April 12th, 2011
Happy 100!
About 9 months ago (no, not THAT kind of 9 months ago) I wrote an article about how much VAN had grown during its first 9 months online. It was a very surprising and positive revelation: more unique monthly visitors and RSS subscribers than I ever thought VAN would get!
As of 3 posts ago, VAN has reached a new milestone: over 100 posts! (I just realized that today.) And so, I thought it might be a good time to once again share the blog stats…
< Read more >
April 9th, 2011
Do you know HISHE?
Today’s post introduces you to the world of HISHE — How It Should Have Ended: original videos of new and funny endings to popular movies.
What I like about HISHE isn’t only that the videos are a hoot, but it’s proof of what people can do when they have an idea and run with it. Too many beginners to voice acting whine and whine and whine “No one will hire me! No agents will represent me! Wah!” To them my answer is always “Get off your butt and create your own career!”
Ok, enough preaching. Video time:
Check out more at the HISHE website or YouTube channel.
March 30th, 2011
What is a voice actor?
“What exactly does a voice actor do?” is a question often asked by those curious about this occupation. For some time now I’ve given a basically bland answer to this question. But recently after much thought (and maybe one too many beers) I’ve come up with what I believe to be a more accurate definition:
A voice actor is someone who gets paid to spend hours every day trapped inside a tiny room no bigger than a phone booth pretending to be someone they’re not while talking to imaginary people.
(Is it any wonder why the rooms are padded with foam? 
)
If I’ve missed anything in this definition, please feel free to add more in the comment section!
March 30th, 2011
Outrageous Aflac audition videos
Now that Gilbert Gottfried lost his job as the voice of the Aflac duck, voice actors from around the globe are battling for this one primo gig. Others have taken this opportunity to have a little fun amidst all the calamity. No matter which side of pond you swim in, I think you’ll enjoy these videos:
March 20th, 2011
Voice over videos galore!
Now that things here in Japan seem to be not so “panicky”, it’s time to roll up my sleeves and get some actual blogging done. Since I haven’t posted some good voice over videos for a long time, I figure that there is no better time than the present.
Here are seven (count ’em, SEVEN!) videos to wet your voice over appetite!
< Read more >
March 7th, 2011
How to nail voice over copy!
On Tuesday night, March 15th, the good people over at VoiceOverXtra will be presenting another killer webinar called How To Nail That Copy! The webinar will be presented by best-selling author and voice actress, Terri Apple.
During the webinar you’ll learn:
- How to understand FULLY what all specs mean
- Know the difference between your VOICE and THE SELL
- How to get out of your EGO and into the writer’s perspective
- When it’s OK to improvise
- What an ALTERNATE read means
- How to create winning alternate reads
- How to nail the SELL and re-nail it
- How to re-create your winning audition in the actual session
- How to create more “range” in your auditions
- The 4 Easy Steps to cold reading
- And more!
To sign up for the event or to learn more, just follow this little blue link!
February 24th, 2011
Script delivery and technique tele-seminar
Grab this free tele-seminar with VO extraordinaire Terry Daniel and legendary voice over artist Bobbin Beam as they discuss script delivery and how it applies to doing voice overs.
Get it here
February 22nd, 2011
VO beginners beware! (scams and other nasty stuff)
Just recently I came across yet another website selling an ebook all about how to become a voice actor in no time at all. It had the standard hype: all you need is a computer, some free software, and a microphone! No experience required!
In this post I’d like to shed a little light on these “expert” voice-actor authors and their goods and give you a peek behind the scenes.
< Read more >
February 14th, 2011
Voice over “Great web reads”
I subscribe to a wide variety of blog RSS feeds. Some are really good. Some are just okay. And some are better off being lost in the backwaters of Google’s 100th page of search results. More often than not, when I see a great post I get the urge to write about that same topic. But two things stop me: 1) I don’t have the time and 2) I realize that I couldn’t do it better than the original author (number 2 being the case more often than not.)
With those two reasons staring me firmly in the face I have decided, instead, to round up some of best posts I’ve seen during the past week or so and present them here. I’ll try to make this a regular feature here on VAN under the Great web reads category (say THAT five times fast! )
Here’s the first installment:
Voice over related:
The power of pricing
Is Voices.com playing a numbers game?
A recent review of the voice over business
Interpreting and voicing a commercial script in under 7 minutes
Getting to “Yes” means different things!
Other good reads:
How To Stay Motivated When You Hate Your Job (This post is meant for those who hate their current job as they work towards becoming a voice actor.)
Seven Secrets for Maximizing Your Concentration Skills
PS
Happy Valentine’s Day! 
February 12th, 2011
My No-VO television commercial!
Here’s my latest appearance on TV! About a month ago I auditioned and landed a TV commercial gig for a travel agency here in Japan (did I ever mention that I currently live and work in Japan? I didn’t? Oops! ) Anyway, it just aired today both on TV and on the travel agency’s website. It’s part 1 in a series of four commercials. I’m in the first two, but so far only the first commercial is on TV.
Now, unfortunately, there’s a huge image covering my face, kinda like in the movie, Monsters Inc. But you can see my eyes and my freshly cut hair (if that’s any consolation.)
Oh well…
I’m the only ‘white guy’ in a sea of Japanese faces wearing a black and white plaid shirt, which, much to my disappointment, makes me look fat 
(but don’t people look bigger on TV anyway?)
It took about 4 hours of filming just to make this 15 second spot. Here it is:
Here’s the translation :
“We found it! We found it! We found a vacation we’d like take!” (Then the Japanese VO mentions that it’s the travel agency’s big “Thank You!” sale and gives an example of a trip to Italy.)
The song ends with: “In this morning’s newspaper!”
The VO ends with: “You can also make reservations on the Internet.”