Loosing confidence

[Songbird21]

Hey guys,

This isn't a whining post. Honest it isn't. I just wanna know if this is something I should keep doing and I'd like a wide variety of opinions (In other words, not just that of the producers). :)

I was wondering if you guys would mind listening to a few of my auditions and telling me what you think. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just not good enough. Good or bad, please let me know. Let me know if you think the acting is bad, or the voice, or both.

Just right click/save as. Thanks. :)


Jupiter from Sailor Moon

http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_Jupiter_Line01.mp3
http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_Jupiter_Line02.mp3


Mars from Sailor Moon
http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_Mars_Line01.mp3
http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_Mars_Line02.mp3



Haruko from "Air"

http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_Haruka_01.mp3
http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_Haruka_02.mp3
http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_Haruka_03.mp3
http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_Haruka_04.mp3
http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_Haruka_05.mp3


Singing: Mitsuki from "Full Moon Wa Sagashite" (sp?)

http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_New_Future_all_lines_Deeper_tone.mp3
http://planetmyhill.com/tmp/Songbird21_Lets_Sing_a_song_Multiple_takes_Try2.mp 3

[Nikki Wright]

..Instead of asking US.. you should ask the producer for critiques.

[Cristina]

I think you have a very pretty voice. I know how easy it is to lose confidence in oneself, I also have this problem~ I find throwing myself into recording more stuff really helps this problem. Lemme review these clippies for you~

Haruka: I think the pitch you used is great, very motherly. I think that you could have gotten a bit more into her characte though~ Line 4 in particular, Haruko is drunk out of her mind but you didn't really convey that in the auddie. If you're interested, you can listen to my audition here: http://www.cristinavee.com/Cristina_Haruka_04a.mp3 It's not perfect of course, but I find that listening to other people's auds helps alot.

Singing: I won't critique since I'm not much of a singer ^^.

Jupiter: Great Jupiter voice, it's just the right pitch! Good emotion, too.

Mars: Sounded a bit too low and mature for her. I'd suggest using a slightly higher pitch and adding just a little more sassyness in her lines.


P.S.
What Nikki said XD

I hope this helps any!
Xtina

[Tony]

LOL, you used the actual thread number. *stops geeking out*

[topleka]

Keep going. If it's something you enjoy doing, then keep going. There have been roles I've auditioned for that I was dead sure I'd get, and I didn't even get cast as an understudy. If voice acting is something you love, then act on! Sukisho and I can offer your Haruko critiques as well if you'd like. Casting a role is never easy, as I'm sure you, the producer, know. ^-^ You can also get some constructive criticism if you put together a demo reel (something I should probably do one day).

[Songbird21]

To add:

Like Nikki said -- ask the producers personally. Don't single them out on the board because you didn't get cast... That just makes you look silly =/ I mean, you wouldn't go "HEY GUYS watch my interview tape I had with all these companies and tell me why I wasn't hired!!! :("

Just take it with a grain of salt, move on and better yourself, or find a mentor.I was NOT doing a pity thing. I just wanted to know what I might be doing wrong. And I DO ask for the producers critiques! I wasn't singling anyone out. I just posted the 4 most recent. I'm not whining, I'm not asking for pity. I said that in the begining of my post.

Dammit, why can't anyone ask for an opinion around here without getting yelled at or made fun of?

You really went over board with the pity party line. That really hurt my feelings and it was extremly childish.


Keep going. If it's something you enjoy doing, then keep going. There have been roles I've auditioned for that I was dead sure I'd get, and I didn't even get cast as an understudy. If voice acting is something you love, then act on!Thank you, sweety. :)


Sukisho and I can offer your Haruko critiques as well if you'd like.That'd be great. :) I actually kinda forgot to ask *Embarrased*. Usually I ask the producers what they thought. Please forgive my brain fart.


Casting a role is never easy, as I'm sure you, the producer, know. ^-^I know. Try casting naruto someday. LOL. That nearly drove me mad.


You can also get some constructive criticism if you put together a demo reel (something I should probably do one day).Hmmm, not a bad idea. Maybe I can avoid people making less-than-nice comments that way.

[Aurianna]

Haruko - I know nothing about this character, so I have no idea what was needed here. I do think you're acting is very good, and chances are the producer was just looking for something else.

Mitsuki - I really like your singing. It's pretty. But it's just not akin enough to Full Moon's style. You also sound older than she's supposed to. It's not that the audition was bad at all! It was great, but the Mitsuki who got cast was just more right for the part.

