Let's Talk: Voiceover

Mark is one of the most well-known and credited video game directors in the world, casting and directing actors in titles such as Warhammer, Tropico, Wallace & Gromit, Need for Speed, and so many more.  He's been at the forefront of the creation of the industry. and he's still a bit of a mad scientist: creating, tweaking, and pushing the technology envelope.  He has his own definite style and a deep love of the craft of acting.  We got to have a rare in-person interview with him, where he put us in separate booths so we could experience "the lab" that is his London studio OMUK.  This is what came out!

LTVO has a new host! An actor and director with production chops, Gillian came from the stages of New York City to the big (Chekhov and Maria) and small screens (CSI: Cyber, Criminal Minds, Legends) in Los Angeles before delving into voice acting, and then directing.  She also narrated the Emmy-winning series Wonder Women.  Her vo credits include Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded, Lord of the Rings Online, Chivalry 2, Vacation Simulator, and World of Tanks.  Smart, curious, glib and with a wicked wit; she's the perfect person to sit in the virtual cocktail bar and converse with anyone in the industry.  So, welcome, and Let's Talk Voiceover, Gillian Brashear!

Mara Junot is one of those fascinating people you meet that you instantly fall in love with.  Warm, genuine, and easy to talk to.  Funny, inviting, and personable.  And one hell of an actor.  Video games, such as Ikora in Destiny 2, Fortnite, World of Warcraft, Mortal Kombat, and Guild Wars 2.  She's also highly in demand as a narrative and promo actor: ESPN, CNBC, Lifetime, and others.  Oh, and a commercial actor, voicing spots for Target, AT&T, Walmart.  And then that strange and wonderful talent as a live announcer for VHI1 Divas, CNN New Year's Eve with Anderson Cooper...yeah.  She's got crazy chops. 

Chuck Campbell has been a working voice actor for a very long time. If you are in the voice acting business, you need to understand what Chuck already knows. It's a business, first and foremost. For more than two decades, Chuck has been in front of the camera and behind the mic, including thousands of tv and radio commercials, training and corporate videos for Fortune 500 companies, 55 audio books, and the film, “Ides of March” with George Clooney, Ryan Gosling and host of other great actors. Not bad for a guy who took a chance and walked away from a steady paycheck 20 something years ago to invest in himself. So how do you keep a voice acting business thriving while keeping a 4 handicap? I want to know. Let's Talk Voiceover, Chuck Campbell.

Sometimes you're having so much fun that a podcast pops out. That is what happened when we talked with Misty Lee. Misty is an awesome voice actor who is also an awesome magician. Yup. Really. As a lifelong performer, Misty talks honestly about the privilege of being a voice actor. And with a track record of success that includes Ultimate Spider-Man, Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us, Star Wars Battlefront, Disney Infinity, and more, Misty helps to remind us all how wonderful and magical this business really is. Invest your time to listen to Episode 33 and you'll walk away with a smile and incredibly valuable advice that's hard to find anywhere. 

Ever wonder what it would be like to hear from the writer who brings the words for our voices? Hall Hood is a narrative designer who specializes in creating immersive player-driven stories. His credits include games published by Electronic Arts, Sony Entertainment Corporation, and Disney. He has created stories and characters for the Star Wars, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect franchises, and also written for mobile games and console titles like Ghost of Tsushima for Playstation. In addition to his work as a writer, Hall mentors aspiring narrative designers, consults with production partners for Eko.com’s interactive video series, and provides expert support on other projects in development. Plus, he's really funny! Check out the podcast. 

Mark Oliver is a voice acting badass who does what he does in film, animation, and videogames. From Wood Man in the Mega Man animated show to Batroc in the Marvel Video Comics to Miles Dredd in the Max Steel franchise, and roles in Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord Of The Rings Online, Mark has a fascinating background as a professional musician, actor, and film director. He talks about being authentic, and the advantages you can find by engaging in life to find your motivations. Take a lesson from a voice of experience, and check out this episode with Mark Oliver!

Heather Dame is currently the VP of Atlas LA and heads up Atlas' west coast branch. Heather built Atlas' Animation department from the ground up, as well as had a close hand and partnership with other agents in developing the Los Angeles commercial, video game and promo/narration/trailer departments. She is passionate about developing talent and creating new business equally and enjoys the creative parts of "agent-ing" just as much as the problem solving and negotiating side. She believes in conducting business openly and honestly, and is one of the best in the business. Want to know what a top agent thinks? It's all here in Episode 30 of Let's Talk, with Heather Dame. 

