Let’s Talk: Voiceover

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. 

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.

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.  

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. 

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!!

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.  

When you think MMO, you think World of Warcraft. And when you think WoW, you should be thinking Andrea Toyias, Casting and Voice Director at Blizzard. In Episode 007, Andrea hangs out with us to talk music, voice, directing and fun. She is awesome. She is one of the very best in the business. And, she LOVES her voice actors! So much to talk about, we made this Part 1. So, settle in, and Let’s Talk… Voiceover!

Let's Talk Voiceover 005 is Part 2 of our conversation with Dave Fennoy. We talk about teaching, training, understanding the character arc and other things that Dave regularly teaches, (and, for good money, at that) about how to work as a voice actor in videogames; the difference between voiceovers for animation vs. videogame voiceovers; using workout groups to help you improve your performance in today's self-directed auditioning environment, and more. If you haven't listened to Part 1, you'll want to catch Episode 004. If you have listened to Part 1, then tuck in and get ready for Dave Fennoy, Part Deux.