Read The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over Online
Authors: James Alburger
There are literally dozens of herbal remedies that reportedly reduce the symptoms of a cold. If you have a favorite remedy recipe you find especially effective, I’d love to know about it. You can send it to me at
[email protected]
. If not, you might give some of these a try.
One cold and sore throat remedy that seems to do the job for many people is this rather tasty recipe: 1 can of regular Dr. Pepper (not diet), 1 fresh lemon, 1 cinnamon stick. Pour Dr. Pepper into a mug and add 1 slice (circle) of lemon. Heat in the microwave to your preferred temperature. Remove and add one cinnamon stick. Relax and sip slowly.
For the more adventurous, here’s a recipe for Cold Killer Tea given to us by one of our workshop students. To one cup of tea (Green Tea is an excellent choice) add 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp. honey, 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar, and a dash of cayenne pepper. The key ingredients are the vinegar and the cayenne pepper. Ingredients can be adjusted for taste.
Many performers find that they can temporarily offset the effects of a cold by drinking hot tea with honey and lemon. The heat soothes the throat and helps loosen things up. Honey is a natural sweetener and does not tend to dry the mouth as sugar does. Lemon juice cuts through the mucus, thus helping clear the throat. The only problem with this is that tea contains caffeine, which may constrict or dry the throat.
Bill Smith of The Acting Studio in Denver, CO recommends this mixture of Tabasco sauce and water: Mix 8 drops of Tabasco sauce into an 8 ounce glass of luke-warm water. Stir. Gargle and spit. Gargle and spit. Then drink and swallow regular water. According to Bill, at this solution level, you may taste the Tabasco sauce but you won’t “experience” its hotness. You’ll notice that most of the phlegm has been cleared from the back of the soft palate and all the way down past the vocal cords to the esophagus. One of the key benefits of this mixture is that the key ingredient in Tabasco sauce is Capsaicin. Although this ingredient is what gives Tabasco sauce its hotness, Capsaicin is also used in pain neuropathy to reduce inflammation of damaged tissues and nerve endings. As a result of gargling this mixture, the tendency to cough or clear the throat is reduced.
You may not be able to prevent a cold, but if you can find a way to minimize its affects, you will be able to perform better when you do have a cold. If you have a cold and need to perform, it will be up to you to decide if you are fit for the job.
There can be many causes of laryngitis, but the end result is that you temporarily lose your voice. This may be the result of a cold or flu infection that has moved into the throat and settled in your larynx, or another cause.
When this happens to a voice actor, it usually means a few days out of work. The best thing to do with laryngitis is nothing. That is,
don’t
talk and get lots of sleep! Your vocal cords have become inflamed and need to heal. They will heal faster if they are not used. Also, the remedy of drinking hot tea with honey and lemon juice will often make you feel better.
A classic remedy is a mix of hot water, Collins mix, and fine bar sugar. This is similar to hot tea, lemon juice, and honey with the benefit of no caffeine. The idea is to create a hot lemonade that can be sipped slowly. Many performers claim that this mixture has helped to restore their voice.
Another remedy that is said to be effective is to create a mixture of honey, ground garlic cloves, and fresh lemon juice. This doesn’t taste very good, but many have reported a quicker recovery from laryngitis after taking this remedy. Garlic is known to strengthen the immune system, which may be a factor in its effectiveness.
Similar to hot tea with honey and lemon is a remedy popular in the eastern United States. This was given to me by one of my voice students and seems to work quite well. Boil some water and pour the boiling water into a coffee cup. Add 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. The mixture tastes like lemon tea, but with the benefit of having no caffeine. Slowly sip the drink allowing it to warm and soothe your throat.
The best thing you can do if you have a cold, laryngitis, or just feel ill is to rest and take care of yourself. If you become ill, you should let your agent, or whoever cast you, know immediately and try to reschedule. Talent agents and producers are generally very understanding in cases of illness. However, there are times when you must perform to the best of your abilities, even when ill. These can be difficult sessions, and the sound of your voice may not be up to your usual standards. In situations such as this, be careful not to force yourself to the point of causing pain or undue stress on your voice. Use your good judgment to decide if you are capable of performing. You may cause permanent damage to your vocal cords.