In Episode 29, we have a blast talking with voice actor Christopher Corey Smith. If you don't remember Christopher as “third guy from the left who screams when he blows up,” you may recognize him as Luke Skywalker in “Phineas and Ferb Star Wars”, The Joker in the Lego Batman games and movie, doubling for wrestlers in WWE Smash City, one of many “Digimon” voices, or other titles you might know include Hearthstone, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat vs DC, World of Warcraft and literally over a hundred other games. Tons of TV voice acting credits as well, including Ingress, Hero Mask and Marvel Future Avengers. He's a pretty freakin’ experienced voice actor and pretty freakin' fun to talk with, so plug in and hit play as we talk voiceover with Christopher Corey Smith.   

Michael Csurics is a casting director, video games director, and the founder of BrightSkull Entertainment known for work on BioShock 2, Tacoma and Masquerada: Songs and Shadows. He is best known for directing ensemble work in the video games he works on. You can listen to Michael as a speaker at GDC and many other video game conferences. Or, even better, you can listen to Michael right here, right now, on Episode 28 of Let's Talk: Voiceover. 

Kristin Lennox is a working actress. That says a lot. She doesn't live on either coast. Instead, she hustles her career from the middle of the country, and has been for over two decades. A lot of people want to be a voice actor. Kristin provides insight into what it takes for anyone willing to put in the work from right where they are.

Wally Wingert is the voice you know, whether you know it or not. From the announcer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, to John Arbuckle on Cartoon Network’s “The Garfield Show”, Ant Man from the Avengers animated series, The Riddler from the video game series, “Batman: Arkham”, voices in popular mangas, including “Bleach”, Tiger & Bunny, and others, and as guest voices on Harvey Birdman, King of the Hill, The Simpsons and Family Guy. Wally is also one of the voices you’ll hear on Disney’s revamped “Pirates of the Carribean” ride. Find out from Wally what it's like to live your childhood dreams.

Everett Oliver is a leading Hollywood animation director, with shows including The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Men In Black, Jackie Chan Adventures, and more in his wake. In Episode 25, Everett explains his approach to working with voice actors, and his unique abilities to "feel" both the performance and the performers. A highly sought after coach for animation and commercial work, spend time with us as we explore the Wonderful World of Everett!   

Erin Fitzgerald shares her thoughts about acting, characters, and how to learn to appreciate the lull. With a ridiculous body of work to draw from over the last 25 years, she offers valuable advice for acting in cartoons, video games, anime and stage. SO much fun to talk with, Erin lights up Episode 24. Don't miss it!   Erin's eBook Erin's Facebook Fan Page  

Tom Keegan is as authentic as it gets. That's why it's a treat to get to work under Tom's direction in games, animation, mo-cap, vo-cap and more. With roots in theater, film, animation and games, Tom is able to help actors translate authenticity into their roles, and has received accolades from his work, including a 2018 BAFTA award. Spend time with Tom, our guest on Episode 23, and you just might learn a thing or two! (It would be hard not to.) 

Dianne Weller is worldwide... literally. Starting her career in Australia, and working in Europe for the last 20 years, Dianne has extensive experience working in film, TV, theatre, radio, corporates, commercials and documentaries. Dianne keeps reinventing herself across entertainment mediums, and her perspective about that is fascinating. So eager to share, Episode 22 of Let's Talk: Voiceover is a fun one to listen to and learn from.  

Cathy Faulkner went from Queen of Seattle Rock to rocking her voice acting business with commercials, videogames, eLearning and even audio textbooks. How do you go from breaking bands like Pearl Jam while back-announcing progressive rock, to a long-form storyteller? We find out in Episode 21 of Let’s Talk: Voiceover with BT and Randy Ryan.

Cliff Zellman is Mr. Automotive Advertising. He's a lifelong studio engineer, and one of the leading automotive ad audio guys. This podcast offers some of the most valuable lessons you can learn about being a voice talent for automotive ads. As one of the most sought after speakers for voiceover conferences, Cliff shares it all in this, Episode 20, of Let's Talk Voiceover. You may want to listen to this one more than once. It'll be worth your while. 

