How would you recommend both preparing for and protecting your voice when given roles that require screaming/yelling/etc? I can imagine any anime actor would have their vocal cords torn to shreds when shouting for battle scenes, is this something that would just require regular practice to strengthen cords, or is there a particular way to shout and bluster that will do less potential damage to the voice?

The easy warmup is to sing on your way to the job. Or if you’re not in the mood to sing anything in particular, just do as many scales as you can squeeze into your range.

While in session, err on the side of doing theatrical projecting for yelling. Which is basically speaking as loudly as you can just on the verge of screaming, without screeching. If you listen to the callouts in Call of Duty, those are pretty good examples of a stopping point for how far to push the yelling.

Continue reading “Yelling Preparation and Recovery” →

In reply to a thread on Facebook about a freelancer being contacted for a job:

Her story:

So this guy just contacted me out of the blue about some programming for a project.

I told him that I don’t do that anymore, but asked him what his budget was, to see if I could refer him to some of my contacts.

He mentioned hourly rates between $18-30. I told him that my contacts charge around $75, and wished him the best of luck with his project.

He responded with a long tirade calling me rude and the worst negotiator ever.

My response:

It’s their attempt at guilting us by making us feel like we’re “stuck up bitches” for asking what we believe to be a fair wage.

Example: My favorite was a man who approached me very early on when I started doing VO, years ago. I still had a full-time job and was just starting to take classes and tinker. Because I was still learning, I was happy to do whatever just for the practice, it wasn’t how I made my living yet. This particular casting guy would give me spots to do in Spanish, which was great practice for me since I don’t get to speak it often enough. The spots were for large corporations, like Wells Fargo. He would pay me all of $15 – $30 per spot, tops. Not including Paypal fees. You read that right, $15-$30. Again, I didn’t mind it at all, I just wanted access to the copy for practice.

Continue reading “Know your worth” →

I’m in college deciding on a major. I was thinking about going into game design but know that it’s an incredibly difficult industry and very hard for women in general. I was hoping you could share your insight with me to maybe help me chose whether or not this major, this lifestyle, is the right decision. I love video games, creating art, writing stories, and have since I was five but I sometimes feel that passion with a little bit of talent won’t be enough to push me through into the gaming industry which I sometimes hate.

My response:

I’d say that in life, in general, women have it tougher. That’s certainly no reason to not pursue your interests. If you want a career badly enough, you’ll have it, regardless of the environment. For advice on how to navigate in male-dominated arenas, I’d recommend these books:

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Continue reading “Should I pursue a career in games?” →

I wrote the following in response to a friend who’s a Sound Designer for video games, like I used to be. His letter:

Hey so other than getting a demo reel of my VO talents together, what would you say is the next step in actually getting work? Do I need to get an agent? Getting a SAG card or something? Move to LA?

I’ve got the setup to record VO, the acting chops, and a fairly unique and powerful speaking voice. Just wondering, once I have something to showcase my talent, how I move forward from there to actually start booking work.

Continue reading “Transitioning into VO from audio.” →

This is a letter I wrote in response to someone asking what their chances of working in games and animation were locally, outside of Los Angeles:

I would say there is no work for games or animation where you are, only because the perception with clients is that all the talent resides in Los Angeles. Usually the first piece of advice a voice actor gives someone is “move to LA,” because that’s what you’re going to end up having to do.

Continue reading “Can I be a voice actor in my hometown?” →