Adventures in Voice Acting
By: Crystal Lynn Cox |
Thursday September 04, 2008 |
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Learn what it takes to break into the business |
| Adventures in Voice Acting Volume One is an incredibly interesting compilation of interview footage with voice actors, clips of anime they have worked on and tips from these actors for others aspiring to these jobs within the industry. The disk is broken down into 5 full-length chapters that describe in great detail the various aspects of the business, what it means to be in the business, how to get in, and essentially what to do once in. The viewer gets the impression that the actors featured in this program are genuinely interested in helping the aspiring voice actor get into the business through a complete immersion in “what it’s all about.” The feature does not hide the truth, even when it’s not ideal; instead the program gives the voice actors themselves a chance to have the floor, to be seen by their audiences and to frankly discuss their field and their experiences that make up their daily lives. The first chapter, “What is a Voice Actor?” offers a thorough definition of what it means to be a voice actor. These definitions are all done through the words of voice actors themselves so the narrative has a refreshingly personal feel to it. In this section also the actors offer a brief overview of where the entire explanation will go throughout the following chapters of the disk. Chapter 2, “The Process,” offers an up-close look at what voice actors of voice-over anime go through in their daily routine in the studio. A job that may have previously appeared to be just fun and games and silly voices takes a turn at this point of the DVD. While the actors never give up the claim that their job is often fun, they bring in the reality of the hard work as well. This is also the section where the voice actors first begin mentioning monetary compensation, explaining that while voice-over anime is one of the hardest voice acting jobs, it is also among the most underpaid! The actors discuss some of the humorous aspects of the process of creating voice over dialogue by offering tips on how to reduce mouth noises during recording, for example, and how to watch the clock and time lines perfectly with the mouth movements of the Japanese characters who are being voiced. Chapter 3, “Finding a Way In,” breaks down the importance of networking and making show business contacts. The actors explain the seriousness of being the best at what they do, learning to become flexible in the voices they can cr eate, and above all, taking classes that will enhance their skills as voice over actors. The voice actors interviewed for this feature d o not sugarcoat the difficulties associated with getting involved in this field of work, and in fact this honesty is one of the char acteristics that make this DVD so helpful. Instead of presenting the job in all its glory, the creators of this series take things to a deeper level and show their audiences what a clear and honest look at the business really is.  In chapter 4, “Advice,” the voice actors open up and offer any tips that they can come up with that relate to th e business at large. These are often funny, but yet maintain that personal, interactive feel that would make any aspiring voice actor feel immediately welcomed into the community. The tips range from how to warm up before an audition or recording session to how to make contacts within the community to how to choose a vocal coach! Every word of advice seems necessary and important for anyone aspiring to enter the field to hear. The nature of the advice is helpful enough that it seems all careers to create such useful how-to DVDs for people aspiring to enter the field. The final chapter, “Is It Worth It?” is the most honest chapter of all. By the end of the disk, any aspiring voice actor will probably know whether this work is for them or not. At this point, the actors completely break down the sacrifices they have had to make in order to maintain their careers as voice actors and they answer the critical questions about their job that anyone following in their footsteps would be desperate to have answered. While some of the answers may not be what an aspiring actor would want to hear, the honesty of the answers is refreshing in and of itself. While the actors featured sometimes betray their own exhaustion through the nature of their answers, they also show the fun side to the career, and not one of them denies that they would not want to do anything else. Seeing people with such dedication to what they do, through both bad and good times, gives a viewer the sense that this is a much more straight-forward presentation of information than is often seen on television today. In addition to the main features of the disk, which runs 2 hours and 12 minutes, the DVD has an impressive array of special features. There is a section of voice actors offering advice on how to warm up for an audition or recording session, a “virtual voice actor” that will give a viewer the opportunity to practice voice over lines to a section of anime in either male or female voice. This is referred to as a virtual “workshop.” Voice acting workshops have become more popular of late and this is a decent look at what might occur at a one-on-one in studio workshop for aspiring voice actors who might be interested in attending one. Also, the bonus features include a scroll-through screen of advice from professionals in the business and a little extra footage from the interviews explaining the actors’ and a director’s answers to “Does it help to be a fan [of anime]?” in the business. Adventures in Voice Acting is an extremely useful series, as proven through Volume One on anime voice-over acting. The information contained in these chapters is incredibly insightful and interesting to fans of anime, fans of animation in general, and aspiring voice actors alike. Realistically, the information offered here should be offered in kind to many other careers, in addition to voice acting! The view of the career, as well as the occupational outlook, is so refreshingly honest and open that it is a must-own DVD for anyone even remotely interested in the field. This series will probably be able to make the career decision for many aspirants, and in turn also offers some publicity to the actors who have been working for so long on the other side of the screen! |
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