Last weekend I headed up to Chicagoland and took an intensive class on voice acting at the Holiday Inn in Countryside, IL.
Our instructor was Eric Hunt of the company Voices For All, based on the East Coast and comprised of several passionate, talented, helpful people. He's got boundless energy and a sensitive approach to coaching that kept all 12 of us rookies feeling competent and enthused.
Friday night 7-9 featured an overview of the increasingly expanding and accessible industry. The prevalence of audiobooks, telephony, and a variety of media create a vast array of opportunities non-existent ten years ago. Meanwhile the internet and technological advances have made it possible to earn a living from the comfort of your own basement, finding and auditioning for jobs via talent websites.
Saturday was a marathon of acting exercises that (if you like acting) were basically games. In one, we drew one of 15 emotions randomly and tried to read a plain sentence in a way that the others could guess our emotion. I drew "animated," which was pretty easy and also surprised people who knew me. Acting requires a concentrated mindset, getting out of ourselves and creating a character and scene in our mind that helps to express the words as naturally as possible. It's remarkable how the phrase "We love our team" can answer four different questions depending on which word is emphasized! Ten exhausting and happy hours later led to a good night's sleep.
Sunday was about reflecting on our vision and marketing strategy for our foray into the business. I did actually come up with a brand name and am playing around with a web site that will be announced here if I can get it up and running.
Tuesday was a 2-hour recording session where I was coached to read 10 scripts to create my 60-second demo (the equivalent of a resume for the voice actor). In about two weeks I'll be presented with the finished product including sound effects and the like. My voice probably fits better for straight narration or commercials rather than character acting, but since the rule of thumb is to win one job per 50 auditions or so, I'm sure there would be plenty of chances to dabble in a wide variety of types.
Next steps are to make an investment in some basic recording software and mic equipment, and once the demo's all set, to troll the marketplace! I imagine myself contacting local social service organizations, schools, churches, radio stations, or other parties that might benefit from largely donated work as I try to build up some experience.
2 comments:
I'm thinking of taking this class. In your opinion, was it worth it? How did you demo come out?
Thanks.
The demos came out great, you can hear them through the VFA site. It was worthwhile to me... I'd read books on technique but we did a lot of exercises with them in the class that brought it to another level. Ultimately "worth it" translates to dollars from jobs, which I've not begun to apply for yet, but I would recommend the class... considering all that the package buys such as the demos and lifetime coaching support too.
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