Let’s Talk: Voiceover

Ever wonder what it would be like to hear from the writer who brings the words for our voices? Hall Hood is a narrative designer who specializes in creating immersive player-driven stories. His credits include games published by Electronic Arts, Sony Entertainment Corporation, and Disney. He has created stories and characters for the Star Wars, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect franchises, and also written for mobile games and console titles like Ghost of Tsushima for Playstation. In addition to his work as a writer, Hall mentors aspiring narrative designers, consults with production partners for Eko.com’s interactive video series, and provides expert support on other projects in development. Plus, he's really funny! Check out the podcast. 

Mark Oliver is a voice acting badass who does what he does in film, animation, and videogames. From Wood Man in the Mega Man animated show to Batroc in the Marvel Video Comics to Miles Dredd in the Max Steel franchise, and roles in Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord Of The Rings Online, Mark has a fascinating background as a professional musician, actor, and film director. He talks about being authentic, and the advantages you can find by engaging in life to find your motivations. Take a lesson from a voice of experience, and check out this episode with Mark Oliver!

Heather Dame is currently the VP of Atlas LA and heads up Atlas' west coast branch. Heather built Atlas' Animation department from the ground up, as well as had a close hand and partnership with other agents in developing the Los Angeles commercial, video game and promo/narration/trailer departments. She is passionate about developing talent and creating new business equally and enjoys the creative parts of "agent-ing" just as much as the problem solving and negotiating side. She believes in conducting business openly and honestly, and is one of the best in the business. Want to know what a top agent thinks? It's all here in Episode 30 of Let's Talk, with Heather Dame. 

In Episode 29, we have a blast talking with voice actor Christopher Corey Smith. If you don't remember Christopher as “third guy from the left who screams when he blows up,” you may recognize him as Luke Skywalker in “Phineas and Ferb Star Wars”, The Joker in the Lego Batman games and movie, doubling for wrestlers in WWE Smash City, one of many “Digimon” voices, or other titles you might know include Hearthstone, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat vs DC, World of Warcraft and literally over a hundred other games. Tons of TV voice acting credits as well, including Ingress, Hero Mask and Marvel Future Avengers. He's a pretty freakin’ experienced voice actor and pretty freakin' fun to talk with, so plug in and hit play as we talk voiceover with Christopher Corey Smith.   

Michael Csurics is a casting director, video games director, and the founder of BrightSkull Entertainment known for work on BioShock 2, Tacoma and Masquerada: Songs and Shadows. He is best known for directing ensemble work in the video games he works on. You can listen to Michael as a speaker at GDC and many other video game conferences. Or, even better, you can listen to Michael right here, right now, on Episode 28 of Let's Talk: Voiceover. 

Kristin Lennox is a working actress. That says a lot. She doesn't live on either coast. Instead, she hustles her career from the middle of the country, and has been for over two decades. A lot of people want to be a voice actor. Kristin provides insight into what it takes for anyone willing to put in the work from right where they are.

Wally Wingert is the voice you know, whether you know it or not. From the announcer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, to John Arbuckle on Cartoon Network’s “The Garfield Show”, Ant Man from the Avengers animated series, The Riddler from the video game series, “Batman: Arkham”, voices in popular mangas, including “Bleach”, Tiger & Bunny, and others, and as guest voices on Harvey Birdman, King of the Hill, The Simpsons and Family Guy. Wally is also one of the voices you’ll hear on Disney’s revamped “Pirates of the Carribean” ride. Find out from Wally what it's like to live your childhood dreams.

Everett Oliver is a leading Hollywood animation director, with shows including The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Men In Black, Jackie Chan Adventures, and more in his wake. In Episode 25, Everett explains his approach to working with voice actors, and his unique abilities to "feel" both the performance and the performers. A highly sought after coach for animation and commercial work, spend time with us as we explore the Wonderful World of Everett!   

Erin Fitzgerald shares her thoughts about acting, characters, and how to learn to appreciate the lull. With a ridiculous body of work to draw from over the last 25 years, she offers valuable advice for acting in cartoons, video games, anime and stage. SO much fun to talk with, Erin lights up Episode 24. Don't miss it!  

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Tom Keegan is as authentic as it gets. That's why it's a treat to get to work under Tom's direction in games, animation, mo-cap, vo-cap and more. With roots in theater, film, animation and games, Tom is able to help actors translate authenticity into their roles, and has received accolades from his work, including a 2018 BAFTA award. Spend time with Tom, our guest on Episode 23, and you just might learn a thing or two! (It would be hard not to.) 

Dianne Weller is worldwide... literally. Starting her career in Australia, and working in Europe for the last 20 years, Dianne has extensive experience working in film, TV, theatre, radio, corporates, commercials and documentaries. Dianne keeps reinventing herself across entertainment mediums, and her perspective about that is fascinating. So eager to share, Episode 22 of Let's Talk: Voiceover is a fun one to listen to and learn from.  

Cathy Faulkner went from Queen of Seattle Rock to rocking her voice acting business with commercials, videogames, eLearning and even audio textbooks. How do you go from breaking bands like Pearl Jam while back-announcing progressive rock, to a long-form storyteller? We find out in Episode 21 of Let’s Talk: Voiceover with BT and Randy Ryan.

