VAM 228 | How The Power Of Silence Can Help You Become A Better Creator
Welcome to episode 228 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 previous episodes of this podcast, I’ve stressed how important it is for my listeners to become familiar with some of the best acting performances out there. In episode 204, I encouraged you all to go hunting for the best acting and storytelling you can find, especially in genres and forms of media that you might otherwise not have considered before. Way back in episode 105 of the podcast entitled, Know Your Genre: Better Voice Acting Through Immersion, I explained how crucial it was for an actor to familiarize themselves with the most popular and influential stories in media. And in my most recent interview with Alejandra Reynoso, she shared how she had the opportunity to experience some of the best films in existence because her father worked as a projectionist at movie theaters in Los Angeles. She spent much of her youth watching and enjoying a variety of films with her father.
I’ve also suggested that my listeners do their best to consume quality entertainment because it is far too easy to allow the algorithms of social media and platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and even Netflix to decide for us what we should watch next. The algorithm chooses media based on what it thinks we want. It gives us more of what we’ve chosen to consume in the past, but it has no conception of what we might need to experience as artists in order to grow, nor does it care. It’s only job is to monetize our attention, which is why in episode 221 I talked about the value of serendipity and how useful it can be for you to break your habitual patterns of media consumption in order to expose yourself to new and inspiring types of art.
In all of the episodes I’ve mentioned and more, I’ve focused on helping my listeners to consume the best, most artistically nourishing media that exists. However, for this episode, I want to do something very different. I want to encourage you not to consume more media, but rather to find moments in your life where you actually seek out and embrace silence. While it is definitely important to build your knowledge of characters, stories, and exceptional acting performances, it turns out it is equally important to find quiet, introspective time to allow all of that knowledge to consolidate in your subconscious so it can inform your choices and your instincts as an artist.
Without that silence, your creative mind cannot engage, it can only imitate and regurgitate what it’s seen before. If you are doing nothing but consuming a veritable firehose of media and you never take the time to listen to your own internal creative spark, you risk never creating anything that isn’t just a copy of what’s come before. This inner wisdom is exactly what differentiates the human mind from the current Large Language Models that power what is spuriously referred to as Artificial Intelligence. AI as we call it today is extremely good at consuming media and regurgitating it somewhat accurately. It can remix the sources it’s trained on and deliver relatively polished results. I’m not sure I’d call that intelligence per se, but many people do find the results impressive. What AI lacks, however, is the power to truly innovate. AI is incapable of being introspectively silent and listening to the quiet voice of inspiration that has fueled some of the greatest artists on the planet.
In this episode, I want to impress upon you just how valuable it can be to sit in silence, even if it feels uncomfortable at first. Our subconscious creative power resides in that silence, and it can only be heard if we take the time to get quiet, be still, and listen to what it has to say. So if you’re ready, I invite you to join me for an exploration of silence and what it has to offer us as artists and performers.
VAM 227 | Interview with Alejandra Reynoso, Part 2
Welcome to episode 227 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 the talented Alejandra Reynoso! You may be familiar with her work in animated shows like Winx Club and Castlevania. In games she’s worked on Metaphor: ReFantazio, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, and DOTA 2. In anime she’s worked on Secrets of the Silent Witch, The Medalist, the Mononoke films, and Pokemon Horizons! Alejandra and I have been fortunate enough to cross paths on a number of different projects and I’m always impressed with the authenticity and vulnerability of her performances!
In the previous episode Alejandra shared with me how she got started as a voice actress. She began as a child actress working in commercials and on-camera for many years before her agent recommended her to the voice over department when she was around 16 years old. She booked a guest character in one of the first projects she auditioned for, GI Joe Renegades, and other than taking a short sabbatical during college where she focused on her studies, she’s been voice acting professionally ever since!
In this segment, I ask Alejandra what inspired her to become an actor in the first place. From her perspective, she feels like she just sort of fell into acting and that it was never something she aspired to do on purpose from a young age. However, as we explore the topic more, she admits that she has always loved experiencing imaginary worlds. Playing make believe was one of her favorite pastimes. Also, her father had a great love for films and she took joy in participating in something that he appreciated.
When I ask why Alejandra decided to pursue acting rather than some other artistic endeavor like writing or drawing, she shares that she loved the idea of other people facilitating the process of creating stories and inviting her to collaborate with them while they were playing make believe. That creative endeavor was so important to her that she was willing to find ways to overcome the stage fright and nerves that often made her feel anxious and scared to perform. The characters and stories required her courage, so she jumped in and played pretend despite her fears!