Jupiter - I think your Jupiter is great. I'd cast you as Jupiter anytime. :) It's just sometimes lots of good auditions for a character come in, and all the producer can do is choose one of them.

Mars - The emotion's there, and the attitude's good... but as was said above, Mars is usually a higher voice (I get her wrong every time I try to do her! :))


Don't be too disheartened! Sometimes you can give the best audition possible and it still just doesn't fit the character or what the producer had in mind. Just keep auditioning! If there's ever a part you want, just do everything you can to get into character, act your heart out, and hope for the best. If you don't get it, just keep on going. You've got a good voice and you're a good actress. One day, you'll be exactly what a producer is looking for. :)

[Zankoku no Yami]

I thought you did a great job on the lines. You have a really great voice ^^ but as said, the producers were probably just looking for something else. I run into MANY great voices when having people audition. And I really hate it when I find people with GREAT voices, but they just don't fit the characters, and I have to turn them away. So don't get disheartened! You just have to keep keep keep auditioning and not only will you get better, but you'll probably start getting casted more!

Don't give up ^_~ i'm sure if you keep trying you'll make it in no time! Keep that chin up and hold your head high!! ^^ yep yep!

[Haushinka]

Half the time the reason why people aren't cast is simply because there's so much competition for a role.

For instance, you auditioned for my Tokyo Mew Mew fandub. I didn't see anything wrong with your auditions. It's just that when you have 25 girls auditioning and only 4 main female parts to cast, it involves having to make a choice on who happens to fit that role super-well in the producers' own opinion, taking into account line quality and emotion.

Anyway, here is my critique on your clips.

Your voice sounded overall...harsh. That's the best way I can think of to describe it. It sounded like you were being a little too sharp with the lines; also, your insecurity did come through a bit, so work on getting into the emotion and personality of your character.

The low pitch worked okay for Jupiter, but just try to make your voice a little bit..softer isn't the word I'd like to use, as she doesn't have a soft voice, but it did sound just a bit too harsh as I mentioned above.

As far as Mars, it was just too low. She has a medium-high voice in the sub and even higher in the dub - not that you need to imitate the original voice actresses; but the producers *most likely* cast people who at least have the same general tone to their voice.

Haruko...didn't seem quite crazy enough.

Alright, remember, all of this is just to help because you asked for critiques ^^
But do remember that I absolutely loved your Naruto voice!

[Songbird21]

I think you have a very pretty voice.Thanks. :)


If you're interested, you can listen to my audition here: http://www.cristinavee.com/Cristina_Haruka_04a.mp3 It's not perfect of course, but I find that listening to other people's auds helps alot.Thank you very much. Wow, I can see why you got it instead of me. That was a damn fine job. :) I think my main problem though was that I was trying not to wake up my daughter. Lol


Jupiter: Great Jupiter voice, it's just the right pitch! Good emotion, too.Thanks. :)


Mars: Sounded a bit too low and mature for her. I'd suggest using a slightly higher pitch and adding just a little more sassyness in her lines.Hmmm. Good point.


Mitsuki - I really like your singing. It's pretty. But it's just not akin enough to Full Moon's style. You also sound older than she's supposed to. That's weird. I thought my voice was too high. LOL. But I'm starting to learn than I should always go for higher than what I think would fit the character's face.


Jupiter - I think your Jupiter is great. I'd cast you as Jupiter anytime. :) Thanks. :)


It's just sometimes lots of good auditions for a character come in, and all the producer can do is choose one of them.I know. :) I was just starting to wonder after so many failures in a row. Lol.


Mars - The emotion's there, and the attitude's good... but as was said above, Mars is usually a higher voice (I get her wrong every time I try to do her! :)) :)Lol. She just has such a severe face. I think that's why.


You've got a good voice and you're a good actress. One day, you'll be exactly what a producer is looking for. :):) Thanks. And thank you and Christina for not treating me like a baby. The critiques are much appreaciated. ^_^\/


Don't give up ^_~ i'm sure if you keep trying you'll make it in no time! Keep that chin up and hold your head high!! ^^ yep yep!Thanks. :)


Your voice sounded overall...harsh. That's the best way I can think of to describe it. It sounded like you were being a little too sharp with the lines; also, your insecurity did come through a bit*Nods in understanding*


The low pitch worked okay for Jupiter, but just try to make your voice a little bit..softer isn't the word I'd like to use, as she doesn't have a soft voice, but it did sound just a bit too harsh as I mentioned above.Heh heh. Guess I gotta work on sounding like a girl. LOL.


As far as Mars, it was just too low. She has a medium-high voice in the sub and even higher in the dubYeah, and after listening to the sub again I can really see what you mean. Yeek, I shoulda studied.


