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On sites like Amazon, there are thousands of books seemingly written by bots – and many of those are used to dupe audiobook narrators. 
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Ashly Burch is a top voice actor — a career that comes with the risk of hemorrhaged vocal cords and little in the way of job security.
Sirenetta Leoni's insight:
Insightful article from the Washington Post on the changing role of voice actors in the video game industry, including the long-term effects of vocal stress, the low pay for game work relative to other media and the consequences of the recently-settled SAG-AFTRA strike.
The article, while fair, is generally sympathetic to the voice actor's point-of-view. This observation from voice actor Kate Flannery really hit home with us: “That’s the weird thing about vocal stress...You push yourself to do these voices because you want to be easy to work with. And that’s where you get hurt. There’s a people-pleasing aspect that doesn’t happen when you’re [onscreen] acting.”
Any voice actor who has been around a while has found him- or herself in a situation where, eager to please, they pushed themselves way too hard, and suffered the consequences. If they were lucky, they only lost their voice for a day or two. Others not so fortunate however, have suffered long-term and even permanent damage. Voice actors should be afforded more protection in this area and allowed to say "no" when a client is asking them to go beyond what is reasonable and do something potentially damaging to their voice without fear of repercussion or being blackballed for "being difficult."
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The AFLAC-ticipation is mounting...After reviewing over 12,500 auditions, the winner will be announced tomorrow...will it be YOU???
Atlanta Journal Constitution: "A new voice will be announced by Tuesday, when Aflac hopes to premiere the first new commercial...At last count around 12,500 people submitted online recordings or auditioned in person nationwide...The creative agencies listened to all of them. The company was down to eight finalists as of late last week. Five are novices and three are professional voice actors"
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The hardcore gamer community, LVLSELECT, created this video, "Do You Know Your Voice Actors?" which challenges other gamers to identify the voices behind some of the most popular and best-reviewed video games, like "Uncharted," and "Assassin's Creed." For being a fan site, they've done a nice job, but it looks they also left some pretty well-known game actors off of the list. Maybe they'll have to do a "Do You Know Your Voice Actors? Part II."
By the way, the narrator is a self-identified "hard core gamer," not a voice actor. http://www.lvlselect.com: "Lets see how much of a hardcore gamer you are :)"
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Casting director Bonnie Gillespie and crew interview voiceover agent Jermaine Johnson from AVO Voice Talent in LA. Good info and advice for both professional actors looking to break into voiceover; and professional voice talent looking for LA representation. Valuable insights that could save you time, money and aggravation. BTW He also confirms what most of us have already figured out...Demos on CD's are dead.
Please note that interview with Jermaine starts @7:15. Also make sure to listen, until the very end, b/c additional valuable tips are shared after the "end" of Jermaine's interview. REALLY IMPORTANT NOTE: This podcast is geared to actors who are living and auditioning in LA, so the basic assumption is that their listeners are trained actors and have some professional acting auditioning experience. If you have no prior acting training or experience, you'll need to look for and get high quality on-camera acting and voiceover training first, before you can even think about approaching an LA agency. Otherwise, don't waste their time and yours.
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British voice talent, Lorelei King is one of the best known and most successful audiobook narrators in the UK–she has narrated over two hundred audiobooks, and won multiple awards for narration; performing works by such best-selling authors as Margaret Atwood, Patricia Cornwell, Janet Evanovich, and Lynda LaPlante.
Bottom line: When Lorelei generously offers free advice on how to prepare before a session, and how to act–and not act–during a session, we should ALL pay attention....
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An exclusive interview with "Flight of the Conchord's" star Jermaine Clement at the World Premiere of "Rio" in...where else..? Rio.
Early buzz is that his evil cockatoo, NIgel, steals every scene he's in, and the song he wrote for the film, "Pretty Bird" is being singled out as the best thing in the movie. If so, we can save you the $11; just scroll down to the bottom of the page and watch it.for yourself...You'll thank us for it, because it will put you in a good mood for the rest of the day...
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From
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"Hello, Sydney..." C'mon, admit it. Those words still send a little chill down your spine, don't they?
Well, our deeply talented, versatile friend and colleague, Roger L. Jackson, is back...and soon to be scaring the bejeezus out of all of us again in "Scream IV"... Here's the behind-the-scenes interview featuring Neve Campbell, Wes Craven and Roger himself (in silhouette, naturally), discussing how director Craven kept Roger hidden away from the rest of the cast to keep them unnerved and off-balance when they received mysterious phone calls from "The Voice." A little additional background not mentioned in the video...Roger was originally cast just to be a "stand-in voice" on set during the shooting of the first Scream movie in Northern California. Wes Craven fully intended to dub someone else voice in later, but Roger's work was so good that he had Drew Barrymore genuinely terrified during their phone exchange, so Wes decided to keep him. The rest, as they say, is cinema history... We'd also like to thank a couple other friends of InsideVoiceover, voice actors, Chuck Wedge and Kathy Goodin, for calling this video to our attention. Inside Story/Scream - Phone Call From Hell: "Roger L. Jackson talks about playing the voice of “Ghostface” and making scary phone calls."