Most people will experience
G
astro
e
sophageal
R
eflux
D
isease at one time or another. For some it is an ongoing condition that must be dealt with on a daily basis. It is a condition in which stomach acid backs up from the stomach into the swallowing tube or esophagus. For a voiceover talent, this condition can present a serious problem. It’s not that GERD will directly
affect the sound of the voice, but the physical discomfort of the condition, and some of it’s symptoms, can get in the way of an effective performance.
Many of the tips in this section will have a direct effect on GERD, and there are several over-the-counter and prescription remedies that address the problem. Basically, all digestive processes will produce stomach acid which can result in GERD. Some recommendations for dealing with the condition are: 1) avoid acidic foods, 2) avoid eating
anything
within two hours of bed, and 3) avoid alcohol for at least two hours before bed. Any digestive disorder lasting more than a few days should be checked by consulting a physician.
Sooner or later you may find yourself at a session where you are recording in a very strange environment, or the studio may be out of pencils or not have a pencil sharpener, the water may be turned off, or any number of other situations might occur. It’s a good plan to arrive prepared.
Enter the Voiceover Survival Kit! You can purchase a small bag or pouch to hold the essential items and keep it with you whenever you go to an audition or session. You’ll find the complete list of recommended items for your “survival kit” at the end of
Chapter 24
, “Auditions.”
Visual images will help you express different emotional attitudes through your voice. Close your eyes and visualize the scene taking place in the copy or visualize what your character might look like. Lock the image in your imagination and use it as a tool to help feel and experience whatever it is that you need to express in the copy. Visualization will also help create a sense of believability as you read your lines. Don’t worry if you can’t visualize in “pictures.” However you use your imagination is how you visualize: colors, sounds, or images. Use whatever works for you.
Voiceover work is like getting paid to play. Whether you’re working from your home studio or at a recording studio, your auditions and sessions will go more smoothly when you are relaxed, prepared, and ready to perform. Choose to not worry about mistakes you might make. Use these as opportunities to learn more about your craft and to hone your skills.
1
Wilson, J. (2000).
The 3-Dimensional Voice
. San Diego: Blue Loon Press.
2
Berry, C. (1973).
Voice and the Actor
. New York: Macmillan.
3
Kehoe, TD. (1997).
Stuttering: Science, Therapy and Practice
. Boulder: Casa Futura Technologies.
4
Beaupré, J. (1994).
Broadcast Voice Exercises
. Los Angeles: Broadcast Voice Books.
(AKA: The A∼B∼C’s of Voice Acting—
CD/6
)
Acting is an art! As with any art form, acting has some very specific processes, techniques, and component parts—or elements—that must be understood and properly applied in order to achieve the desired result of creating a sense of believability. If any element is overlooked or omitted from a performance, the audience will sense that something is missing.
During the course of teaching The Art of Voice Acting workshops, we’ve boiled down the essence of acting for voiceover to Seven Core Elements that we refer to as
The A-B-C’s of Voice Acting
. Traditional acting classes for stage, film, and television teach many of these concepts, but not quite the way you’ll learn here.
Take a look at the title of this chapter again. I’ll wait.
You’ll notice that the title includes the words
effective performance
. Voiceover work is not about what most people think of as “acting” or performing. To be effective, an actor must create a sense of drama. Miriam-Webster defines
drama
as “a situation or series of events in which there is an interesting or intense conflict of forces.” In other words, drama is what gives a performance the appearance of believable reality. Any actor can deliver words from a script, but to be effective, an actor must be believable. All drama contains elements of conflict, humor, mystery, emotion, and feelings. Drama also creates tension, suspense, and anticipation for what will happen next.
As you learn how to apply the concepts in this chapter, you will be able to create compelling, believable, and real characters in the mind of your audience. That’s what an effective performance is all about.
So now the question you should be asking is: “How do I create drama?” The answer is simple in concept but complex in execution. The answer is: “You must make choices and you must commit to those choices.” The Seven Core Elements of a performance are all about making choices.
A voiceover performer is an actor—period. It doesn’t matter what the copy or script is for. It doesn’t matter if the copy is well written or poorly written. It doesn’t matter if you are delivering the copy alone or with others. You are an actor when you stand in front of the microphone.
