Welcome to episode 94 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 part of my interview with the amazing Phil LaMarr.

Phil’s roles in animation include Hermes Conrad in Futurama, the John Stewart Green Lantern in Justice League, Kit Fisto in Star Wars: Clone Wars and the title character in Samurai Jack. I’m incredibly grateful to Phil for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to my listeners.

In the previous episode, Phil discussed some of the challenges he faced during the first year he decided to pursue acting as a full-time career. Those experiences made him really take stock of his situation and decide if acting was something he truly wanted to do. He realized that he actually had some personal judgements about how one should pursue acting and those limiting beliefs were keeping him from progressing. Once he let go of those judgements, he started to see things change.

In this episode we discuss the details of how those changes began to take shape. Phil’s enthusiasm for improvisational acting had a profound affect on the trajectory of his career. It was the opportunities that his improvisational skills opened up for him that eventually gave him a chance to start working as a voice actor. We begin this segment of our chat with me asking him to give a quick recap of how his acting career began.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #94 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 93 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

Today, I have a very special treat for my listeners!

Welcome to the first part of my interview with the amazingly versatile voice actor Phil LaMarr.

Phil’s roles in animation run the gamut from Hermes Conrad in Futurama, to the John Stewart Green Lantern in Justice League, to Kit Fisto in Star Wars: Clone Wars to the title character in Samurai Jack. I’m so grateful to Phil for taking the time to share with us his unique perspective on voice acting.

In this first episode, we focus on his very early career. Phil talks with me about some of the challenges he faced after college when he made his first serious attempts to break into the entertainment business as an actor. While he did not feel like he made much progress initially, it turns out the challenges and frustrations he faced ended up helping him focus his attention on what he truly wanted to achieve and on what it would take to accomplish his goals.

But I’ll let Phil tell you about that.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #93 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 89 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 about a skill that is crucial to becoming a better voice actor: Critical Listening.

I touched on this topic briefly in my interview with Edward Bosco and Kimlinh Tran back in episodes 33, 34 and 35 of the podcast. When I asked Kimlinh what advice she would give to aspiring voice actors, she explained that the best thing they could do is to develop their Critical Listening Skills. I agreed.

If you’re going to pursue voice acting professionally you need to be able to listen to an actor’s performance, understand what acting choices they made, and then decide whether or not those acting decisions are the best ones to serve the character and the story. Until you develop the ability to listen to performances critically in both other actor’s work and in your own acting, you won’t know what you need to do to improve your performances. So let’s spend this episode talking about what it takes to develop your critical listening skills.

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #89 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 83 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 last episode, I talked at length about agents and managers. Specifically, I explained how to build a fruitful relationship with an agent by understanding what is their responsibility as your representative and what is your responsibility as their client. I also discussed the differences between agents and managers to ensure that there was no confusion among my listeners about the different jurisdictions and approaches of these two kinds of professionals.

In this episode, I’d like to talk about how best to interact with Producers and Casting Directors. I want to help you understand the mindset of producers since they are the ones who usually have the final say about who does and does not get hired to play a voice acting role. This may come as a surprise to some aspiring voice actors who might think that this decision gets made by a show’s voice director. While a voice director’s creative input is definitely considered during the initial casting stage, it is almost always the producer who finally decides which actors will play which characters.

Sometimes, producers will hire an industry professional known as a casting director to help with this process. A casting director can save a lot of the producer’s time by helping them narrow down the number of auditions submitted by actors. The casting director serves as a filter, listening to hundreds of submissions and bringing the producer only a final few to be considered for each available role. Even though it has become more common recently for producers to approach actors’ agents directly in order to solicit auditions, a good casting director can still play an important role in bringing actors and producers together.

Both producers and casting directors have a problem, one that only you can solve! Check out the episode to learn how best to help them!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #83 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 82 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 last episode, I explained the basics of how the casting process works for traditional Hollywood style voice acting productions. I talked about the interaction between actors, their agents, casting directors and the producers of these projects.

However, after releasing the episode, I realized that some members of my audience might not be as familiar with the job descriptions and/or responsibilities of agents, managers and casting directors. Others may be familiar with what these industry professionals do, but may not know the best way to approach or work with them.

I’d like to take the next couple of episodes to clarify how you as a voice actor might interact with these types of industry professionals in the most fruitful way possible.

One of the most important business relationships you will have as a working voice actor is the one you share with your agent, so I want to spend the majority of this episode explaining what an agent is, what they are not, and the best practices for collaborating with them. Even though it is possible, especially in the beginning, for a voice actor to gain a certain level of experience and success without the professional representation that an agent can provide, it’s useful even for beginners to learn how actors and agents work together. This way you can be prepared to approach an agent with confidence once you’re ready to reach the next level in your career. I’ll also explain the difference between agents and managers, a distinction that can be confusing to actors new to the entertainment industry.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #82 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 81 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 continue answering questions from my podcast audience! For those who may not be as familiar with the podcast, in past episodes, I’ve given out a phone number where you can call in and leave me a question about voice acting as a voicemail. From time to time, I’ll pick the most relevant questions I receive and answer them here on the podcast.

For this round of Q & A, I answer questions from Anthony of Ladyville, Belize and Steven of Savannah, GA .

Anthony wants to know whether or not producers and directors pursue actors in order to cast them in their projects, or whether actors pursue producers in order to work on their shows.

Many people get their understanding of the acting industry from celebrity interviews or sensationalized entertainment magazines, where it can seem like actors are pursued to play certain roles and can then “pick and choose” which roles to accept. While this can be the case with high-profile on-camera celebrities, it’s not usually true for voice actors.

I explain to Anthony exactly how the casting process works in voice acting and how it differs from on-camera acting casting. I also share the 3 different ways that voice over casting tends to get done these days:

1. Agencies
2. “Pay-to-Play” Sites
3. Direct Marketing

Depending on where you are in your career, and what types of voice acting projects you’d like to pursue, one or more of these casting paradigms might be appropriate for you.

The question that Steven is asking is if voice actors decide to limit themselves to one field of voice acting, or whether they audition for anything that comes their way.

I picked Steven’s question because I feel it’s a good follow up to Anthony’s question about the casting process.

I explain to Steven the balance one must strike between discovering what one’s niche is in the voice acting world and making sure not to limit one’s possible employment opportunities.

I hope you find the answers useful in your own voice acting endeavors!

If any of my listeners would like to call in with your own thoughts, thank you’s or questions, the number is:

323-696-2655.

Please don’t forget to include your first name and what city in the world you’re calling from. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #81 Here (MP3)