VAM 051 | Social Skills: The Secret to Better Voice Acting

VAM 051 | Social Skills: The Secret to Better Voice Acting

Welcome to episode 51 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!

As always, you can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes:

http://www.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast

In this episode I’d like to talk to you about acting. Specifically I want to show you how acting is not about “creating a performance” as much as it is bringing a character to life by calling upon your own personal experience as a human being interacting with other people.

It is my opinion that actors rely heavily on the social skills that they have developed over their lifetime to bring believability to their performances.

Often my students misunderstand the acting process and think it’s about demonstrating a character or “putting on” a voice. They think there is a “right way” to perform a line of dialogue and they strive to achieve acting success by honing in on that “correct” performance. I suffered from this same misconception when I started acting, but it turns out there is no “right way” to read a line. There is only what is believable within the circumstances of a scene. In order to create a believable performance, you must call upon your own personal experiences of interacting with people in social environments and apply that knowledge to your character. You must infuse your character with your own life experience.

I take this episode to explain exactly what I mean in detail and I also offer three different techniques to improve your social skills. I hope you find it useful!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #51 Here (MP3)

 

VAM 050 | How to Tame Your Internal Critic

VAM 050 | How to Tame Your Internal Critic

Welcome to episode 50 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!

As always, you can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes:

http://www.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast

Allow me to begin by celebrating the 50th episode of this podcast! What a milestone! When I started this podcast almost 2 years ago, I had no idea it would grow into the phenomenon it is now! A big thank you to all my listeners. I’m honored that you’ve been spending so much time with me over the past 2 years!

In this episode, I promised to talk about a subject that Steve Blum and I brought up at the end of his interview with me. We talked about the part of your brain that generates negative thoughts. Some people call it the ego, others call it the monkey mind or the coconut. I tend to call it the internal critic. Whatever name you give it, there is a part of your brain that seems to feel the need to make you feel bad and fill your head with negative thoughts. Ironically, it tends to come out most often when you’re trying to pursue your dreams. Why does your brain do this and how can you overcome it? That’s exactly what I’m going to talk about in this episode!

I’d like give a big thank you to all my listeners, whether this is your first episode or you’ve been with me from the beginning.

If you’re enjoying the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could give me a positive review in the iTunes Music Store! Here’s how:

  1. Follow the link to the Voice Acting Mastery Podcast in iTunes. Your browser should open up to a page listing the podcast.
  2. Click on the View in iTunes button which looks like this:  in order to view the podcast in iTunes. (NOTE: You must have iTunes installed on your computer for this to work)
  3. Once you’re inside the iTunes program, click on “Ratings and Reviews”. It looks like this: iTunes - Ratings and Reviews
  4. Then you can click on the stars to rate:  iTunes - Click to Rate and you can write me a review by clicking on the “Write a Review” button which looks like this:  iTunes - Write a Review
That’s it! Thanks for giving me a positive review on iTunes, and I’m looking forward to another 50 episodes!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #50 Here (MP3)

 

VAM 049 | Interview with Steve Blum, Part 4

VAM 049 | Interview with Steve Blum, Part 4

Welcome to episode 49 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!

As always, you can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes:

http://www.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast

Welcome to the fourth and final part of my interview with Steve Blum. In this bonus episode, Steve and I go beyond simple mindset advice about voice acting as the two of us discuss the deep, mystical magic behind what it takes to be truly successful as an artist. Steve shares with me some of his more spiritual views on voice acting and how the universe reflects back to you the thoughts and emotions that you project. During the interview, I started us down this path of discussion by recounting one of my favorite scenes from the famous swashbuckling adventure film, the Seahawk, starring Errol Flynn. You’ll hear me describe the scene to Steve as a powerful metaphor for trusting in one’s inspiration to find your own way to happiness and success. I think you’ll find it very enlightening.

If you’d like to learn more about Steve, please visit his website: www.SteveBlumVoices.com

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #49 Here (MP3)