Book Review: 'Sound Advice: Voiceover From an Audio Engineer's Perspective' by Dan Friedman

I don't do a lot of book reviews. Not because I don't like the books written about VO, but usually because most books read more like histories of our craft rather than accurate representations of the challenges we face doing business in this modern era.

Sound Advice, written by Dan Friedman, is an interesting take on the VO advice book. Dan is now a talent, but he got his start as an engineer, and he still produces and engineers sessions. There's a familiarity with his writing style, as I started out as a talent, then became a director. Out of necessity I started engineering and producing, and I occasionally return to being a talent. You get a very unique perspective on this craft by working behind the mixing console. You get to see what works, and what doesn't.

SA:VFaAEP is a ver competent introduction to VO. Dan covers a wide variety of topics that new people tend to ask me about getting into voice acting. The book is only 75 pages long (with a full glossary), so no one topic is comprehensively examined, but his intent is to guide new performers. Frankly discussing business concerns, technical issues, performance, booth etiquette, and including a primer on home recording, Dan delivers an interesting peek behind the production curtain with a comfortable, casual, anecdotal writing style.

Thankfully, images in the book are also full color. It's always disappointing to flip through a book and see tiny, grainy, black and white images of what the author is trying to discuss. Apologies, as I had this book on my coffee table so long I managed to spill coffee on it...

There's not a lot of down-side here. I do have to make fun of Dan's "affection" for calling Neumann mics "industry standard" safe purchasing bets, but that's largely me just being a fellow gear snob.

If you're an advanced voice talent, while you might not learn a whole lot about your craft, it's still an interesting take on the business of VO. It's a voice we often ignore. You know, that piece of studio equipment that's responsible for adjusting microphones and pushing the red "record" button on the computer? Yeah. That's a person.

And that person talks about you when the talk-back is muted...

Buy Sound Advice on Amazon
Buy Sound Advice from AuthorHouse

Sending Out Books to My Students!

It's GO TIME!
Got the first copies of 'Voice-Over, Voice Actor: What It's Like Behind The Mic' to send out to students of my Online Voice Over Class. It's a beautiful thing...

There's still time to sign up for one of the remaining spots. Last week!

SomeAudioGuy's Online Intermediate Voice Over Class

Cool Press For 'Voice-Over Voice Actor'

I'm so proud of my friends.

Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt are two of my favorite people on the planet.
I was incredibly proud of them when they finished their book 'Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It's Like Behind The Mic'. It was an amazing accomplishment all on it's own, but seeing it not only in print, but for sale (and getting rave reviews) really warms the heart.

Yuri and Tara recently did an interview and a couple tutorials for BackStage.com, and I can't think of any two people more qualified to give advice on VO.

Here's Yuri's interview with Jenelle Riley:


And here's part one of Yuri and Tara's VO behind the scenes:


For more info on Voice-Over Voice Actor you can head over to http://voiceovervoiceactor.com to pick up your copy, and you can also catch my review of the book here on SomeAudioGuy (spoiler alert, I liked it).

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!

You can read the full press release over at Meltdown's blog.

Growing Up - Going Back to Stanislavski 10 Years Later

So before I was 'SomeAudioGuy' I was 'SomeTheatreGuy'.
One of my biggest influences came my freshman year of college while studying with an incredible acting professor. After a gruelingly intense scene study, focusing on character motivations, we were turned on to Constantin Stanislavski, and my attitude towards performance changed forever.

I read everything he wrote in a period of about 5 months.

His ideas behind emotional imagination, context, and physical action were a personal thought revolution for me. Before reading Stanislavski, I was a firm believer in transference, or substitution.
My characters couldn't experience an honest emotion unless I had experienced something similar.
Constructing the emotional context would often be a more painful experience, but was incredibly effective. Studying the physicality behind characterization (I also studied a lot of dance in college) helped establish a two front attack on any character analysis. These were tremendous tools to add to my repertoire, and really laid the foundations for not only my performance career but also my current directorial career.

It's been ten years since I've picked up Stanislavski.

I've been feeling a little stale lately.
For no good reason I picked up 'My Life in Art' and started paging through it. It's sort of incredible, and there's so much I didn't fully understand reading it in college. It's not only taking me back to one of the most creative, explorational periods of my life, but it's also showing me how far I've come, how much I've grown.
Anyone needing a shot in the arm should seriously take a look.

I'm probably headed for another Stanislavski binge.

It's just so easy to be motivated by those that have led incredible lives.

BUY DIZ WHITE'S BOOK!

Following up on a previous post

Diz White was kind enough to send me a copy and it's a great read. I will be writing up a full review as soon as I'm done with it (SLOWEST READER EVER), but being about two thirds through I have to say it's chock full of excellent info.