AVA interviews new interview 17th october 2006!!

[Azure]

As part of our effort to improve the VAA I've brought back the AVA interviews. I think they're a great way to learn what people are up to and to learn some tips. I've asked a few people I know to start off but I'm open for interviewing people you suggest. Though I would ask that they have a significant amount of VA experience ( doesn't have to be with us). If you would like to be interviewed please PM me with your resume /production studio, email ,etc any info you think would be relevant.

Completed interviews
Treg ( Scroll Down)
Haushinka (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=99041&postcount=16)
Nikkita (http://http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showthread.php?p=99144#post99144)
KitsuneSqueak/CelestialKitsune (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=100784&postcount=52)
Genisis Avalon (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=100801&postcount=54)
Allison Rose (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=100496&postcount=46)
Azure (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=100071&postcount=35)
Chinomi/Chichiri Miko (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=100179&postcount=40)
Cristina Vee (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=100990&postcount=63)
Erica Mendez /Rica (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=101450&postcount=74)
Brandom Baus/Shadowsvoice (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=102148&postcount=78)
Tamtu (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=103518&postcount=81)
Matt Alan (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=104357&postcount=86)
StNick79 (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=104358&postcount=87)
G-force (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=105983&postcount=90)
PhotoShopTimeRyan (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showthread.php?t=9488&page=10&pp=10)
Cheetahd586 (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=114363&postcount=92)
Masako (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=138516&postcount=95)
Mindy (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=157008&postcount=97)
Ayame (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=169229&postcount=106)
Klaymen (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=179874&postcount=107)
Maria Vu (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=184035&postcount=108)
Mat Growcott (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=190154&postcount=111)
Amby Leigh (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=199624&postcount=116)
Cronocrossed (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showpost.php?p=243307&postcount=121)
SUPER THREAD UPDATE :luv :luv
17th October Chronocrossed added

[Azure]

Azure interviews Tregatron

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live etc)
I'm 19 years old (Going to be 20 December 11) and I live in Excelsior Springs, MO which is near Kansas City. I am currently single ^_~

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?
I believe I've been voice acting since April 2002, I'll always remember that date since I started my first job around when I started VAing. I first discovered amateur voice acting when Jon Allen, on the now dead planetnamek.com, advertised a Dragon Ball GT Fan dub. I was excited since I always wanted to be a voice actor.. So, I kept hassling the people doing it by sending clips.. and I eventually got the part of Master Roshi. Too bad that project never got finished heh.

3) What keeps you voice acting?
The shear fun of it hehe. Plus, I like to challenge myself acting-wise with new characters and situations. It seems there's always something new to try.

4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?
Hm.. a lot of the productions I've been in have been pretty fun.. but if I had to pick one, it would have to be Stray's action figure comedy, SWAT. My character, Zaku is such a blast to play.
I would post a link.. no clips of it are uploaded anymore.

b) The most challenging?
Uh.. probably when I played Wolfwood in his death scene in a Trigun clip. It was the first time I felt that I had to cross my acting threshold.
http://www.voiceacting.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=6384&highlight=Wolfwood

5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?
Hm.. if I'm doing character I played before, sometimes I say a line that I knew I did well before several times to get in character.

6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?
Well, most people recognize me as the guy who can do the old man voice heh. But I think I'm also pretty good at soft-spoken characters as well, like Miroku from Inuyasha.. or crazy characters like Kyo from Fruits Basket or Pierre in Sousei no Aquarion.

7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?
There's several heh. I would love to play Sasuke or Kakashi from Naruto. Zechs Marquis from Gundam Wing too heh.

8) Do you have any voice acting idols?
Scott McNeil! Ever since I seen him play 4 different characters on the cgi show, Beast Wars, I knew I wanted to do the same someday. Also, Billy West, who just impresses me with his vocal range and talent on shows like Futurama.

9) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging?
Definitely fan dubs. In fan dubs you have to take a lot of things into consideration, the video, the mouth-flaps, and acting. In audio dramas you are free to do your own interpretation of the scene, with no restrictions like mouth flaps heh.

10) Do you have any professional aspirations?
I would love to be a pro va someday. It's just that I don't really have the means to travel to the nearest anime dub studio (Probably Funimation or ADV). I don't nearly have the money to move out there yet heh.

11) What are you up to right now?
Right now, I'm on the job hunt. Also, I'm going to be in a play my local dinner theater is having. It's called Plaza Suite, in which I play a Bellhop and a Groom. Rehearsals have been going well, and I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun. This is my 2nd time acting on stage, so I'm excited.
http://paradiseplayhouse.com/

12) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?
Playing my electric guitar! Playing video games, watching tv and movies. And watching pro wrestling.
http://treg.podomatic.com/

13) Any final thoughts/Advice?
Do your voice acting best. Audition for stuff on the board and put out your best shorts/samplers and you will be sure to get noticed in this community.

[Cristina]

Wow! What an interesting idea ^^ I can't wait to read more~

[Matt Alan]

What fun! ^^! Treg's a pretty cool guy afterall! >D Just kidding Treggers.

[Chinomi]

Azure, this is totally awesome. Truly. It's amazing the hear AVA's backgrounds! Thanks so much for putting time into it!

[Allison Rose]

What a fun idea! I enjoyed reading this interview and will look forward to more! :)

[Seishiro17]

I love this idea, and I'm loving this sticky.

[Haushinka]

It was nice to read an interview with one of my best friends ^_^ There's even stuff in there I didn't know about you, Treg!

[Sakurax]

That was interesting ^___^
It's nice to read about other members. =)
Looking forward to more. =D

[Jason Axelrod]

Good way to bring people a little closer :D. I enjoyed reading it and learning a little bit about ya Tregatron.

[fairuza]

That was interesting indeed!
I wish I was as cool and collective as Treg.XD
I like this interview idea, it's very appealing.

[cheetahd586]

This was an awesome idea, I can't wait to read more! (And would be happy to be interviewed if you're looking for someone lol)

[Ayame]

So can we interview anyone and send it in or do we need prior approval?

[Azure]

Can you contact me first? I was intending interviewing everyone myself but if you're willing to help that'd be great especially if there's someone you would liketo interview. ;3 Please PM me and we can arrrange it ^^

[EggDropSoup]

Really cool idea, Azure. That's really cool and I hope you accomplish your dreams, Treg. I really enjoyed reading this stuff and I look forward to more interviews in the future.

[Azure]

Azure interviews Haushinka ( Kagome on NGVAC)

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live etc)
I'm 18 years old, although most people think I'm younger because I enjoy doing voices of children and teenagers. I live in Anchorage, Alaska and am currently in my freshman year of college.

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?
I started in April of 2004, so not quite two years. I got started by reading a friend's LiveJournal, where she talked about how she voice acted in fandubs. I thought that sounded like a lot of fun and asked how she got into it, and she referred me to the VAA and FLAVA, where I started auditioning for various projects.

3) What keeps you voice acting?
I like seeing productions I've been in become successful. It's really cool to look at the view count on a Newgrounds movie and realize that 100,000 people heard your voice in it. Also, more voice acting means more practice - it's hard to improve if you don't do it on a regular basis.

4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?
"InuYasha's Halloween" - so far it has over 50,000 views, and I helped to contribute by writing the script. I'd wanted to be in an Inuyasha Halloween-themed movie for over a year, so it was kind of like a dream come true.

b) The most challenging?
Probably doing the voice of Elly in Bonus Stage. I love the role, but it's very hard to take a character that had been voiced by the show's creator for 75 episodes and give her a new voice without upsetting the fanbase. The series has a lot of diehard fans, so I get hate mail occasionally telling me to quit so Elly can have her old voice back. It's very hard for people to get used to one voice coming out of a character and then accept something different.

5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?
I usually drink something (water, soda, etc.) because I find it very hard to do voices when I'm thirsty. If I'm having trouble changing pitches, I usually practice singing for a bit to get warmed up.

6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?
My best friend Seiyru and I like to describe ourselves as "the generic anime voices". I've been trying to expand my range lately to make my young boy voices and mature women sound more believable, but I have a feeling that I will always love playing those stereotypical "anime girls". It's so fun to do that overexaggerated dub voice. When I talk to my online friends on the phone for the first time, they are often surprised because they expect me to sound like an anime character, but I have a pretty average sounding, medium-low voice in real life.

7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?
I'd say Kagome from Inuyasha, but I've played her in some of my own productions as well as KitsuneSqueak's movie 4 dub, so....I'd probably say Haruko Ashiya from I My Me! Strawberry Eggs.

Do you have any voice acting idols?
Yes. I absolutely adore Moneca Stori's voice; she's been such an inspiration to me and I would love to meet her someday. I've also got some Japanese VA idols such as Saki Nakajima, Megumi Hayashibara and Chie Nakamura to name a few. My "VAA idol" would probably be Cristina Vee - she's accomplished so much at a young age and is really talented and I look up to her a lot.

9) You also produce, what has been your favourite production to work on?
My fandub of InuYasha episode 53 was a lot of fun, especially because I got to work with my best online friends to make it. I also have a feeling that this Tokyo Mew Mew dub I'm getting started on will be awesome.

10) Does being a voice actress yourself help you as a producer?
Definitely. I've seen far too many producers who, because they haven't voice acted themselves, don't know about the proper way to deal with their voice actors or what to look for when casting for a project. It inspired me to make the "Producers' Guide To VA Etiquette". By being a voice actress myself I can understand why a VA might interpret a line differently, be slow turning in lines, etc.

11) What software do you use to produce?
I use Audacity for mixing audio projects and Windows Movie Maker for video projects. It has its limitations, like not being able to layer audio, and making choppy sounds if you cut off the BGM, but it was free and came with my computer, and it's what I'm used to using.

12) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging ( as a VA and producer)?
As a VA, I think fandubs are easier. There's always the problem of mouth matching, but you can see the expression on the character's face and hear how the original actress interpreted the line. As a producer, I'd say radioplays because it doesn't require trying to match up all the lines and sound effects exactly to the picture.

13) You also run the Newgrounds Voice Acting Club (http://voiceacting.proboards62.com/index.cgi), how did it get started? What are the best/worst parts of running it?
I started it in December of 2004, when I was fairly new to Newgrounds. I got the idea to start it because there were so many "need voice actor" topics springing up on the rest of the board that I thought it would be nice if people could just go to one place to find voice actors for their flash movies.
The best part of running it is the sense of community with everyone else and seeing the NGVAC be recommended whenever someone makes a voice acting topic in the Flash forum. The worst part of running it is dealing with people who come in just to spam and flame and have no respect for what we do. It's frustrating because since I don't have moderator status on Newgrounds, I cannot ban them, and telling them they're being kicked out doesn't always work. We ended up starting an external forum for the club outside of Newgrounds in order to make threads more organized and have a way to deal with problem users.

14) Do you have any professional aspirations?
Definitely. I would love to work for ADV films, or if not that, I'd like to voice act for video games. The problem is that I'm stuck living in Alaska until I finish college, so it will be a few more years before I can move to where the work is.

15) What are you up to right now?
Right now I'm in the process of fandubbing episode 13 of Tokyo Mew Mew as well as redoing my King Of Bandit Jing fandub with my local anime club. I'm also keeping busy with a few side projects like boredom clips and short radioplays. Since I've gotten caught up on most lines I owe lately, it gives me more time to focus on producing.

16) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?
My most time-consuming project right now is being the founder and organizer of Senshi-Con, my state's first anime convention. In the rare moments that I have free time, I like listening to rock music and playing DDR.

17) Any final thoughts/Advice?
I have some advice I've been wanting to give to all the people I've seen around the community who are discouraged at the fact that they've been here a few months and haven't gotten cast in anything: Keep practicing! Remember that you're competing with people who have had far more experience than you, and if you keep working on improving your skills it will happen sooner or later. I also encourage them to check the quality of their recordings - as a producer, I hear auditions where I love the person's voice but do not cast them because their mic quality is atrocious. So don't give up, and be open to constructive criticism about your work. :D

[Nikki Wright]

7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?
I'd say Kagome from Inuyasha,

..You've played her like, 500 times already. >D;;

[Allison Rose]

Yay Haushinka! That was fun to read. You've sure done a lot in the community during the (almost) two years that you've been around! Way to go. :)

[EggDropSoup]

Haushinka, that was wonderful! I'm so happy you got interviewed. It was really enjoyable to read. You're such a kind and outgoing person!

Azure, you're so good at interviewing...maybe you should seek that as a profession..?

[Azure]

Eggdrop that's kind of you to say, ^^ Wow people have been getting back to me fast! so here's Nikkita's interview!

Azure interviews Nikkita!

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live etc)
I'm 19 years old, and I currently live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I work as a senior web designer for a major auto group in my city.

