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VOICE ACTING Can You Create Original Voice Over Characters? What Your Producers Want ... March 19, 2014  By Gary TerzzaVoice Talent and Coach (UK) Performing character roles can be great fun, but they require a dramatically different approach to mainstream voice overs. Here are some pointers that may help you become a better voice actor. In voice overs, characterizations are mostly associated with video games and animation, but this is not always the case. Other areas where you may be asked to 'put on a voice' include some commercials and dialogue in audiobooks. So let's look at the qualities and talents you need to develop. INHABIT YOUR CHARACTERS With standard voice overs, we often speak of acting naturally, so of course, if you are asked to be the voice of an alien - or any other character - you can't do that. Or can you? In a funny kind of way, yes you can, only this time you need to become the character first and then do what the alien would do in its own natural way. Like a stage or screen actor, you should adopt an immersion principle; in other words don't just 'play' the alien, but actually become this thing from Planet Thwark. Spend some time getting to know your extraterrestrial alter-ego inside out;:
The important point to note here is that it does not matter whether you have one line or hundreds of pages of script to deliver. your characteriZations have to be believable. BE ORIGINAL Animators and video game producers often complain that talents frequently adopt predictable voices. Lana Carson, owner of Canada's VoiceBox Productions, once remarked that if you show people a picture of a witch at an audition and ask them to produce a voice, they usually come out with a Wicked Witch of the West voice cliche. This is not what studios want. They are looking for something that is unique and different, so work on a range of voices and play around with styles and accents. A witch does not have to cackle; she can have a Liverpool accent and speak with a slight lisp. Whatever you do, do not succumb to the easy option of being a stereotyp,e and don't copy what other voice over artists do. By all means listen and learn from established artists, but use this as a guide to create your own distinctive personas rather than a template to be followed rigidly. VARIETY IS KEY No matter how good your best characterization is, no one wants a one-trick pony. The ability to slide with ease from one voice to another is essential. Producers like to hire talented people who can do several diverse voices, not actors who can only do that single, signature piece. Spend time creating malleable voices. By that, I mean having a fluid repertoire so you can adapt your voice with ease to any situation. PLUCK TONES & ACCENTS For instance, you may have been attracted by the audition for an old colonel, but the client may also require a peasant and a confused time traveller from the future. Although you may never have vocalized a peasant or time traveller, you should develop the ability to pluck tones and accents from your back catalog to create new interesting voices. Practicing this kind of scenario is an absolute must so you can produce fresh, exciting sounds to bring just about any character to life Go forth and let the universe hear your voices! --------------------- ABOUT GARY Gary Terzza is a UK voice over coach based in London. He is also a long established voice over artist with a client list that includes Channel 4, BBC, ITV, Pepsi-Cola, Symantec, BAE Systems and Hitachi. Web: www.vomasterclass.com Blog: www.vomasterclass.blogspot.co.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/VoMasterClass |
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Comments (2)
Jim Conlan
3/19/2014 at 11:01 AM
Thanks for the tips, Gary. I would add one thing that I have found helpful: become a character-observer. I encounter people every day who suggest the voices and ways of being you describe above. I think most character actors are great imitators, and there's no better imitation than that of life.
Rebecca aka LoveThatRebecca
3/19/2014 at 7:32 AM
Great points Gary - and so succinct! Thanks!
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