1 Voice Acting

79 Pages·2011·3.06 MB·English

Revised Edition: 2016
ISBN 978-1-280-29730-4
© All rights reserved.
Published by:
Library Press
48 West 48 Street, Suite 1116,
New York, NY 10036, United States
Email: [email protected]
Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Voice Acting
Chapter 2 - How to Become a Voice Actor/Voiceover Artist
Chapter 3 - How to Do a Voice Over
Chapter 4 - Dubbing
Chapter 5 - Voice Acting in Japan
Chapter 6 - Voice-over
Chapter 7 - Radio Drama
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Chapter 8 - Sound Recording and Reproduction
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Chapter- 1
Voice Acting

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Voice actors in the Sierra Leonean radio soap opera Atunda Ayenda
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in
feature films, television program, animated short films, and video games) and radio and
audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television com-
mercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and
amusement rides.
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Mel Blanc was one of the most well-known voice actors of all time
Performers are called voice actors/actresses or voice artists, and may also involve
singing, although a second voice actor is sometimes cast as the character's singing voice.
Voice artists are also used to record the individual sample fragments played back by a
computer in an automated announcement system. At its simplest, this is just a short
phrase which is played back as necessary, e.g. the Mind the gap announcement
introduced by London Underground in 1969. In a more complicated system such as a
speaking clock, the voice artist usually doesn't actually record 1440 different
announcements, one for each minute of the day, or even 60 (one for each minute of the
hour), instead the announcement is re-assembled from fragments such as "minutes past"
"eighteen" and "pm". For example, the word "twelve" can be used for both "Twelve
O'Clock" and "Six Twelve". So far voice artists have been preferred to speech synthesis
because they sound more natural to the listener.
A list of voice acting by one voice actor, one director, or on one subject, is sometimes
called a voxography.
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In the United States
Broadcast media
For live-action production, voice acting often involves reading the parts of computer
programs (Douglas Rain; Majel Barrett), radio dispatchers (Shaaron Claridge), or charac-
ters who never actually appear on screen but who give instructions by telephone (John
Forsythe in Charlie's Angels), or mailed recording (Bob Johnson in Mission: Impossible).
"Stunt double" voice actors are sometimes employed; if a voice actor or actress loses his
or her voice, someone who sounds similar can step in. For example, when Jeremy Irons'
vocal cords became strained during the recording of The Lion King song "Be Prepared",
Jim Cummings was called in to finish the song.
It is not unusual to find among the ranks of voice actors people who also act in live-
action film or television, or on the stage. For those actors, voice acting has the advantage
of offering acting work without having to bother with makeup, costuming, lighting, and
so on. An occasional advantage is the fact that through voice acting, an actor can reprise a
role that he has played in live action but would be otherwise too aged to portray. An
example of this is Walter Koenig in Star Trek New Voyages who reprises his role as Lt.
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Pavel Chekov.
A common practice in animation is to cast a woman to play the role of a young boy. On
The Simpsons, for example, Nancy Cartwright plays Bart Simpson and several other
juvenile males. Other voice actresses who would fit this criterion are Tara Strong, who
voices Timmy Turner and Poof and other young boys on The Fairly OddParents, and she
voices other young boys on other TV shows, or Regina King as the voice of Huey and
Riley Freeman on the Adult Swim show The Boondocks. This casting practice goes back
to the early 1930s with actresses such as Mae Questel providing the voices of various
male babies and children in Fleischer Studios cartoons, and continues with Elizabeth "E.
G." Daily as Tommy Pickles on Rugrats and All Grown Up! today. June Foray, even as a
senior citizen, can still faithfully voice Rocket J. Squirrel. Casting adult women for these
parts can be especially useful if an ad campaign or a developed series is expected to run
for several years, for while the vocal characteristics of a male child actor would change
over time, the voice of an adult female will not.
Notable exceptions to using women to voice young boys' roles are the Peanuts animated
specials and films, in which boys were actually cast to read the boys' lines (e.g., Charlie
Brown, Linus, Schroeder). In South Park, the authors Trey Parker and Matt Stone are
also voice actors for most male roles, especially the boys: Parker voices Stan, Cartman
and others while Stone is the voice of Kyle, Kenny, Butters and others. South Park kids'
voices are pitched up a little in order to seem more "childish". In addition, kindergarten
kids on the show are voiced by actual young children for realism. Jason Marsden is also
known for young male roles.