2) How long have you been voice acting how'd you get started? -How did you find the VAA?

I started voice acting in late 1997, early 1998. I can't exactly remember how I got into it, because I remember one day I was not into it, then I went on the internet surfing some Sailor Moon websites, then suddenly I had AIM, ICQ, and a hardrive full of auditions for projects that went nowhere. I remember starting two radio plays in 1998 -- one for my Sailor Moon site, and another with a friend of mine from class who was also interested in voice acting. Neither actually went anywhere with the exception of some clips I did on my own, or with her. They sucked pretty bad.

When I first found the VAA, at the time it was a listing of voice overs and I don't remember it having a message board. You had to put something on your website linking to the VAA, and in turn you were listed on the VAA -- I really liked this idea because it gave people a chance to really be serious about it. A lot of times, people were cast, or created a radio play simply as a method of trying to ingratiate themselves into the community, but with no real intention to do anything about it... However, with this listing any joe-blow could list their work/resume and had a good chance at forming their own group or clique and having fun. As for the current VAA "as we know it"... I've always been lurking around the community, as a way of checking up to see where everything is going, and what everyone is doing. I've even made a few posts here and there, and on FLAVA/VAMB.

3) What do you enjoy most about voice acting?
It gives me a great feeling of accomplishment. It feels good because you can do whatever you want. One day, if you want to be a producer then you can be a producer. If you want to be a prima-donna voice actress, then you can be that. If you want to be a writer, then you can be a writer... And no matter what you want to do, there is always someone to help you out if you get stuck. There's satisfaction in every sense of the word.

4) a) What's been the most enjoyable production you've been in?
Hmmm... I would have to say it's a triple tie.... if there is such thing? I was cast as Utena in Kele-Michele's Utena Movie Fandub. This was really fun because I got to work side by side with a good friend of mine "Bliss" (or Mandy Clark). I remember we found Crispin Freeman's ICQ and we were going to pester him into playing Touga because we couldn't find someone with a sexy voice. Then we did, so that was okay. The whole thing took a few months from start to finish, and she distributed about 30 copies on VHS, and it received great reviews. :D

The second one would be Marcy Amell's Sailor Moon Christmas Special radio play -- this was memorable because my friend Ali (Ophelia) stayed at my house for a couple weeks over Christmas break. I was originally cast as Ami/Sailor Mercury. However, some VAs were unable to record their lines, so Ophelia and I split the lines up between us. I ended up playing Michiru and Makoto, and I believe Ali recorded lines for Rei. Whew! This leads up to one of my favourite projects... Negavision!

The original VA for Michiru/Sailor Neptune was unable to finish recording, so Andrew was trying to find someone at the last minute. He heard my performance as Michiru in Marcy's radio play, and wanted to cast me. So when he finally found out my contact info, he asked me if I wanted the part, and I agreed whole-heartedly.


b) The most challenging?
I would have to say Negavision.

5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?
Honestly? No. I keep telling myself I'm going to start warming up -- I was in choir for a very, very long time so I understand the importance.... buuuut I never get around to it. Although, I do try to keep a glass of water on hand no matter what. Hydrating yourself is extremely important.

6) What software and equipment do you record with?
I use a $15 microphone I bought when The Source was called "Radioshack" and Goldwave. I'm hoping to get a professional set up when I've settled in to my new home.

7) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?
Hmm... When I am speaking normally, it's pretty flat-lined and monotonic. I guess this is good because it starts a blank canvas, so it could really go either way. When I was in highschool, I used to be able to do the death/punk metal growly voice, and imitate Bruce Dickinson's (Iron Maiden) voice. It's sort of lost, but easily recovered with a little more practise. I can still do the raspy, low pitched voice -- like Ryoko from the dub of Tenchi Muyo. It took me a while to get that voice down, but when I was able to I was really happy.

8.) Which character you haven't played yet would you most like to play?
I think I'd like to play a character in an original animation.

9) Do you have any voice acting idols?
I think Megumi Hayashibara, because she is extremely versatile with her voice. Just when you think she is type-casted as a high pitched school girl, she suprises you by playing the voice of PenPen.

10) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging ?
Both are extremely challenging. For fandubs, the visuals make up for a lack of acting... but sometimes you have to match the lipflaps which can get tedious. With radio plays, you have the freedom to say your line fast, or slow... But you have to be really good at speaking and acting because you don't have any visual aid... So people are going to concentrate on your voice a lot more.

11) You've recently had some success in the professional voice acting area can you tell us more about it?
I was recently signed with Chinook Animation/Blue Water Studios. I think they're also listed as the Ocean Group? I still have to sign my paperwork, but it's a little difficult since I am moving. I was extremely nervous, and very anxious because I didn't think I was good enough... When they told me they were signing me, I was very excited.

12) Did amateur voice acting help you achieve this goal?
Yes! Amateur voice acting helped me develop voices and personality for my voice, and also the drive to do better than my best. If I hadn't been involved in the AVA scene, I don't think I would have that drive or ambition.

13) You also work with Negavision, can you tell us more about Negavision's project and your involvement?
Oddly enough, I remember auditioning for Negavision as Sailor Iron Mouse in.... 1999 I think. I did not get the part because my recording quality was not the best. My break into Negavision was being cast as Sailor Neptune in 2000. From there, I sort of jumped at every opportunity to lend a hand in the project. Currently, I voice a few characters (Sailor Neptune, Nehelenia for one episode, Sailor Iron Mouse, and Sailor Mars), I also designed the covers for the DVD and authored the menus, I designed the website, and I am now in charge of casting and vocal coaching/directing. Andrew has shipped over 300 copies of the VHS, and since the release of the DVD in July, he has shipped almost 150 copies. I am very proud of this.

14) What are you up to right now?
Plotting the world revolution in which I will be Queen of Earth!

15) As a mod at the VAA what are the best & worst parts of working on the site?
I would say the best part is you get to meet new people, and come up with interesting things. I have a few projects on the go that are coming along slowly... As for the worst? Meh. Everything has it's ups and downs -- c'est la vie. It'll be up after it's down, so that's what I try to look forward to.

16) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?
I love to read, design websites and I like cars. I also like "do it yourself" renovation projects, and designing things.

17) Any final thoughts/Advice?
Keep at it, and don't worry. Learn to accept advice as it's given to you. It might not seem important right now, but even if ONE person thinks your voice for a character should be a little higher pitched -- listen to them and try it out. Generally, the people who are taking the chance and time to be honest with you, usually have the best advice -- even if you and 50 other people who like your voice don't think so.

Also, don't try to justify anything. In the real world, it's called an "excuse", and excuses will get you nowhere.

[Haushinka]

..You've played her like, 500 times already. >D;;
That's why I changed my mind and said Haruko Ashiya from Strawberry Eggs. XD

Nikkita: That was very good advice at the end.

Thank you for the interview, Azure :) I'm looking forward to reading more about some other AVAs!

[Allison Rose]

Eeee, yay Nikkita! That was a great interview. I love your perspective on the community, having been around for so long. And hee, you mentioned Marcy's Sailor Moon Christmas Special radio play! You did a great job in that. It was one of my favorite productions too. :) Fun times!

[Renken]

Wow, these interviews are good. Very enjoyable to read. Keep it up Azure. ^^v

[Matt Alan]

Nikkita - Sage of Wisdom. ^^ Very entertaining

[Mindychan]

Heh, I'll have to pm you sometime, Azure ^_~

[Masako-kun]

Hmm, very insightful interviews. They really help a lot and are a nice feature to the site ^^ Keep going, Azure! :D

[EggDropSoup]

Nikkita - Sage of Wisdom. ^^ Very entertaining

I couldn't agree more.

Azure's officially my hero! XD

[Azure]

Wow *feels herioc* Glad everyone likes the idea ^^

[Tregster]

I've been enjoying the interviews too ^_^ Very interesting reads 8) Go Azure!

[Cristina]

These were a good read. I look forward to more~

[Edwyn]

Very nice interviews, Azure and good job on those who get interviewed! I hoped these are being archived, so that in three years time it can be dug out by a particularly errant person (possibly the interviwer/interviewee themselves) and everyone can have a darn good laugh at how different things were from then and now. Good 'un.

[Lucien]

I nominate Edwyn to be interviewed next.

[Azure]

If Edwyn is up for it then I shall do as requested! :luv

[Ayame]

INTERVIEW WITH AZURE:



1) Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m 21 years old, and live in London. I graduated from University this year with a degree in Ancient History to my great surprise; I’m still job-hunting though.


2) How long have you been AVAing? How'd you find out about on line voice acting communities?

Well I’m really bad at counting but it’s something like 6 years. I was quite new to anime at the time and stumbled across a voice acting site called VARC, I was impressed at what people were doing so I decided to have a go.
It was a long time before I got cast, but once I got a part I was hooked. At that time I also ran an anime radio talk show, sometime my friends joined in or I did it on my own. I was very much inspired ( and still am ) by the guys at www.anime-radio.com.

3) What keeps you voice acting?

Enjoyment and the community, I have a lot of fun voice acting, I’ve defiantly improved from when I started. I have also met a lot of great people too; I enjoy chatting to everyone on AIM ( feel free to IM me !) and iparty as well as meeting people in real life! I have a lot of fun times with UK VAA peeps.

If I’m perfectly honest, there’s been quite a few times I’ve nearly stopped it. I get very frustrated with my lack of progress sometimes, and it’s probably a little egotistical to say this, but I’ll be honest: next to some of the talent on the VAA I fall far short! I work hard to improve but sometimes it feels like I’ll never get that far. I keep at it though!

I owe a lot to various VAA members over the years for keeping me going. In particular I want to thank Yami and Lioncourt who were at Amecon with me, hanging out with them reminded me of why I VA. Talking to Monica Rial at that same con was also really helpful; she was very supportive. When I got back I felt much better about myself as an a VA again. Special thanks goes to Mindy for helping with the American accent with her astute directors comments come SORP retake time! Recently the VAA has been so exciting it’s really encouraged me!


4) What sorts of character stereotypes do you prefer to voice? Which voices are easiest, and which the most challenging?

I love characters that are a bit different! I also love to voice children, they seem to get a lot of really fun lines. Because of my English accent, I often get cast as the brainy sensitive type or mystical voice! Little boys are fun and when I’m lucky enough I love to play strong, funny women. I love doing Dragon Ball Z voices in particular - I may belly ache a lot about the dub of that show, but you have to give them credit - the huge cast forced them to be diverse with voices so it’s a great show to learn voices from. It’s hardest for me to VA in my real voice actually! I sound flat and horrible, which means I struggle when I use it.


5) Now for specifics. Which role has been your favorite, and why? How about your favourite production you've been in?

Well as a said above Sabrina Online is an important production for me as it’s so long running. It’s also meant I have really improved during it’s course. Playing kid Graham in the ADGI King’s Quest 2
Remake was an honour. I loved playing those games as a kid.


6) Have you been in any flash movies? If so, tell us what you enjoy about acting in them.

Yes I’ve been in a few, The Amazing Adam Android as Stacy and Chirinide in the Drowtales animations. It’s great to voice original characters. Coincidently both feature Edwyn, and in one there’s implied cross-dressing - I’ll let you guys found out in which.


7) Do you have any warm-ups you do before recording? If so, what are they?

I tend to talk a bit to warm up, some voices I have lines I say over to get the voice right before I record. My kid boy one is left over from an old audition:
“Uh gee Mister Piccolo I think you set my pants on fire!” ^^,, Sabrina from Sorp ( Sabrina online radio play) has a line from ep one “ Where’s that booth Amy told me about? I was wanting to sign up today.”


8 ) What's your dream role that you have yet to play? What appeals to you about this role?

Son Goku from Dragon Ball because he’s a cute airhead, or Tsunade from Naruto because she’s fun!


9) Is there a specific anime or video game that you would like to take part in a project of it? If so, what?

I’d love to be in a Dragon Quest anime dub, anything Toriyama and any adventure games you care to name!


10) Do you have any voice acting idols? Seiyuu count too.

My favourite Japanese voice actors are Naoko Wantanabe (Chichi, Pu’ar in Dragonball, Guu in Hale and Guu) and Masako Nozawa (Goku). They have such energetic voices and wide ranges. I was so surprised to learn Miss Wantanabe was Guu!

As for English VAs, I love the voices of Greg Ayers, Monica Rial, Billy West, Mark Hammil, and Scott McNeil . Greg Ayers has such a cool voice; Monica Rial’s is very vibrant. The last three are in there because of their really diverse voices - I had no idea Mark Hammil could do Wolverine ‘til I heard him! I’m not saying who my VAA idols are though^_-


11) As a producer, what has been your favourite production and why?

