How Voice Actors Work on Building Their Characters
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Peter Vermeeren
Mar 12, 2013, 8:23:40 PM3/12/13
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Article Title: How Voice Actors Work on Building Their Characters
Author: Peter Vermeeren
Word Count: 957
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=634836&ca=Entertainment
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=634836
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=634836
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People who possess an appealing speaking voice have undoubtedly been told by others many times that should do voiceovers, as if they think that all you need is a good voice. Well, I have to say here and now that that is far from the case. OK it is helpful to have a good voice to start with but, just like a screen actor, there is more to acting than a pretty face. Think about it, a screen actor has actually got more on his side to help people to believe in his character - he has all of the visual elements, make-up, wardrobe, scenery and lighting to mention just a few. The voice actor however has none of these on his side, he has to rely entirely on his voice to convince listeners that he is playing a role, and not himself.
So just how do voice actors go about making their voice fit the character - take the example of an audio book, where the speaker may have to convey a multitude of different characters in same breath almost - not so easy I think you will agree.
The first thing you have to do is categorize the type of learning capabilities you have. People learn through kinaesthetic (or tactile), visual and aural experience and you may not even realise which form makes learning easier for you. Kinaesthetic learning is a learning style in which learning takes place by the learner using their body in order to express a thought, an idea or an understanding of a particular concept. kinaesthetic and tactile learning
styles refer to activities such as running and knitting. Kinaesthetic learning has also been described as the human's body's ability to express itself through movement and dance.
Visual learning is a learning style in which ideas, concepts, data and other information are associated with images and techniques. Visual learners also prosper when shown graphs, graphic organizers such as webs, concept maps and idea maps, plots, and illustrations, which are some of the techniques used in visual learning to enhance thinking and learning skills.
Aural learning is a learning style in which a person learns through listening. They may struggle to understand a chapter they've read, but then experience a full understanding as they listen to the class lecture. An auditory learner may benefit by using the speech recognition tool available on many PCs. Aural learners may have a knack for ascertaining the true meaning of someone's words by listening to audible signals like changes in tone. When memorizing a phone number, an aural learner will say it out loud and then remember how it sounded to recall it.
Let's look at an example; Our voice actor has a new role that he has to characterise - the subject is a young male surfer. Our actor hasn't received the full description yet, so using one's imagination is paramount. So we imagine our surfer to be in his mid-teens, 15 or 16 years old. He is muscular,tall and physically well-built, and stands with a concave posture. It is important to be able to visualise this, as our actor will also adopt this stance.
Although it won't be seen, it will help the actor to get in character, will affect his breathing, and also the way his voice will sound. More
characterisics; our surfer is tanned as you would expect and has sun-bleached hair. He is self-confident, but at the same time much of this could be bravado, as his youth still makes him vulnerable. His voice is changing, he tries to ensures it always sounds deep and manly, but at times it inadvertantly cracks and momentarily sounds like a child. As you can see we are putting a lot into our character, more than you may have imagined for someone just to be portrayed in sound.
Here our voice actor is using kinaesthetis and visual learning styles to help to visualise the surfer and bring him to life. Adopting the posture, assuming the juvenile self-importance tinged with vulnerability, even imagining his visual apperance, all help our actor to get the desired result. To make clear how important this is - our voice actor in this case could actually be a 30 year old woman!
It is important for voice actors to be able to plays roles of their opposite sex, but we will look more closely at that in another article, not here and now. For a voice actor his voice is like an instrument that must be able to handle a wide vocal range, as well as accents, and the portrayal of age and sex.
So, we can se how the voice actor takes on physical and visual elements of our character to breath life into it, using his kinaesthetic and visual learning styles to visualise him, understand him, and therefore be able to memorize him, to get into character when required to do so.
As you can see, details are very important in character building, and the best way to be able to visualize certain traits, idiosynchrasies, and behaviour patterns is to observe the people around you. How they behave in certain situations, and how they react with other people, a limitless source of inpiration around you wherever you go. As well as stage or screen actors, for voice actors it is also extremely important to watch people in daily life, to be able to bring some of these features into your character. One small detail can make a huge difference, a lisp, a stutter, that can make a character memorable to the actor, and not least to the audience as well.
