Monday, November 9, 2009

Book Review - Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It's Like Behind The Mic

There's a new book available for people interested in Voice Over, and I'm liking it a lot!

Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It's Like Behind The Mic is hitting bookshelves now, and I was fortunate to get an early copy to review.
Written by Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt, two voice actors at the top of their careers, VOVA is an excellent resource for those beginning their VO journey, while including enough helpful resources to also aid more experienced performers.
VOVA chronicles Tara & Yuri's entrance into the craft, while at the same time providing practical advice for not only the art of voice over, but the business of VO as well.

The book is a fairly comprehensive introduction including sections on styles of VO, auditioning, home recording, demo preparation, and advice for scoring an agent/manager. They of course are not promising you a career in VO by reading their book, but you get a really in depth look at the industry as it stands TODAY.

That's one of my favorite things about VOVA. There is a lot of very good literature out there for VO, but this is easily one of the savviest books written on the subject in this modern era of digital recording. It's one of the most up to date accounts of what it's like working in this field right now. Yuri & Tara are both working talent at the top of their game (each with an incredible list of credits), and every chapter is augmented by other working professionals including directors, engineers, producers, agents, and other talent.
The book has a really fun voice, with information cleverly and intelligently delivered to readers of all skill levels. Voice-Over Voice Actor is a really easy book to recommend to those interested in trying the craft, and those already working in it.

You can buy the book at their website VoiceOverVoiceActor.com, and people who purchase will also get access to online resources including practice copy, warm ups, and additional content not found in the current edition. I'm already quite impressed with Yuri & Tara's commitment to keeping the information available on VO as current as possible.


You can also follow them on Twitter as VOVoiceActor.


***UPDATE 11/10/09***
Voice actors in the LA area, check this out!
Not 2 hours after I posted this review, do I find out hat Yuri and Tara will be having a Book Release Party at Meltdown Comics on Friday November 13th starting at 7pm!

5 comments:

  1. It sounds interesting! I like this kind of books. Thanks for the review.

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  2. You're more than welcome Bingo.

    I thought it was a really good look at the business I work in.

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  3. Interesting. A friend of mine works with this and she says that you are totally exhausted after a couple of hoers.

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  4. Hey Agrandar,
    It's totally true. VO can be really strenuous work. People don't always understand the mental (and sometimes physical) exertion needed.

    Just look at what these actors had to go through on a Dragonball Z video game:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8msIE2JSPNU

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  5. It let me doubtful, I will look for it since I love that kind of books

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