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- The job that gets you the job.
The job that gets you the job.
Back in 2003, I was at a cross roads.
Having graduated from Warwick University, I'd decided to take a year out to apply for drama schools.
And so I went back home to Somerset to live with mum and dad ๐
Full-time work was essential so I could pay my way, so it seemed like a sign from above when a new bookshop opened in nearby Wells.
I was down to the final two at Tesco for a position in their camera film development department (remember those?) but this appealed more.
And I got the job.
But why was it so crucial?
Because I shamelessly begged to oversee the tiny Drama section of the bookshop.
A section that, in this brand new store, amounted to little more than a few shelves.
Over the rest of the year, I will now confess (20 years later) that I abused my position to order in stock that only I would read:
The complete Harold Pinter.
Samuel Beckett.
Carol Chruchill
Wertenbaker.
Chekhov.
Ibsen.
All where integral reading for a 21 year old eager to train as an actor.
Did this lead to unexpected extra business for the bookshop?
No.
No, it did not.
But it sure made a difference to me.
And revisiting the scene of the crime this weekend, the Drama section has even increased.
I'll resist the claim I've 'educated the masses' though..
Voice Acting tip of the week:
How to direct voice talent in commercials?
That was the topic of the first episode in the new LinkedIn Live series by John Mouratis ๐ฌ .
It was an honour to discuss with him:
โ
Best ways to brief a VO in advance.
โ
Where to source voiceover talent.
โ
Commercial trends.
๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐ข๐ง ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ.
You can check out full live replay, below.
Behind The Scenes of the week:
CAN'T talk about your work? ๐
That's a big problem for a lot of creatives.
In most genres of work that I do, there's a degree of confidentiality.
It might be a brand's big campaign.
It might be a new IP for a famous game dev.
It might be a new series of books for an author.
Whatever it is - I have to assume that a client wants to keep all details confidential until I'm explicitly told otherwise.
It doesn't matter if I've signed an NDA or not.
Part of my job is to be as easy to work with as possible.
And that includes not asking unnecessary questions or suggesting I might compromise a project.
So what do you do when you can't share your actual work regularly?
Let's take a video game recording I had last night....
โก๏ธ ๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐.
I can't talk about the directed session itself.
But I can discuss the benefits of Source Connect and a hardwired ethernet connection so that the client could live direct me from New York with me in my studio.
This shift from outcome to process is educational and informative rather than all about the project.
โก๏ธ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐.
If an experience in a project revealed an interesting lesson, then re-create it.
This could be a 'hypothetical case-study' or 'what if' moment. Such as exploring the differences in working with and without music. You can demonstrate the takeaway with another piece of text, away from the original - as Leonie Schliesing beautifully did earlier this week (link in comments)
โก๏ธ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐
If you can't be specific,
then switch to the bigger picture.
Talk about a broader industry trend that could be extrapolated from your work experience.
In this instance, it could be about the pros and cons of working with dialogue that's on a spreadsheet - including tips on how to avoid legibility issues!
Not being able to talk about the cool stuff you're doing is part of a creative's lot.
๐ฆ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ.
Media Recommendations:
Every month, I share three podcasts, articles or interviews that Iโd strongly recommend. This monthโฆ
This is a wonderful video by vocal coach Darren McStay on how to use techniques such as Laban to make different vocal choices.
Let me introduce you to the work of James McNicholas, a brilliant performer who turns popular songs into incredible dramatic utterings!
A playlist of voice actors talking about the games that were pivotal to them - definitely worth a look!
Favourite Writing of the Week: Pagan Min
The entertainment industry is deceptively small.
And if you're the actor Kevin Bacon, it seems to operate around you.
Since the mid-1990s, 'the six degrees of Kevin Bacon' has been very much a thing. The concept being that you can pick an actor and link them to Bacon through co-stars within six steps.
The voice acting equivalent in video games might be ๐ง๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ - arguably the single most famous voice actor right now.
He originated the part of Joel in The Last of Us
He's played The Joker numerous times.
And he's currently channelling Harrison Ford in the latest Indiana Jones game...
If there was a 'six degrees of Troy Baker', then that last title would have been my connection, as I've also had the pleasure of working with the performance director on that title, Tom Keegan, which is currently getting rave reviews.
But then this week, I started getting tagged in a video ๐
A reaction video of Troy Baker rating other actors attempting to perform voice lines from his previous roles ๐ค
Actors including me ๐ฑ
The resulting snippet is below.
Full disclosure: I wasn't trying to impersonate Troy in my performance as that's simply not my skillset. But to get a positive verdict from my own take on it from one of the foremost actors working in games....
That's pretty cool.
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Thanks again for reading, and until next time, Honey and I wish you a wonderful month!
