Blog Journey: The Art of Audiobooks Ft. Dawn Harvey

As with any profession or trade, it takes time for people to master their craft; voice acting included. A weekend seminar at a famous studio or a weeklong boot camp with a voice coach may be cool, but it probably won't increase your abilities to the point of landing loads of voice gigs. That's why we designed this course with the goal of making sure students see tangible improvements in not just acting, but speaking as a whole.

VA101 is designed to teach students about their vocal instrument and how to play it. Starting out from the basics and diving deep into understanding the different parts, how to control them, and how to train them to ensure its longevity. You will learn about your Voicebox, your articulators, posture, warmup and breathing techniques, consonants, plosives, sibilance, natural articulation, handling a lisp, mic techniques, and so much more!

In VA201 'The Emotional Roller Coaster', you will learn how important emotions are in the world of acting. Without feelings and emotions it is very difficult to bring words to life in a way that will engage the listener. Over the next 8 classes we will take you on the ride of a lifetime as we put you in the front seat of your emotional rollercoaster. You will work on techniques that will help you face your fears and get rid of any nerves you face that can get in the way of a great performance. You will discover how to bring hidden intentions into everything you read.

Explore an emotional journey and break down common basic emotions and get in touch with how you express emotions for different situations and how you can bring this into everything you do. You will uncover effective ways for your characters to express their emotions and hidden intentions that will differ from your own. Learn the different elements that contribute to creating emotion in your script from an acting perspective as well as production. Master the tools and techniques that will help you bring your scripts to life. You will learn how listening and reacting will completely change the way you perform. There will be plenty of scripts to read in this course, so grab your box of Kleenex, get your chops ready and hang on for an emotional ride into the world of emotional performance.

Now that you’ve discovered how to use your instrument properly and how to bring emotional context into your words, it’s time to learn how to put it all together and learn how to act.

You will hear many terms used to describe someone who uses his or her voice to make a living. Voice Over, Voice Talent, Announcer etc., but one of the most important terms that most won’t debate is Voice Actor. After all, this is what we are doing, acting with our voice.

As we’ve described in previous workshops, Voice Acting is the combination of Theatre, Film and Broadcasting. It’s very helpful to have experience in all three in order to truly master the variety of skills needed for each individual project. No two projects are the same, so there is always a need for a variety of skills. In this course we will do our best to teach you all three.

It's time to get down to the nitty gritty!

As with any profession or trade, it takes time for people to master their craft; voice acting included. A weekend seminar at a famous studio or a weeklong boot camp with a voice coach may be cool, but it probably won't increase your abilities to the point of landing loads of voice gigs. That's why we designed this course with the goal of making sure students see tangible improvements in not just acting, but speaking as a whole.

Note: It is highly recommended that you either have some experience or knowledge in audio recording and editing, or have at least taken our intro / "101" course, Audio Engineering for Voice Actors to get the most out of this course.

This course is designed to assist you through technical production of individual voice over spots that showcase the brand and skills of a voice over artist.

This voice-specific audio engineering course takes you behind the scenes to lay out step-by-step instructions for producing a quality, great sounding spot. Follow along a seasoned producer as he live streams his editing process, and gives industry tips and tricks. By the end of this course, you will have gained knowledge and experience by producing your own voice over spot(s) under the direction of an instructor and TA, and with valuable peer feedback.

The material will be applicable in a variety of genres such as commercial, narration, animation, or video games. Learn the art of storytelling and advertising with creative ways to entice your listener, and stand out!

When you wake up in the morning, you’re not presented with the day’s script that tells you what to say. For the vast majority of your day, your brain is forming those sentences using improvisation and ordering your body to convey the message.

The key to authenticity in your voice acting is to embody that exact process with a script: to make someone else’s words come out of you as if those words were your own.

In this 6-week course, you will learn about the fundamentals of short-form improvisation. Through this curriculum, you will gain an abundance of self-confidence, practice in storytelling and characterization, the collaborative spirit, and empathy for others.