Haruko...didn't seem quite crazy enough.LOL


Alright, remember, all of this is just to help because you asked for critiques ^^And believe me, I appreciate it. I won't improve without a little dressing down now and then. :)


But do remember that I absolutely loved your Naruto voice!Yes...and I still think you're insane. LOL. :)

[ClymAngus]

..Instead of asking US.. you should ask the producer for critiques.

But this is the shorts and samples section, and it's a sample of her voice and she's asking for cratiques. How does this post differ from any other post put in this section? Or am I missing something fundimental here?

[Nikki Wright]

Instead of asking us why she didn't get the role, she should ask the person who cast it, why they elected not to cast her. Were they looking for something else? Did they feel that she had a good voice, but her delivery was off the mark? Were they looking for a different attitude?

Most of the people here are going to gush over her voice, whether she's a good actress or not [not to say that she isn't, as I have not, personally, listened to the files]. Most of the people here are going to say "I think you did a great job!" .. And those that do give critiques, those are nice, but they're NOT the producer that chose not to cast her. They can't tell her why the producer didn't cast her as only the producer can do it.

[Songbird21]

Instead of asking us why she didn't get the role, she should ask the person who cast it, why they elected not to cast her. Were they looking for something else? Did they feel that she had a good voice, but her delivery was off the mark? Were they looking for a different attitude?I plan on asking them, Nikki. I just haven't yet. And I know why I wasn't picked. The girl who got the role whupped my butt.


Most of the people here are going to gush over her voice, whether she's a good actress or not [not to say that she isn't, as I have not, personally, listened to the files]. Most of the people here are going to say "I think you did a great job!" .. And those that do give critiques, those are nice, but they're NOT the producer that chose not to cast her. They can't tell her why the producer didn't cast her as only the producer can do it.The more people I get the opinion of (The critiques, not the 'gushing' as you put it.) for my lines the better rounded my knowledge of how to improve is. And if you say people shouldn't post lines for critique then why do you allow demo reels?

[Nikki Wright]

:facefault


And if you say people shouldn't post lines for critique then why do you allow demo reels?Where did I say that? I don't recall ever saying that. Though, I'll present the same thing to you: why don't you make a demo reel instead of posting audition lines, saying "This person didn't cast me, do I suck? Tell me what I'm doing wrong!" which, yes, does come off as whiney. I haven't said that though, because I was giving you the benefit of the doubt when you said that you weren't. I've been doing my best to be polite, here.

I was, however, answering Clym's question, saying that if you're wondering why you didn't get cast, instead of asking us, who really have no clue as to why you're not getting cast, ask the source. The person who was cast may have "Whupped your butt," as you put it.. but for what reason did they? Did they have the voice that they wanted? Was their acting better? Was their quality better? Hell, it could be that they were the fourth person to audition and four is the number that they use for everything and no matter how good you were, you'll never measure up to audition-er number four.

All I have been saying is that we can give you all the critiques in the world, but it still won't match the opinion of the producer.

I wonder how many times more I'll have to explain this?

To save myself the trouble, I'm going to review your stuff:

- Generally, your quality fluxuates. Sometimes, it's clear as a bell, othertimes, it's fuzzy to the point of annoyance. Producers don't usually like background noise in their final products, so it'd be a great idea to read up more about noise reduction so that you can have crystal clear audio everytime you send in lines to people. Additionally, when you raise your voice, there are many instances in which the mic tops out.. you should move a bit further from your mic so as to prevent that.

In addition to this, it sometimes felt like I was hearing.. clicking, or something to that effect in the background of your lines. Especially noticeable in Haruka-03. Might want to look into correcting that, as well.

- Your Sailor Moon voices both sound as if they're the same. I don't hear differences in the character's voices, and it doesn't help that, while you're fairly decent at yelling, it sounds as if you're holding back; trying to be quiet, or whatever. When you're doing the catchphrases, producers are usually looking for someone to be really enthusiastic about it, and not at all as if they're holding back. If you're worrying about people hearing you, don't. If you're worrying about waking someone up, then do the lines later.

- While you seem to have the emotion down, it seems to fluxuate throughout the lines. "There is no argument!" was nicely delivered, however, to back up the point, you kinda trail off, "There's no way that he can stay...." as if you're not entirely sure of what you're saying. If you're supposed to be angry, show a lot of conviction. Don't be afraid of it. The end of Haruka-04 was *Great*... I forget the phrase at the moment, but it ended with "Didn't I?!"-- That had the perfect emotion behind it, and it felt like you were genuinely excited about what you were saying.

