking into someone's ear, and that ear is the microphone. They needed powerful voices in the 1920's and 30's when carbon mics were in use, but today, we can be a little softer; the gentle nuances and timbre of our voices carry very well over modern equipment. In VO our voice should just sit in the front of our face, in other-words our voice should be in front of us, like the dialog bubble in a cartoon. But we need to be intelligible, with clean enunciation and pronunciation.


Acting class - any acting class is important. For VO it's important to take a little bit form here and a little bit from there, and develop your own understanding of acting.

The Meisner idea of "what are you playing" and "what are you doing" goes very well with Voice Acting, as does the two main tasks of focusing one's attention on one's partner and committing to an action. But the Meisner idea to compel an actor into the moment, while simultaneously propelling himself forward with concentrated purpose. I find this part of it a little to much. I don't want to be compelled, I want to react. That's what we do in real life, we react.

As for understanding the character, we don't need to dive headlong into its history, or need to know that it has blue eyes, or that it is right handed to understand what it wants, needs or feels. All I need to know is who the character is, who my character is talking to and where the conversation is taking place. All the emotion and all the heavy lifting is, 90% of the time, written into the script. It's up to me to find the appropriate level and way at which it needs to be delivered, and the character takes over. The character makes almost all of the choices- the character is in control. I'll just reel it in or out, or to make sure that it takes direction.

Bob Bergen has a great story about this: When he was a roving puppeteer at Magic Mountain. One of the puppets was an old man, and the the old man puppet would follow the ladies in the the restroom and pop over the stall door and say," It's Pee Pee time!" ( It's even funnier when Bob does it in his old man voice). Well, needless to say Bob got in trouble for doing this. Bob's reply was, "that wasn't me, that was the old man doing that." And that's the trick, letting go of your inhibitions, letting go of yourself -even when personally you know it maybe wrong- and let the character take over."

One does not need to expend the energy into "feeling" what it's like to have a bowling ball dropped on your foot- that's just wasteful energy. One knows darn well it flippin' hurts.
As the old time radio actors used to say, "Just Act!"

Improve is very important. It teaches you to make choices quickly, to think 10 moves ahead (in any direction), and to stay alert.

Sorry for the rambling.

Let me recommend a wonderful book: "True And False" by David Mamet
It's basically common sence for the actor.
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The Blog:
http://voiceoveraudio.blogspot.com/

Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

[Bruce]

[Mike Sommer]

[Bob Bergen]

Acting is acting is acting. Whether for stage, 3 camera sitcom, film, VO, etc. The ultimate goal of the actor is to be believed. Do it poorly, you are poor actor.

I studied acting with every teacher LA had to offer, and Meisner is what worked for me. Because there are so many different approaches and teachers you just need to find what connects with you. Depending on what genre of acting one is doing, you shift gears technically. Performing on a large stage without mics (and rarely these days are you without a mic in a large venue) you need to project to that last row. But all the rows between still need to believe the performance. Project that way on film and it's odd and unbelievable.

The same technical shift is needed in voice-over. A fun comedic partner read needs to be just as believable as the PSA on drug abuse. But both reads need to be believable and honest. Playing an animated character in SpongeBob is approached differently than a Disney animated feature.

Etc.

Improv is great training in that it gets you out of your head and forces you to commit. And even though inprov acting isn't scripted, it still has to be believable.

The difference between a trained actor and a non trained actor is this. A trained actor makes choices and a non trained actor makes guesses. Eventually, with good training your acting technique becomes almost instinct. Your process is a knee jerk reaction. For some this takes years to master. Some do this with no training at all. Some never get there.

But I also believe like any talent, you are born an actor. No amount of training can make a non actor act well. No amount of music lessons can make the tone deaf sing. Same goes for any craft or art. But you never know unless you try and explore.

At my very first VO workshop when I was 14, a very successful voice actor was guest teaching. He handed me a very gritty movie trailer to read. This is a style that a kid at 14 whose voice hadn't even changed would never audition for. Needless to say, I sucked. And the teacher told me to give up any dream of voice-over, as I just didn't have "it." I was devastated. But I decided to continue with my training, and if in time his assessment ended up to be what the majority of other teachers and buyers felt as well, then I'll throw in the towel.

Well, thank God I didn't take his word as gospel. What I realized over the years is, you are not right for everything no matter how much you want it or how talented you are. Today I would never attempt a gritty trailer a la LaFontaine. Just don't have the pipes. BUT-with the further acting training I had, I learned how to take any piece of copy and make it my own. To take the specs and adapt what I can bring to the copy in a believable way. Give it my own stamp or brand. Make choices, not guesses.

I have been at voice-over sessions where well know established and very talented celebrities sucked. They couldn't adapt to working the mic. They needed quality time to get into character, where voice-over and in particular animation is for the most part cold reading. Ya can't hang in your trailer with your coach finding the character, or getting in the zone. This doesn't mean that these celebs weren't good actors. They just didn't have the proper voice-over training to be able to shift their acting gears for voice-over.

B

[ccpetersen]

Yay Bob!!!


On the subject of books, my last acting teacher recommended "How to Stop Acting" by Harold Guskin. I found parts of it to be very useful.
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Charter Member: Threadjackers Local 420

[Mike Sommer]

Awesomeness Bob.

And I do love your story about the puppet... I fell out of my chair, when I heard it. It was a great illustration of the character taking over.
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The Blog:
http://voiceoveraudio.blogspot.com/

Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

[Mike Harrison]

This thread is the best example of the strength of these kinds of forums. Not to minimize the valuable input of others, but for me, Bruce and Bob both offered some excellent insight into why acting skills are so important in voice-over. Bra-VO!

This is why my head almost came off at one point during the past year when a voice-over coach suggested that acting had nothing to do with voice-over (or vice-versa). But...

[bobsouer]

Mike,

To do a quote from the source, one way is to hit the "quote" button at the top right of the post you wish to quote from and then edit the contents of the message box to include only that part you want to use. Then type your comments outside the quote tags either before, after or both. Just be sure to leave the quote tags complete and only edit the stuff in between.
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Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[anthonyVO]

I found my scene-study class to be very valuable for voice-over because it provided me with tools to "get somewhere from somewhere" in a short amount of time.

That and Stella D'oro's Swiss Fudge Cookies.

-Anthony

[Deirdre]

Yeah, those doggone Stella D'Oros get you everywhere fast.
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DBCooperVO.com
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[Rob Ellis]

For some reason, my eyes still glaze over a bit when attempting text analysis....all those years of ripping and reading I suppoz'.....