More importantly, you will gain additional awareness about you, the person. And it is precisely this awareness of self that will play a crucial role in your ability to authentically deliver those lines in a script.

A solid foundation in audio as a voice talent in this modern remote-working world is imperative, especially when working with studios and engineers, and while it takes time to master the craft, we want to give you a fast and effective path towards a professional standard of work in your own home studio.

Over the course of 6 weeks we will cover introduce to you such necessary tools as gain staging, EQ, and compression as well as real world uses of the skills needed to be successful.

You will be given audio examples and practical projects that relate closely to real-world professional practice. This is a hands on course designed to guide you, step-by-step, along the path to possessing a strong skillset in audio engineering your voiceovers.

Mastering Characters is instructed by Dr. Elley Ray, an award-winning actor, writer, director, producer, casting agent, teacher with over 40 years experience performing in over 300 productions. She is a juror at the Emmy Awards and a professor at California State University & Senaca U of Toronto.

This course is designed to provide participants with a recreatable catalog of characters with the ability to perform and sustain them.

Participants will obtain specialized insights in the animation genre of voiceover along with strategies and tactics to advance their craft.

Commercial Voiceover is taught by Dave Bisson, A Chicago-based full-time voice artist who’s lent his voice to hundreds of TV, radio, & digital commercials, as well as industrial narrations, video games, toys, IVR, & just about every other form of VO except audiobooks.

Commercial VO auditions are near-universally asking for a read that’s “Conversational”, “Authentic”, “Genuine”, “Guy/Girl-next-door”, “A real person, not an actor” which has left a lot of aspiring (or even established) voiceover talent wondering how they can be any of these things for a script saying that power saws are on sale at the local hardware store.

In this course, you will learn how to approach any Commercial script and, by answering a few simple questions, find a voice that is authentic, conversational, friendly, & confident – without having to do any research on power saws.

Additionally, this course will deal with all the traps and pitfalls scripts can contain that are sabotaging your authentic voice without you even realizing it.

Why do some actors feel so confident improvising in their work and others seem to fall apart if the script isn’t followed to the letter? Improvising is a learnable skill, not just something you’re born with. It takes practice in the playing and risking, to get comfortable in the area of discovery and performance without safety nets. What better place to do that work than with other actors and instructors BEFORE you might need it on set, stage or in the booth. Improv is a tremendous skill to hone so that your work is always engaging, reactive and “real-feeling” to you and the audience. Over 6 weekly online live classes, we will play in many ways to familiarize you with techniques you can do solo or in a group to unlock your potential as an actor creatively capable of improvisation in script or unscripted work.

Improv helps actors with their auditioning and acting skills as well as giving them the tools to use on set, stage or in the booth. Many directors will ask actors to improvise on set with their fellow actors, and often before casting you, in the audition(s).

Note: It is highly recommended that you either have some experience or knowledge in audio recording and editing, or have at least taken our intro / "101" course, Audio Engineering for Voice Actors.

You have a basic working understanding of how an equalizer or compressor plugin can be used to help tidy up voiceover recordings to give them a professional sound, but what would you do if you had to re-record some dialogue in a different space - (ie. a hotel room) - which sounds completely different to your original audition or submitted recordings, and you must provide "finished audio" to match?

The example scenario above is just one of a near-endless number of little tasks that audio engineers face these days when working on both studio *and* remotely recorded voiceovers and ADR dialogue. Every voice actor’s home studio has a different acoustic profile, they all use different microphones and interfaces, and not all actors know enough about what happens to their tracks after they stop recording and send off the files.

Over the course of 6 weeks we will take you through time-saving project organization, definitions of and practical excercises in advanced techniques for equalization, compression, de-essing, analyzing & cleaning your noise floor, working to picture, and more.

Have you ever created a character in your mind, but you lacked the proper skills to draw them?

We want to introduce you to the creative side of digital art to give you the proper tools and knowledge as a digital artist so that you can completely create your own original character from scratch. You can also use these tools to create your own world for your character.  