Neko Majin Z it’s lots of fun and the cast is great at handing in lines. Journey of Light: The Animated Film is also important to me. It’s a massive undertaking making your own animation - it isn’t easy and I only wrote it!


12) Do you feel that being a voice actress helps you to produce?

Definitely, I hope it makes me more considerate!


13) What software do you use to produce?

I use Cool Edit 200 for mixing, premiere to dub.


14) Which do you prefer, fandubs or radio plays? Which do you find more difficult?

Both have their challenges. Audio drama is intimate, but I’m always impressed by a good dub. Fan dubs are harder to pull off!


15) I understand you have been both an administrator and admin of the VAA. What is it like running such a huge community? What do you like about it, and what do you find challenging?

I love the stuff everyone produces! It never ceases to amaze me and the community is great. Well most of the time, sometimes the drama gets to me. It’s not that hard to post an audition in the right format is it? I ended up running the VAA by accident almost so I’m not a natural leader, I hope I do OK though!


16) Do you have any professional aspirations?

I’ve thought about it a lot, but I’m not sure I’m really cut out for it. To get really good requires training, on top of that sadly right now there’s very little anime dubbed here so I have no idea where to start! I want to be a writer most of all.


17) Can you tell us about your current productions and anything you plan to do AVA-wise in the near future?

I’m hoping to start a fan dub project that I’ve been threatening to do for a few years hopefully more on that soon. I’m determined to produce something original!


18 ) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

I like to write, I’ve just finish the rough draft of a novel I’m going to try to publish it when done so wish me luck! A manga I wrote the script for has just been published in the fanzine Mangaquake ( www. futurequake.co.uk) . I also review anime and games for otakunews.com. I also like to draw, though I’m not that good ^^. I love Sci Fi and fantasy though I imagine it’s probably obvious.


19) Do you have any final words of wisdom to share?

If you feel like you're not improving, take a step back and have some fun. Do some silly skits! Do a VA jam. Make sure you are having fun!




Related links:

Azure's resume
http://www.btinternet.com/~yukino

Azure's Production site
http://www.voiceacting.co.uk/azure/fyre

And also
http://www.voiceacting.co.uk/light

[Haushinka]

Nice interview! ^_^

[Edwyn]

If Edwyn is up for it then I shall do as requested! :luv

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH OF ME!

I mean erm, sure okay. XD Just lemme get me intellectual AVA hat on. *gets my intellectual AVA hat on* Now I'll sound all deep and intellectual-like and stuph.

And nice to see you too have targetted yourself with your own interview process. Now everyone shall be embarassed equally in 3 years time. @_@ HUZZAH!

*hides cross dressing flash*

[Chinomi]

Wow. Awesome Ayame, thanks for interviewing Azure.

And thanks for being interviewed Azure. Now I know a lot more about you!

[Matt Alan]

Azure is a very cool person. >D Inspirational!

[Ayame]

And another! ('Cause I'm THAT cool.)

INTERVIEW WITH CHICHIRI MIKO (CHINOMI):


1) Tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, I'll give a generic answer. I'm 17 years of age, I go to Eagle Butte High School. I live in Medicine Hat, Alberta (yes, in the middle of no where, go me.) I am, of course as many on this board are, aiming to become a Prof. Voice Actor someday, though I may not have the skills to do so at the moment. I would really like to aim for Ocean Studios, it being relatively close to me and well known. However, I of course need to come up with a plan B. I am extremely interested in NAIT's Radio and Television Program. I'd also think it'd be fun to be a Television Camera Operator.... but I have NO idea what you need to take for that.


2) How long have you been AVAing? How'd you find out about online voice acting communities?

Well, I have to admit I've been telling people I've been voice acting for 5 years and I've recently figured out that that is completely wrong, I got my years mixed up. I started AVAing when I was 13, and I have been voice acting for 4 years since a week ago. If i remember correctly, I was watching a dubbed version of Digimon when I was thinking to myself if the people playing these characters were actually 12 years old (yeah, I was dumb, let it go =P). So I figured to myself... HEY! I CAN DO THAT! So I did some searches investigating VAing when I came upon FLAVA. Where I acted like a complete and utter n00b. Geez, I was annoying.


3) What keeps you voice acting?

Welp. In my opinion, reality bites. Of course I voice act because it's fun... but also because it's a chance to step into someone else's shoes. Be someone else for a while. When I start playing a character I feel a connection with the character and myself, I can escape from reality if just for a little while.


4) What sorts of character stereotypes do you prefer to voice? Which voices are easiest, and which the most challenging?

I honestly prefer voicing the feminine adult male characters commonly seen in anime. Though I'm not very good at it, I am a complete opposite in personality to these characters... and you know what they say, opposites attract. However, I feel I am most commonly known for voicing CUTE. LITTLE. GIRLS. Yeah... usually when I voice a character outside of that sphere I usually get at least one reponse stating, "That was Chinomi?!". I am currently working on making my Little Boy voices sound more natural than forced. I'm fine for about the first 20 lines, but after that I need a glass of water after every 5 lines. You'll be able to point out the difference between my first line and my last line in voice quality when it comes to my Little Boy voices.


5) Now for specifics. Which role has been your favorite, and why? How about your favorite production you've been in?

Izumi Rio from Full Moon wo Sagashite. I am DEFINITELY attracted to his character. There's something about his voice that's just compelling. You have to do it like *this* but not too much like *this*. Portray the emotion, yet try to be monotone about it. Know what I mean?


6) Have you been in any flash movies? If so, tell us what you enjoy about acting in them.

Haha. No, unfortunatly. All of the FLASH movies I have obtained roles in have never been completed. Except the one that I did. Yep. ........


7) Do you have any warm-ups you do before recording? If so, what are they?

I like to say at least 5 of the actual lines in the character's voice before continuing to record. It's a simple and effective warm-up for me


8 )What's your dream role that you have yet to play? What appeals to you about this role?

I'm actually extremely satisfied with my roles. Every single role I've had I've loved in the actual anime, say 2 or 3. But I'd have to say Asusa from Yakitate! Japan. There have been NO Y!Japan projects and even if I had the chance to audition for a Y!Japan project I'd be satisfied. His character is just so outgoing and at the same time he's so utterly determined to achieve JAPAN!


9) Is there a specific anime or video game that you would like to take part in a project of it? If so, what?

Oh my gosh, definitely Kingdom Hearts. KH requires voices with such specific's too them. I unfortunatly do not have any of these traits yet. But I'm going to work on it. KH has such a compelling and fun story-line that I can't help but want to voice act a character from this game.


10) Do you have any voice acting idols? Seiyuu count too.

Shiloh Strong. Not very well known but does an awesome job at what he does. Scott McNeil, my fellow Canadian VA. As for Seiyuu: Megumi Ogata and Paku Romi. They both commonly voice act characters that I want to play that I can't help but look up to them.


11) As a producer, what has been your favorite production and why?

Definitely my Tales of Symphonia project. It started off as a kind of boredom project where I gave roles on a first-come-first-serve basis. How Professional. Well, the first clip turned out pretty good. So I got a whole crap-load of clips together, got my old "volunteer" cast, as well as some new members and fanubbed ELEVEN MINUTES of in-game footage. And when it was complete I got such a response! I am extremely proud of that project even today.


12) Do you feel that being a voice actress helps you to produce?

Oh definitely, heck, if it wasn't for being a VA I never even would have thought of producing my own projects. Being a AVA myself definitely helps me produce a castlist. I can sniff out more specifics to the quality of voice and acting


13) What software do you use to produce?

Goldwave, VirtualDub, Video Wave 4, and just recently Sony Vegas 6.0, though I'm still figuring it out.


14) Which do you prefer to act in, fandubs or radio plays? Which do you find more difficult?

I prefer fandubs because of the characters. I can voice characters which I've watched millions of times, it's amazing. I also find fandubs easier to voice in because the emotion is given to you. In some cases, if the producer doesnt wright down instructions in an RP script, it can be hard to hit the right emotion that the producer has intended it to be.


15) Which do you prefer to produce, fandubs or rps? Why?

I prefer, once again, fandubs. I am still a complete amateur when it comes to producing, and though I've done 1 or 2 RP's, It's easier for me to do Fandubs because the SFX and BGM are blocked for me. I dont have to go into an original script and block where I want SFX's to appear, or BGM. And timing, though it may seem surprising, is a lot easier for me in a fandub.


16) I understand you like making parodies. Could you tell us about them? Which has been your favorite?

Haha. Oh dear, why did you have to step into this part of the game? OK, well.... I sit down... get a raw clip... script it to match lip flaps, and it doesn't have to make sense. In fact, they NEVER make sense. I just write down what I first think in my mind and modify it to suit the lip flaps. And then there's Stewart the Duck the Panther. I don't even remember where I got the idea. All of a sudden I was improving this storyline and then I had MS Paint... and... stuff happened. Soon this lame-ass project of mine was on the VAA. xD; My favorite would have to be the Masterpiece Theatre Edition of Stewart The Duck The Panther. I laugh at it, and I made it ._.



17) Do you have any professional aspirations?

Oh heck yes. Although I'm extremely scared. This sounds lame, but I'm extremely scared of being turned down because it's the only thing in life I really enjoy anymore... I don't even know how to go about creating a half-decent demo reel and I have such big dreams.


18 ) Can you tell us about your current productions and anything you plan to do AVA-wise in the near future?

Well, I've been recently cast in Bebi/Kairi's RP of Gamerz Heaven as Kyoko. I am EXTREMELY excited about playing a major role in one of my favorite manga's. I'm also giving my Tales of Eternia fandub some final touches before release, it's been in the works for so long. I have other things planned as well but I need to finish somemore things first to prove to other AVA's that I DO finish things that I begin


19) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

Ah, all that generic stuff, watching anime, playing videogames (RPGs mostly of course), reading manga. I also REALLY like dodgeball, but I have no where to play it anymore. I enjoy singing WHEN. I'M. ALONE. And of course, live-action theatre as well. Improv is my favorite hobby outsite of the AVA world though.


20) Do you have any final words of wisdom to share?

You've got the have life to love life, and you've got to love life to have life. It's what they call a vicious circle. Don't give up on your dreams. Oh, and a major thanks to Ayame for interviewing me, and another major thanks for Azure for starting up this thing.

[Azure]

Yay glad to see the new interviews up, great stuff ^^ though Edwyn I'd gone past the embarisment thing long ago with the last old interview I dug up XD

[Matt Cruea]

I remember the old intereviews dealie.

And I was all "The Ramen Rider guy gets an interview and not me? Lame."

And now I'm all "Some girl gets and interview and not me? Lame."

The more things change...

[GForce]

Man I can't wait to read Edwyn's interview but then you'll have to please my massive fan base and interview me next or else there will be riots in the streets protesting this injustice.

.....
.....
.....

Of course this would only be true if I actually had a fan base...which I do not. Instead I'll just stand on the sidelines cheering on the big name AVAs. I think Lucien or Lioncourt would be cool for the next interview.

[Matt Cruea]

*pats Matt on the back*

One day, old dog, one day...

Can I... can I have a iced cream?

[Haushinka]

Here's an interview with Allison Rose! (sorry, I misread the pm..ha)

1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself personally?

I'm a Southern California native with a background in art history and Japanese. My career path is in education, and I'm currently in grad school. I love children's literature, architecture, good food, and travel.

2. What got you interested in voice acting?

I was involved in acting through school plays and such from a young age, and always found myself fascinated by voice acting in particular. I made a point of learning about the voice actors in Disney movies and TV shows and began to recognize the actors in different roles. I don't ever remember a time when I believed animated characters were really speaking; I always knew it was an actor, and I knew that I wanted to be one of those actors.

3. Do you remember your first role?

Oh, yes! Sailor Venus in Mark Sprague's Sailor Moon S fandub, back in early 1997. This was back in the days before there were any message board communities for amateur voice acting... I found out about it through a Sailor Moon listserv and to be honest, I thought the idea of a fandub sounded really weird! But because I'm a total ham, I couldn't resist an acting opportunity, so I sent a message to Mark saying I was interested. He had me audition for Venus because he wanted her to sound sort of valley girl-esque, and that was right up my alley!

4. What is your favorite type of project to voice act for and why?

Hmm... projects that get finished! In all seriousness, I like projects that are somewhat out of the ordinary, like completely original creations, or fandubs that haven't been done a million times already. I love it when people dub obscure shows- either brand new titles or ones that are really retro. Oh, and I am a big fan of Rumiko Takahashi, so I'll audition for anything based on her work!

5. Is there a specific voice/character type you enjoy doing the most?

Energetic teenage girls come most naturally to me.

6. What hardware and software do you use for recording?

I use a laptop, a cheapie mic that I bought several years ago, and Audacity. I wish I had a more professional set-up!