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Rise in use of film actors for voice roles
For much of the history of North American animation, voice actors had a predominantly
low profile as performers, with Mel Blanc the major exception. Other early exceptions
include Cliff Edwards in Pinocchio, Edward Brophy in Dumbo and Peggy Lee in Lady
and the Tramp. Over time, many movie stars began voice acting in movies, with one of
the earliest examples being The Jungle Book, which counted among its cast contemporary
stars such as Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders and Sterling
Holloway. The film which truly brought about this modern perception, however was
Aladdin which was marketed with a noted emphasis on Robin Williams' role. The success
of this film eventually spurred the idea of highlighting the voice actors as stars of a film,
this becoming the norm in movie marketing, with a greater focus on hiring Hollywood
celebrities for name power, rather than performers with more experience in voice acting.
By contrast, using anime voice actors as a box office draw was developed far earlier in
Japan.
Some voice actors, such as Billy West, are highly critical of using movie stars for voices
in animated features. A particular point of contention is the practice of bringing in
veteran voice actors (who are capable of greatly altering their voices and inflections in
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order to create personalities for characters) to read for a part, and then use the recording
of the professional voice actor as a guide for the movie star, even though the actual
character creation work is being done by the unpaid voice actor. West struck back at this
practice in Comic Book: The Movie, in which the entire main cast comprises voice
actors, including Jess Harnell, Lori Alan, Daran Norris, Mark Hamill and Tom Kenny.
The practice of hiring singers to "fill in" for voice actors in a singing role has also seen
change, as both Jeremy Irons and Mel Gibson have done singing in the respective films
The Lion King and Pocahontas, rather than have a singer as substitute.
Voice Actors for Commercials and Local Television
Voice actors have a relatively small but dedicated fan base, with appearances at large
events like Comic-Con International, various anime conventions, and websites dedicated
to profiling their work.
Commercials for television and radio are also cast using voice acting agencies. Ernie
Anderson was one of radio's most prominent voices throughout the 1970s and 1980s and
was heard on radio stations across the United States. While Don LaFontaine filled the
category of "The Voice of God" until his death in 2008, Ashton Smith, Howard Parker
and Miguel Ferrer provide most of the narration for movie trailers. David Mark was
heard around the world for various radio stations and across the country for Fox TV,
UPN TV and ABC TV. Beginning in the early 2000s, many organizations have moved
toward a younger, more natural sound; a few notable voice actors in this category are
Ethan Erickson (various commercials), and Paula Tiso (various networks, and
commercials)
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SAG and aliases
A voice actor may occasionally be credited under an alias. Sometimes producers are not
willing to spend the higher cost of hiring members of the Screen Actors Guild, which
prohibits its members from taking non-union jobs; but a voice actor needs income, so he
or she may take a job under a false name in an attempt to avoid the SAG's notice. If
caught, the SAG may respond with fines and suspended health coverage, so the actor has
a motivation to do all he can to discourage people from linking his or her name with the
alias. There are several unions that actors may belong to; some notable ones are the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild in the
United States and ACTRA and the Union des Artistes (UDA) in Canada. Some actors
prefer to remain non union, or "not affiliated" with any guild or union; a notable example
of a strictly non union voiceover agency is Vox Talent.
Training and how-to classes
Instruction in how to enter the voiceovers marketplace and how to market one's services
is offered at various acting schools and also at adult learning facilities such as Voices For
All or Chicago's Discovery Center.
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Many VO coaches who have had success in commercial, narration, and animation offer
private training, tele-seminars and weekend workshops for both novice and experienced
voice actors. The VoiceOver International Creative Experience (VOICE) in Los Angeles
is an annual global conference open to all voice actors, coaches, agents, and producers
whose goal is to promote community, education, and technology within the VO industry.
Steady work as a voiceover talent in the US is normally possible in major metro areas
such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. However, with the rise of online databases
and hiring websites, voicing from home is becoming the norm for a lot of voice actors.
In Japan
Japanese voice actors (seiyū) work in radio, television and movies. Their work largely
mirrors that of their Western counterparts: performing roles in animated cartoons and
video games, performing voice-overs for dubs of non-Japanese movies, and providing
narration to documentaries and similar programs.
