The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over (20 page)
Read The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over Online
Authors: James Alburger
As you master voiceover performing techniques you will begin to discover that you fit into one of two basic categories as a voice talent: 1) you may find that you can easily create a wide variety of vocal placements and character voices, or 2) your vocal instrument is limited in range and you are learning how to create a variety of delivery styles that fall within the predominant sound of your voice. In either case, you will ultimately discover a fundamental sound or style that you are most comfortable with when performing different types of copy. This style is often referred to as your
signature voice
. It’s the “voice” that gets you booked and it may be different for different genres of voiceover work. If you have the ability to create many unique character voices, you may not have a specific signature voice for your character voiceover work, but you still may have a signature voice for other types of voiceover work. This will be covered in greater detail in
Chapter 10
, “The Character in the Copy.”
Your
signature voice
is your marketing base. When a talent buyer books you based on your demo or an audition, they believe you will be able to deliver what they need to make their project work. What the talent buyer hears may or may not be what you consider to be your signature voice—or even what you think you do best. You may be booked based on you signature voice or from a variation presented in an audition, but during a session you may be asked to take your performance in an entirely different direction. That new direction may be radically different from what got you the job, and it may even take you into unfamiliar territory.
It is unwise and unprofessional to think that you are being hired only for the
one
“style” you think you do best. As a professional voice actor, it is expected that you have the talent and ability to make adjustments with your performance and delivery style. What you think you do best—no matter what that may be—means very little to a producer. Learn how to get past your ego! You must be able to adapt your delivery style, attitude, emotional subtext, vocal placement, dynamics, and characterization to what your client needs. This does not mean that you need to be able to do wacky character voices, or take your performance to something that is beyond your abilities. But it does mean that you need to develop the skills to perform with a variety of attitudes and dynamics. And you need to do this without your ego getting in the way.
All of the techniques in this chapter are intended to help you develop range and variety in your performance. As useful as these techniques may be, their effectiveness will be compounded when you learn some basic acting skills.
1
Keyes, D. (1995).
Flowers for Algernon,
Keyes, Daniel. Harcourt (reissue).
2
Here is the proper punctuation for the line on page 91:
That that is, is. That that is not, is not. Is that it? It is.
Voice Acting 101
As valuable as they are, the Seven Core Elements of an Effective Performance in
Chapter 6
are just the first steps for creating an effective performance. There are many other things you can do to build on these core elements to improve the effectiveness of your delivery. The techniques you learned in
Chapter 7
and the tools in this chapter will help you to develop versatility and expand the range and variety of your vocal performance. As you begin to master these techniques, you will find your delivery becoming increasingly effective. You will also discover that you will become better able to handle a wider range of delivery styles, emotions, and attitudes.
It is important to understand that the techniques you use are
not
your performance. Techniques are there to support and assist you in achieving the objectives of your performance. It’s much like building a house: the hammer, saw, nails, and boards are only tools and components that are used to build the house. Acting techniques are the tools and component parts of your performance. They are the tools you use as you play your instrument.
Understanding how to use a technique in and of itself is of only limited value. You also need to know how to apply the techniques you use in the broader scope of your performance. This chapter covers concepts and performing principles that are basic to theatrical acting, and any or all will be of tremendous value to you as a voiceover performer.
All acting is based on initial choices and adjustments made to those choices as a performance develops. As you work with a piece of copy, you will be making lots of decisions and choices about who your audience is, who your character is, what the back story is, and many other aspects of
your performance. It is important to commit to these choices in order to be consistent throughout the recording session.
Of course, as new choices are made to enhance your character or performance, you must commit to these also. In some cases, you may find that the choices you have committed to no longer work as well as you or the director might like. You may find it necessary to completely change or revise some of your choices. That’s OK! Your choices are not engraved in stone. Learn how to explore a variety of choices and be flexible as a performer so you can make adjustments quickly, without thinking. As new choices are made, commit to them to maintain a consistent performance. As you discover and commit to the best choices that develop the character and strengthen the delivery or emotional impact of the message, you will be creating realism and believability in your performance.
The process of working through your performance to make valid choices is called
woodshedding
. This will be covered in detail in
Chapter 9
, “Woodshedding and Script Analysis.”
This is basic acting. You must be focused on your performance. You cannot be thinking about what you are doing later that afternoon and expect to give a good performance. You also cannot be in the moment if you are struggling to get the words right or dealing with interpretation or worrying that your client might not like what you are doing. If you are even, in the slightest way,
not
focused on the copy and your performance, you will sound as though you are reading. To be in the moment, you must become comfortable with the words to the point where they become yours, and you are not thinking about what you are doing. Being
in the moment
is what Core Element #6,
Forget Who You Are and Focus
, is all about.