In this 4-week course, you’ll be learning how to draw your own original character from your imagination using the program Clip Studio Paint. 

You will be given assignments every week that will help you in each aspect of the process such as sketching, lineart, and shading. You will be given the step by step process of how to start from just the idea of your original character, to bringing them to life through art.

Authentic Narration Voiceover is taught by Dave Bisson, A Chicago-based full-time voice artist who’s lent his voice to hundreds of TV, radio, & digital commercials, as well as industrial narrations, video games, toys, IVR, & just about every other form of VO except audiobooks (aside from his own).

Narration VO auditions typically demand a voice that is “friendly” & “welcoming”, as well as being “an authority” or “an expert.” This can be difficult when your script calls for you to discuss “the formation of malondialdehyde and conjugated diene compounds, which are cytotoxic and mutagenic.” Don’t forget to sound like an expert!

In this course, you will learn how to approach any Narration script and, by answering a few questions, find a voice that is authentic, conversational, friendly, & confident.

Additionally, this course will deal with all the traps and pitfalls Narration scripts can contain that are sabotaging your authentic voice without you even realizing it.

Learn how to bring fights to life, spur the Player on, and access new and under-utilized corners of your voice. 

Whether you want to create a webtoon for fun or professionally, we're here to give you all the knowledge you need to succeed. You have a general understanding of Clip Studio Paint and creating characters, but you want to tell their story. 

In this 8-week course, we'll be taking you step by step through creating your own webtoon from scratch!  We'll dive into topics such as jobs in the webtoon industry, publishing, building your story, creating your cover, logo, credits and buffers, storyboarding, etc. 

8 weeks, 120 mins classes. ALL LIVE VOICING with direction and feedback on the biggest genres within the medium of professional Voice Over/Acting.
-Character work for Anime, Cartoons; prelay and dub styles

-Commercial work; being real vs being characters.

-Announcer work

-Narration: manuals, textbooks, long-form commercials

-Audio books: fiction and non-fiction

-Video Game voicing: realism vs charactery

-Trailers: for film and media products

-Deeper emotional and energetic training

Ever wonder how to interpret an anime script? Are you interested in adding more characters to your wheelhouse? For the next four weeks, we delve into the intricacies of bringing your anime script to life; whether you're an aspiring actor or simply passionate about the anime genre, this course offers invaluable insights into effectively breaking down and executing your anime copy. Our materials for the course are written by the same scriptwriters from some of your favorite anime. By the end of the course, you'll be equipped with the practical skills to voice multiple characters, enhancing your versatility as an actor.

Join us for a multi-week voice acting workshop all about ADR, where you'll explore different genres each week!

Begin with animated action adventure, bringing mythical characters and martial arts to life with a mix of realism and comedy.

We'll also dive into live-action comedy, honing your timing and energy with a hilarious film; a tough skill to master.

Then we will tackle historical drama, delving into the nuanced performances of an 18th-century epic. Always remember it's not just the voice, but the acting!

Finally, we will jump into the world of anime, channeling high-energy performances and larger-than-life characters.

Get ready for a workout!

Unleash Your Inner Screams with Creature Feature

This curse.....er....I mean course is instructed by Elley Ray, an award-winning actor, writer, director, producer, casting agent, and teacher with over 40 years of experience. She has performed in over 300 productions, is a juror at the Emmy Awards, and serves as a professor at California State University and Seneca U in Toronto.

This one-of-a-kind course is the first of its kind—never before offered on this platform or anywhere else as a group class. Participants will unlock their most primal vocal expressions, creating a terrifying catalog of screams, howls, and otherworldly sounds.

Participants will gain specialised insights into creating spooky and supernatural voices, along with techniques for sustaining these eerie characters throughout a performance. Under Elley’s expert guidance, you’ll delve into the realms of vocal performance that evoke danger, de-evolutions, and the strange in-between-isms.

