Welcome to episode 164 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 first part of my interview with accomplished composer, sound designer, and audio director for video games and films, Crispin Hands! Yep, you heard that right, for this interview you’ve got two Crispins! Crispin Hands and I first met back in 2006 when we were working on the video game Company of Heroes. I was playing the role of Sgt. Carota, and Crispin was filling many roles on that project including Audio Director, Sound Designer, Audio Tech Designer, Writer, and Voice Director! It was a pleasure to meet a fellow Crispin, especially one who was so enthusiastic about developing great audio for games! You may also be familiar with some of the other games that Crispin has lent his composing and sound design talents to including Metroid Prime, Neverwinter Nights, the Need for Speed game franchise, as well as Gears of War 4 and 5.

In the last two episodes of this podcast, Sarah Elmaleh and I spent a lot of time talking about the world of independent video games, so I thought it might be appropriate in this interview with Crispin to explore the world of AAA video games. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like in the sound departments of award winning, high budget games, now’s your chance to find out!

We begin our time together by discussing the different industry professionals that work in game audio. What are the responsibilities of the audio director, the composer, and the sound designers? How do they collaborate together to create the soundscape for an interactive experience? We also talk about how Crispin approaches composing music for a game and how much the story and the character relationships influence his decisions when he’s writing musical themes for a game’s soundtrack. Next, Crispin tells the story of how he got his start in games. It turns out, he had humble beginnings, but with focused effort, and perseverance, he eventually found himself in the audio department at Electronic Arts in Vancouver. He also shares with me what he looks for in auditions from voice actors including how performances in games need to differ from animated shows that are more cartoony or comedic.

If you’re interested in working in AAA video games, then it behooves you to learn as much as you can about the creative process of recording and mixing the sound for them. Crispin is a wealth of information on the topic and his enthusiasm for it is palpable! I’m grateful to him for spending so much time with me and I’m eager to share his insights with you!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #164 Here (MP3)

 
Welcome to episode 163 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

This is the second and final part of my interview with voice actor and video game advocate, Sarah Elmaleh! Sarah has worked on many AAA and independent video games including Gone Home, Gears 5, BioWare’s Anthem, Pyre, After Party, and For Honor. In addition to her voice acting work, Sarah also works hard to facilitate communication and collaboration between the people who perform in video games and the ones who develop them, including co-founding and co-hosting GameDev.world, a global game developer conference that strives to help game designers from different linguistic backgrounds communicate with each other in their native tongues. In addition, Sarah and I have both participated in the Interactive Committee at our Actor’s Union, SAG-AFTRA, which helps negotiate video game contracts between the union and game producers. Sarah has been instrumental in helping to create a low-budget video game contract for independent game developers who would like to work with union acting talent. I’m very grateful to Sarah for spending so much time with me on the podcast talking about her experiences in the industry, and her love of games!

In the previous episode, Sarah told us the story of her initial journey as a performer. She began dancing when she was very young, but transitioned to acting after she suffered a leg injury. During that time, she was also an enthusiastic gamer and a huge Star Wars fan. When she discovered that Mark Hamill, the same actor who played Luke Skywalker, also played the voice of Adrian Ripburger in the LucasArts game, Full Throttle, she was amazed. From that moment, she became fascinated with voice acting and began to consider that career path as a possibility. After exploring acting in theater, film and TV, she eventually decided that her true passion was for games and eventually moved out to Los Angeles to pursue voice acting full time.

In this episode, Sarah and I talk about what inspired her to become an actor. Sarah is honest and courageous enough to share with me some of her own personal struggles and how she’s learned to channel her emotional vulnerability into compelling acting performances. Like Sarah, I too was a very sensitive child who found that I could use acting as a way to explore my psyche and learn how to more effectively process my own emotions. It’s a delicate topic and I’m glad we could explore it in more depth here in this section of the interview. After that, Sarah talks about her work as an ambassador of sorts between game developers and game performers, and we end our discussion with Sarah’s advice to the aspiring voice actor. Sarah has an amazing way to speak directly to a topic with incredible thoughtfulness and rigor and I’m so happy to share her insights with you!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #163 Here (MP3)

