You’ve accomplished it! You’ve gotten a tremendous voiceover agent. The sound gear you’ve put collectively is completely suited to your voice and your private home studio is an oasis of creativity. After months of economic auditions, your inbox dings with the chance you’ve been ready for since beginning your voiceover journey: an animation audition!
Panic units in. It has been your dream to audition for animation because you have been sufficiently old to know what cartoons have been. You run via all of the foolish voices you possibly can presumably do in your head, however nothing is working. Maybe all of them really feel like they’re by-product of your favourite voice actors’ performances. The audition is due within the morning…what do you do?!
Concern not. Take a deep breath. Listed here are some ideas that can assist you self-direct that audition in order that if you hit the “ship” button on that electronic mail, you possibly can relaxation assured that you simply gave your greatest efficiency.
Cease Making an attempt to Come Up with a “Foolish Voice”
The pattern in animation currently is to lean into pure voices. Now, that doesn’t imply that you simply gained’t be enjoying a personality. Will probably be your pure voice on the numerous extremes – what do you sound like on the peak of pleasure or the doldrums of despair? Altering your power fairly than altering your voice will do wonders for character creation.
Granted, there are genres and exceptions to that rule- the place the characters are a bit zanier and broad- however being too targeted on what “voice” you may be performing will distract you from the performing.
Everybody on the earth has a few loopy voices they will do. What makes you totally different is that you’re an actor, not only a voice machine. Give attention to the script, the feelings, and the relationships of the script. After you have all of these, in the event you nonetheless need to layer on a “loopy voice”, go for it, however provided that you possibly can nonetheless maintain your emotional vary whereas altering your voice.
Follow and Analyze the Script BEFORE You Document
Take your time with the script. Discover out the place the jokes are. Learn the ENTIRE script if you’re supplied with the opposite characters’ dialogue and the motion traces. Know what you’re reacting to. Discover locations the place you possibly can add “motion” noises (Lifting grunts, working, combating, whispering, and many others). Make the most of your textual content evaluation expertise.
Spend time with the script forward of time and apply it OUT LOUD. You can find the place your hindrances are, and which moments are working in your efficiency and which moments have to be adjusted. Do that earlier than you step into the sales space; do twenty takes, and get annoyed.
Voice Over Textual content Evaluation – Who, What, The place, When, Why, How?
- Who are you? What sort of particular person/ creature/ factor are you? What’s vital to you? Who’s the character you’re speaking to, what’s your relationship to him/her/it/them?
- What are you doing, what have you ever accomplished, what do you propose to do, and what’s occurring?
- The place are you bodily, the place are you often, the place would you prefer to be, and the place are you within the telling of the story?
- When is that this scene/story/second going down and the way a lot time do you need to do no matter it’s you’re doing?
- Why are you doing/saying what you’re doing/saying anyway? Why aren’t you saying/doing one thing else?
- How does your character select to do what he/she/it’s doing, and the way is that totally different from the way you, your self, in actual life may do it?
- Interested by the variations between the way you may say one thing and the way the character says it is going to train you one thing vital concerning the character.
Put On Two Hats: Actor and Director
Once we get an vital audition, it’s straightforward to guage ourselves within the second and nitpick each selection. For those who do that, the recording will come off stilted and tentative. The mic will choose up if you’re holding again or if you’re having enjoyable. So, when you are recording, banish your interior director and simply be an actor within the sales space. Give attention to the efficiency with out judgement.
Then, upon getting accomplished a take or two, step out of your sales space and pay attention again.
Hear With a Director’s Ear
You’ve accomplished the laborious half. You’ve put out a stellar efficiency and since you labored on the script, you have been in a position to have enjoyable doing it. Casting administrators can all the time hear when the actor is having enjoyable versus making an attempt to ship what they assume the shopper needs.
Listed here are just a few goal inquiries to ask your self as you hearken to your takes:
- Connection – Did I take the character via a dynamic emotional journey? Did I discover all of the emotional and comedic turns each between and in-between the traces?
- Articulation – Can I perceive each phrase or are there mumbled bits?
- Tone – Was the learn and the “voice” constant all through?
- Tempo – How was my velocity? Too quick? Too Sluggish? Good?
- Creativeness – Did I make daring, fascinating decisions?
- Sustainability – If I made a decision to placed on a voice, is that this one thing I may keep for a four-hour session? Or will my voice be destroyed after 10 minutes?
- Fashion – Did it sound like I used to be having enjoyable or, if dramatic, did it sound “acted” or actual?
For those who had some moments that didn’t fairly match all the factors, document it once more. Or simply document these few traces that you simply really feel you have to choose up. Nonetheless, in the event you do solely document pickups, be certain that you’re a savvy sufficient editor in order that all the pieces flows, and it doesn’t sound Frankenstein’d collectively.
Don’t do too many takes. You’ll get in your head and the flop-sweat will come via within the recording. For those who’ve accomplished 5 takes and nonetheless aren’t blissful – step away for fifteen minutes. Go for a stroll or do one thing else. Then come again to it recent.
Double Test Submission Directions
As soon as you’re blissful together with your efficiency, make sure you test the submission directions earlier than you ship your audition. Is your audition labeled correctly? Is it in .mp3 format? Have you ever submitted earlier than the deadline? Is your audition connected to the e-mail?
Click on that “ship” button and transfer on together with your life. What occurs after that’s out of your arms. However in the event you did all of the work forward of time, you could be assured that you simply put your greatest efficiency out into the world.
Completely satisfied Auditioning!
Brad Grusnick is a 20-year VO veteran. He could be heard within the video video games Diablo IV, Back4Blood, Elder Scrolls On-line, Metro: Exodus, Days Gone, Bioshock Infinite, God of Struggle Ascension, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Asura’s Wrath, and extra. Brad voices characters in a number of animated sequence, together with Bear in Underwear and Bunnicula. He’s greatest often known as “Magnus Finke” in Dreamworks Dragons Rescue Riders.
