Eric P. Sherman Interview
By: Crystal Lynn Cox |
Monday September 15, 2008 |
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President of Bang Zoom! Entertainment |
| Bang Zoom! Entertainment is a full-service audio post production company behind many world-famous films, cartoons, anime and television shows. They just recently released “Adventures in Voice Acting Volume 1,” which we were lucky enough to publish a feature on. We took the opportunity to reach out to founder and president Eric P. Sherman to answer a few questions and give us a look into his background and provide some insider info. What led you to want to make a feature with such an honest look at the career of voice acting? We decided to make it because we noticed a real thirst for knowledge about this subject. We're constantly getting asked similar questions, as are most voice actors, about the business. "How do I break in?" being the number one question on people's minds. So we started with that, and then broke it down. When we thought the process out, the first question is not "How do I break in?" but rather, what steps do I need to take to be able to work in this field? Knowledge is power, and we wanted to empower people. My deepest passion lies in that, and in encouraging people to believe in themselves, to believe they can do whatever it is they set out to do. So, for me, personally, this film didn't really have to be about Voice Acting - that's just what it happens to be about. What is it that the creators of this series hope to achieve in the field of voice acting, both for those aspiring to enter the field and for those already working in it? Well, we believe that there is always a need for new voices, new talent, new people. Don't get me wrong: it's not an easy road, and the doors don't just open over night. But we do need to give new people a chance to crack it open, and stick a foot in. Otherwise the industry would start to go stagnant. Please don't take THAT the wrong way either. No one wants to replace any of the extremely talented and skilled actors we have the privilege of working with today. They are amazingly talented, and they worked very hard to get to where they are. And frankly, they make our jobs easier - because they know what they're doing. What I wanted to do for the industry was, to some extent, to honor it. And to show that Voice Actors should be given a ton of respect. I just found out that one of the top voice directors in the business watched the documentary, and ended up casting a couple of actors, based on discovering them in the film! That is a great feeling! How did the show choose which actors to feature in this presentation? Oh man, I just started by calling up everyone I knew. And then when we started shooting interviews in New York and Texas, I asked around for some referrals, although I did already know most of them, if not personally, then by name. When will the next two volumes in the series be released? We aim to release Volume 2 in time for Anime Expo and San Diego Comic Con 2009. And as for Volume 3, you'll have to wait and see how well the first two volumes do! Bang Zoom! Bang Zoom! Entertainment has grown with many credits! How did the company get its start? We did a Japanese low budget sexy action movie called "Zero Woman". The distributor of that film did really well with it and then came back and asked us if we wanted to try some anime. And I was like "Uh... Yeah!" So we got "Ninja Cadets" and pretty soon after that, we were given a longer series, one of my personal favorites, "Magic Knight Rayearth". While we were working on that, we began working on "Rurouni Kenshin" which was 96 episodes and started to air on Cartoon Network. That show probably put us on the map more than any other anime so far. What has been Bang Zoom!'s greatest challenge in the business, and also what has been its greatest success? My biggest personal challenge has been to make time to work on creative pursuits. We spend the majority of every day working to ensure that the anime, games and other projects are the highest possible quality. And that leaves precious little time to do much else. So the fact that we could finally finish the Adventures in Voice Acting documentary was a huge success for us! Just to finish it. Now I feel confident that we'll be able to do more. What audio services does your company provide? Bang Zoom provides every kind of audio post production service you can imagine. We set the bar extremely high for ourselves, and every day we ask ourselves, can we do this better? We decided early on that we would not settle for anything less than to be leaders in the industry. We wanted our recordings and mixing to rival and be better than anything that Warner Brothers or Disney would ever put out. Even when some people were saying "it's just anime" and the budgets were not-so-hot, we would always strive to make it the best it could possibly be. We can do 7.1 surround sound, foley, ADR, sound design, mixing. We're now we're doing original flash animation, production and video editing, too. What aspects of audio services does Bang Zoom! Entertainment provide in studio and out? We provide all of our services in our state of the art studio near Los Angeles which includes three buildings, six recording/mixing stages and a total staff of just under 200 actors, writers, directors and technicians. What challenges were in store for Bang Zoom! Entertainment in the work on the Gurren Lagann series? The tight recording schedule has probably been the biggest challenge. We've had to do in only 4 months what we would normally accomplish in 6 months. Scheduling multiple actors for sessions on the same day has kept the studio busy night and day. But we are used to working under considerable pressure, and sometimes challenges can actually act to increase creativity. What does your incredibly large client list and positive reviews do for you in the business world? Does this help you to achieve your goals for Bang Zoom! Entertainment? We hope so, and we are certainly appreciative of the positive reviews. However, we never sit around saying "Oh, wow, we're working with all these amazing clients! Aren't we cool?". We look at every day as a chance to learn, grow and improve. We have some big goals and sometimes it's all you can do to just keep taking little teeny steps, to just keep moving forward, and not give up your dreams. What goals does your company have in the show business world when it comes to advancement? We want to produce original, creative content. We're starting to do that now, and we want to keep doing it with graphic novels, web series, TV and feature films. I won't be satisfied until I make the movie I've wanted to make since I was 22 years old. Are there any upcoming big projects that you hope to take on in the near future? We're talking with Dentsu right now about a project that we want to develop. It's a long-form anime, but I can't say anything more about that right now! We're also working on a graphic novel based on a cult classic film, and we are in talks with Comcast about producing AnimeTV Season 2. As far as anime, we're finishing up "Lucky Star" right now. Even in a big, known company, there are personal hurdles. What has been the greatest achievement for you in show business thus far? The whole thing. It's been one great ride so far, and I wouldn't trade any of it. When I optioned my first original screen play some years ago that was a great feeling of accomplishment. When I was hired to write several feature films, that also gave me a real sense of... hey, I guess I"m a "Writer" now. And of course, working on 1000's of episodes of anime has been a tremendous experience on so many levels. But at the same time, I feel extremely unsatisfied. I don't feel like I've done even 1/10 of what I need to do. I've got a lot farther to go. And I'll keep working towards those goals, one rung up the ladder at a time. I hate standing still. |