Because the animation industry in Japan is so prolific, seiyū are able to achieve fame on a
national level and are able to have full-time careers as voice-over artists. Japanese voice
actors are able to take greater charge of their careers than in other countries. Japan also
has the institutions to support the career path, with around 130 seiyū schools and troupes
of voice actors that work for a specific broadcast company or talent agency. They often
attract their own appreciators and fans who watch shows specifically to hear their favorite
actor or actress.
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Seiyū frequently branch into music, often singing the opening or closing themes of shows
in which their character stars, or become involved in non-animated side projects such as
audio dramas (involving the same characters in new storylines) or image songs (songs
sung in character that are not included in the anime but further develop the character).
In Korea
Sungwoo (hangul:대한민국의 성우) is a South Korea's voice actor. South Korean voice
actor at complete from Korea under Japanese rule.
History
• 1924:Korea's first radio broadcasting test date, (Thursday of All Day Broadcast,
Sunday of Half Day Broadcast) / Company of Chosun Drama Association in Bok
Hye Sook, from Korea actress first broadcasting test / Before call to 'Voice Actor
of Mother'
• 1927:Kyeongseong Broadcasting Corporation open, date of main broadcast, Tele
Number by JODK / Korea's first broadcast radiodrama, From radio drama
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laboratory entry made wheel edit on broadcast it "Doll of House"
• 1933:From Kyeongseong Broadcasting Corporation at 2 heavy-duty broadcast
date of broadcast start by Korean Language. (1st Broadcast:Japanese Language,
2nd Broadcast:Korean Language) / Korea's first broadcast radio soap-drama,
made in Kim Hoe Chang by first made broadcast of "Nochaboo"
• 1934:Full-size drama of start at Katusha, foreign edit direct and wright it 1 week
of weekday broadcast in part 3
• 1946:Start of main full-size drama "TolToli Adventure", Novel by "Tom Soyer's
Adventure" is it U.S. Minister edit systems in Korea's first child of weekday full-
size drama, cast of before middle school by Koo Min in "Bok Nam", Lee Hye
Kyeong in "TolToli Teacher"
• 1947:Establish of Seoul Central Broadcast of Drama Association, Join to 1st
• 1948:Seoul Central Broadcast Drama Association Join to 2nd
• 1954:Erased at 6.25 Reconstruction in broadcast drama for rejoined director by Jo
Nam Sa(1st), the new join of 1st voice actor(Drama Tester), before 6.25 war by
voice actor1st and 2nd is renual parts / join of KBS 1st voice actor
• 1955:Christian Broadcasting System open, join of 1st voice actor
• 1956:Korea's first of start in weekday full-size drama, "Cheongsil Hongsil" by
made in Jo Nam Sa and director in Lee Kyeong Jae, current of start at radio full-
size drama
• 1960:start of history Drama of broadcast, "Dangjaeng Bihwa" by made in Kim
Hee Chang and in Lee Sang Man
• 1961:KMBC Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation open, join of 1st voice actor /
date of voice actor casting grade, full in new 4th voice actor 33 person at over 3rd
of A-Grade and after 4th of B-Grade from casting fund it part first of grade date
• 1963:DBC Dong-a Broadcasting Corporation, join of 1st voice actor / Broadcast
Culture Group Establish of <Korea Voice Performance Association>, 1st CEO
Jang Min Ho, Self Agent Bok Hye Sook
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• 1964:TBC Tongyang Broadcasting Corporation open, join of 1st voice actor /
<Korea Voice Performance Association> Licenced in Ministry of Broadcast and
Announcement Division
• 1980:Mass-Communication total and close - Christian Broadcasting System,
Dong-a Broadcasting System, Tongyang Broadcasting Corporation, Seohae
Broadcasting Corporation, Jeonil Broadcasting System is more at KBS total and
close in totally KBS Voice Acting Division
• 1994:<Korea Voice Performance Association> Re-Licenced trade in Ministry of
Broadcast and Announcement Division
In the Philippines
The Philippine Center for Voice Acting under CreatiVoices Productions is the only
institution in the Philippines that promotes voice acting as an art and career. It also
founded the only voice artist group in the region: Society of Young Voice Artists of the
Philippines.
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