Being in the moment means that you understand on an instinctive level, your character, who your character is speaking to, the message in the script, your character’s intentions, and innumerable other details. It also means that you speak the words in the script with a truth and honesty that comes from the heart of the character. A good way to be and stay in the moment is to practice the techniques in this chapter. Mastering this skill can take some time, so don’t be discouraged if you find yourself drifting out of character or starting to think about what you are doing. Keep working at it and it will come. Some actors will spend many years developing this skill.
Your best and most real performance will be achieved when you are truly
in the moment
of the scene taking place—aware of what you are doing, but not consciously thinking about it.
You need to learn how to look at your performance objectively, as if observing from a distance. This director in your mind will give you the cues
to keep your performance on track.
Self-direction
is not only a valuable skill that you can use constantly—even when there is a director on the other side of the glass—but it is a skill that becomes absolutely essential when you record voice tracks from the comfort of your personal home studio.
When you are wearing your “director” hat, you need to be listening for all the little things in your delivery that are, and are
not
working. Look for the important words in the copy that need to receive importance or value. Look for the parts that need to be softened. Look for places to pause—a half -second of silence can make all the difference. Listen for the rhythm, the pace, and the flow of the copy. As the director, you are your own critic. Your goal is to constructively critique your performance to increase your effectiveness in communicating the message.
The process of looking at your performance objectively is part of Core Element #6
, Forget Who You Are and Focus.
It can be quite difficult if you are working by yourself. The difficulty lies in the fact that if you think about what you are doing as you perform, you will break character. Your “director’s” listening process needs to be developed to the point where it happens at an unconscious level, yet you still have a conscious awareness of what you are doing as your character. The best way to learn this is to work with a voice coach or take some classes to learn what directors look (or listen) for and how they work with performers to get the delivery they want. Watch and learn as others are directed. Observe how the director focuses the performer on the particular part of the copy that needs improvement.
Record your practice sessions and have a skilled director listen to your recordings to give you suggestions on what you can do on your own. As you gain experience, your performance and self-direction become as one, and you will soon instinctively know how to deliver a piece of copy.
An actor’s job is to respond. And the best way to have a believable response is to listen. Be aware of what is going on in the copy so you have an understanding of the story and can respond appropriately. Don’t just read words on the page.
- Listen to your
audience
so that your response is appropriate. - Listen to your
character
, and to the other performers if you are doing dialogue copy. Interact with what is being said. Be real! Respond to the message emotionally and physically. Remember that acting is reacting. Listen to yourself as you deliver the lines, and observe your internal response to the words you are saying. Then react or respond accordingly. This technique can give life to an otherwise dull script. - Listen to the director in your mind to stay on track. Learn to think critically to constantly improve your performance.
- Listen to the producer or director to take your performance where it needs to go. Your performance needs to reach the producer’s vision.
- Listen to your body to find the physical tension and emotional energy needed for a believable delivery. Without physical energy, there is little more than just words.
It is only by careful listening that you will be able to respond appropriately and ultimately get out of your own way to
forget who you are
.
Be spontaneous, every time! Use your acting and imagination skills to keep the copy, and your performance, fresh. Each performance (or take) should be as though the character is experiencing the moment in the script for the first time. You may be on take 24, but your character in the copy needs to be on take 1—for every take. Use your imagination to create a clear visualization of a scene, character, or situation to help make your performance real and believable take after take.
In the preface to the book
Scenes for Actors and Voices
, Daws Butler is quoted from one of his workshops
1
:
I want you to understand the words. I want you to taste the words. I want you to love the words. Because the words are important. But they’re only words. You leave them on the paper and you take the thoughts and put them into your mind and then you as an actor recreate them, as if the thoughts had suddenly occurred to you.
Learn how to be consistently spontaneous! This doesn’t necessarily mean that every time you deliver a line of copy it must sound exactly the same—that will depend on your choices, any adjustments you make, and the direction you receive. What this means is that you need to be able to deliver each line of your performance as though it was the first time your character ever thought of those words.
Don’t just read the words on the page. Play the storyteller—no matter what the copy is. Search for an emotional hook in the copy—it’s in there someplace—even in a complex technical script. Find a way to close the gap between the performer and the audience. Find a way to connect with that one person you are talking to, on an emotional level.
