The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over (18 page)

It has been said that
imitation
is the sincerest form of flattery. This may be true, but as a voice actor, you want to be unique. Mimicking the delivery style of an experienced professional can be an excellent way to learn the pacing, inflection, and nuance of a particular voiceover niche. But be careful that your imitation of other voiceover performers is for the purpose of developing your own unique style. If all you can do is mimic someone else’s style, dynamics, or attitude, you are doing nothing unique.

Be yourself, and find the uniqueness of your voice. That’s what will get you work! Only mimic what other voice talent do to learn their techniques. Then adapt what you learn to your personality and style. If you insist on imitating other performers, it could take a long time for you to find your unique voice-acting personality.

When you speak conversationally with a fairly relaxed delivery, the result is that certain words are often pronounced in a manner that is not totally accurate. Regional accents and dialects will reveal a wide variety of how certain words are spoken. For example, the word “tomorrow” is often pronounced as “tahmarrow,” or “tamarreh.” “Forget” becomes “fergit,” “our” becomes “are,” and so on.

When you want to speak with the standard nonaccented American English to correctly pronounce words that have a “to” or “for” in them, simply replace the “to” or “for” with the numeral “2” or “4.” Your brain is trained to say the numbers as “two” and “four,” so as you are reading, your brain sees the number and you automatically speak the word more precisely.

The same basic idea as the
2-4 shortcut
can be used for other words as well. When you find you are mispronouncing a word, or need to speak with clearer diction, you can simply respell the word using a different word that has the sound you want. For a word like “our,” change the spelling to “hour.” One student of mine had difficulty speaking the word “cellular” when used in the context of a script discussing cellular telephones. By simply changing the spelling of the word on his script from “cellular” to “sell-ya-ler,” he was almost immediately able to deliver the lines perfectly. This little trick fools the brain and works with most soundalike words. The possibilities are unlimited, and using this trick can truly be a life saver when working with technical or medical copy.

A common problem is the dearticulation, or dropping, of the last letter or sound of a word. This condition is occasionally referred to as
lazy mouth
, and is simply the result of poor diction. Although it may be OK for general conversation, this can present a problem for recorded projects. When the last sound of a word is not spoken, or is spoken too softly, the word can get “lost in the mix” when combined with music or sound effects.

To correct for this, most people will mistakenly adjust their delivery to be overly articulated or over-enunciated. The result is an artificial sound that is not authentic. In some cases, where the character naturally speaks in a “lazy” style, this dearticulation of the ends of words can be completely appropriate. However, for most voiceover copy—especially copy that will eventually be mixed with music or sound effects—the delivery must be spoken with clear diction. Here’s a way to do that without resorting to over-articulation.

The technique is called
linking
, and it’s a trick that comes from the world of singing. The idea is to take the last letter of a word and attach that letter to the beginning of the next word. For example, the phrase “…and everyone was there” might sound like “an everyone was there,” with the “d” not spoken on the word “and.” To use the
linking
technique, the “d” on “and” is moved to become the first letter of the word “d-everyone.” So the adjusted line will sound like “an deveryone was there.”

Changing
context
is yet another way to look at your script from a different perspective. This simple trick, that I refer to as
substitution
, might make the difference between a flat delivery and one that lands on target. This trick is similar to reversing the text, except that instead of reversing the sentence structure to find alternative choices, only certain words are changed, while leaving the overall sentence structure intact.

When you have problems with a line, you can completely change the sentence to something that you understand and relate to. It’s OK to change the words because this is only a process for you to discover choices. Once you’ve found a meaningful interpretation, go back to the script and use the same delivery style. For example, this probably won’t mean much to you:

So, let’s change it to something like this:

The new context doesn’t need to make any more sense than the original script. But by using
substitution
to change the context to something you easily understand, you will be able to create a meaningful delivery. Now all you need to do is apply your chosen delivery to the original script.

Occasionally the way a paragraph is written can be troublesome, resulting in difficulty finding an effective interpretation. When you notice that you’re throwing away the end of a sentence, or that your inflections are the same for every line, reduce the script to the one line of copy giving you trouble. Make that one line the entire script and deliver it out loud to hear how it sounds. Say it a few different ways and choose the best delivery. Then put the line back into the context of the script to hear how it works with the full text. This trick will usually make a big difference.

As a general rule of thumb, you will want to deliver a script as written. However, the underlying job of a voice actor is to bring the words to life by creating a believable character who delivers the message in an interesting and compelling manner. Sometimes the way a script is written just doesn’t lend itself to an effective rhythm. This is often true of lists in which every item of the list tends to have the identical inflection resulting in a monotonous rhythm.