About The Author: More information about Actors and idols can be found on our Review Sites http://www.aboutidols.org/ or on http://www.showmenow.org
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=634836
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Peter Vermeeren
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=634836
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=634836
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: How Voice Actors Work on Building Their Characters
Author: Peter Vermeeren
Word Count: 957
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=634836&ca=Entertainment
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=634836
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=634836
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
People who possess an appealing speaking voice have undoubtedly been told by others many times that should do voiceovers, as if they think that all you need is a good voice. Well, I have to say here and now that that is far from the case. OK it is helpful to have a good voice to start with but, just like a screen actor, there is more to acting than a pretty face. Think about it, a screen actor has actually got more on his side to help people to believe in his character - he has all of the visual elements, make-up, wardrobe, scenery and lighting to mention just a few. The voice actor however has none of these on his side, he has to rely entirely on his voice to convince listeners that he is playing a role, and not himself.
So just how do voice actors go about making their voice fit the character - take the example of an audio book, where the speaker may have to convey a multitude of different characters in same breath almost - not so easy I think you will agree.
The first thing you have to do is categorize the type of learning capabilities you have. People learn through kinaesthetic (or tactile), visual and aural experience and you may not even realise which form makes learning easier for you. Kinaesthetic learning is a learning style in which learning takes place by the learner using their body in order to express a thought, an idea or an understanding of a particular concept. kinaesthetic and tactile learning
styles refer to activities such as running and knitting. Kinaesthetic learning has also been described as the human's body's ability to express itself through movement and dance.
Visual learning is a learning style in which ideas, concepts, data and other information are associated with images and techniques. Visual learners also prosper when shown graphs, graphic organizers such as webs, concept maps and idea maps, plots, and illustrations, which are some of the techniques used in visual learning to enhance thinking and learning skills.
Aural learning is a learning style in which a person learns through listening. They may struggle to understand a chapter they've read, but then experience a full understanding as they listen to the class lecture. An auditory learner may benefit by using the speech recognition tool available on many PCs. Aural learners may have a knack for ascertaining the true meaning of someone's words by listening to audible signals like changes in tone. When memorizing a phone number, an aural learner will say it out loud and then remember how it sounded to recall it.
Let's look at an example; Our voice actor has a new role that he has to characterise - the subject is a young male surfer. Our actor hasn't received the full description yet, so using one's imagination is paramount. So we imagine our surfer to be in his mid-teens, 15 or 16 years old. He is muscular,tall and physically well-built, and stands with a concave posture. It is important to be able to visualise this, as our actor will also adopt this stance.
Although it won't be seen, it will help the actor to get in character, will affect his breathing, and also the way his voice will sound. More
characterisics; our surfer is tanned as you would expect and has sun-bleached hair. He is self-confident, but at the same time much of this could be bravado, as his youth still makes him vulnerable. His voice is changing, he tries to ensures it always sounds deep and manly, but at times it inadvertantly cracks and momentarily sounds like a child. As you can see we are putting a lot into our character, more than you may have imagined for someone just to be portrayed in sound.
Here our voice actor is using kinaesthetis and visual learning styles to help to visualise the surfer and bring him to life. Adopting the posture, assuming the juvenile self-importance tinged with vulnerability, even imagining his visual apperance, all help our actor to get the desired result. To make clear how important this is - our voice actor in this case could actually be a 30 year old woman!
It is important for voice actors to be able to plays roles of their opposite sex, but we will look more closely at that in another article, not here and now. For a voice actor his voice is like an instrument that must be able to handle a wide vocal range, as well as accents, and the portrayal of age and sex.
So, we can se how the voice actor takes on physical and visual elements of our character to breath life into it, using his kinaesthetic and visual learning styles to visualise him, understand him, and therefore be able to memorize him, to get into character when required to do so.
As you can see, details are very important in character building, and the best way to be able to visualize certain traits, idiosynchrasies, and behaviour patterns is to observe the people around you. How they behave in certain situations, and how they react with other people, a limitless source of inpiration around you wherever you go. As well as stage or screen actors, for voice actors it is also extremely important to watch people in daily life, to be able to bring some of these features into your character. One small detail can make a huge difference, a lisp, a stutter, that can make a character memorable to the actor, and not least to the audience as well.
About The Author: More information about Actors and idols can be found on our Review Sites http://www.aboutidols.org/ or on http://www.showmenow.org
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=634836
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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