Archive for May, 2009

Writing on the patio

A few thoughts on writing in different environments.

It has been a while, but I wanted to give everyone an update as to how the Voice Over challenge for myself is going.

Voices.com

I have to say that the auditioning process for Voices.com is probably the easiest process.  I love just logging in and seeing what jobs are open and opening up my audio editor and just going to town on these on auditions.  Literally within minutes I could have an audition done and sent all while sitting in my room!  It’s fantastic!

I haven’t received any offers as of yet, which is to be expected.  Like I said before, auditions in voice over is a numbers game, and generally on average I see minimum 20 people or more auditioning for the job.  So I just have to keep auditioning until something comes my way.  I still remain optimistic.

Star Wars Fan Audio Drama Casting!

In other voice acting news, I received an email from a friend (who has listened to my podcast novel Black Shadow) and really liked that voice I did for Black Shadow.  He wanted me to audition for an upcoming audio drama he’s working on as a Star Wars Fan fiction.  I auditioned for the lead role of Zander Vorros, but ultimately it went to someone else.  Which was fine, however, I did receive the part of Lt. Torrez.  It’s a small role, but the character may show up in a prequel series that may be worked on.  It’s a volunteer gig, and not a paid one, but hey this get’s me work and I can gain experience by it.

Cool thing is that I get to do my Black Shadow voice which I haven’t done in a while.  And let me tell you, I definitely need to drink a lot of water on this one.  The gruff voice really takes it’s toll on the vocal cords, and it’s definitely been a while since I’ve done that voice, so it’ll take me a bit to get used to again.

At either rate, the first episode, as far as I’m told will be coming out in June(It says 2010, but the deadlines for sending in lines for me is in June).  I’m not in the first episode, I start in the second, but I’ll let you know when it comes online.  Check out http://creativeaudioscape.com for more details.

That’s it for now.  I’ll keep you updated as things come up.

As always, I remain, obediently yours.

Steve

Orson Welles was a Master of Voice Acting.  His voice is so recognizable even today that you can’t help but be entranced with his deep and calming voice.  He is foreboding a narrator but subtle.  Welles once said, “I want to give the audience a hint of a scene. No more than that. Give them too much and they won’t contribute anything themselves. Give them just a suggestion and you get them working with you….it becomes a social act.”  This can be said about anything regards to the art of performance.

I remember growing up in the Niagara Region of Ontario Canada where every Sunday night at 11pm there was a one hour show on the radio called “Theatre of the Mind.”  They would play Old-Time Radio Serials from the 1930’s up until the 1950’s.  I tuned in faithfully each week to hear “Amos and Andy”, “The Shadow”, “Flash Gordon”, and of course “The Third Man” and “The Black Museum” narrated and starring Orson Welles(as you can tell, I am a huge Orson Welles fan).  I listened to those shows and my imagination ran wild.  Stories came to life through voice and sound, which gave me the passion for Radio, Storytelling, and of course Voice Acting.

So to begin this journey into Voice Acting, I thought I would chronicle my attempts to become a Professional Voice Actor here at stevesaylor.net.  I will chronicle my failures, my success, and hopefully showcase my passion for the art of Voice Acting.

My first challenge for myself is this:  To start I have signed up for a one month account at Voices.com.  My goal for the month of May, up until June 5th 2009 is to book at  minimum 1 Voice Acting job through voices.com.

I have created two voice over demos that you can listen to here on my site at http://stevesaylor.net/voice-over

There are several other challenges in the works such as getting an agent, booking a recurring role on an animated cartoon series, and more to come.

So I hope you will join me in my quest to become a professional paid voice actor, and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them and let me know.

If you are an audio producer and would like to get in contact with me for any voice over project you think I would be good for, please feel free to email me at mail@stevesaylor.net

Thank you all, and as Orson Welles likes to end all his broadcasts; as always I remain, obediently yours.

Steve