7. Do you find it easier to voice existing characters, where you have a reference point, or original characters, where you are free to come up with your own interpretation?

I think voicing existing characters is usually easier. Developing an original character is a great challenge- it takes a lot of thought and often requires more experimentation to solidify the voice and mannerisms.

8. What has been the biggest challenge for you so far as a voice actress?

Getting the courage to step outside of my vocal comfort zone. When I was involved in the amateur voice acting community several years ago, I had very set ideas about the image I wanted to portray, and I only played very feminine, cute roles. Now that I've gotten back into it after a long hiatus, I've pushed myself more to experiment with my range and try old ladies, tomboys, rougher characters, etc. I'm not so concerned with sounding "pretty" all the time. Although I still have a long way to go, I think I've grown a bit as an actress.

9. How do your "acting" voices compare to your natural speaking voice?

My "teenage girl" voice is really close to my natural speaking voice. I think the biggest difference between my "acting" voices and my regular voice is that I have a definite SoCal accent going on in my natural speech patterns. I generally work on toning that down when I act, unless the character calls for it.

10. Have you ever considered producing?

Actually, I did produce a couple of things several years ago! I wrote and produced "The Marmalade Boy Audio Drama" from 1998-99. (Such a creative title, I know!) It was really cheesy and melodramatic, but I am proud to say that it did get finished! Anyway, I'm not much of a producer, but there a couple of small projects I've been thinking about, so... maybe!

11. Do you plan to go professional, and if so, what type of work would you most enjoy doing?

I don't have any real plans to go professional- more like tentative hopes. I do intend to pursue professional training. I'd like to get trained and make a demo, and then see where I can go. Even if it doesn't work out, at least I'll know I tried! And hopefully I'll have fun trying. I'm intending to focus on commercial voiceover work, but I'd also jump at the chance to do anime and video game voiceovers. It's a dream!

12. Are you a singer also?

Well, I've done musical theatre and choir in the past, but I'm a bit out of practice now. Let's just say I'm best suited for back-up! I do love karaoke, though.

13. What has been your favorite role that you've played so far?

Not surprisingly, Sailor Venus- I will always have a soft spot in my heart for that character! I also loved voicing Jupe from Tom Galang's "Step Up!" radio play, because she's just a cool, kickass character. Oh, and I loved voicing Aoi Tamashii for the Evangelion multimedia fan project, Eva-R (http://eva- r.com). It was an honor to bring this original character to life for a project with such a big fanbase and professional connections.
...oops, you only asked for one favorite role, didn't you? Eheheh, got carried away.

14. What do you typically do outside of voice acting?

Shop, read, bake cookies... study reluctantly.

15. What have been some of your biggest accomplishments so far, VA-related or otherwise?

As far as voice acting accomplishments, I am pleased with my one bit of professional work thus far-- I did a voiceover for a TV commercial that aired in upstate New York. This opportunity came about through an amateur voice acting connection, in fact! Other accomplisments include graduating college, teaching in Japan for a year, and getting married.

16. Do you have any advice to give to those who are just starting out?

Have fun! Experiment with different types of voices. Listen to professional work as much as possible and learn from the best. Take your acting seriously, but try not to take yourself too seriously. ;)

[Tom]

"Shop, read, bake cookies... study reluctantly."

That is SO you, Alli! Haha

[Erica]

Omgz.. these are so cool! I wanna be interviewed~ T_T

[Azure]

Send me a Pm then Erica ^^ it makes it easier to orangise!

[Allison Rose]

Thanks again for the interview, Haushinka!

Nikkita, I can't believe you actually remember my Marmalade Boy audio drama. Hee!! However amateurish the production was, I have to say it had a great cast. Like, waaaay old-school. Cracks me up. I still have it, maybe I should post it sometime. ;)

Tom, you know me too well! Haha!

[Zelina]

Interview with KitsuneSqueak (also known as CelestialKitsune)

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live etc)

Well, I'm 14 years old and I live in a state where nothing happens >.< I'm Chinese and proud of it woot ^-^ I've moved several times from the South to the North in the US. I have really no clue what to do with my life, but I'm looking around at different things!

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?

I've been voice acting for about 6 months online o.o I got started when I was searching through Yahoo Groups and found Tsuki-Hime's SailorStars fandub. I thought it'd be cool to audition because my friend and I did some radioplays earlier concerning Kilik, Xianghua, and brownies and it was a ton of fun. so...I auditioned for Usagi...and yeah ^.^

3) What keeps you voice acting?

The sheer fun of it. I really love VAing and it gives me something to look forward to after long days.

4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?

Hm...I would have to say Captain Moon's Sailor Stars ep 195 dub. I really loved playing Seiya/Star Fighter as well as Haruka. (OMG MEGUMI OGATA!)

b) The most challenging?

Same. ^^;; It was really hard synching the Threelights song. But it was worth it and it made me feel like an idol! *.* Also with all the screaming. I think I must've screamed "Princess" 3 takes per time I was supposed to say it.

5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?

Well, if drinking a LOT of water and having a cough drop counts. Also, I try some of the lines several times to get into character, and sometimes I sing to get the right pitch, especially with the high voices.

6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?

My voice is a bit...rough I guess you could say. My specialties are little boys and tomboys.

7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?

I would love to play Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho or Bakura from Yu-Gi-Oh.

8) Do you have any voice acting idols?

For North American VAs, I'd say Tara Strong, Colleen O'Shaughnessy, and Brianne Siddall. As for seiyuu, Megumi Ogata, Ai Orikasa, Paku Romi, and Minami Takayama.

9) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging?

Both are equally challenging really, because in fandubs you hafta lip-synch, but you know how the emotions are exactly, and in radioplays, you don't hafta lip-synch, but it's harder to get the emotion perfect.

10) Do you have any professional aspirations?

I would love to go pro...but I dunno if I'd make it ^^;;

11) What are you up to right now?

Right now I'm working on mixing a Tales of Symphonia radioplay that I organized about 5 or 6 months ago ^^;; as well as catching up with things.

12) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

I love to draw. I also like to read and sing, and play piano and violin.

13) Any final thoughts/Advice?

A piece of advice I'd give is that there are times when you feel like you just can't do anything and you...suck. Well, that's really not true, so always have an optimistic outlook! (I kinda needta follow that when reviewing myself in projects) Oh yeah, and when you start a project, stick to it, same with when you audition/are casted into something.

14) You also produce, what has been your favourite production to work on?

Seeing that I LOVE Tales of Symphonia, I'd have to say my Tales of Symphonia radioplay. Sure it died and was reborn, but it was fun! ^.^

15) Does being a voice actress yourself help you as a producer?

I would say yes, because then when I'm waiting for people to send lines and such, I can relate to them when they say they have problems or need more time.

16) What software do you use to produce?

As quoted by my friend, "The lowest of the low". I use Audacity for mixing radioplays and Windows Movie Maker to mix fandubs.

17) Can you tell us about your current productions and anything you plan to do AVA-wise in the near future?

Well, currently I'm in the process of dubbing the 4th Inuyasha Movie with SweetSilents. I'm also working on my Tales of Symphonia radioplay. In addition I'm doing a MaiZHime (Mai Otome) clip dub with Ayame-chan. AVA-wise...I'm just planning to keep practicing and erm...annoying the heck outa my family XD
----------------------
enjoy the interview, y'all.

[KitsuneSqueak]

thanks again for the interview Zelina! *.*

[Zelina]

Interview with GenesisAvalon (also known as Kat Pryde)

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live etc)

Well, lesse, name's Kat Pryde, I'm 19, gonna be 20 in two months, I live in Manassas, Virginia, but i'm actually in Farmville right now, which is this little place in the middle of nowhere in Virginia. ^_^ I'm an Aquarius, my favorite colors are red and blue.... ^_^ Need anymore?

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?

I've been voice acting for almost 9 months now, but I've wanted to for much longer. I just didn't have the equipment or time. I'm actually glad I waited. How I got started... well... I had been thinking about finally picking up the voice acting after I switched to a Theatre Major at my college, and I was just googling around for it. I found the VAA in no time and slipped right in.

3) What keeps you voice acting?

What keeps me doing it? Well, honestly, I love it! It's so much fun, and I love hearing that my voice is good/has range and I love the fast-paced way that you learn your character. It's very different from stage acting.

4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?

My favorite production to date is a tie between the Wonder Woman Pendant Production and Genesis Avalon, my personal production I'm working on.

b) The most challenging?

The most challenging... probably had to be... either Arabella from Schitzophrenia or Sailor Jupiter in Mindy and Arick's Ep. 45 and 46 dubs. I'll have you know I was an understudy for the Jupiter one and had never played her before. I'd wanted to, and it was... tough. Lot of pressure because I wanted to do well for myself.

5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?

Pre-recording? Well... first I close all the windows/doors in my room where I record, lock them all, and I turn off all the lights. When I record, it's by the light of my laptop screen. I'm loopy like that. I also make sure to drink lots of water before I start. Really loosen up my voice.

6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?

Hm... I'm gonna venture to say it's pretty versitile, and it's good for Tomboys and the typical kick-ass magical girl. Not like Sakura or Sailor Moon, but my Sailor Jupiter is my pride and joy of voices. I've been told it's unique but people like it, and that's one of my favorite things. My specialties, other than Jupiter... well, I'd say I'm a good character actor - I can do some wicked accents. Like, somewhere around 10 or 12, I think.

7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?

Character I haven't played that I've wanted to is without a doubt either Sailor Mars or Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi. Maybe even Takako... *Big Neon Sign goes up for potential Producers*

8) Do you have any voice acting idols?

I have two idols! LAURA POST!!!!! She is the reason I wanted to be in the VAA. I listened to No Man's Land before I made the decision to act here, and man, lemme tell you... I LOVE HER VOICE. Velvet. Anyway, yeah, I'm so blessed to have her playing Jaina right now. I love her voice. ^_^ And my other idol is Haushinka, for her awesome Mars voice!!

9) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging?

Oooooh, that's tough. BEcause with audio drama, you have to find the entire character all from the script. There's no lip flaps to match or faces there to tell you how to feel. It all comes from the actor. On the other hand, fan dubs are tough mechanically, speaking with the right tempo and trying to keep the same voice consistantly for the most awkward phrasing. But, I think I'm gonna go out on a limb and go with audio dramas being tougher aesthetically.

10) Do you have any professional aspirations?

Yes, I do. I am a Theatre Major, with a concentration in Education and Performance. I have family in New York City and the moment I get there after I graduate from college, I'm getting a teachng job and finding an agent. I want to do film, as well as television, but I want to do Sci-Fi/Fantasy. I like Green Screen, and I like stuff that stretches the boundaries.

11) What are you up to right now?

Um... bout 5'7. ^_^ *giggle* Actually, project-wise, I'm on a hold. My computer is in the shop again, but I am currently recording lines for the two Pendant Productions I'm in, Circe and Wonder-girl in the Wonder Woman one, and I am Tsarina in the Superman one. I'm also playing Mary Jane Watson in a Spider-man audio drama, as well as working on Episode 46 for Mindy and Arick. I'm in a few other fan-dubs as random characters or as random Sailor Senshi depending on who you talk to. I'm also working on mixing Genesis Avalon Episode 2 as soon as I get my computer back.

12) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

I also read, write - I'm big on my own novels - and I sing for fun. ^_^ Karaoke is the shit, as it were. ^_^ I also do a lot of RPGing online. I'm a nerd, and I know it. ^_^

13) Any final thoughts/Advice?

Any advice? Oh, god.. Um... let's see. Don't get discouraged if you don't get a lead right away! Oh, man. I had to work SO hard to get anything resembling a lead. I went 3 months before I was cast in something as a lead. Had plenty of smaller roles, but it took almost three months.

14) You also produce, what has been your favourite production to work on?

Yes, producing is a lot of fun. So far, I've only done Genesis Avalon, and I can say with certainty that it will always be my baby. I am THRILLED beyond reason with my cast, ALL of them, and I really love working on it. It's never boring with them.

15) Does being a voice actress yourself help you as a producer?

Yes, I think it does. Um, when I write scripts, I make sure to put some sort of direction in there for actors, that sometimes other producers don't give me. Um, I also know how it sounds when I say a line, so I know how to get the right reaction from my actor. Um, it's definitely easier to make artistic choice when I listen to it from an actor's point of view.

16) What software do you use to produce?

I use Audacity, Adobe Audition (trial) and Cool Edit 96. - Yes, I'm an oldie. Audition and Cool Edit are what I use to edit individual lines for effects, and Audacity is by far easier for me to use when mixing the whole thing

17) Can you tell us about your current productions and anything you plan to do AVA-wise in the near future?