After that, Alejandra and I wrap up our discussion with her advice to the aspiring voice actor. She emphasizes that any actor has to love the work of acting; not the attention, or the acclaim, but the day-to-day effort it takes to get good at acting. Without that work ethic, that stick-to-it-ivness, an actor may become disappointed or even despondent when their career goals don’t manifest quickly. Alejandra even has a great manifesto: The process of acting has to be so satisfying to you that even if you never book that one role you’ve been dreaming of playing, that the rest of your professional accomplishments will feel satisfying and worthwhile. It’s a fabulous way of looking at one’s career and I’m eager to share that and more of Alejandra’s wisdom with you!
VAM 226 | Interview with Alejandra Reynoso, Part 1
Welcome to episode 226 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
I’m excited to present to you my interview with the very talented Alejandra Reynoso! In the world of animation she’s probably most famous for playing Flora in Winx Club for Nickelodeon and Sypha in the popular Netflix animated series, Castlevania. In games she’s played Gallica in Metaphor: ReFantazio, Neon in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, and Dawnbreaker in DOTA 2. In anime she’s Monica Everett in Secrets of the Silent Witch, Hitomi Takamine in The Medalist, Asa in the series of Mononoke films, and the lead character Liko in the new Pokemon Horizons series!
I first came across Alejandra and her work when we were both cast in Pokemon Horizons where I play the adventurous Pokemon professor, Friede. I heard Alejandra’s performance as Liko and found it hopeful, idealistic, and endearing. Then, I was pleasantly surprised when right after Pokemon Horizons, we were both cast in the anime movie Mononoke: Phantom in the Rain where she voiced one of the main female leads, Asa, and I voiced the Medicine Seller. In that film, Alejandra played a grounded, confident young woman who was negotiating the complicated politics of the Japanese Imperial court. After hearing her in both roles, I was really impressed by her acting range and I knew I had to get her on the podcast!
The beginning of Alejandra’s acting journey almost sounds like it was lifted from a Hollywood fairytale! Her father worked as a film projectionist in Los Angeles and she would often accompany him to work in order to spend time with him and watch movies. When she was only 9 years old, an agent saw her playing in the lobby of the movie theater and thought she might do well as a child actress in commercials. Initially, Alejandra’s parents were nervous about her becoming an actress. They were all too familiar with the pressures put on child actors and they worried it would affect their daughter negatively. However, they didn’t want to restrict Alejandra from doing something that might bring her satisfaction, so they decided to ask her if she’d like to take acting classes to see if it would be something she’d enjoy.
Alejandra was open to the idea, and started studying at a school for child actors. It wasn’t long before she had caught the eye of another agent who wanted to represent her for commercial and on-camera work. After working with that agency for around 6 years, her agent then recommended her to their voice over department which was looking for young talent. Alejandra happened to book the very first audition the voice over department sent her which was for the animated show GI Joe: Renegades, where Troy Baker played her father. Alejandra instantly fell in love with voice acting and realized she wanted to make it her primary focus!
After graduating college, she had to make another choice about what career path to follow. She had been offered a job at a technology company who wanted her to work in their marketing department. While it seemed like a reliable choice, she lacked enthusiasm for the opportunity. She couldn’t stop thinking about pursuing an acting career instead. Fortunately, her parents supported her decision, so she notified her agents and told them that she’d be back in LA soon and was available for auditions. Her agents then sent her an audition for a character named Sypha for a new Castlevania animated series which she booked. It was an auspicious sign! It was as if the universe was endorsing her decision to pursue acting!
Much of Alejandra’s journey to becoming a voice actor can seem so serendipitous as to be almost magical, but if you listen closely, you’ll begin to detect the methods and principles that were supporting her on her path. The actions each aspiring voice actor must take in order to be professionally successful will obviously be unique to every actor, but the fundamental skills and mindset underneath those action journeys is very consistent. Pay attention to the things Alejandra did and the mindsets she adopted in order to be in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves. I think you’ll find it very helpful as you pursue your own voice acting goals!
VAM 225 | Interview with Michael Csurics, Part 2
Welcome to episode 225 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 the head of the Los Angeles based recording studio Bright Skull Entertainment, Michael Csurics! As mentioned in the previous episode, Michael has worked as a voice director, casting director and audio engineer on numerous video games including Infinity Nikki, Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, and the current popular hit, Marvel Rivals. Since he’s such an accomplished director, I was very eager to get Michael on the podcast so he could share with my listeners what he’s looking for when it comes to finding actors for the projects he’s hired to record. His insights are especially relevant since this two part interview follows directly after episode 223 of the podcast entitled, “Want To Book More Work? Learn To Think Like A Producer.” If you haven’t already, I strongly recommend you listen to the two previous episodes, numbers 223 and 224, before continuing with this one. They will give you important context.
