(Disclaimer: I am not a regular in the studio. I do just enough work to allow me to take an extra vacation every year. Others may/will differ with my opinions and have different experiences in this field. You have been warned.)
Part Two of this seemingly endless monologue on voice over work.
Not the studio microphone but it sure was handy for this photo.
I left you searching for a voice over or acting class. Did you find something near where you live? Is it cheap or expensive? Who’s the teacher and what are their credentials?
The first three questions are easy. They’re right up front. The third question may require some research on your part. The last thing you want is somebody like me teaching your class. I don’t have the experience to do you any good. I could tell stories, give you an idea of how good or bad your voice is, but it would be very subjective. A great teacher will have experience in the field. Not just in voice over but other facets of acting. I’m always leery of “professional teachers” teaching this kind of thing. You may have years in the classroom and do a creditable job, but “Those that can do, those that can’t, teach” has a solid basis in life.
Google that teacher and find out if they are on IMDB.com or if they have other credits. Are they listed with a talent agency for their professional work? What commercials have they done. I’m on the bottom shelf of the store and I still have a few dozen credits. If they cannot count that high on their resume they may not be qualified to teach a class.
After you’ve done the homework on the instructor and sign up for the class you need to get any books or materials they recommend and read them first. That way you will be prepared for their instruction. There is an awful lot of good stuff on the web about this kind of work. A few minutes of your time would be well spent there if no books are recommended. But be fully aware of the fact that many of these articles are written by “schools” that want to sell you a video on learning voice over at home, or a 10 step program to working full time in the industry. These are known as scams. Another one to avoid like the plague is any “talent agency” that sells lessons on modeling/acting/voice over. My experience, and that of my peers, is that it is just a sucker deal to get you in the door, tell you what you want to hear, and eventually bring you “really close” to your goal. Just close enough that doing one more course, having them produce your demo tape (it’s really an mp3 now but that’s another day’s topic), or “market” you for an additional fee is “the only way” you’ll make it in the industry.
Was that too harsh? Nope. There are some very unscrupulous people out there who want your money and don’t care if you ever make it past the class. Their goal is to keep you in class or under their thumb for an indefinite period so that you keep paying them for their services. An honest teacher will probably tell you at some point that you stink and you need to think hard about this choice or practice a lot more and then come back. If they never say a harsh word to anyone in the class and do not offer constructive criticism with an edge you won’t get much out of it. After all, how big a deal is the trophy if every team gets one?
Which leads us to the issue of private lessons. I’m ambivalent on this topic because while I’ve had a good experience with my instructor others have been sucked down the money hole with their instructors. I’ll use my instructor, Don Cosgrove as an example of how a good instructor works. Don teaches at those community ed classes I was talking about. He has been an instructor at the very prestigious Guthrie Theater (no hacks allowed there.) And he runs his own school called The Talent Center. I’ve taken classes from Don in all three places. He has a hard job convincing know-it-alls like me that perhaps they should listen and do what he says. And Don isn’t above telling you that you need to work on your performance.
Like any good instructor (in my opinion) he’s got the experience to back up what he does. And while Don certainly makes his living teaching students, he’s not a vulture or a vampire. He’s about as low key and low pressure as you can be in that business. He’s encouraging but not mawkish about your skills. Sometimes that leads students to be mad and quit. Sometimes it leads them to think they’re the next great voice in Hollywood. Seems like a fair balance.
What he does is let you explore your talents and gives you a chance to fail on your own. You are rarely in doubt about your standing as an actor with Don. I cannot say that about other classes I’ve taken. Some were billed as two hour classes. What they in fact constituted were two hour advertisements for additional lessons, books, videos, cd sets, etc. Talk to your friends, talk to other people you meet in class, talk to any actors you know. And make sure you google the person to see if they are a famed scam artist. In today’s blogosphere somebody has an opinion on everything.
So, before I leave you with tubas here are your questions for the day: What do you want to get out of an acting class and how will you screen the instructor before spending your money. See you Friday.
On to tubas.
Another sterling Tuba video… cringe, Ozzie, cringe.