Current projects: I got a bunch, but let's see... Like I said, a few fandubs, bunches of radioplays. All over the place. And I'm currently waiting for a few productions to finish being mixed. My resume is like, 30 roles long as far as what I've recorded but haven't seen yet. In the future, I'm hoping to get the seasons of Genesis Avalon done and then start working on my murder mystery series in the works. Other than at, I may branch out to producing adaptions of a few thing. There's some stuff I'd like to hear. I will NEVER produce a fandub. Too much work for me and I'm ADD. ^_^ Other than that, I'm gonna keep auditioning. SO... you'll see me around. ^_^
----------------------
enjoy the interview, y'all.

[Jason Axelrod]

Very nice to read, cool to find out some things aboutya Kitsune.

And I'll surely heed your advice as well.

[Matt Alan]

XD Very nice interviews!

[fairuza]

These interviews are getting to be more and more interesting.^^
Everyone is so unique in their own ways. It's very refreshing to hear how people really feel and think about their love for VAing and what's going on in their daily lives.

Keep up the great interviews guys, you've got me hooked on this topic.:D

[Margo]

Where I acted like a complete and utter n00b. Geez, I was annoying.


Yeah... usually when I voice a character outside of that sphere I usually get at least one reponse stating, "That was Chinomi?!".

I'm guilty for both of those XD;;

This is a really cool thread =D Azure's posting lots of cool threads =P I like getting to know everyone, and this is a really good way of doing it ^_^ Thanks Azure, all the people interviewing, and being interviewed. =D This is fun ^^

[Fernie]

I might as well chime in and say I really appreciate all these interviews. Really interesting stuff, and it gives us the opportunity to get to know some of people behind the voices as well. Keep it up, I look forward to seeing more. :)

[Haushinka]

Oh yeah, and when you start a project, stick to it
Amen to that.

[Azure]

Thanks to Zelina for chipping in and suggesting and implementing more interviews!
So far I have 2 people in my que on has the questions, going to send them out to the next person.
If there are any people who only produce feel free to PM don't feel excluded!
BTW we're looking for articles and more tutorials so if anyone feels inspired by all this...let me know.

[Jing]

This is a good thing, AVA Interviews.

[Zelina]

Interview with Cristina (Cristina Vee)
=======================
1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live etc)

I'm an 18 year old Southern Californian. I'm in my first year of college right now, so I'm still struggling to adjust to my new life style. I'm Hispanic and darn proud of it too! (Just don't ask me to speak the language, I know more Japanese than Spanish XD ) People know me for my extremely weird
anime style gestures, and I'm in love with everything and anything Japanese.

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?

I was actually following Mark Sprague's dub and early Negavision stuff before I got started. I finally got behind the mic in 2001 and have been somewhat consistant ( I took a couple of long hiatuses). I've always been interested in dubbing and voice acting, so I was really excited when I discovered this medium~

3) What keeps you voice acting?

I'm in love with it, and I'm determined to get better.

4) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?

Original animations have always been a favorite of mine to voice in, so anything by Shawn the Touched and Ric de Barros have been really enjoyable, especially the Drowtales fighter.
As for fandubs, I love doing anything with Tam Tu and Sukisho because I know that the end result will be awesome.

b) The most challenging?

Hmm... recently I voiced a character named Washy in a flash animation. It was challenging because I had to create this new voice with only a picture for guidance~

5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?

Yeah. I read over the script a couple of times so I know exactly what's going on, then I'd read them aloud a few times until I'm satisfied with the emotion. Acting comes first. After that, I'll warm up my voice and find the voice that i'm going to use.

6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?

My normal voice is close to what I would describe as a Sailor Venus pitch, but I've been told multiple times that I sound like the dub Rikku and Kagome from Inu Yasha. My specialties would definately be characters in that range and high pictched small children. More often lately I've been being cast as characters with soft, sweet voices and lower pitched characters, so that makes me very happy~

7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?

Eep! There's a few actually XD. I'd love to play Ruri from Nadesico, Kagome from Inu Yasha, Excel from Excel Saga, and Zakuro from Tokyo Mew Mew.

8) Do you have any voice acting idols?

My AVA idols will always be Kate Peterson and Jennifer Alyx. As for professionals, Sandy Fox, Tom Kenny, and Tara Strong are people that I look to for inspiration
<3

9) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging?

Audio drama...which is why I try to keep away from it
as much as possible. It's just so much harder for me
to visualize the character's situations.

10) Do you have any professional aspirations?

Yes. I would not only like to voice act for anime, but for video games, original animation, TV spots, anything I can get my hands on, really.

11) What are you up to right now?

I'm really fighting for my free time right now. There is so much my time is devoted to, so I'm finding it harder and harder to get quality recording time. I'm sure i'll learn better time management skills soon though~ XD
In the studio, I'm recording for a show where I have my first re occuring character and I'm just waiting for more performance opportunities for DUP USA as well as our studio recording session.

12) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

Video games, anime/manga, comics, drawing/art, karaoke, playing the drums, reading, and playing with my adorable Chinchilla Sookie. XD! I'm also a huuuge fan of fantasy stuff (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Inheritance). A bit nerdy? Yes. >D!!

13) Any final thoughts/Advice?

Focus on your strengths and don't worry about anyone else's. If there are times when you feel discouraged about voice acting, talk to someone about it. Everyone needs a little pick me up once in a while.

14) You also produce, what has been your favourite production to work on?

Definately my He His My Master clip dub. Fexy was absolutely hilarious~!

15) Does being a voice actress yourself help you as a producer?

Kind of and not really. If I were directing everybody's different lines it would be a different story.

16) What software do you use to produce?

Adobe Premier and Photoshop for openers and stuff. My boyfriend David is the brains behind our productions, really. He does almost all the technical work and I just tell him what to do with it X3.

17) Can you tell us about your current productions and anything you plan to do AVA-wise in the near future?

I'm working on a Sailor Moon dub right now. After my PC crashed I lost all my Usagi lines, which had a TON of screaming in it. While I'm working up the courage to redo these lines, part A should be released in the next few days.
I'm also working on some ParaKiss stuff and a Japanese dub clip of a popular animated movie... >D

18) You've Gone Pro, what's it like?

I still have a hard time believing it, I never thought it would happen so quickly (I was expecting to start searching for VA work after college, I got my first
big break when I was only 16. ) But I am so thankful for every second I am in that studio. I can't express how grateful I am for it.

19) Was it hard to get where you were? Did anyone help guide you, or influenced you, in your road to VAing success?

I think it just takes a lot of determination and practice and even more luck. If it wasn't for my missing Crispin Freeman's panel, I would have never went to BangZoom's. If I didn't meet my very loud friend on the way, I would have
never gotten the chance to voice act at the panel. So I definately
thank him for that. My parents and sister also for always taking the time to drive me down there. David is my main source of emotional support, so I definately thank him for that.

20) Any advice or Tips for AVAs out there who wish to go Pro?

Do it because you love it, and take every opportunity you see. You never know what the outcome will be.

Always aiming for the top...

[S.A.]

Whoa. There's like a big bundle of interviews goin on right under my nose, how did I not know! Wow, some great interviews, more more more.

[Cefaclor]

Wheres Lila Atherly (Kitty) man? That'd be cool to read too

[Matt Alan]

>D I think Lucien would make a fun interview.

[Jing]

I think Tom would be a nice interview.

[Renken]

>D I think Lucien would make a fun interview.

Yeah, you're right. Actually, you would make a fun interview too. XD

[Maynz]

Only 16, huh? ><; And I've listened to Christina's demo. It's way good! I like how she says to talk to someone when you feel discouraged about voice acting.... ha, I'm discouraged all the time ^.^;

[Seishiro17]

Only 16, huh? ><; And I've listened to Christina's demo. It's way good! I like how she says to talk to someone when you feel discouraged about voice acting.... ha, I'm discouraged all the time ^.^;

then gimme a call, we can share our utahnian misrery

skype: seishiro17

aim: Sei kun 17

also I think lila, lucien, matt, and mariavu would be memorable additions to this fine listing.

[Maynz]

then gimme a call, we can share our utahnian misrery

skype: seishiro17

aim: Sei kun 17

also I think lila, lucien, matt, and mariavu would be memorable additions to this fine listing.

Sure thing. Added you! 801 REPRESENT, you know? And it's such a clever idea to keep this all together up like this. Guess who my idol iiiiss... ^.~ Lol.

[Jessica Adnee]

Oo wow. This is cool! I'm quite a fan of this thread. ^ ^

[Margo]

These interviews make me so happy =)

[Azure]

Azure Interviews Rica/ Erica Mendez

1.) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live)

I am 17 years old and reside in a little suburb outside of Chicago, Illinois. At the moment, I'm trying to get through my senior year of high school with plans of going to college for gaming. In fact, I've already been accepted into DeVry University, but if I get accepted into DePaul, I'm going there instead =P Surprisingly, college was easier to get into than I thought! Well, for me anyway. And I'm not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer ^^;

2.) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?

I'm honestly not quite sure. I've been around about 3 or 4 years. I think I started before the whole 9/11 thing in 2001.. so it's more than likely been 4 years. (How time flies!) And how I got started? Uh.. I think I just stumbled across FLAVA one day after browsing an interesting little site called 'Voices of the Planet' where they had voice clips of random people saying lines of their favorite Final Fantasy characters.

3.) What keeps you voice acting?

It's the only thing I've been getting progressively decent at. I usually don't stick with things all the way through after getting shot down (whether it be a bad review or just not getting cast in general) so it's all about pride really.. which is weird. Oh, and despite my modesty, I like the compliments I get! XD; Soon my ego is going to be bigger than Tamtu's. Just watch XD

4.) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?

I can't really single out a specific production. Any production where I play Naruto is always enjoyable for me =)

b) The most challenging?

Again, any production where I play Naruto XD; I can never get the voice to sound the same because I'm always trying to improve. There's always something that sounds wrong to me so I end up recording every line about 5 times each. And that's at the minimum. I'm sure you can just imagine the strain that puts on my voice XD;

5.) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?

Nope. I just dive right in. As boring as that is. But that's what leads to all of my bloopers XD;

6.) You’ve gotten a reputation for your boy voices especially Naruto, did you have to practice or was it something that came naturally?

Boy voices were something I had been wanting to do since I sarted AVAing. One of the first clips I had ever recorded was me trying to mimick Laura Bailey's young Trunks voice and I like to think that it came out pretty good, lol. And to answer the actual question, it was natural to begin with since the regular tone of my voice is usually pretty monotone and boyish but it seems to come more naturally to me now since I've done it so many times. (Practice make perfect! ..unless you suck at practicing.)

7.) Who will win in the end Naruto or Sasuke?

Oh man. Naruto, hands downs. Sasuke's got nothing on the Kyuubi! Believe it! XD

8.)Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?

I've already played a majority of the characters that I've wanted to play so this is a tough question.. I guess either of the Elric brothers from Fullmetal Alchemist? OH! Or Hiyori Sarugaki whenever the Vaizard arc in the Bleach anime comes out >D

9.) Do you have any voice acting idols?

Yesss! Quite a few actually! A lot of my inspiration comes from pro seiyuu/voice actors such as Junko Takeuchi, Megumi Ogata, Mayumi Yamaguchi, Mitsuki Saiga, Soichirou Hoshi, Greg Ayres, and Brianne Siddall. And of course there are also some AVAs here that I strive to be like; Tamtu, Sapphira, Lucien, Cristina Vee.. along with countless others. There's just too many that people I admire <3

10.) You also sing does it help with your voice acting?

It's actually the other way around. I can openly admit that I'm not the best singer but I've found that my seemingly ever increasing voice range has helped with my singing ability since I can hit notes that I wasn't able to hit a couple years ago. And I can sing in little boy voices now! It's a lot more fun than singing normally XD

11.) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging?

Audio dramas, definately. It's hard for me to get the right emotion down without having something visual to look at. There have been plenty of times when I've had lines in audio dramas that have sounded completely awkward because I had interpreted (aka read incorrectly, lol) the lines completely different than the person I'm 'speaking' to.

12.) Do you have any professional aspirations?

I want to move down to Texas and work for Funimation or ADV. Though I wouldn't mind moving to California either. (Just anywhere away from the cold!)Unfortunately, my parents don't approve of the idea of my doing VAing, so I'm stuck in Illinois until I can support myself. Which might be awhile since I've never held a job position in my life ._.

13.) What are you up to right now?

Well, I'm up to my neck in lines that are way past their deadline =B I haven't had a lot of time to record lately because of homework and my recent enfatuation with theatre. Um.. and I've been playing a lot of Star Ocean 3? But other than that, nothing really, lol. I'm a boring person =x

14.) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

Video games, anime, manga, drawing, theatre, guitar and anime conventions! I'm a total nerd =p

15.) Any final thoughts/Advice?