To create greater interest and a more compelling rhythm try
adding conjunctions
between items in a list. This can give each item greater value and, depending on the intonation of your delivery, effectively convey a specific attitude or emotion such as excitement or frustration. For example, here’s how a typical list might be written:

Adding conjunctions will allow you to “play” with inflection, pacing, and attitude as you speak, making each item important in its own right. You will also be able to more effectively build interest throughout the list by creating the impression that you are thinking of each item just before you say the words:

Adding words will almost always add length and time to your performance, which may require you to make timing adjustments in other parts of your delivery. A more advanced use of this technique is to add words silently as you deliver a line of copy. Not speaking the added words can be a bit tricky, but the effect can be very powerful as a means for creating an emotionally charged delivery.

This technique should be used judiciously as many producers will want you to deliver the script exactly as written.

Just as adding a word or two can enhance your delivery, the same can be true if you
subtract
a word or two. This technique can speed up your delivery by making statements more terse and abrupt. By removing the “and” that usually sits between the last two items of a list, the overall tone of the delivery can instantly take on a sense of authority.

Logic dictates that we deliver a line of copy with proper sentence structure, articulation, grammar, and an interpretation based on our understanding of the text. Many of the most effective techniques for creating a believable character and compelling delivery require breaking the rules of logic.
Breaking the rules of logic
can have a powerful impact on your delivery.

Here’s yet another nifty trick for keeping the listener’s attention: Break a single word into two or more words. In most cases, we logically deliver a word the same way regardless of the context of the script. Breaking a single word into its component parts can result in an enhanced understanding of the underlying meaning. For example, speaking the simple phrase “Absolutely amazing!” will have a certain level of impact. However, the meaning will be completely different if you restate the phrase by treating each syllable as a separate word: “Ab so lute ly a maz ing!”

This technique won’t work in every situation or with every script, but when you need to draw importance to a specific copy point this tool can be incredibly effective.

Copy is written grammatically for the eye. Even when a script is written in the style of a specific character, the text will often tend to be written grammatically correct and may even include syntax that is not consistent with the character you create.
Break the rules of grammar
by dropping words, adding words or sounds, rearranging words, changing punctuation, and altering the rhythm or tempo to create more compelling characters.

A basic premise of all voiceover work is that, as a voice actor, you must do whatever it takes to bring the words to life. If the character you create speaks in a specific manner with an accent, attitude, or incorrect grammar, then you need to present that in your performance. In other words,
character has precedence over copy
. Of course, your producer may want you to deliver the copy in a certain way which may stifle your creative efforts, but that’s the way this business works. This concept is covered in more detail in
Chapter 10
, “The Character in the Copy.”

This is a quick trick to quickly get a sense of the big picture of a story or script. The idea is to scan the script from the end first, working your way up to the first line of the script. Many times, simply reading the tag or the last few lines of a script will give you a very good idea of where you need to take your performance for the entire script. It doesn’t work all the time or with all scripts, but when it does work, it can be a tremendous time saver.

This is a neat trick given to me by fellow VO coach, Marc Cashman, to quickly achieve a conversational delivery. The general idea is to
memorize
the first sentence of a script and pick up reading the text from the second sentence. The process of memorizing the first line allows you to internalize the words, context, and interpretation so that when you begin reading you will already be in a conversational delivery. Memorizing the first line also makes it easier to stay in character and sustain attitude throughout your performance. Even though you may have the first line memorized, be prepared to adjust your delivery if asked to do so by your director.

This advanced technique isn’t for everyone, and it’s definitely not a quick fix or something that will work in all situations. However, for those sessions when you have some time and are stuck trying to figure out a delivery attitude or you are facing a challenge developing a character, delivery tempo, or rhythm, this idea may serve you well.

The general idea is to use
music
as a tool for developing your interpretation or character. Music can be a powerful motivator and an inspiration at an emotional level. The ancient Greeks considered music as the study of invisible, internal, hidden objects. Your interpretation of a script is largely based on your personal, internal, hidden responses to the words in the script, so it’s only natural that music can help trigger those responses to help you discover energy, attitude, emotion, and much more.

To use this technique, find a piece of music that fits the mood, tone, or energy of the script. Instrumentals will often work best, but a song with vocals may give you some ideas for phrasing or voice characterization.

As you listen to several pieces of music in your search for the most effective interpretation of your script, you may find that each piece of music you listen to will give you additional ideas. Let the music be your guide for making a variety of choices with your delivery. Test your performance choices by rehearsing the script as the music plays in the background. And, finally, rehearse your script without music to confirm that your choices are strong and effective. Of course, the music you listen to will never be used in a production, but you may discover that just by listening to music your creativity will be inspired to result in a much more effective performance.