In the last interview segment, Michael shared with me how he got started as a voice director, specifically in the world of video games. While he did participate in theater at a young age, he wasn’t inspired to pursue acting. Instead, he got involved in the music industry as both a performer and a recording engineer. He eventually moved to New York City where he was hired to work at a record label. On his off-hours, Michael would also take jobs working on film post-production projects. Unfortunately, neither field really satisfied him, and it wasn’t until his girlfriend at the time, now his wife, gave him a book on recording audio for video games that he realized he had finally found his true calling. This was in the early 2000s when games were just getting sophisticated enough to be able to include voice actors, so Michael was trailblazing a career for himself in very new territory.
Normally, I begin the second part of any interview with my guests by asking them what inspired them to pursue their artistry in the first place. However, since Michael did such a good job of explaining that in the first part of the interview, I thought it might be better to kick off this part of our discussion by asking him what actors need to know in order to best collaborate with him. His answers should help you understand how better to think like a producer so you can improve both your chances of getting hired, as well as your ability to collaborate fruitfully on a project.
However, before I share Michael’s insights, I want to remind my listeners that at the end of the previous episode, I challenged you to try to anticipate what Michael’s advice might be. I hoped that by listening closely to what inspired Michael and to what he cared about most as an artist, that my audience would be able to predict what Michael is looking for in the actors he collaborates with. So, were you able to come up with any ideas? Do you feel that you were able to anticipate what Michael’s answers might be? Did you happen to write your answers down? If you haven’t, I would encourage you to pause this episode and take some time to put down your best guesses in writing before continuing on. Articulating your ideas in written language will not only keep you honest about what your mindset was before, but will also give you greater awareness and control of your own creative process later when you compare your answers to Michael’s.
Got your answers written down? Ready to know if your ideas match Michael’s? Well, it’s time to find out!
VAM 224 | Interview with Michael Csurics, Part 1
Welcome to episode 224 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 the previous episode, I explained how valuable it can be to think like a producer if you want to increase your chances of booking work. For this episode, I thought it would be useful to actually interview a producer so my listeners could hear from a professional perspective not only what types of challenges a producer routinely faces, but also what they’re looking for when they’re auditioning actors.
Therefore, allow me to introduce a very special guest, the head of the Los Angeles based recording studio Bright Skull Entertainment, Michael Csurics! Michael is a voice director, casting director, audio engineer, and studio designer! I’m honestly not sure what he can’t do! Michael and his team at Bright Skull focus primarily on recording actors for video games. They’ve worked on titles like Bugsnax, Just Cause 4, Infinity Nikki, Tacoma, Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, Masquerada: Songs and Shadows, and the current popular hit, Marvel Rivals. I’ve worked with Michael on a number of projects and it’s always a pleasure to speak with him.
We begin this interview with Michael sharing with me how he got started as a voice director. He was born in Woodstock, NY and did theater when he was young, but he was also interested in music: both performing it, and recording it. Eventually he found his way to New York City where he started working for a music label company while pursuing his own post-production recording projects from his home studio. Very quickly, he realized that neither the music industry, nor the film post-production process really suited him.
Fortunately, his girlfriend at the time, now his wife, gave him a book about recording audio for video games. This was in the early 2000’s when games were just getting large enough and sophisticated enough to employ actors. Michael fell in love with the culture and the community of recording game audio and embraced it wholeheartedly. He started attending events like GDC, the Game Developer’s Conference, and networking with other audio professionals who worked in games. With his focus and dedication, it didn’t take long before he was recording actors for games himself.
When Michael, and his wife Rachel, had their first child, they decided they wanted to move out of New York City. They were seriously considering a number of different places, but eventually the pull of the entertainment industry in California brought them to the Golden State, first to San Francisco, and eventually to Los Angeles. In addition to the voice production work he was doing for major studios, like 2K games, Michael was also recording game projects in a private studio he built in his own home. Eventually, he got so busy, that he had to purchase a dedicated studio space with three recording booths, and he may still need to expand further at present!
What is fascinating to me about Michael’s story is even though he did theater in school, an experience that the majority of my voice acting guests share, Michael did not decide to pursue an acting career. Instead, he chose to work on the production side of the process of making games as a voice director and audio engineer, an occupation that has fascinated him from the moment he discovered it. His journey towards his desired career path is a serendipitous one, with a lot of trial and error involved. It also required him to be truly honest with himself about what would bring him the most joy. I hope that all of my listeners can be as honest with themselves about which career pursuits truly bring them joy, whether it’s voice acting, or something else entirely. If your highest excitement is voice acting, then pay close attention to Michael’s enthusiasm for the art of recording for games. The more you understand what inspires him to pursue excellence in game audio, the more likely you’ll be able to match his passion for video game performances with your own acting abilities!