VAM 162 | Interview with Sarah Elmaleh, Part 1

Welcome to episode 162 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 first part of my interview with Sarah Elmaleh, who is not only an accomplished voice actor but is also a video game advocate and enthusiast! You may know Sarah from her acting roles in a myriad of AAA and independent video games including Katie in Gone Home, Lizzie in Gears 5, the Female Freelancer in BioWare’s Anthem, Tamitha in Pyre, Apollyon in After Party, and the Female Raider in For Honor. In addition to her voice acting work, Sarah is also an ambassador of sorts between the worlds of actors and game developers. She works hard to facilitate communication and collaboration between the people who perform in video games and the ones who create them. She’s been the awards director at the IndieCade festival which showcases independent games. She’s also the co-founder and co-host of GameDev.world, a global game developer conference that strives to help game designers from different linguistic backgrounds communicate with each other in their native tongues. In addition, Sarah and I have both participated in the Interactive Committee at our Actor’s Union, SAG-AFTRA, which helps negotiate video game contracts between the union and game producers. Sarah has been instrumental in helping to create a low-budget video game contract for independent game developers who would like to work with union acting talent. I thought it would be great to have Sarah on the podcast to talk about her experiences in the industry, and how her love of games helped her find her way into the world of voice acting!

In the first part of our discussion, I ask Sarah how she got started as an actor. When she was very young, she studied dance and was a ballerina. Unfortunately, she suffered an injury between 8th and 9th grade which required her to wear a leg brace. She was unable to practice ballet for an entire year and that discouraged her from pursuing dance professionally. However, with some encouragement from her mother, she decided to transition from dancing to acting. She was blessed to have attended a high school with an excellent theater department. She credits her teachers from high school for instilling in her a solid work ethic when it came to acting as well as an appreciation for how much vulnerability and honesty she needed to bring to the practice of acting. She was also really into video games as a child. Some of her favorite games were the Lucas Arts adventure games from the 1990’s including Full Throttle, Curse of Monkey Island, and Grim Fandango. She happened to be a huge Star Wars fan as well, and when she realized that Mark Hamill, the actor who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars also played Adrian ‘Rip’ Ripburger in Full Throttle, she was blown away. Ripburger’s voice was so different from Luke Skywalker’s that she became fascinated with how Mark Hamill had changed the sound of his voice to play that role. From that moment on, voice acting for video games was something that she definitely wanted to explore. While she did continue to pursue stage and screen acting in theater, film and television, it was her love of games and her appreciation of voice acting that eventually lead her to pursue a career in voice over. But I’ll let her tell you how it all happened!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #162 Here (MP3)

VAM 161 | Interview with Jordan Reynolds, Part 2

Welcome to episode 161 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 second and final part of my interview with voice actor and home studio guru, Jordan Reynolds! You may be familiar with Jordan’s voice acting work on games like World of Warcraft, Fallout 76 and the new Final Fantasy 7 Remake. He’s also been in numerous anime including Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Hero Mask, and Lupin the Third. He’s done voice over for thousands of commercials and corporate videos and he even produces demos at his website, DemosWithChops.com. In addition to being an accomplished voice actor, Jordan is also extremely knowledgeable about home recording equipment and how to build an effective home studio!

In the previous episode, Jordan and I discussed how he broke into the world of voice acting. He began by learning all he could about recording equipment. He did extensive research and in relatively short order, he had built himself a professional quality home studio. However, he quickly realized that it would take more than the right equipment to become a working voice actor. He also needed to have professionally competitive acting skills. So he began taking classes from coaches who were working in the industry. He also set himself the goal of practicing voice over on a daily basis and recording everything he practiced. After a couple of months, it was eye-opening for him to go back and listen to his audio files from earlier practice sessions, and to realize just how much he had improved! Once his skills became professionally competitive, Jordan was able to combine his acting abilities with his technical knowledge and began to make money as a voice actor part-time from his home in Denver, Colorado. Later, as his client list and voice over work load increased, he eventually decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue voice acting in a bigger marketplace. I was excited to share Jordan’s experiences with my listeners, especially those who may not live in a major voice over city like LA, and who may also be trying to figure out how to create a professional quality booth at home. If you haven’t already, I highly suggest you listen to the first part of our interview, because Jordan shared some truly useful information on these topics!