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Good article...truthful, smart observations about the subtle importance of video game acting from the point of view of a non-voice actor/actual end user.
The more that gamers like "Gamecultist" who understand and appreciate good voice acting, expect and demand it from video game producers, the better it will be for both gamers and voice actors. From "Gamecultist" @The Grumbler.The Grumbler: "Good voice actors help solidify the individuality of a game. Sure, in the beginning you might be thinking “Why does my dad sound so much like Liam Neeson?" and that can be distracting and take away from the experience. But, after a while, the voice talent kicks in and you forget who was cast for the role in the first place. "
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So after Jon Hamm (for Mercedes), now we get Kevin Bacon's voiceover for Buick. Can there be any doubt that car commercial celebrity casting decisions are being made at breakfast meetings nowadays..?
Detroit Free Press: "[New Buick ad voiced by Kevin Bacon] will debut in the pregame broadcast of the Final Four on Saturday and will run a total of six or seven times by the time a men’s college basketball champion is crowned on Monday night."
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A cautionary tale...in your zeal to find a really, cool unique domain name for your website, don't let let this happen to you...
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Smart, practical advice from an industry 'insider' on how to interact successfully with your talent agency courtesy of the savvy team at Brainsofminerva.com, "a career and lifestyle guide for the enterprising LA actor."
Though this article is directed more toward the on-camera actor, most of the tips and suggestions apply equally to voice actors: furnish your agent with up-to-date marketing materials; follow instructions carefully; be considerate of others and their time; be well-prepared for auditions and jobs; don't embarrass your agency; use common sense and common courtesy. Any of you who work at talent agencies out there, are welcome to chime in... BrainsofMinerva.com: "S.M. is an actress who regularly works in television and voice over and interns for a boutique agency in Los Angeles. She requested that this piece be published anonymously."
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To take antihistamines or not take antihistamines...THAT is the question.
I find that Ann Utterback, PhD's web site, OnlineVoiceCoaching.com is a great resource of information on vocal health and how to maintain it. Here's a recent post on how to best deal with allergies if you're a voiceover or broadcast talent...
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Valuable information contained in this video from LA-based, voice talent, Joe Zieja, in which he explains the difference between "session" and "usage" fees, why you should avoid "in perpetuity" buyouts and where you can find the best online tool for figuring out how much to charge for any type of voiceover job, from ads to e-learning to games.
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"Dogs understand both the meaning of words and the tone used to speak them, a new study finds."
Sirenetta Leoni's insight:
It's no surprise that dogs understand words ("commands"), but what's really fascinating is that there's now scientific proof that they are also able to discern the tone and intention behind them, using both the left and right sides of their brains to process language and respond accordingly, just as we humans do. As one of the researchers who studied this explained it, “dogs not only tell apart what we say and how we say it, but they can also combine the two, for a correct interpretation of what those words really meant.” So what's the significance to voice actors? This is a perfect illustration of why the intention behind your words has to sync up in a believable, relatable manner with the words you're saying if you want to get through to your target audience. Words without intent are just empty words and no one will receive or care about your message. This holds true whether you are trying to sell us car or teaching your dog to fetch a stick.
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Voice 123 just posted a video of a 1 3/4 hour "How To You Use Voice 123 To Book Voiceover Work" webinar on YouTube. It's definitely worth investing the time if you use, or plan to use, Voice 123 to find work regularly. The "inside" knowledge you will gain from listening to this will give you a considerable competitive advantage over the thousands of people on Voice 123 who don't...
Thorough, smart and insightful commentary on all aspects of Voice 123 and their "Smart-Cast" software.They walk you through the process step-by-step, and give you lots of inside tips and tricks, such as how to fill out your profile to maximize the number of inquires you get;and what to include (and not include) in your profile so that you match the highest number of relevant searches, both on Voice 123 and Google. .
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Home Recording News for Voice Actors | New Adobe Audition CS5.5 Has Landed. Now available for Mac-OS
New version of Adobe Audition, CS5.5, is now available. The big news is that for the first time ever, Audition will be available for Mac OS users, too. If you own previous editions 1.5, 2.0 or 3.0 of Audition, you can get the upgrade for $99.
For the purposes of voice actors who use the program primarily to record and edit auditions, is it absolutely necessary to upgrade? Probably not, but there are some cool new features in the new version, plus the product will be fully supported and updated, whereas the older versions of Audition won't .... Your call. (For my .02...I'll probably be investing the extra $99.)