NEWBIES. Keep your heads high! Makes some friends on the board! There are a lot of people here who are experienced and willing to help, so don't be afraid to ask about things~ (but don't be annoying about it!) If I hadn't done any of that, well, I guess you wouldn't be reading this interview because I would have been LONG gone!

[fairuza]

That was really cool interviewing Rika,Azure!
Rika's so free-spirited and nerdy like me,lol. These interviews are getting really good!=^__^=

[Renken]

That was a nice interview. Very helpful and enjoyable! Keep it up you guys~

[Rikka]

I love these interviews as well, Miss Azure (and Miss Zelina and everybody else who interviewed somebody, as well as the interviewees XD)! Keep 'em coming~

[Azure]

Azure interviews Brandom Baus/Shadowsvoice

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
(Age, where you live) Well my name is Brandon Baus, I am 19 years old, I live in Orlando Florida, and currently work at Blockbuster.

2) How long have you been voice acting how'd you get started?
I have been Voice-Acting for two years as of October 16th. I got started by browsing through different sites. I noticed auditions for Sailor Moon Lost Episodes and decided I would give them a whirl. This was actually for Sukisho's fandubs. I got casted as Kenji Tsukino and Amade Yusuke and have kept going ever since.

3) What keeps you voice acting?
The sheer enjoyment of bringing characters to life and playing all varieties of them. Plus I want to become a professional and doing this is helping me improve.

4) a) What's been the most enjoyable production you've been in? Most enjoyable?
That would have to be The Melody of Oblivion that Nikki is doing. Bocca is such a joy to play and I cannot wait to finish that one up.

b) The most challenging?
Hmm, I suppose to most challenging one would have to be Sha Goyjo from a Saiyuki Reload Gunlock radioplay. I had to hold an accent and although I can do it real well, trying to make it stay deep enough was rough. Once I finished though and listened to it all again it actually came out well.

5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?
I will either watch the clip if it is a fandub and get a feel for what is going on. If it is a radio-play I will read the entire script and follow what the character says above me to decide how to read my line.

6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?
I would say my voice is medium-high pitched and sounds almost like a pre-teen, which makes for interesting phone calls. Lets see, specialties. Hmm...well I can do spanish accents pretty well and doing kid voices is really easy for me.

7) Which character you haven't played yet would you most like to play?
Most like to play? I suppose that would have to be Sonic the Hedgehog from SonicX.

8) Do you have any voice acting idols?
Yeah, Bob Bergen because he pursued his dream to become Porky Pig and succeeded, is so cool and willing to help others pursue their dream, and is such a nice guy.

9) You also produce, what has been your favourite production to work on? The Wolf's Rain Trailer I did because it was put together so well and the cast was excellent.

10) Does being a voice actor yourself help you as a producer?
Yes because I listen to everything with an actor's ear to help ensure that it all flows together smoothly.

11) What software do you use to produce?
Pinnacle Studio 9 for videos and for the audio I use Goldwave. Though I hope to start using protools soon.

12) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging ( as a VA
and producer)?
Radio-plays as both an actor and a producer. As an actor because I have nothing to base my performance after and as a producer because sound effects and placement of music are really hard to decide on.
13) You've played a number of the Final Fantasy heroes who have very
different personalities how did you approach each one?
Well for Cloud I envisioned myself as being in his shoes and going through all that he had to go through. This made it easy to get into character and become him. For Zidane I pitched my voice high and then remembered his movements in the game. Doing that made becoming him easy. Tidus is so happy and outgoing that I just did my best to imitate his voice and I used my own personality which is also happy and outgoing and used that. He was probably the easiest character to record and become. Wakka was probably the hardest because of his accent. To become him I went and played FFX again to hear the voice and watch his mannerisms. Once I did that I imagined I was him and it became a simple task of pretending to lose family, protect ones I love, and tossing in a horrible carribbean accent.

14) Do you have any professional aspirations?
Oh yeah, I plan to become a Voice-Actor for ADV Films as soon as I get through with college and move out to Houston.

15) What are you up to right now?
Recording lines for other series and just working a lot.

16) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?
Outside of voice-acting I draw, listen to music, watch television and anime, play games, and hang out with my friends.

17) Any final thoughts/Advice?
If voice-acting is what you want to do for living then get as much acting experience as possible. That was the advice given to me by Bob Bergen and it holds true. Thanks for letting me participate in this.

[GForce]

This is so cool! I'm always up for an interview just incase you want to her the views of a semi-noob (1+ doing this)

[Azure]

Can anyone who's PMed me recently about interviews do so again? I've lost some PMs in the crash. ( All I have on my to do list is Tamtu and Matt Alan). I'm sure I've lost the details of a few people ^^,,

[Azure]

Azure interviews Tamtu!

1 - Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I'm TamTu Bui, 21 years old, going 22 in January and currently residing in a pretty spacious attic in my family's house in the Netherlands.

2 - How long have you been voice acting/how'd you get started?
I have been doing online VAing since August 2000. I found a link to a Final Fantasy 7 Audio Project on a website called Squaregamer, and followed the link. From there, I was introduced to the wonderful world of voice acting. I went from the project forum (Totally Sux0r Productions) to FLAVA and eventually helped Azure setup the VAA the way it is now.

3 - What keeps you voice acting?
Over the past years, it's helped me immensely with my english. Living in the Netherlands, english is not my primary language, but through AVAing, I've learned a lot. Being a producer, it also gives me joy to voice with a lot of talent at the VAA.

4 - a) What's been the most enjoyable production you've been in?

It's The Big F'ing Pumpkin TamTu Bui by YdocNameloc and the XIN flash series by Lifepoint1 Entertainment. The first one was fun because I got to play an exaggerated version of myself and the project has my name in it >D. Xin has been a lot of fun because it's different from what's on the VAA. Having to voice two totally different characters has been a blast in this project and I can't wait to record for the show's conclusion.

b) The most challenging?
That would be Megaman Zero: The Last Cataclysm, a flash animation by Flamezero. I've had to voice 4 different characters in every episode so far, and then having to take over the main character added up to the roles I already had.

5 - Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?
I loosen up my vocal chords by making a motor-engine sound. That's really the only way I can describe it. It's when you push your lips together and blow through it while keeping them closed. And I read the back of a DVD to get things warmed up. But that's only when I have a lot fo recording to do. For instant lines, I do the usual script reading, reading it to myself a couple of times and record the lines.

6 - How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?
While I do believe I have a solid range, my strengths lie in my normal voice, which is suited for teens to early twenties-characters. And this can be bended to any kind of character: super hyper or smooth and silky :3 Rawr.

7 - Which character you haven't played yet would you most like to play?
I often think "If you want to voice it, do it yourself". And most of the time, I will, unless it's a character I know I can't pull off. But I'm usually up for anything. I would love to be a major voice in a videogame or something like that.

8 - Do you have any voice acting idols?
A couple, actually. Masakazu Morita, Akira Ishida, Morikubo Shotarou, Ryotaro Okiayu, Noriaki Sugiyama, James Arnold Taylor, Corey Burton, and I totally admire Jennifer Hale, Tara Strong, Nakamura Chie, Fumiko Orikasa fo being awesome ladies with pretty voices.

9 - You also produce, what has been your favourite production to work on?
I'm proud of every production I've made. I'll keep it at that. Every one of them has been a learning process for me.

10 - Does being a voice actor yourself help you as a producer?
Sure it does. It saves me from making hard casting decisions for the main character and waiting for his lines, haha. But seriously; it helps to be able to VA to coach cast members who can't get it right sometimes.

11 - What software do you use to produce?
Adobe Audition for producing audio, And Adobe Premiere and Virtuadub for video projects.

12 - You also write and produce original material does this have any special challenges for you?
Nowadays, nothing is really original anymore, so the challenge lies in being able to convince people of the new world you've created and show them it's still different from the other things. Writing character development is pretty hard if you really want a good story.


13 - Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging (as a VA and producer)?
For fandubs, I'd say it's challenging to stay in character while continuously focusing on getting the emotion and timing right. Audio drama is easier when it comes to that, but it's all about performance then. You really have to act for audio, and that's really different from screen or stage acting.


14 - How did you get involved with the VAA?
It was one of the AVA communities I occasionally visted back when I was active at FLAVA, and the website had a very useful VA directory where I frequently contacted people from. Later, when I made more and more productions, I needed more and more webspace and teamed up with Azure to share a domain for the VAA. I ended up helping out with the administration of the website and now I'm like a proud father of this pretty pretty community ;.;

15 - Do you have any professional aspirations?
Not in Holland. But maybe when I move out, ending up in the US or something.

16 - What are you up to right now?
Currently finishing up college and waiting for lines for my productions. I also need to do a crapload of lines for other people >.>;;;

17 - What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?
Watching movies and animé, reading comics and making art. Lots of art.

18 - Any final thoughts/Advice?
Be your own worst critic. If people sugarcoat you, fine, but don't do it yourself. If you know your quality sucks, do something about it. Listen to constructive criticsm and don't go on an ego craze. Be pro-active, instead of passive. If you really want to get better, practice. Imitate people on TV to the extend it helps you to improve either your acting or your range. Not to let you show off at a wedding that you can kinda sound like Sean Connery.

It worked for someone with a rather thick dutch accent, it can work for people who speak English all the time

But hey. If you're doing this for a hobby, have fun. If it's not fun anymore, then take it a few notches down. AND DON'T DO DRUGS.

The power is yours!

[KitsuneSqueak]

But hey. If you're doing this for a hobby, have fun. If it's not fun anymore, then take it a few notches down. AND DON'T DO DRUGS.

The power is yours!

W00t ^.^v this was very informative! ^.^

[Renken]

Awesome interview! Keep it up~

[Matt Alan]

XD Beautiful interview with Tamtu!

[Jing]

Well done Azure.
Another great interview.

[Azure]

Azure interviews Matt Alan


1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live)

Call me Ishmael.

>D No, really, don’t. I’m Matt Alan, a 17-year-old healthy young man from the great (not really) state of Alabama. Home of the banjo and the spirit of ignorance! I’m a dapping 6’ in height, brown wavy/curly hair and deep brown eyes that blur to black when I get angry (or when I make a mic puff.)

Currently stressing over college scholarships, but, that’s about it. >D


2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?

I’ve been a “character” since I was first put in front of a camera/mic/video recorder when I was a small child. But when I was 14, I’d just bought my first mic and was recording random things for friends when one of them said, “Hey! That sounds cool! Say these lines now!” So…I did. And I loved it. Every spare chance, I was recording lines for people, reading manga and novels aloud, but I had NO idea there were actual communities for this kind of thing. Then, my beloved Annie told me about this place she knew called “Flavor” (www.voiceacting.org) So I joined up on January 20, 2004 and from there I looked up this dude who had a cool voice and sent him a fanmail, his response was,

Hi Matt,

I'd like to say thanks for the kind words in your fanmail. It's not often I
get these ;). I hope to hear from you soon when you embark on your own VA
adventure. Join up at the VAA forums and meet other aspiring voice actors ^^

Keep it real,

=TamTu

VAA Forums: www.voiceacting.co.uk/forums/
FLAVA Forums: www.board.laflava.com

The secret is out! BLAME TAMTU. And the rest was history. >D




3) What keeps you voice acting?

Voiceacting is my drive, my passion, when I’m behind my mic; it’s like going to a whole new world, all of my own. Its like being on the stage, you’re in center stage, the main character, all eyes of the audience is on you. It’s an adrenaline rush that I can’t get enough of. Voiceacting takes me to my happy place and I never want to leave, improving my acting, my range, entertaining people with my voice.

Its vocal magic.

4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?

Hands down, the most enjoyable production has been SWAT, by Stray and Ry-Guy, based on the adventures of plastic action figures doing…. well, after five episodes and three specials…. I still haven’t figured out the plot, but it was pretty damn funny! XD

Close honorable mentions include playing Asaba for Nikki Jones’s fandub of Kare Kano and playing Rock Lee for one of Danyata’s Naruto dubs.


b) The most challenging?

My hardest recording ever, was recording one line for Battousai’s “Rurouni Kenshin Jinchuu” audio drama, “Failure is not an option for Bushinn Gattai Hyougo Kujiranami!” Sixty-two takes before I made an acceptable recording. XD;; Poor Battousai.

But the most challenging role was portraying Erik ”The Phantom of the Opera” (From Susan Kay’s novel “Phantom”, the scene is titled “The Spiders” and produced by Siren’s Calling). I have the utmost respect for the role and had wanted to play it for so long. I was incredibly nervous and really wanted to do the role justice. Hopefully, I came through. ^.~

5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?

I scream and stretch out my vocal chords, I exercise a little bit, pushups, running around, being active. I do a singing scale, Do Rei, Mi, etc. to hit my range, I sing a few lines from various songs…by this point, my voice is well ready to go! ^^


6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialties?