As we wrap up our discussion together, I ask Jordan what inspired him to become a voice actor in the first place. Much of what drove him was the desire to be creative, especially when he saw other people expressing themselves through music or acting. Jordan and I also share what animated shows influenced our childhoods and how they shaped our pursuit of voice acting! Jordan then talks about the value of improv and how he applies his improv training to all of his voice over work. We wrap up our discussion with Jordan’s advice to the aspiring voice actor and how important it is to step outside of your comfort zone on a regular basis to make sure you keep growing and expanding your abilities! It’s a very honest and personal conversation and I’m eager to share it with all of you. Let’s dive in!

If you are interested in hiring Jordan to help you with your own home recording setup, you can visit him at JordanAudio.ninja and make an appointment online!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #161 Here (MP3)

VAM 155 | Interview with Julie Nathanson, Part 2

Welcome to episode 155 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 second part of my interview with the multi-faceted Julie Nathanson! Julie has worked on many high profile animated projects such as Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Elena of Avalor, and Avengers Assemble! She’s also worked on major games such as Call of Duty, Far Cry 5, and Lego DC Super-Villains. In addition to her voice acting work, Julie is also a professional screen writer! She was a staff writer and then Executive Story Editor on the NBC TV Series, Just Deal and she’s written and consulted on games such as Guildlings, an RPG currently available on Apple Arcade, and Vader Immortal: a Star Wars VR Series! And if that weren’t enough, Julie also has a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology! Her interests and skills are wide and far ranging and I’m so excited to share her journey with you!

In the previous episode, Julie and I talked about how she got started as an actress. She shared with us some of the most influential experiences from her childhood and how her passion for performing lead her to pursue acting and singing as a career. Our conversation was a deep dive into the psychology of a creator and I highly recommend you listen to it first before moving on to part 2 of our talk together!

In this part of our interview, we explore the details of how Julie transitioned from her on camera acting career into voice acting. Julie was fortunate to be hired as an actress in soap operas and TV shows, but she never felt fully relaxed in front of the camera. Ironically, the catalyst for her shifting her focus to voice acting came from an insult she received online. A viewer criticized the sound of her voice in the comments section of her soap opera’s webpage and said she sounded like a “chipmunk”. Instead of letting that discourage her, Julie took it as inspiration to capitalize on her unique voice. Discovering the world of voice over was like coming home for her and she’s never looked back.

Also in this episode, Julie explains the 3 step process she uses to develop a character and how it helps make her performances grounded and authentic. She even shares with us a recording of her as a little girl trying out different voices while telling Knock-knock jokes! It seems she had a fascination with voice acting from a very young age! I find Julie’s journey completely inspiring and I hope you will too!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #155 Here (MP3)

VAM 154 | Interview with Julie Nathanson, Part 1

Welcome to episode 154 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 first part of my interview with the stunningly multi-faceted Julie Nathanson! You may recognize Julie from her performances as Samantha Maxis in Call of Duty, Silver Banshee and Jewelee in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Jess Black in Far Cry 5, Captain Scarlet Turner in Elena of Avalor, and Crimson Widow in Avengers Assemble. Not only is Julie an accomplished voice actress, but she’s also a professional screen writer as well! She was a staff writer and then Executive Story Editor on the NBC TV Series, Just Deal, where she was nominated for a Writer’s Guild Award for one of her episodes! She’s written and consulted on games such as Guildlings, an RPG currently available on Apple Arcade, and Vader Immortal: a Star Wars VR Series! If that weren’t enough, she also has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology! Julie’s interests are wide and far ranging which is one of the reasons I was so eager to interview her on the podcast!

In the first part of our discussion, we go all the way back to the beginning, when Julie was only 6 years old, to find out where her fascination with acting comes from! She shares with me the story of her first time on stage, and how the absence of one of her fellow actors in their first grade pageant inspired her to step up and save the show! We also talk about her parents and how their work in psychology influenced her. She absorbed a lot from their study of the emotional life of the human mind. In fact, her father even asked her to edit some of his writings on the subject! Julie’s parents always respected her intelligence, never talked down to her, and made sure to include her in their adult conversations. Her parents were very multi-faceted as well which helped inspire Julie to think outside the box when it came to making her own career decisions!

Not only is Julie a font of energy and enthusiasm, but she’s also put a lot of thought into her journey and you can hear it when she speaks!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #154 Here (MP3)