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.
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"..?
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..."
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."
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...
Nickelodeon brings back "Saturday morning cartoons" in a big way. Their recently announced jam-packed animation production schedule should translate into lots more opportunities for animation voice actors, too. Contrary to conventional wisdom, most animation directors are open to working with new talent, as long as it's really, really, really good new talent...In other words, why should they take a chance on you when they can hire a proven, reliable talent? You've got to give them a reason to hire you by cutting through with an audition that's strong, compelling and original enough to grab their attention.
NY Daily News: "Nickelodeon will roll out nearly 200 episodes of new animated programming on Saturday mornings in 2012, as part of a larger, three-year commitment to the genre. By the time the three years is up, Nickelodeon will have aired an unprecedented 450 episodes of new animation. 'The stuff that lasts the longest and probably appeals to the broadest audience, really still is animation and always was," says Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon and the MTVN Kids and Family Group. "Even things like 'Seinfeld' come and go and 'SpongeBob' hangs around.'..."
H/t to Friend of InsideVoiceover, voice actor, Aileen Casas (via Bay Area voice talent, Owen Thomas) for this breaking story; a follow-up to last week's post about Gilbert Gottrfried's firing and AFLAC's plans to replace him through a nationwide open casting search. (http://bit.ly/hWd0vB)
SF GATE: "Aflac is opening the field to people who want to take a quack at doing the new voice of the insurer's ever-abrasive duck mascot. Aflac Inc. will begin accepting submissions on Wednesday..."
An interview with veteran voice and video game actor, Rob Clotworthy. Rob, who's been working steadily as a voice actor since he was 15, shares his insights into the process of preparing for and acting in video games. As far as fan interviews go, it's one of the better ones.
DIALOGUE JUNKIE: "We had the privilege of interviewing Robert Clotworthy, the man behind the voice of Captain Jim Raynor in StarCraft and StarCraft II. He answered questions about his life, career, and state of dialogue in the industry. "
A well-deserved homage to the great voice actors behind many of the most beloved characters in the classic Disney films many of us grew up with, like "Jungle Book," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Winnie the Pooh." In fact, it's impossible to think of "Pooh" without hearing Sterling Holloway's voice, which is why I probably would have put him in the #1 on my list, even though the amazing Verna Felton has always been one of my favorite character actors.
Btw with much being made of celebrities vs. non-celebrities in animation films nowadays, it should be noted that many of these character actors, like Pat Buttram, and Felton and Holloway, were as well-known for their as on-camera work. And the incomparable Phil Harris was actually best known as a band leader, who seemed to be more at home hanging out with his Rat Pack buddies, like Dean Martin, than the Mouse!
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....
"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."
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."
Even when you think you know-it-all...you really don't. Not only CAN you learn from others in the voiceover industry; you MUST learn if you want to stay relevant, fresh and keep your skills up to date.
The Actors Voice: "You know the type. The actor friend who knows EVERYTHING. She's seen it all. He's done it all. She's heard it all. He's experienced it all. Absolutely nothing you tell these folks comes as a surprise because apparently there are no surprises in their lives, since they're experts on all things, ever...How sad."
This eye-opening article from TalentZoo, which while not specifically written for an audience of voiceover professionals, makes a great and very important point which most definitely applies to voice talent...If your storytelling skills aren't finely honed, and you aren't really engaging, and persuasive to your listeners, your chances of getting the job diminish. Even a great set of pipes and top notch recording equipment can't make up for an uninteresting, detached performance...Time to get reading...
Talent Zoo: "Studies regarding bias and decision-making, initiated by the 2002 Nobel Prize winning psychologist, Daniel Kahneman, find that the “vividness bias” is one of the most persuasive tools in the communication toolkit. Indeed, studies find that “vividness” will sell what analytical tools won’t. And what is vividness? It’s colorful, animated, lively, exuberant information—the stuff found in a good story. Dull stuff may be equally or even more valuable, but it won’t get the hearing of a good story..."
BREAKING from "Voice Actors in the News:" "Thanks to Maurice LaMarche, co-founder and co-creator of International Talk Like William Shatner Day (and creator of the first video), wishing William Shatner a Happy 80th Birthday..."
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