The Art of Voice Acting: The Craft and Business of Performing for Voice-Over - Softcover

Alburger, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0240804791 ISBN 13: 9780240804798

Publisher: Focal Press, 2002

Synopsis

The Art of Voice Acting continues to be an excellent introduction to the business and art of voice acting. Newly updated to reflect the latest changes in the industry, this new edition features more contributions from professional voice artists and voice-acting coaches. It also covers job opportunities in the field and career management tips, such as working with a personal agent and keeping detailed records. Including an expanded appendix of Internet resources and a new companion CD-ROM--complete with audio examples--this is the perfect modern manual to getting established in the voice acting industry.


This book introduces performance techniques and offers many useful tips, including how to build a career as a voice-actor. Complete with a large variety of scripts to use for practice and a CD-ROM with actual examples and voice-over demos, it takes readers step-by-step through a recording session, a review of equipment set-up, and some of the difficulties they might encounter when recording and performing.

About this title

Review

"All actors/speakers should know and use what is contained in this text to develop and expand their career options. Well written, right to the point..." - Choice

"The Art of Voice Acting written by James Alburger is a detailed guide about becoming a successful voice-over actor. If you have ever had to narrate a video, this is a good book for you to investigate." - Videomaker, November 1999

"I have spent many hours the past few weeks with your book, The Art of Voice Acting, and would like to thank you for a succinct eye-opening lesson . . .your book goes a long way to explaining the ins and outs and just how important it is not to lose sight of your goals.... I have a very strong old-time booming announcer's voice that your book is teaching me how to tame. I just wanted to say thanks from a virtual beginner who is very excited to begin. The book is "Terrrrific." - Dick Gould, 2000

From the Author

Learn the skills of performing for Voice-Over
Have you ever considered the possibility of using your voice to make a living, If you have? "The Art of Voice-Acting" is a good place to begin learning the craft.

The job of a voice-over performer requires training -- development of skills in acting and communication. In "The Art of Voice-Acting," you will receive the tools and training you need to get started, as well as real-world scripts and tips from many talented professional voice-actors. You will find tips, tricks of the trade, techniques and exercises in this book that are not available from any other book on the subject.

For more than 30 years I have worked on both sides of the glass as a voice-actor, producer, director and engineer. I have directed some of the top voice-over talent in the country, worked with live action performers and trained a number of audio operators, voice-actors and other performers. Along the way I have received 9 regional Emmy awards. An effective performance depends on an emotional connection between the performer and the audience. "The Art of Voice-Acting" teaches you how to achieve that kind of performance as a voice-actor.

The building blocks of a voice-over performance are: 1) understanding who the audience is, 2) knowing who you are as the speaker (your character), and 3) knowing why you are speaking those words at this time (your motivation and qualifications as the expert). These three things create the foundation upon which a performance is built. Character development, script interpretation, attitude and many other aspects of a performance are then woven together to create a believable and effective communication. Voice-over is much more than reading words off a page. Voice-over is really an aspect of acting, with all the techniques, subtleties and more.

"The Art of Voice-Acting" will take you on a journey through the world of voice-over and you will learn what it takes to become successful in this challenging and very enjoyable business. I promise that after reading "The Art of Voice-Acting" you will never listen to a radio or television commercial the same way again.

Good luck.

James R. Alburger

Edition details

• Publisher: Focal Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0240804791
• ISBN 13: 9780240804798
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 272