Re: Voice Acting

Title: Voice Acting
From: zeldawalkthrough1
Message:
I've been considering doing some myself in the future and I'd appreciate it greatly if ya could give me a bit of advice
To: jonfawkes

Title: Re: Voice Acting
From: jonfawkes
Message:
Sure. I don't know how helpful I can be but I can tell you a few things from experience. Take this with a grain of salt.

1. Voice acting is not just the voice. It is also the acting, as the term implies. Take some basic acting lessons. I recommend a Stanislavski book, those are a staple to an acting curriculum. You could have the cutest, sexiest, most beautiful voice in the world but if you don't have any skill to back it up, you won't get far.

2. Voice acting is also the voice. It is a different skill from just acting on stage or in film. Take some classes on voice control. A singing class is great for this. You might not want to be a singer, but the skills you learn from it will really help boost your voice acting ability.

3. Prepare for disappointment. As all actors face, and the same goes for voice actors, you're going to be rejected a lot more than casted. Even myself, my rejection to cast ratio is probably 100:1, no matter how hard that is to believe. Don't let one rejection discourage you, don't let 1000 rejections discourage you. As an actor understand that you aren't being rejected because you're bad, you're being rejected because you don't fit the part.

4. Learn to work with people. Voice acting may be just a hobby, but it is an industry you're entering. You will not only be working with other actors, you will be working with producers, directors, musicians, artists, and many other people. Understand that you are not the center of anything, and that, especially as an actor, you are replaceable. Be friendly and learn to work with people, don't make people work with you. From my experience, even if you aren't any good, if you're someone who is nice to work with, you will be picked even over someone "more skilled".

5. Do not expect to become famous overnight. Do not expect to become famous at all. You are not the first to do this, and you will most definitely not be the last. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the amateur community alone, so you have a lot of competition. If you're doing this only to become famous, stop now, you won't get any further than this.

That should be a good starting point. From there, watch a lot of videos as a student, looking for what works and what doesn't, and learning from that. Ask other people too, I certainly am not the foremost expert on this.

I wish you the best of luck with voice acting, and hope to work with you in the near future.

To: zeldawalkthrough1

New Apartment in Riverside

Just moved in and got the net working! Check out these crappy pictures of my apartment





In all seriousness it's been pretty emotional moving in. As I was unpacking I felt the onset of a slight depression (probably homesickness). But my roomies are pretty cool, I think it's going to be a good year.

Anime Expo 2010

This was my first year at Anime Expo, and it was amazing! I mostly attended voice acting panels as well as AX Idol. I didn't win, but it was super fun, and I learned a lot of stuff.

Day 1

Anime Expo 2010 Day 1

This was Anime Expo Idol 2010. I got there in the morning, picked up my badge, and then rushed all around to find where the AXIdol sign-in was. Turns out it was in the JW Marriot hotel outside of the convention center. Luckily I made it in time, but I was quite tired, which is probably why my throat dried up partway through my audition. The competition was intense, but really fun.

Day 2

Anime Expo 2010 Day 2

The only significant thing I did this was was the Danny Choo panel, but it was very inspiring. Choo basically explained his story about how he made it to Japan. It was quite a touching story I thought. I didn't win the game of jan-ken-pon for the Black Rock Shooter figure though. I found it in the deal hall for almost $100 O.O

Day 3

Anime Expo 2010 Day 3

This was the Crispin Freeman panel and AX Idol finals. I thought it would be a good idea to attend the finals anyway, just to see what I would be up for next year. It was quite a rush, there were so many people, and the excitement was only boosted by Johnny Yong Bosch and Cristina Vee. All of the finalists were amazing, they definitely deserved to win. Freeman's panel was also very educational.

Day 4

Anime Expo 2010 Day 4

The final day of the con, and the Cristina Vee panel and the big Voice Acting panel. Those were also really fun and educational. Not much else to say about that. Had to leave early to get to the bus in time to head back to San Diego, otherwise I would have stayed to watch the AnimeTV panel.

Overall, the experience was great, and I hope to be able to go again next year.

It's finally over, year 1

Phew, I can't believe I made it through the first year of college alive! Actually, I must say, it wasn't that hard.

Being in a dorm by myself, I felt a lot more independent, which meant I got to stay up as late as I wanted, no curfew or bedtime, it was completely my own responsibility. This meant I had to learn to be more responsible, but I also had a lot more freedom, which helped a lot to take off the stress of school-work and responsibility for myself.

I never did get a job, but I did make some money on my own, a little by my Voice Acting work and a little by my website. I really should get a job though.

Finals have been the worst every quarter, but once they were over, it felt great. It was bad, but never so bad that it put me into a state of panic. Maybe this is a side effect of being more responsible for myself.

This has certainly been an experience. I am far from being able to support myself completely on my own, but you know, college is a time for learning, not only academically but about the real world too. I'll be getting an apartment for next year, that'll be even more exciting.

I'm just glad it's finally all over. It's time for summer! Up next, Anime Expo and Comic-Con!

Avatar (and not the air bender)

I went with my roommates to see Avatar, that new movie that's out in theaters. Thought it'd be a great way to kick off the quarter, since I imagine this is going to be one long winter.

I must say it is an absolutely amazing movie. The CG is wonderful, very detailed, at times, it was hard to tell the reality from the animation.

The plot was great. Simple enough to follow and sophisticated enough to get you thinking. Some elements were hard to remember, but the ideas were always present so this wasn't a problem.

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who hasn't seen at (at this point, I doubt there isn't anyone who hasn't seen it).

So that's my short review of Avatar, and my first day of the quarter. It's gonna be a long one, but I'll see it through to the end.