Read The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over Online
Authors: James Alburger
The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over (26 page)
- Develop your woodshedding skills so they become automatic.
- Look under the surface to discover the subtlety and nuance of copy.
- Don’t settle on your first choices.
- Always experiment and test different options for delivery of a line.
- Explore emotion, attitude, pacing, rhythm, tempo, and so on. to reveal alternative choices.
- Look for key words and catchphrases.
- Mark your script with a pencil. It is inevitable that at least some of your choices will change.
- Be careful not to over-analyze your script. Over-analysis can result in a flat delivery.
- Find a way to deliver the first line in a way that gets the listener’s attention and evolve your telling of the story using the
interrupt,
The Character in the Copy
Are you a voice actor? Or are you a voice talent? There’s a big difference! These seemingly similar references to our craft are, in reality, radically different approaches to performing and working with a script.
When you are performing a voiceover script as a voice actor, you are playing a role, no different than if you were playing a part in a stage play or movie. That’s why this craft is called
voice acting
! Unless you are telling your own personal story, the words and situations are not yours—they are those of a character who may be substantially different from you. To play the role of any character believably requires training and developing the ability to detach personal beliefs and attitudes from those of the character being portrayed. This is the essence of all acting.
Whether you work behind a microphone, on stage, on television, or in film, there are two distinctly different approaches to performing and creating characters. One is where the actor develops a strong and highly identifiable performing style that is at the foundation of every role. The style may be one of a specific voice characteristic, physical appearance, performance rhythm, body movement, or underlying attitude. I refer to actors in this category as
celebrity actors
. When these actors perform, we have no doubt in our mind that we are watching that person perform. We become involved with their performance, in part, because their acting style is completely appropriate for the roles they choose to play. In other words, no matter what the role, their characters are believable, largely because there is some aspect of the character role that is very similar to the actor. Some film actors I would place in this category are Jack Nicholson, Christian
Slater, Adam Sandler, Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz, and Jennifer Lopez. Many highly successful voiceover talent frame their performance through an interpretation of each script based on skill and instincts developed over many years. Although many of these performers have the ability to create a wide range of vocal styles, emotions, and attitudes, their performance comes more from who they are, than by creating a character for each role they play.
Some acting courses teach that the actor should bring as much of his or her self to the performance as possible, and design their performance on how
they
would handle the situations, based on personal experience and interpretation. If you are merely “being you” as you perform a script, even on an extended level, then your performance may risk sounding like
you
doing the words, and there may, or may not, be anything unique or special about your performance. Now, you may be an excellent reader with a talent for interpreting or spinning a phrase, or you may posses an incredible vocal resonance and command when you speak, but if you are personally attached to the words of the script, you are not truly an actor.
The other approach to performing is one in which a wide range of acting skills and abilities is developed which allows the actor to literally create many different emotions, attitudes, and personalities that are outside of who they really are. Actors who have mastered this approach literally become the character they are playing. As we watch or listen to them, we see the character they have created, not the person they are. I refer to these actors as
character actors
. I consider Jim Carrey, Jodie Foster, Drew Barrymore, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Robin Williams all excellent examples of actors who truly become the characters they are playing. In the world of voiceover, many of the best known and highest paid voice talent have developed the ability to create a variety of uniquely different voices and personalities for the characters they play.
Both approaches to voiceover work are completely valid, and both offer potential for success. However, it’s important to understand the differences because your individual abilities may direct you to follow one path or the other. Not everyone working in voiceover is a voice actor. For example, if you have very strong personal or religious beliefs, you may discover that it is very difficult to separate yourself from those beliefs in order to create a believable character that has opposing beliefs or attitudes. No matter how hard you might try, you may not be able to create a sense of truth as you speak the words. If this is true for you, then the path of mastering performing skills as an actor may not be for you. You must follow a different path, with different training that will give you the skills to base your interpretation and performance of a script on who you are. You will need to develop a deep understanding of your innermost self, and you will need to learn how to tell a compelling story from the perspective of
you
as the story teller. You will need to learn how to be a masterful reader of stories, rather than a creator of characters who tell their stories.
The ability to read a script with a powerful interpretation is no less a skill than that of a voice actor creating and playing a believable character. In voiceover, performers with these heightened reading and interpretive skills commonly refer to themselves as voice artists or voice talent. Those who develop the skills for creating compelling characters can accurately refer to themselves as voice actors. Both performing styles are common, but the trend in most areas of voiceover has been moving toward voice acting.
A common dilemma with performers just learning the craft of acting is the thought that they are “lying” or being “untruthful” when they perform the role of a character who expresses thoughts, ideas, beliefs, or opinions that may be radically different from their own, or they feel guilty when they are getting paid to read a script for a product they don’t believe in. By definition, the term “actor” simply means
playing the role of a character
. There is nothing in the definition that implies that the performer is lying, cheating, or being dishonest in any manner. In fact, the underlying precept of all forms of acting is that it is the actor’s job to create a believable reality of the moment for the character he or she is playing. The dilemma occurs because the neophyte actor is confusing their personal beliefs with those of the character they are playing. Without a disconnect of personal beliefs, it is extremely difficult to create a believable and compelling character. This disconnect is essential and necessary in all forms of acting, including voice acting. And, in some situations, it can be difficult to achieve.