I’ve been told I have a “charismatic” type of voice…. I like that description. >D

I have a medium –medium low voice naturally and was blessed with a vast vocal range from uber low to sky high, to somewhere on the female scale. O.o; Specialties…hmm…I use to get typecast as “that sexy voiced guy”. Would that count? XD

7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?
Although I usually play the hero, or the anti-hero, or a love struck teenager, I yearn to play a truly evil character. My wish is to play the villain of a Gundam drama, a Char Aznable-type character, someone EVERYONE remembers.

8) Do you have any voice acting idols?

^.^ Bother professional and amateur. In the AVA Community I’ll confess that I admire: Lucien, Tamtu, Nikki Wright, Tom Galang, Edwyn and Lioncourt. They’re amazing talent and have always been there to help me out or puncture my ego.

Off the board, I look to Midorikawa Hikaru, Koyasu Takehito, Seki Tomokazu, Kazuhiko Inoue, Greg Ayres, Scott McNeil, Steve Blum, Corey Burton, …the list could go on. XD;

9) Does being a voice actor yourself help you as a producer?

It does, it gives me a better grasp of what I want from my cast when it comes to how they perform their role. I want the best from my cast and will work with them to make sure its what I get. </bitch>

10) What software do you use to produce?

Cool Edit Pro 2.1 and Adobe Premier

11) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging (as a VA and producer)?

As a VA, I’d have to say fandubbing is, simply for the fact that with audio dramas, you never have to worry about synch.

And as a producer, again fandubbing, for the same reason. Timing.

12) What are you working on right now?

VA-wise, I’m delaying the next release of Mindychan’s long awaited Sailormoon episode 48 fandub, Kairi’s radioplay adaptation of Gamerz Heaven…and several other things. ^^;

On the producing side, I’m currently awaiting lines on the highly anticipated Nights! Visuals Production of “Paradise Kiss”, expect it early January!

I’m also currently scripting an uber secretive holiday themed audio drama called “Dance to the New Year”; look for it to be released later this month! ^^

13) Do you have any professional aspirations?

Absolutely.

Hoping to start pursuing a professional career within the next year. ^^

14) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

I’m a stage actor, an artist, a writer, a gamer, and a dork

15) Any final thoughts/Advice?

I’ll give you the secret to learning how to be a better actor on the AVA level. Now follow these steps in the order described below.

1. Get your head out of your ass.
2. Shut up.
3. Listen to Lucien.
4. Shut up.
5. Accept Lucien’s critique without questioning.
6. I said shut up.
7. Read over what Lucien just said, again.
8. SHUT UP.
9. DO what Lucien suggested.
10. Make a kickass demo reel from Lucien’s critique and SHOW OFF YOUR MAD SKILLZ.

Also, don’t make excuses for your mistakes, own up to them and listen to the critique that people offer you. After all, you never know who’s watching to see if you have both, a good voice and good character.

Thank-you for taking the time to read my interview, and a special thank-you to Azure for interviewing me and for doing this. ^.^

[Azure]

Azure interviews StNick79

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live)

Yeh, no problem. My name is Nicholas Stanton. Im 26 yrs old and I live in Daphne, AL (eastern side of the Gulf). I've been living here for almost 2yrs since finishing college. Now im a full-time asst. mgr at a bar n grill restaurant.

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?

Hmm, I guess it was either 2001 or 2002 I got introduced into the AVA world. Since being a lil kid, I was a huge tv watcher (especially cartoons), and I remember always trying to imitate characters, to the extent of aggravating my bros with my
crazy voices. So being a huge anime fan, I found myself at a DBZ site one summer, and this guy was fandubbing a episode of DBZ. So I said what the hell, I can certainly do voices better than the ones they had a Funimation, so I sent him some clips.
Of course, he never finished the project, but he said he thought I was very good and recommended that I visit this VA site, that site being FLAVA. So I did, that night, I spent like 3 to 4 hrs exploring FLAVA. It was overwhelming to say the least. Most of it was Sailor Moon projects, pretty much how it is today.

But I did find one project dealing with a Fushigi Yuugi. An anime I had just finished watching. So I jumped on it. I used Windows sound recorder to audition for Nakago, and another character from the Gunsmith Cats series all in the same night, it musta been around 3am. Both projects were being produced by Nikki Jones. I was surprised to find out the next day that I was rewarded both roles, and boom, my AVA career was born. I was instantly hooked, and began auditioning for every male role possible.

Even though I've never like Sailor Moon, I audied for characters. At the beginning, I was getting roles with almost every audition. I dont know if it was becuz of the lack of males along the boards, or if I actually had VA skillz. But it was new hobby of mine,and I was enjoying every minute of it, almost like it was meant to be.

3) What keeps you voice acting?

Although I dont have as much time to VA as I did when I started, mainly cuz I have job, the simple joy of VAing keeps me interested. Like I said earlier, doing character voices is something I've had an nack for since I was a kid. Although being a pro VA is wayy off, mainly cuz of my location, I figure its still a possibility. So the more experience, the more prepared I will be when Im ready to make that jump. And also the simple fact, that I have a chance to portray other roles and personalities outside of my own, which is always cool.

4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?

Hmmm, of course I've enjoyed every role and opportunity I've been given, and its always a plus when the project actually gets completed. But I'd have to say Crimson's Shaman King fandub, I voiced Ryuu of the Wooden Sword and another chara. In this project I get to play a gangleader,which I seem to get typecast as. But Ryuu is different, as he's only a bad guy in the first episode,after that he becomes one of the good characters, so I had to change personalities with him as he has some silly scenes with Yoh and the gang. Voicing Nakago in Nikki's Fushigi Yuugi clip will always a hold a special place in my heart lol as it was my 1st AVA role.

b) The most challenging?

Most challenging? Actually the projects where I've had to portray myself. Some might find it hard believe, but I guess the challenging part comes when trying to take the script a producer has written for ur personality and actually try to make it sound natural. Obviously the producer doesnt know u that well, so the accuracy of his portrayal and ur true personality will be pretty low. Luckily, producers like Masahiko (who's known for the VAA Conspiracy) and Ydoc (responsible for the Charlie Brown special parodies) were cool enough to allow me to adlib and adjust their scripts in order to make my recording easier.
In the end, it was a success as I received lots of positive feedback, which is always good.

5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?

Guess it depends on the role, if I'm doing lines for a reoccuring role, I usually recite some old lines from previous clips to get into character. If its for a new role, I just use my imagination. Most of the time with fandubs, the producer provides pics of the charas and I can just look at the pic and think "How would this guy sound if I met him?" And then just experiment with voices and styles.

It also depends on the time of the day I'm recording, if its early in the morning, I'll make sure i have som water nearby, and I'd prolly sing a song or 2 to get my vocal cords going. If its in the middle of the day, I've pretty much done enough talking to where I can just jump right into the recording and go from there.
Oh yeh, I have to be wearing a diaper while I record....just makes me feel more comfortable knowing my buddies are pretty secured down there.....


just joking.

7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?

I think everyone would like to voice the main hero, but alas, Im too old, and most main heros these days are lil whiny teenagers lol. So I'm pretty happy to play the slightly older teens who gets to pick on the main hero.

Do you have any voice acting idols?

I have respect for any VA who can do multiple voices and make them sound like completely different characters. So ppl like Hank Azaria, Dan Castellaneta, Scott McNeil are some of favs. People like Chris Sabat who fail at doing multiple characters are not lol

9) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging ( as a VA and producer)?

As a VA, definitely audio dramas are the toughest for me. Hence my lack of success at getting roles in rps. With original characters, its ur job as the VA to create the image of that person in ur head. Sometimes ur lucky to get a detailed description of the character from the producer which really helps, but most of the time, u just get a voice range.

Voicing original characters are great cuz u get to make the character ur own. Fandubs are much easier, cuz pretty much every aspect of line delivery is laid out before u. You just have to add the voice.

10) You’ve played ‘yourself’ a few times in parody productions? is it any different from playing another character?

I think the biggest difference I've found in playing myself in productions than other characters is with the script. Like I mentioned before, most of the time, the producer more than likely wont have the most accurate portrayal of u scriptwise. Mainly becuz he doesnt get to spend time with you everyday. So ur mannerisms and other attributes, you have to incorporate into the script urself.

With other characters, you pretty much go with ur given scriptwise. Of course, if the producer gives u the green light to adlib and improvise when needed, it gives u an opportunity of adding ur own spin and flavor to the character and story.

11) Do you have any professional aspirations?

I think being a pro VA would be one of the most enjoying jobs to have. Despite the low-pay, Im sure you can have a 2nd job in order to make sure ur livelihood is stable and secured. But anytime u look at urself in the mirror and say "I love my job!" the word "work" doesnt come into play. You're getting paid to something you would probaly do for free.

Its probably a lame excuse to have, but Im not in a location where I feel I can honestly pursue a pro VA career. I understand that when u have a dream, you have to make sacrifices and risks in order to achieve ur dream. But in reality, sometimes you have to do whats best for u at the present time. So in the meantime, Im working to get myself together. I dont wanna have a job where Im struggling to keep the rest of my life together, no matter how much I enjoy the job. If that makes any sense.

12) What are you up to right now?

Right now, besides answering this interview of course, Im just working as much as possible, saving up money. So when I am ready for a big move, I'll be well prepared. Doing the dating scene, not really be aggressive about it, if a girl comes along who I happen to like, I just let things happen, not really trying to force it. Did I answer ur question? lol I think I said more than what u were asking for.

13) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

Outside of VAing, I love art, being able to draw n paint when time allows. I enjoy hiphop music, I go clubbing pretty frequently now as Im enjoying my new found passion of DANCING. lol i was even in a hiphop dance class for a cpl months, but it closed, but I think we're all gonna get together to work on this performance show in May, so I'll keep yall updated. Its good exercise and pretty much anything that allows me to be creative, I do. And with dancing, although we did learn some routines, my fav was the freestyle, where we get to let loose, and believe me, u see me in the club, you'll be like WTF is he doing?? But at the same time, my sh1t be tight....and what!

14) Any final thoughts/Advice?

With any form of art, whether its acting, painting, singing, drawing, whatever, you only get out of it what u put in. So the more u practice, the more u improve. In the world of art, the phrase "I can't" does not exist. Its ur masterpiece and composition, anything is possible if u want it to be.

Thank you Azure for giving me a chance to shed some light about myself to the VA community. I feel it was long overdue. Dont be scared to talk to me ppl, I WONT BITE.......hard

[Matt Alan]

o.o I didn't know all that about Nick. ....Lets hang out sometime, eh Nick?

[KitsuneSqueak]

*pokes mr. kickity* Hi Ishmael.

[Margo]

Children! Gather 'round!! We have a long, magnificent interview with GForce! Let us begin!!

An interview with Mr. G-Force
Interview by ME, Margo Lee!

1. Q: How about some general info on yourself?
A: My name is Gerardo Miguel Paz and I'm 19 years old. Currently I live in Union City which is a small town subburb and I go to college at San Fransisco State University.

2. Q: When did you start voice acting? Why/how did you start?
A: Well I can be considered an old newbie as I've been voice acting for only a year. I'd LIKE to think my entrance into the wonderful world of VAing was different as it started with a role that had me act along side with TamTu, Tom, Edwyn, Serena, Lucien and Hakusinka. It all began with a series called XIN found at www.lifepoint1.com and the creators were holding open auditions for their season two characters. Being a huge fan of the flash cartoon I began recording my first lines and surprisingly I got the role. After that I heard Haushinka mention the VAA off on a tangent and that's how I came here.

3. Q: When did you start producing?
A: Well my first radioplay was for a series called Code Lyoko where I got the theme song stuck in my head. However, when it comes to the VAA, you can blame Fallen399 for that. He made a radioplay for one of his friends for her birthday and wanted it to be mixed with background music a since he knew I can edit audio. Course the guy decides to give it to me at nine o'clock at night the evening before the shindig. What resulted was the most fast paced three hours of producing that I ever did before. For some reason I always cast Fallen as the lead in my productions. I kinda see ourselves as like John Woo and Chow Yun Fat.

4. Q: What was your first role?
A: It was from XIN. In it I played a student by the name of Hanto who would always fight with his hands in his pockets. The biggest irony of the role was that I LOOKED like the character. I totally identified with him and it's a role I'm still passionate with....maybe that's because I'm still playing him.

5. Q: What was your first production?
A: Well my first REAL production that I posted on the VAA was "The VA Lesson that Wasn't Right." It was an excerise in my random sense of humor and a work of love to produce as it was seventeen minutes long. It was pretty rough around the edges in terms of production values but people connected with the insane amount of fun Fallen and I were having...that and I took a few jabs at TamTu. All in good fun though, I totally respect and admire that guy.

