How To Use Voice Actors For Your Animated Film

When you are faced with casting a voice actor for an animated production, there are certain things you have to know before you proceed. You can't just decide to make a production and then go hire a voice actor and hope everything turns out all right. Even if you have done a lot of work on the script, it is not going to come together unless you cast the right people for the spots. No matter how good the lines are, if the voice actor does not deliver them properly, then your vision is not going to be realized.

You may not even know what a voice actor delivering the lines properly entails. That's all right, if you are willing to turn over some of the creative process to the voice actor. But you have to know enough about it to cast a voice actor you know will do a good job. That means you understand what kind of character you are casting for, and that you consider all of the variables, like accent, before you look for someone to fill the role.

Is your character original and complex? Is he a rogue with a heart of gold and many shades to his personality? A character like that, even in an animated production, is going to need a voice actor that can pull off the complexities of the character. That means you are going to have to understand those complexities so that you can explain them to the voice actor—unless, of course, you are willing to give the actor creative license and see what happens. That is a valid approach, but it is best if you are doing that because you trust the performance chops of the voice actor, than because you're just hoping he knows more than you do.

If your character is a stereotype or an archetypal character, you will need a voice actor who can play a strong, even exaggerated, character. The inflections have got to be able to suggest that archetype. For instance, it takes a certain type of oily yet suave voice to play a Mephistophlean role and a voice with even more grease to play the weasel-type character. You know the type I mean. He's usually a fast-talking, small-time crook or a thin henchman. For your project, you have to find someone who can create that effect with his voice and the dialogue alone. The character isn't going to tell your audience he's a greasy henchman.

Does your character have an accent? If so, how realistic should it be? Not every voice actor can do an accent. It takes a lot of work and a real pro to pull off an accent like a native speaker. Think Hugh Laurie, who plays the lead character in House, M.D. He's an Englishman, yet you can't tell he wasn't born and raised on U.S. soil. The exaggerated accent can be done for comic effect or simply to suggest an accent. Audiences have a tolerance for bad accents as long as they are consistent and strong. You will have to know ahead of time that you need a voice actor that can do the accent you need, in the style you need it done.

You don't have to know every last thing about the character's voice before you cast, as small details are impossible to plan for and will be discovered in the process. However, you do need to plan ahead and know what to ask for when you approach an agency looking for a voice actor or seven.
by: Terry Daniel

How to Increase Your Return on Investment by Organizing Your Music

How many times have you said to yourself?
* This music keeps falling off the piano.
* Where is that song? I can never find the page.
* When am I going to do something about this music?
* I'm tired of stopping in the middle of the piece just to turn the page.
* I can't believe it, the recital was only three weeks ago, and I forgot how much I liked that piece.

Think about how frustrated you have been by trying to deal with the majority of your musical material constantly in such a mess!

Think of how many times you couldn't face going to the piano simply because the thought of pulling your music together was far too overwhelming.

Wouldn't you like to maximize the return on the investment that you have made and continue to make in your musical development?

As they say in the business world:

What's your ROI (Return On Investment)?

After countless hours of practice, many years of piano lessons, hundreds of dollars spent on instruction and sheet music, you're stuck, frustrated and immobilized.

Why not take advantage of your freer summer season schedule to stay connected to your musical favorites?

Here's how: just follow this simple step-by-step method:

1. Pull all of your music books together into one place
2. Look through one book at a time to remind yourself which pieces you enjoy playing and mark each piece with a post-it note or paper clip
3. Make photocopies of each selection
4. Sort all of the music into stacks of categories.
5. Here are some suggested types of groups:
a) Classical and popular styles
b) Fast and slow tempos
c) By composer, group or singer
d) Key signature
5. Pick an organizing system
a) Looseleaf books with non-glare page protectors
b) Pocket folders (put labels on the front)
c) File folders: staple each piece onto a folder and put these into a portable filing system
6. Experiment: once the music is organized in one of these three ways, you can change the order or arrangement of music for a few practice sessions until it feels satisfying.

One Final Note

Organizing your music is a surefire method for increasing your return on investment.

Yes, it will take some effort, but it will really pay off.

You will have created a dependable tool which is guaranteed to energize your musical growth and development.

You will gain a whole new perspective on practicing the piano, and you'll feel great about yourself!

It's Not Too Late!
by Ed Mascari

Gangster Movies: America's Love Affair With the Bad Guy

No matter how much we like to see the good guy triumph in the end and those who have committed crimes be punished for them, we can never quite shake off that sneaking enjoyment that comes from bad guys doing what they do and being good at it! Gangster movies have been a part of American cinema from the beginning and by taking a quick look at the genre, we definitely can see why.

The two movies that are considered the grandfathers of this film genre are Little Caeser, starring Edward G. Robinson and Public Enemy, starring James Cagney. In both of these films, the gangsters get their comeuppance, but often, that's not what the audience remembers. In Little Caeser, you remember the scenes of Robinson's character Rico living it up in the lap of luxury and in Public Enemy, you fondly remember Tom Powers, played by Cagney doing a delighted little two step on a public street when a girl smiles at him.

Gangsters in Hollywood come in a variety of different flavors and Al Pacino has played two extremely different archetypes. In the Godfather movies, he is the elegant and doomed Michael Corleone, the war hero who got dragged reluctantly into the family business, while in Scarface, he plays the crazed killer Tony Montana, a Cuban who rose from immigrant to drug kingpin. Both of these characters were (in very different ways) extremely charismatic and its easy to see how we're drawn to them.

There are also quite a few movies that pay homage to the classic gangster movies, or satirize them, depending on your point of view. The prime time show, The Sopranos, features a modern day organized crime association where the members are quietly and sometimes not so quietly obsessed with Goodfellas and The Godfather and will quote them at any opportunity. Brick, a movie about love and death in high school, was heavily influenced by the classic Miller's Crossing in terms of tone and language.

The story of the gangster can be seen as the American Dream that is played in fast-forward. It usually starts with a young boy looking for a way out of poverty and with some luck and some help, he makes it to the top. Maybe that's the appeal of the gangster genre, and maybe that's why we're so willing to forgive the things they do to get there.

Don't look for a morality lesson when you watch gangster movies. You'll end up rooting for the wrong guy and when he inevitably gets what's coming to him, you'll be annoyed and disappointed. Gangsters top the charts in charisma, but their life expectancy and chances for lasting happiness are practically nil.