Perfect for those seeking to expand their vocal skills, Creature Feature is a must for anyone looking to master the art of voice acting in horror and creature-themed genres.

Intro to Writing Fiction Professionally is a six-part online course taught by an award-winning journalist and critically acclaimed author. It will walk you through character building, settings, story structure, the ever important “show, don’t tell,” and other important writing skills. The course is built from more than a decade of years of interviews with professional authors as well the instructor’s own experiences. This course will involve weekly writing assignments with instructor feedback, as well as tips for breaking into the writing industry.

The course is designed to guide participants into creating a productive writing space and habit, develop strong characters, build a cohesive plot, and enter the publishing world with some foreknowledge of what it takes to succeed.

Participants will obtain insights about what it’s like to be a professional writer, as well as create a basic protagonist and outline for their own novel.

This course is lecture-based with segments of feedback for homework assignments.

You’ve got an idea for a novel, the perfect space opera, a chilling horror tale, or the best coming of age story ever conceived.

The only question now is: how do you turn that into an actual book that people buy and makes you money? Starting a book can be a real nightmare, which is why we’ve designed a course that will lay out all the basics for a crafting a great novel or other writing project.

Come be a part of the LA SOVAS-nominated Radio Play class, being recognized from coast to coast! Be a star and voice your own original character from our amazing studio writers’ collaboration, and work with high-profile guest audio directors to realize your vision in a professionally produced radio play recording with all the bells and whistles! With a character and animation base! A vintage radio twist, with a contemporary appeal. Pre-requisite: you must have a basic home studio setup.

Tons of mic time!  This is NOT lecture based - it's all hands/voices on!  

Time to ace those auditions and stand out from the rest.  Test your audtiion skills in various genres.  Work on audition skills, tips and techniques using scripts/auditions provided for you or bring in your own current auditions and have them directed by our own VOChef Deb - an award winning 30 year veteran of the voice world.

Learn what you need to do to stand out in this aggressive market, from a talent who's not afraid to tell it like it is!  

FINDING YOUR OWN WORK

Creating a Voice Acting business takes drive!

In this 6 week workshop - you will be put to the test.

Hands-on activities that force you to look for work.

You will walk away with:

• Marketing Schedule/Plan

• Where to look for work 

• How to approach potential clients

• Pay 2 Play, Twitter, Fiverr, and other casting sites

• Finding the right agent

• Cover Letter Outlines

• Follow Ups

• Accountability

• Assessment of your material *whatever stage you are at

This class is designed for everyone, from beginner & intermediate actors, to the working talent who might be hitting a wall and need to make a change!  

This unique approach to finding your own work has proven to be effective for not only hundreds of talents at different levels of their career, but is a tribute to the success of your coach - VO Chef Deb Munro.  

Deb will share her industry secrets with you and take you through a plan from beginning to end, showing you another side to the business that you may have not considered.  This is a daunting industry.  It's not just about having the right skills, getting a great demo and landing an agent!  You have to know how to go after and find the work yourself - and there are not many who want to share.  This is a great opportunity to learn from a talent who built her business from the ground up and continues to thrive in her career.  She isn't going to wait around for it to happen, so join her for 6 intense weeks of research, development and growth and take your career to the next level. 

Movies, Video Game Narrators / Trailors, TV Stations, Podcast Promos, Intros, Extros, Station Personalities, Live Events, Award Shows and more.....

Welcome to your future......this lucrative and fascinating genre will take your voice to new heights.

Join your promo coach Deb Munro (aka VOChef Deb) - with over 30 years experience for 6 intense weeks that will prepare you for this action packed industry.  Having voiced for over 45 stations, 35 live events and more, this is one coach who truly understands this industry and knows exactly how to get you there.

Each week you will be directed in each of these fascinating genres.  Get live direction and feedback with lots of script time, while learning the different styles required in each of these fields.  