It is truly a rare individual who is born with natural acting ability. For most people, acting skills take time to learn and master. Acting is not difficult; it’s just that as we’ve grown, we’ve simply forgotten how to play. As a child, you were acting whenever you pretended to be someone you were not. Pretending is where it starts. But there’s a lot more to it than that.
Voiceover performing—or, more accurately, voice acting—is an opportunity to bring out your inner child. Regardless of the copy you are reading, there will always be some sort of character in the words. To be believable, that character must be brought to life. To do that effectively, you must start by becoming a master of pretending.
By definition, the word
pretend
means “to give a false appearance of being.” So, if you are strictly pretending, you are not being real, but the objective of all acting is to create the illusion of reality. Learning how to pretend believably (or act) allows you overcome this apparent contradiction so you can step outside of yourself, using what you know as you move down the path of creating that illusion of reality.
The major problem most people have in performing for voiceover is in creating a believable illusion of reality while reading from a script. Reading is a left-brain, linear process, while performing is a right-brain, non-linear, process. The tendency is to “read” the words, rather than allowing the words to become real by pretending to be the person speaking the words.
This is where the Seven Core Elements of an Effective Performance come in. By applying these seven elements, you will be able to take your acting from simple pretending to creating a completely believable reality.
If you remember nothing else from this book, the following concepts will take you further in voice acting, or any other performing craft, than just about anything else. You can also apply these ideas in any area of your personal or professional life to achieve a high level of communication skill.
These techniques do not have to be done in sequence. In fact, most of the time one element will help define another. As you work on your performance, begin by making choices in whichever element seems to be a good place to start, but be sure that you include them all.
Who are you (or, more accurately, who is your character) talking to? Decide on who will be hearing the message—the ideal person who needs to hear what you have to say. Different styles of delivery are appropriate for
different audiences. In most cases, the copy will give you a good idea of who the ideal audience is. It may be helpful to ask the producer who he or she is trying to reach, or you may need to make a choice based on your gut instincts. By knowing your audience, you will be able to figure out the most appropriate and effective way to speak to them.
The most important thing to remember about your audience is that no matter what the script or project may be, you are
always
talking to
only one person
. Attempting to
shotgun
your performance, by trying to connect with many people at once, will generally result in the listening audience losing interest and becoming uneasy with you as a performer. There is a very subtle difference between focusing attention on an individual versus focusing on a mass of people. You’ve no doubt experienced seminars where the speaker just doesn’t seem to reach the audience, and yet there are others where everyone is hanging on the speaker’s every word. In the first instance, the speaker is most likely “shotgunning” their message in an attempt to reach everyone in the audience. In the second, the speaker is getting eye contact with individuals in the audience—one at a time, and has a crystal clear idea of the ideal person who needs to hear the message. When you focus your attention on one person, and speak with honesty and sincerity, everyone listening will feel drawn in, as though you are speaking only to them. This is an incredibly powerful technique that many voice talent simply don’t understand or apply.
For the following line of copy, make some choices as to who the one, ideal person who needs to hear the message might be:
Some people think they’re a mistake! But most people think they’re delicious! OK… so they’ve got a big seed and they’re green… Avocado’s are still my favorite fruit. Great in salads… or all by themselves. Get some today.
Here are some possible choices:
The choice you make for your audience will help determine your tone of voice, your attitude, and the overall approach to your performance. Focus your attention on speaking to just one person as though you were having a conversation with them. Describe the person you are speaking to in as much detail as possible and give him or her a name. Use a photograph to get the feeling of having eye contact with a real person. Doing this may help make your delivery more conversational and believable. The RISC AmeriScan process discussed in
Chapter 10
, “The Character in the Copy,” will give you additional tools you can use to define your one-person audience.
Here’s a tip when choosing your one-person audience: Don’t choose to be speaking to someone you know. The reason for this is that when you select someone you know as your audience, the speaker of the words becomes
you
and it will be considerably more challenging to create a believable performance when reading from a script intended to be spoken by a character who is not you.
It’s entirely possible that the original choice you make for your audience may not be the best choice and you will need to change it. There may be many reasons for this, but regardless of how it happens, you will need to make an
adjustment
and make a new choice.