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Voice actor Bill Farmer, best known as the voice of "Goofy"–just one of the many, many characters he voices–was interviewed at the recent "Armageddon Expo," a sci-fi/comics/games/animation convention held in Australia,
During the interview, Bill demonstrates his talents and impressive range; talks about the voiceover profession and how he develops new character voices; but perhaps more important, offers valuable advice to voice actors who would like to follow in his footsteps... ABC Online (blog): "He was taught some of the craft by the great Daws Butler...He taught Bill that the silly voices were secondary to the acting. So though Bill can do an amazing array of voices, he thinks it's just as important to understand the character and the scene he's in."
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From
www
For the legions of Mike Rowe fan-girls (and boys) out there, good news...The quintessential 'everyman' Rowe was tapped to narrate the U.S. version of the "The Human Planet," the new Discovery series produced by the same team as "Planet Earth;" a production four years in-the making.
The voiceover honors in the UK went to someone with a more traditional "nature documentary sound" instead, great British actor, John Hurt, who most Americans know as "The Elephant Man," and the "guy whose stomach the alien busts out of in 'Alien'"...and you thought Mike Rowe was the only one with the "Dirty Jobs"..?
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If the next video game character you voice bears an uncanny resemblance to you, it may be more than just a coincidence...
Get ready for your close-up...in a recent "Making Of" video released by Rockstar Games, voice actor, Keith Szarabjaka, describes the MotionScan technology that powers LA Noire's innovative facial animation system as "a constant close-up; but it's a close-up from 360 degrees." EL33TONLINE: "If a videogame is affiliated with Rockstar ("Grand Theft Auto," "Red Dead Redemption"), you can bet on at least one thing: The voice acting contributed to the game by real life performers is going to be best-in-class, top-notch and amazing. With LA Noire, not only is this voice acting still of the highest quality, but thanks to new technology able to capture the actors’ facial expressions during recording, the performers’ physical acting is also incredible."
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Some very wise advice every actor should heed, from Chicago-based actor/coach, Wendy Braun.
Pay particular attention to # 4: "STOP COMPARING."The author is absolutely right about this being "actor death" I've seen far too many talented actors on the edge of succeeding, blow themselves up because they were unable to let this one go... Wendy Braun: "A lot of actors...love to blame their agents, casting directors, traffic, and even celebrities for the lack of work/auditions that are coming their way. It’s definitely the easy way out, but it also makes you the victim of your circumstances and makes you feel powerless...The problem is, it perpetuates negativity. You convince yourself you can’t move forward and then gather more evidence from other actors. All this blaming and complaining just makes it easy to stay stuck and helpless."
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Apple + Peter Coyote voiceover = as good as it gets...
Ad copy: VO: This is what we believe. Technology alone is not enough. Faster, thinner, lighter — those are all good things. But when technology gets out of the way, everything becomes more delightful, even magical. That’s when you leap forward. That’s when you end up with something like this. The Loop: "Apple's TV commercials are almost as legendary as its products and there is a new one released for the iPad 2. Dubbed 'We Believe' the commercial talks about..."
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A MUST READ...Excellent interview with internationally renowned voice coach, Patsy Rodenburg. If you've never heard of her, maybe you're familiar with some of the actors she's coached....Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Ralph Fiennes, Joseph Fiennes, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Natalie Portman, Daniel Craig, Orlando Bloom, Joseph Fiennes, and Ewan McGregor. Now do we have your attention?
The Guardian: "The voice encompasses so many things," she says. "Everyone comes on to the planet with a fantastic voice, but people lose it. The voice is about communicating, engaging, how you show yourself, how you speak, how you listen...Unless you connect to the text, the audience won't be able to connect with you..."
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Thanks to voice actor, David Houston, for posting this fun segment from "Rachel Maddow Show" on the peculiarities and difficulties of pronouncing proper names and certain words properly---even for TV Broadcasters. (e.g., "ar-KAN-zis River" vs. "AR-kin-saw," the state.)
Bonus: Several excellent online pronunciation resources are provided so that if you ever have to pronounce the President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika's name in a script, you'll actually know how to say it... David Houston blog: "This segment from Wednesday's The Rachel Maddow Show serves to remind that, even (especially?) for those of us who talk for a living, some words and names are more problematic than others."
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You just knew this was coming, didn't you?
The parody of the AFLAC duck voiceover audition...
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Caveat orator! Let the speaker beware! Most veteran audiobook narrators are aware and on the lookout for these types of scams on ACX, but if you're new to the process, make sure to educate yourself on what to look for to avoid being taken in by these nefarious "author" bots. ACX has recently changed the rules, so that there are fewer incentives for scammers to produce sham books, but you know that it's only a matter of time before they find other ways to game the system, like the suspected AI voice-cloning example mentioned towards the end of the article.