• Week one - Movie/Game Trailers
• Week two - TV Promos
• Week three - Station Imaging
• Week four - Podcast Intros/Extros
• Week Five - Live Events/Award Shows
• Week six - CHOOSE YOUR GENRE

Discover now only tricks and techniques to ace these kinds of auditions and jobs, but get live feedback with a redirect on each of these fields - all sessions recorded for you to review and keep learning from.

This is one class you don't want to miss!

There is an art to creating demos. Not only should you be ready for them but using just the right copy can make all the difference in your marketing!

In this course, this 30+ year veteran walks you through creating demos that will suit you.      Over these eight weeks, you will create scripts that will be customized to your needs, interests and personalities.   VO chef Deb will guide you through each genre so you truly understand their different requirements, and whether you take on that genre now or later in the future! This class will help you be ready when you are.  We will also have a listen to some of the demos Deb and her team have written, created and directed together with the talent, making sure your demos reflect your personality not your demo producer’s!

By the end of this course, you will walk away with all the scripts you need to create an award-winning demo… though ultimately, your readiness will be up to you!Join us for this worthwhile workshop that gives you a product you can use customized to your personality and needs! 

Whether you love karaoke, sing in the shower, want to get out of your shell, discover how to sing for animations, jingles, your next album or even just family events, then this is the perfect course for you and VO Chef Deb is the perfect person to take you there.  Dive deep into the basics of singing and performance all rolled into one.  From understanding the instrument, exercises to working your vocal chords, nerves, letting go, confidence, pitch, timber, placement, breath control, your signature sound and so much more.  

Work with a song of your choice and continue development and practice each week.  All sessions recorded for your review.  This is a safe environment and this is the place to take risk and grow.  We create a supportive environment that will team together to help you succeed.    

Auditions are the work!  Learn how to master the art of auditioning from inside tips and tricks, production techniques, reading the clients mind, pay 2 play auditions, research, do’s and don’ts, multiple takes, acting techniques, where to find them, self direction, directed auditions and needs, technology requirements, editing techniques, multiple scripts with mic time covering multiple genres or work on one specific to your needs. 

Work with a 30 year award winning veteran with a fantastic booking ratio!  VO Chef Deb will completely change the way you are approaching your auditions so that you can stand out and increase your booking ratio.  Warning - this chef doesn’t hold back, so if you want a coach who will be straight up from the start (with tact), this is the program for you!  

The world of storytelling is a magical place where anything is possible.  From audiobooks of non-fiction and fantasy, to the narrators who grace iconic films, games and more.  This is a world that takes you away as you guide the listener into another journey.  Lifting each word off the page as if it were your own.  

There is a special skill when narrating a story.  This 8 week course will give you all the tools you need to stretch your imagination and become the expert in the story.  The voice that brings text to life and paints a picture that sparks the listeners imagination.  The pulse that grabs your attention and keeps it there.  Discover how to narrate stories that will make impact and stand the test of time from creation to production.

Organic, real, natural, non-announcer…..what does that really mean?  Many times this is not as it seems.  Understanding the difference between affected and non-affected voices will help you better read your client and offer the type of personality they are looking for.  BE WARNED!  There is still room for the announcer in ALL genres, so over the next 8 weeks we will break down the differences and work on your range of characters to be able to suit any style from announcer to organic.  

Join VO Chef Deb and Transfem Voice Coach Brandii Harlow as we explore vocal gender.  The ability to voice multiple genders is something that can give you an entirely different range... especially in animation & audiobooks, if you're doing multi-character work, or just stretching your skills. Whether you are a trans/non-binary person and want to align your speaking voice with your authentic self or a Voice Actor that just wants to create more gender range in your characters, then this course is exactly what you need! Feminine vs. Masculine, The Anatomy of the Voice, Exercises, Placement, Attitudes/Emotions, Goals, Challenges, Script Reads AND More! This course does not expect you to have prior vocal training, or knowledge of the vocal system. Everything that’s needed to be known will be taught within the course, starting from a zero knowledge basis.

Rated E for everyone!