- Your acting is good, but you place a lot of awkward pauses through some of the lines, for example: "I'm very serious, not just seriously serious. .... HOWEVER!... there are two conditions: .... you'll sleep in the shed, aaand........ you'll join me in a drink!" The pauses give some of the words the wrong emphasis, making the phrases sound awkward as a whole. Try to be a bit more natural with the spacing between the words and phrases, and it will improve the sound of your lines ten fold.

You have a lot of potential, keep working at it.

[ClymAngus]

Nik, I see your point and your right, going straight to the source in relation to that particular audition (it's a good comparison test). That said I can see how canvasing a wider opinion base can feel more satisfying and as any scientist knows, you can never have too much raw data.

I can also see how this post could be considered to be manipulative when viewed in a certain light. I'm not going to get into motives and accusations here (as there are plenty of people here whom are far better at this than me).

I think what this boils down to is I'm still not seeing the harm. But I have been way off in the past. My advice to Songbird21 is put them all together, call it a demo reel and repost it. Can't see anyone objecting to that.

[Nikki Wright]

And I'm not saying that there is harm in it. I'm saying that her best bet is to just go to the source. There is an incredibly unnecessary and pointless "debate" going on here.

[Songbird21]

which, yes, does come off as whiney. I haven't said that though, because I was giving you the benefit of the doubt when you said that you weren't. I've been doing my best to be polite, here. And believe me, I appreciate it like you wouldn't believe. I just don't understand how it comes off as whiny, but I think we should just leave it at a difference of opinion, lol.


The person who was cast may have "Whupped your butt," as you put it.. but for what reason did they? Because her acting was better, there was no hesitation in her voice and she sounded waaaaaaaaay drunker than me. Trust me, I don't need to ask anyone why she got the part.


- Generally, your quality fluxuates. Sometimes, it's clear as a bell, othertimes, it's fuzzy to the point of annoyance.I've been trying out dif techniques. Apparently, some of them don't work so good. Lol


Additionally, when you raise your voice, there are many instances in which the mic tops out.. you should move a bit further from your mic so as to prevent that.Yeah, I really do have a problem with that. I think I'm slowly getting it down though.


In addition to this, it sometimes felt like I was hearing.. clicking, or something to that effect in the background of your lines. Especially noticeable in Haruka-03. Might want to look into correcting that, as well.I think that may have been my mic cord swinging around (I was attempting actually holding it for a change), for some reason I can't figure out, it adds clicks to the audio.


If you're worrying about waking someone up, then do the lines later.Yeah. I need to find more time during the day when it's not a problem.


- While you seem to have the emotion down, it seems to fluxuate throughout the lines. "There is no argument!" was nicely delivered, however, to back up the point, you kinda trail off, "There's no way that he can stay...." as if you're not entirely sure of what you're saying. If you're supposed to be angry, show a lot of conviction. Don't be afraid of it.It's not that I was afraid of it, it's just that she sounded like she got a bit quieter, so I tried to mimic that.


- Your acting is good, but you place a lot of awkward pauses through some of the lines, for example: "I'm very serious, not just seriously serious. .... HOWEVER!... there are two conditions: .... you'll sleep in the shed, aaand........ you'll join me in a drink!" The pauses give some of the words the wrong emphasis, making the phrases sound awkward as a whole. Try to be a bit more natural with the spacing between the words and phrases, and it will improve the sound of your lines ten fold.*Nods in understanding*


I can see how canvasing a wider opinion base can feel more satisfying and as any scientist knows, you can never have too much raw data.Exactly. :)


I do plan to make a demo reel at some point, I just don't have enough clips at the moment, which is why I posted them this way. But good advice anyway. ^_^\/

[QUOTE=Nikki Wright]And I'm not saying that there is harm in it. I'm saying that her best bet is to just go to the source. There is an incredibly unnecessary and pointless "debate" going on here.Indeed. Nikki, would you be so kind as to lock this? I'll repost these in a demo reel once I have enough material. Sorry I keep making lock-worthy posts. ^^;;; I think part of the problem is that sometimes it's just very hard for me to convey my true emotions in type. And even though something sounds perfectly innocent to me, it can have a completely different meaning depending on the way people visualize the line in their head. And to think I'd like to be a writer at some point. Lol.

[ClymAngus]

And I'm not saying that there is harm in it. I'm saying that her best bet is to just go to the source.

I would never dream of implicating you in such a scandalous and unprovable slur. :)



There is an incredibly unnecessary and pointless "debate" going on here.

And how. Time to scuttle it.