Anne Ganguzza and Gabby Nistico are a voice actor’s friend, with their business, VO Boss. They coach and teach you to market your talents so you can make money in voiceover. Since we have a podcast and they have a podcast, we thought it would be neat to be on each other’s podcast. You be the judge. Listen to Episode 19 of our version of the "quadcast".

Gerald Griffith is not a voice actor, but still a very influential person in the VO business. As Founder and Executive Producer of VO Atlanta, you should get to know Gerald. Start by listening to Episode 18 of the podcast.  

Zach Hanks is a voice actor, coach and director in Atlanta. As a former Assistant Professor in theater, we talk about the difference between coaching in the classroom versus coaching in the "real world", and that transition from working for yourself to working for a paycheck. Zach brings a lot of interesting perspectives, as a former L.A. actor who stepped out of the Hollywood thing to walk down a slightly different path, and how he still makes his living as a voice actor today. Listen to Episode 17 of Let's Talk VoiceOver. 

How do you leave a high flying job in Silicon Valley to go into voice acting? Cissy Jones talks about her journey on Episode 16 of Let's Talk Voiceover. She talks about how she left a well established career to build a voice acting business. And, with BAFTA award in hand for her performance in the 2017 Indie videogame FIREWATCH, and an Academy award nominated documentary narration, she has demonstrated why she is sought after for video games, commercials and animation and so much more. It's an inspiring, yet practical conversation with Cissy Jones. 

So you want to do voices for games? How much do you know about the video game industry? In Episode 15, we talk about one of the most important conferences in the games business. It's the Game Developer's Conference: GDC. Randy goes every year, and this year, he brought his handy smartphone thingy to record conversations over drinks and meals with voice actors J.S. Gilbert, Erik Braa and DB Cooper. Get a peak inside the videogame industry from veteran voice actors. It's the GDC episode!

We talk about voiceover. We have amazing people in our network. So, it only makes sense to talk with Rachael Naylor of The Voice Over Network in Episode 14, right? Rachael is a talent who put in a little effort to start a meetup group. What happened from there was an evolution into one of the world's most involved voiceover networks. We talk about what she sees as trends from her perspective. We talk about why she started a voiceover network as a home for voiceover professionals. And, we listen to that fabulous British accent. Brilliant!!

Mary Lynn Wissner, founder of Voices Voicecasting in LA joins BT & Randy to talk about casting, and a whole lot more. Starting as a casting director for legendary voiceover agent Don Pitts, and evolving into her own company, Mary Lynn knows the business, from talent agents to ad agencies, and a whole lot more. We even talk truth about those pay to plays. Class is in session, so don't be late. Let's Talk: Voiceover!  

Marc Cashman is "The Voice Cat", an award winning voice actor, producer and coach. You may remember Marc from such classics as "V-Oh! Tips, Tricks and Techniques to Start and Sustain Your Voiceover Career", his regular column on the actor's casting site, Now Casting, and the "365 VO Tips" series, coming soon to a social media post near you. In Episode 12, we talk about what happens after you the "Send" on a voice audition submission. We discuss ways you can use your voiceover superpowers for good. And, we bitch about crappy ass web sites that pay you only 30% or less of the talent fee and act like they do you a favor, and some as little as $5. Seriously, $5!! That won't even buy you coffee. So, listen to BT, Randy Ryan and Marc Cashman as they have their own little coffee clatch, and some without coffee.

The Legendary Marc Graue joins us for Episode 011, and as Robert Pattinson said to Kristen Stewart in Twilight, "You better hold on tight, spider monkey." Having a 30 year history with Marc, the war stories in this one are totally worth the listen. From growing up in Hollywood to "In A World" to alien creature voices to what makes a voiceover demo great, we fly through a fast paced and funny peek inside the mind of one of busiest voice actors around.  

Why are there so many dudes in audio? Jacquie Sladeck, Head of Studio for SIDE LA gives her thoughts on that. In Episode 010, we also talk about moving from recording studios to game studios and back to recording studios; working for entertainment companies headquartered outside of the U.S. and the cultural adjustments necessary; and Jacquie gives her insights into how you can build your voice acting business without being annoying. You'll want to hear this!