Your emotional connection may be in the softness of your voice. Or it may be in the way you say certain words. It may be in the way you carry your body as you speak your lines. Or it may be in the smile on your face. Make that connection, and you will be in demand.
The late Don LaFontaine (1940–2008) was once asked what he did as he performed. His answer was, “I create visual images with a twist of a word.” It is the little shift of inflection or subtlety in the delivery of a word
or phrase that makes the difference between an adequate voiceover performance and an exceptional voice acting performance. Effective storytelling is using the subtleties of performance to reach the audience emotionally and create strong, memorable visual images.
Consider voiceover copy in terms of a musical composition. Music has a range of notes from high to low, being played by a variety of instruments (the voices). The tempo of the music may be generally fast or slow (the pace), and the tempo may fluctuate throughout the composition. The music also has a range of loud-to-soft (dynamics). These elements combine to create interest and attract and hold the listener’s attention. Voiceover copy works the same way.
All copy has a
rhythm
, a
tempo
, and a
flow
. Rhythm in voiceover copy is much the same as rhythm in music. There are many pieces of music that run two minutes, but each has a unique rhythm. Many times, the rhythm changes within the composition. Rhythm in voiceover copy is as varied as it is in music. Some copy has a rhythm that is smooth, classy, and mellow. Other copy has a choppiness that is awkward and uncomfortable.
Some of the factors that affect rhythm in voiceover copy are pacing, pauses, breaths, the subtle emphasis of key words, and even diction and intonation. In dialogue, rhythm also includes the timing of the interaction between characters. Find the rhythm in the copy and you will win auditions.
Rhythm is something that can only be found by making the copy your own. You cannot get into a rhythm if you are just reading words off a page. Make the words your own by knowing your character, and you will be on your way to finding the rhythm. You might find it interesting to record yourself in a conversation. You may discover that you have a rhythm in the way you speak, which is quite different from the rhythm of others in the conversation.
A conversation has several things going on at once: There is a rhythm to the words, a tempo or pacing, and the interaction between the people having the conversation. Listen for pauses, people talking at the same time, the energy of the conversation, and the way in which certain words are emphasized. Observe how they move their bodies, especially when expressing an emotion or feeling. All these elements, and more, go into creating the rhythm of a conversation.
An excellent way to study vocal rhythm is to watch classic black and white movies from the 1940s. Many of these films feature some incredible character actors with interesting voices who use rhythm, tempo, phrasing, and vocal texture in powerful ways.
Look for the basic dramatic elements of a story as you study a script. These are the basic journalism five Ws—who, what, when, where, and why; and, of course, the ever popular “how.” As an actor, it’s very helpful to add a sixth W to define the environment in which the story is taking place—the “weather.” The more details you can discover, the more accurately you will be able to portray a believable character in the story.
Here are some examples of what you can ask as you work your way through the six Ws and an H:
- Who is your character?
- Who are the other characters in the story?
- Who is your character speaking to?
- What does your character want or need at this moment in time?
- What is your character responding to?
- What is the plot of the story?
- What is the emotional relationship between the characters?
- What is the conflict?
- What complications arise?
- What events brought your character to this situation?
- When does the story take place?
- When does the peak moment happen?
- Where is the story taking place?
- Where, geographically, are other characters or objects in relation to your character?
- Why is your character in the situation he or she is in?
- Why does your character behave the way he or she does?
- Weather: Is the environment cold, hot, steamy, dry, wet, dusty, or cozy? Allow yourself to feel the temperature and other conditions of the environment so you can fully express the feelings and emotions of the story.
- How is the conflict resolved, or not resolved?
- How is the message expressed through the resolution or nonresolution of the conflict?
Ask a lot of questions! By understanding what is taking place, you will discover your role in the story. A dramatic story structure with a definite plot is most often found in dialogue scripts. However, many single voice scripts have a plot structure that evolves through the course of the story.
Unfortunately, many small-market and lower-end scripts are written solely to provide intellectual (or logical) information. Information-based copy, also known as spokesperson copy, rarely has much of a story or plot, and thus there is little or no conflict. With no conflict to be resolved, it can be very challenging to find an emotional hook. Industrial copy often falls into this category. Even with no plot, you still need to determine the
audience, back story, and character, and you need to find a way to bridge the gap between performer and audience. Building that bridge can be a much greater challenge than it is with a plot-based story script. However, an emotional connection can still be made with the audience through effective characterization, and a “twist of a word.”