So, does this mean that, as a voice actor, you should take any job offered to you, regardless of the message or its ultimate purpose? Of course not! Your personal beliefs, ethics, and philosophy should certainly be major factors in choosing your performance material. All scripts are not right for all voice actors. Even if you are a highly skilled reader, there will be many scripts that cross your desk that are not appropriate, either for your style of delivery, or in their content. Ultimately, it is up to each individual performer to learn how to choose the jobs they will accept. As with anything else in life, some choices will be better than others.
Whether you approach your voiceover work as a voice actor or as a voice talent, the best tool you have to define a character or discover an interpretation is your own personality. When you know yourself, you can tap into parts of your personality to give life to the character in the copy.
Personality analysis is a subject that has been studied for thousands of years. Hippocrates developed a system of defining personality traits, which placed individuals into four separate personality types with dominant
(sanguine and choleric) and recessive (melancholic and phlegmatic) traits. The Hippocrates system of personality analysis was very restrictive in its definitions of personality types but it did provide a basic structure within which people could be placed.
More recently the psychologists of our world have developed highly refined methods of determining specific personality types. Some of their studies have shown that personality is largely a result of the chemical makeup of the brain. Cultural upbringing and conditioning further contribute to personality development.
There are many excellent books available that will help you discover some fascinating aspects of your personality. Many of these books are written as aids to improving relationships or developing self-awareness. Three excellent personality books are:
Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types
by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates (1984);
Are You My Type, Am I Yours
by Renee Baron and Elizabeth Wagele (1995); and
Dealing with People You Can’t Stand
by Dr. Rick Brinkman and Dr. Rick Kirschner (2002). Another approach to understanding personality types is through the
Enneagram
. There are many books on this subject, among them,
Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery
by Ross Hudson and Don Richard Riso (1996). These books look at personality types from different points of view and offer some fascinating reading.
An advertiser’s understanding of who buys their company’s products is crucial when it comes to a marketing campaign. Your understanding of yourself is equally necessary when it comes to creating a character that will effectively communicate the message in the advertiser’s copy. The best way for you to learn more about yourself is to ask questions and find the most appropriate answers. Based on your answers, you will be able to determine some of your dominant and recessive personality traits.
Most studies of personality type start with several basic categories, then divide those into subcategories. Every person has characteristics in several categories, but certain areas are dominant, and others are recessive. The following simple questions will give you an idea of some basic personality differences.
- Do you respond to problems emotionally, or do you think about them before responding?
- Do you have a strong need to express yourself creatively, or do you prefer quiet activities?
- Do you avoid unpleasant emotions (including fear), or are you inclined to take risks?
- Do you rely on your instincts for information, or do you rely on what you see and hear?
- Do you seek approval from authority figures, or do you rebel?
- Do you play the role of a nurturer, or do you treat others in a detached manner?
- Do you express anger readily? Are you accommodating and out of touch with your anger, or do you see anger as a character flaw?
- Do you prefer literal writing or a more figurative writing style?
- Are you more realistic or speculative?
- Do emotions impress you more, or do principles?
- Are you attracted to creative, imaginative people, or to more sensible, structured people?
- Do you tend to arrive at events early, or are you generally late?
- Do you do things in the usual way, or in your own way?
- Do you feel better having made a purchase or having the option to purchase?
- Do you operate more from facts or from principles?
- Do you find it easy to speak to strangers, or is this difficult?
- Are you fair-minded or sympathetic?
- Do you prefer planned activities or unplanned activities?
Your answers to these and other questions will only scratch the surface of your personality. When you gain an in-depth understanding of who you are, you will be ahead of the game when it comes to creating a marketable style. When you understand yourself, you will be able to tap into some of the core elements of your own personality as you create a unique character. Discovering the essence of who you are is the first step in developing acting skills that will allow you to create believable and compelling characters.
In our
VoiceActing Academy Workshops
, I teach the concept of
The Two Boxes
. You and the character you are playing each live in a box. You are very comfortable within the walls of your box. Your box contains all of your life experience, belief system, habits, behaviors, attitudes, emotions, feelings, knowledge, wisdom, and more. The box your character lives in contains all the same stuff you have in your box, only it’s those of the character—not yours. The character’s box may be larger or smaller than your box, and the character you will portray is very comfortable within the walls of his or her box.
You need to understand the real you and how you exist in your box before you can fully understand how your character exists in his or her box.
As an actor, your job is to climb out of your box and into the box of your character. You bring everything from your box with you except the box itself. You separate yourself from the confines of the walls of your box as you enter the box of your character. Everything you bring with you is available as tools that can be used to help bring the character to life.
If your character’s box is larger than yours, you need to be aware of this in order to allow yourself to behave believably as the character. Learning how to do this may be uncomfortable at first, but that’s only because your comfort levels are relative to existing within your box and you’ve not yet grown comfortable in a bigger box. The path to becoming comfortable in the character’s box is through the use of the many acting and performing techniques you’ve learned from this and other acting books, acting classes, and improvisation classes.
Once you’ve climbed into your character’s box, you need to let go of the real you and experience how the character you are portraying lives and behaves. There will always be a part of you there to make your character real. In a very real sense, when you create a character, you are tapping into that part of you where the character lives.
This is the commonality between you and the character. It’s the stuff you brought with you from your box that also exists as the same, or very similar, stuff in your character’s box. Those things in your character’s box that are different from anything in your box must be created through your performance. But in order to achieve this, you must know what they are, and have some way to create them. This is why basic training in acting and performing technique is an essential part of the study of voice acting.
A mastery of this process results in a truly believable character that you can create on demand without thinking about what you are doing. This is what Core Element #6,
Forget Who You Are and Focus
is all about.