Aaron Phillips is a hoot. As our guest on Episode009, we break out into a hootenanny. From singing Disney toons, to voicing videogame characters, to voiceover for commercials, Aaron is an entertainer, through and through. Join us for the fun, and find out why we like to refer to Aaron as “Mr. New York”.

Blizzard's Andrea Toyias is back for Part 2, and she delivers voice acting GOLD!! She is so freakin' easy to talk with, and so generous with her advice. Do you want to  know what she looks for in voice actors? It's in there. Do you want to know her thoughts on World of Warcraft? It's in there. Do you want to know about her best advice for voice actors. It's in there, too. It's all in Episode 008. (And, if you don't find it in there, you may want to check Part 1 - Episode 007 - because it's probably in there.) So, settle in, and Let’s Talk… Voiceover!

When you think MMO, you think World of Warcraft. And when you think WoW, you should be thinking Andrea Toyias, Casting and Voice Director at Blizzard. In Episode 007, Andrea hangs out with us to talk music, voice, directing and fun. She is awesome. She is one of the very best in the business. And, she LOVES her voice actors! So much to talk about, we made this Part 1. So, settle in, and Let’s Talk… Voiceover!

Cubs fan? We are. And so is our guest, Greg Chun, working voice actor and music producer. Greg continues our discussion about bringing music (and other skills) to your voice acting career. Chicago born, and living in Los Angeles since 1996, Greg talks about finding your own voice, the value of simplicity, collaborating with others, and living in LA LA Land. Plus, you won't want to miss his shameless plug for the ear, nose and throat specialist to the stars. Greg is a blast to talk with, and he's an awesome talent. We even talk "Michael Bolton". Help us celebrate his entire catalogue, and help us celebrate our sixth episode of Let’s Talk: Voiceover. 

Let's Talk Voiceover 005 is Part 2 of our conversation with Dave Fennoy. We talk about teaching, training, understanding the character arc and other things that Dave regularly teaches, (and, for good money, at that) about how to work as a voice actor in videogames; the difference between voiceovers for animation vs. videogame voiceovers; using workout groups to help you improve your performance in today's self-directed auditioning environment, and more. If you haven't listened to Part 1, you'll want to catch Episode 004. If you have listened to Part 1, then tuck in and get ready for Dave Fennoy, Part Deux. 

Dave Fennoy is one of the biggest names in voiceover, and one of the most genuine people you could meet. As an award winning video game actor, commercial voice and narrator, Dave shares his wisdom from more than 30 years of experience. We talk about how performing is a passion, gigs come and gigs go, the importance of understanding voiceover "genres", the changing face of the voiceover business, the benefit of being a musician with your vocal instrument, and casting ethnic voices. Dave was so gracious with his time, and so informative, that this is only Part 1. Take a listen now, and be on the lookout for Part 2!

We have company in Episode 003! Voice actress Cindy Robinson joins BT & Randy to talk voiceover. From stage actress to voice actress, she talks about the fortunate misfortunes that brought her from Broadway to L.A. Cindy is best known for characters, voice matching, and video games. She brings a different perspective to our conversation, talks about the need to constantly be working on your craft while taking care of your “instrument”, the value that singing brings to voice acting, and being part of a Hollywood loop group. It’s our third episode of Let’s Talk: Voiceover. Take a listen, won’t you?

The guys get cerebral in Episode 002, against anyone's better judgement. (Too soon?) They talk about games studios, and ask if there is a trend away from story driven games. If so, what they are moving toward, and what does that mean for voiceover? Can machines replace people in the creative world? How long is too long to be working together, before you turn into a couple of crodgity old guys yelling at people to get off your lawn? And, how close are we to true convergence of games, movies, VR and other technologies to create a better entertainment experience? For answers to these questions and more, check out Let's Talk: Voiceover - Episode 002.

Episode 001: The first episode of Let’s Talk: Voiceover with BT & Randy Ryan is off to an auspicious start, as Brian experiences technical difficulties with his end of the podcast recording, his car, and his phone. But, we roll with it all. Randy talks about his recent trip to Russia to talk Wargaming, vodka and the American fascination of ordinary Russian life. They get into different approaches for directing actors, creating characters, and bringing true emotion to an audio performance.