Cliff Zellman is Mr. Automotive Advertising. He's a lifelong studio engineer, and one of the leading automotive ad audio guys. This podcast offers some of the most valuable lessons you can learn about being a voice talent for automotive ads. As one of the most sought after speakers for voiceover conferences, Cliff shares it all in this, Episode 20, of Let's Talk Voiceover. You may want to listen to this one more than once. It'll be worth your while. 

Anne Ganguzza and Gabby Nistico are a voice actor’s friend, with their business, VO Boss. They coach and teach you to market your talents so you can make money in voiceover. Since we have a podcast and they have a podcast, we thought it would be neat to be on each other’s podcast. You be the judge. Listen to Episode 19 of our version of the "quadcast".

Gerald Griffith is not a voice actor, but still a very influential person in the VO business. As Founder and Executive Producer of VO Atlanta, you should get to know Gerald. Start by listening to Episode 18 of the podcast.

Zach Hanks is a voice actor, coach and director in Atlanta. As a former Assistant Professor in theater, we talk about the difference between coaching in the classroom versus coaching in the "real world", and that transition from working for yourself to working for a paycheck. Zach brings a lot of interesting perspectives, as a former L.A. actor who stepped out of the Hollywood thing to walk down a slightly different path, and how he still makes his living as a voice actor today. Listen to Episode 17 of Let's Talk VoiceOver. 

How do you leave a high flying job in Silicon Valley to go into voice acting? Cissy Jones talks about her journey on Episode 16 of Let's Talk Voiceover. She talks about how she left a well established career to build a voice acting business. And, with BAFTA award in hand for her performance in the 2017 Indie videogame FIREWATCH, and an Academy award nominated documentary narration, she has demonstrated why she is sought after for video games, commercials and animation and so much more. It's an inspiring, yet practical conversation with Cissy Jones. 

So you want to do voices for games? How much do you know about the video game industry? In Episode 15, we talk about one of the most important conferences in the games business. It's the Game Developer's Conference: GDC. Randy goes every year, and this year, he brought his handy smartphone thingy to record conversations over drinks and meals with voice actors J.S. Gilbert, Erik Braa and DB Cooper. Get a peak inside the videogame industry from veteran voice actors. It's the GDC episode!

We talk about voiceover. We have amazing people in our network. So, it only makes sense to talk with Rachael Naylor of The Voice Over Network in Episode 14, right? Rachael is a talent who put in a little effort to start a meetup group. What happened from there was an evolution into one of the world's most involved voiceover networks. We talk about what she sees as trends from her perspective. We talk about why she started a voiceover network as a home for voiceover professionals. And, we listen to that fabulous British accent. Brilliant!!

Mary Lynn Wissner, founder of Voices Voicecasting in LA joins BT & Randy to talk about casting, and a whole lot more. Starting as a casting director for legendary voiceover agent Don Pitts, and evolving into her own company, Mary Lynn knows the business, from talent agents to ad agencies, and a whole lot more. We even talk truth about those pay to plays. Class is in session, so don't be late. Let's Talk: Voiceover!  

Marc Cashman is "The Voice Cat", an award winning voice actor, producer and coach. You may remember Marc from such classics as "V-Oh! Tips, Tricks and Techniques to Start and Sustain Your Voiceover Career", his regular column on the actor's casting site, Now Casting, and the "365 VO Tips" series, coming soon to a social media post near you. In Episode 12, we talk about what happens after you the "Send" on a voice audition submission. We discuss ways you can use your voiceover superpowers for good. And, we bitch about crappy ass web sites that pay you only 30% or less of the talent fee and act like they do you a favor, and some as little as $5. Seriously, $5!! That won't even buy you coffee. So, listen to BT, Randy Ryan and Marc Cashman as they have their own little coffee clatch, and some without coffee.

The Legendary Marc Graue joins us for Episode 011, and as Robert Pattinson said to Kristen Stewart in Twilight, "You better hold on tight, spider monkey." Having a 30 year history with Marc, the war stories in this one are totally worth the listen. From growing up in Hollywood to "In A World" to alien creature voices to what makes a voiceover demo great, we fly through a fast paced and funny peek inside the mind of one of busiest voice actors around.  

Why are there so many dudes in audio? Jacquie Sladeck, Head of Studio for SIDE LA gives her thoughts on that. In Episode 010, we also talk about moving from recording studios to game studios and back to recording studios; working for entertainment companies headquartered outside of the U.S. and the cultural adjustments necessary; and Jacquie gives her insights into how you can build your voice acting business without being annoying. You'll want to hear this!

Aaron Phillips is a hoot. As our guest on Episode009, we break out into a hootenanny. From singing Disney toons, to voicing videogame characters, to voiceover for commercials, Aaron is an entertainer, through and through. Join us for the fun, and find out why we like to refer to Aaron as “Mr. New York”.

Blizzard's Andrea Toyias is back for Part 2, and she delivers voice acting GOLD!! She is so freakin' easy to talk with, and so generous with her advice. Do you want to  know what she looks for in voice actors? It's in there. Do you want to know her thoughts on World of Warcraft? It's in there. Do you want to know about her best advice for voice actors. It's in there, too. It's all in Episode 008. (And, if you don't find it in there, you may want to check Part 1 - Episode 007 - because it's probably in there.) So, settle in, and Let’s Talk… Voiceover!