6. Q: What is your favorite part of voice acting?
A: It's all about being someone you're not. I mean you can do it in regular acting but to a certain extent. Sure on stage I can be a rich old man who rants about being shot at in the ear but in voice acting I can portray a classy chef who can murder you with his right foot. I agree with Lucien's views full heartedly. I can be so much more in voice acting. A serial killer, an obnoxious teenager, a flirt, Sean Conery all in the same piece.

7. Q: What is your favorite part of producing?
A: Producing let's you do what you want how you want it. If there's an anime I want to dub or a specific radioplay idea I want to hear I don't have to pull my hair out in anticipation to wait for it. I have plenty of crazy original ideas swimming in my head right now and when I'm glad enough I understand my mixing software well enough to get them out there.

8. Q: What sort of troubles do you run into while acting?
A: As an actor it's definatly the fact I overact. In the "VA Lesson That Wasn't Right" I was playing myself and I'm normally that energetic/sarcastic in real life. I can get caught up in the moment rather easily as it doesn't take a lot to get me excited and fired up about something. This causes my voice to flux rather unusually. It's fun to experiment but I try to keep things under wraps. However I think my BIGGEST weakness is singing. I don't sing but I wish I could. It was something I was never really pushed at when I was young and it painfully shows. What I lack in that area I make up in emotion and feeling.

9. Q: Why do you voice act? Why do you produce?
A: I voice act to escape. There are so many characters that I idolize and live through and having the opportunity to play their voice adds yet another later with my connection with them. The reason why I produce is to prevent myself from going insane....well more insane than usual. Once an idea enters my head I can't think of anything else as I become obsessed with it. Producing is my catharsis for it allows me to get these crazy ideas out in the open.

10. Q: What has been your favorite production to work in?
A: By far it's playing Hanto in XIN. The series is just that good and it has developed quite a fanbase on the internet thanks to Newgrounds and www.lifepoint1.com. It's stuck with me so much and I love it to death. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

11. Q: Is there anyone you look up to?
A: It's long overdue but I have to say I have the upmost respect for TamTu. People might think I like making fun of him because of all the jokes and imitation clips I make of the guy but in all honesty its all in good fun. I really consider the man to be a friendly rival and I keep pushing myself to get on his level. Aside from TamTu, I also look up to Lucien Dodge and Edwyn. Lucien is an AMAZING VA and I even used a similar formula for my demo that he employeed as I thought it was a wonderful idea. With Edwyn....c'mon, how can you NOT like that suave voice? In terms of professional voice actors I have a few. First there's Steven Jay Blum as I think he has the most amazing voices. Sure people might think he's overused but everytime he's in a dub it's going to be good. Then there's Matthew Geczy who's another awesome VA and a wonderful person to know. He's been supporting me in my endeavors and acknowledges my talent as an actor so that's always encouraging.

12. Q: Do you do any other types of acting? What kind?
A: Currently I'm studying stage acting in college. Before that I was in my high school's speech and debate team where I was able to perform humerous pieces in tournaments. Last year my partner and I made it to the state championships were we took 28 in the state of California. With results like that we must be doing something right.

13. Q: What types of characters do you think you play well?
A: Hands down it's the comic relief/best friend character. Usually when I audition for those roles I end up getting the part as that type of personality I play rather easily. I always love to add a touch of sarcasm and false brovado to my lines as that's how I bring the role to life.

14. Q: What type of equipment/software do you use? How do you like them?
A: I use Adobe Audition and Premiere. I've gotten good with it enough so that I can produce decent clips but I still have much to learn. Overall I highly recommend these programs for any producer.

15. Q: How long do you hope/plan to continue voice acting/producing?
A: Just what I'm doing now. Auditioning for more roles and writing up more scripts. I really don't see myself quitting anytime soon.

16. Q: Do you want to go pro?
A: After paying six-hundred dollars on a SURE KSM 32 condenser microphone and a one-hundred and thirty dollar mixer, I have just passed the point of no return. My acting abilities have been improving and it shows through my voice work. Going pro is something I would really want to achieve.

17. Q: Are there any productions you want to be in? Any characters you hope to be?
A: Well aside from more One Piece projects, I would love to see someone do a radioplay of Megas XLR as I think I would make an excellent Jamie. However I started playing Phoenix Wright for the Nentendo DS and now I'm convinced that it would make an excellent radioplay. It would be soooooo cool!

18. Q: What do you do outside of voice acting and producing?
A: I have a ton of hobbies. Aside from the usual thing of watching anime and playing video games, I like to cosplay sometimes. In terms of physical activities I love to dance and practice martial arts on my own. My dance style is a mixture of pop-n-lock, Michael Jackson, breakdancing and hip-hop which is always a plus.

19. Q: Your "How do you describe your normal speaking voice?" thread has become very popular. Why did you decide to start it?
A: I used to get complimented on how unique my voice was but I was always a loss of words when it came to describing it. I always thought that there must be other people out there who have encountered similar problems so I created this thread. It all fell underneath the principal that if you couldn't describe your voice, someone else might be able to. I'm really surprised on how popular it has become and I'm really greatful that other AVAs have taken a crack at the task as well. I'd like to thank Pyromaster and Hisoka for keeping the users at bay when I'm lazy with requests as I'm kinda lazy like that. I don't really consider myself a real voice analyst. I just write whatever I think on how a person sounds. It really baffles me that people sound a certain way on a day to day basis and I think that's so cool!

20. Q: Let's wrap up with any advice or last comments you have!
A: The biggest thing people look for in the VAA is commitment. If you win a role or start a project you better finish it. When word gets out that you're a reliable AVA or producer then you will be rewarded in the future.

Thank you, GForce, for your time =) And, children, heed GForce's intelligent words!

[Azure]

Azure interviews PhotoShopTimeRyan

1)Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live)
A- I'm 20 years old and I live in Saint John, New Brunswick. New Brunswick is a province in Eastern Canada.

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?
A- I've started late spring/early summer of this year. I came across the VAA board somehow, I can't exactly remember how, but it was most likely through random surfing through the net and I've been a member ever since and proud of it.

3) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?
A- Well, I'll answer that in two parts: productions or should I say production I myself have voice acted in and productions I myself am producing. As of this interview, I'll say that my most enjoyable production, voice acting wise was having a role in the Family Guy 3 part radio play because it was my first one. I'll note that my original role was William Frawley from I Love Lucy, but since the producer couldn't find a suitable Desi Arnez, he cut that I Love Lucy scene and so I became Bill in the 3rd act. It's funny, whenever I tell someone outside the VAA about how the producer couldn't find a suitable Desi, they get really surprised and say something like, "That's not a hard voice to do." and I think to myself, "Well, you should have auditioned then." But as far as producing, I've been having fun with all of the stuff I'm doing. Right now, I'm co-producing a 3 act cartoon, Styles Clash [still looking for auditions by the way], but as for radio plays, Pants, the one radio play I have produced so far is memorable to me because it was the first one produced and basically it was an experience of learning how to mix and getting my feet wet with directing. Other stuff I'm doing like Photoshop Time, Parkbench'95, Entropia, I Want To Go Home, etc, I can tell that the voice actors involved with the productions are really into their roles and are exicited to be apart of them and that makes the experience even greater.
b) The most challenging?
A- Probably Styles Clash on a couple of levels. It's the first 3 act cartoon I ever wrote and also the first production where it's really a collaberation with an animator and designers who are also writers [pitching stuff for this having written their own scripts]. Jay and Scott have been great to work with on this. Each of them bringing something to this that just makes this production more fun than challenging. But the real challenge has been a lot of radio plays I'm producing all at once. It's a challenge because they're so many, but I'm having a blast having such a variety of scripts to work with.


4) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?
A- Of course. I do standard vocal warm ups. As far rituals, the only thing I do, out of habit, is basically pace around before I sit down and record.

5) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?

A- Kind of a deep timber to it. I really have that radio voice/apperance mismatch with it. I have this deep voice that should make me much older but my appereance, I've been told... many times by people that I look like I'm 15 or 16 and some of the roles I've done on stage and film, are characters that are that age or sometimes younger... I have some, all be it, small range of making it high. Real radio type. I remember working at a call center and a lot of times when the person on the other line who say "no thanks" to whatever I was selling them, they would say something like, "You got a voice that should be in radio." Specialities, I'm still working on, but I can do a real broad Phil Hartman like voice. What I'm working on is trying to make original voices rather than impressions of people and I really got to practice that when I worked at a call center but now that I have a clerk job for the time being, I don't really get a chance to work on voices. It would be weird for someone buying something from me when I do like my pompus, overly critical stage director voice in front of them.


6) You’ve also taken part in live action projects ( stage and film) how is this different from voice acting? Do the two disciplines compliment each other?

A- Well, what I try to do is use my voice acting as apart of my acting in general. When I was in the stage version of Photoshop Time, I played the role of Burt, a rather one note character for the most part, so I decided to give him more characteristics and doing different types of voices, in terms of pitch and tone for his lines was one of them. In a short movie I was in called "Own Worst Enemy" where I played as Andrew Edwards, both in his younger years as a WWI soldier and as 115 year old version of himself. When I did the 115 year old man scene, I tried to do body acting to help get an idea of what I can do with the voice, but when you're acting as 115 year old person, it's not hard to get the idea to have a really desicated tone in your voice, because come on... you're 115 years old for crying out loud. But I basically try to use my voice to compliment any of the stage or live action stuff I do.


7) Do you have any voice acting idols?
A- Dan Castellaneta, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Maurice LeMarche, Frank Welker, Lorenzo Music, but most of all, Phil Hartman.
You also write, does being a voice actor help you with your writing?
A- It does in some sense, if I think of each line in a script and some possible outcomes of the readings of the lines that the actors will do when they get the script, although you can't 100% predict what'll happen in that sense. What I do now when I write my scripts is basically try to seperate the actor in me when I work on it until I get some drafts in and I'm reading it myself and sometimes in the voice of what I think the character should sound like to see if everything fits.


9) What software do you use to produce?
A- Audacity

10) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging ( as a VA and producer)?
A- As of right now with the experience I have, I would find doing a fan dub to be more challenging. But fan-dubs are something that I don't have a lot of interest in doing mostly because I like the fact with audio dramas you can have all the dialogue you can get to progress the story and that's what exicites me as a writer.


11) You’ve also produced some radio plays, do you have any special techniques or tricks you’d like to share?
A- Well, since I've only fully produced one, I don't think I can give a whole lot of advice on the technical aspects of it, but I will say that as a director, I'll spend a lot of time with the actors about their characters and the story more than most producers would. I'm talking about VERY long e-mails and VERY long conversations on MSN and AOL IM. Ask someone like Pyromaster, Jiffy, Zelina, or basically anyone that's in one of my productions.



12) Do you have any professional aspirations?
A- Ya, having a living doing something in the entertainment buisness. I would really love to see Styles Clash grow into an actual TV series and one of my biggest dreams is to write scripts and do acting, both voice and live action as well.


13) What are you up to right now?
A- Working on Styles Clash and the many other productions, including an episodic radio play mini-series, and writing scripts filled with obscure references about TV shows, movies, plays from Saint John Theatre Company: Second Stage, webtoons, webcomics and wrestling.


14) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?
A- Did I mention I enjoy writing scripts?

15) Any final thoughts/Advice?
A- Yes, that this has been a lot of fun and hope to see the VAA grow. Cheap plug: Please audition for Styles Clash today!

[Azure]

Azure interviews Cheetahd586

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live)
-Well, I am an 18 year old high school student from Wisconsin, and I’m single! I currently work part time as a cashier in a grocery store as well as trying to further my voice acting career.

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?
- I have been voice acting for as long as I can remember, but actually formally doing it on the VAA for about a year and a half. I had been lurking around the VAA and FLAVA far before that, but I never had a microphone or anything for my computer until then. When I first started out, I never thought that voice acting would turn into the obsession it has for me. First, I started out very apprehensive and I HATED my voice, but now I rather enjoy listening to what I can make words on a page turn into. The first production I was in was a Petshop of Horrors RP that never got released, but it’s what really jump started my interests.

3) What keeps you voice acting?
-First of all, the people on the VAA are awesome, and I love the endless night chats on AIM and the random chats I have with people. If I didn’t enjoy the people I definitely would not have stuck around for this long. I love the fact that there can be two dubs of the exact same clip, and they will turn out completely different from one another. I always have a blast doing recordings and if I have fun with something, I stick with it. Another reason I stick with it is because I firmly believe that to become a pro VA training and practice are essential, and the VAA provides that.



4a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?
-Oh wow, that is a tough one. I can tell you my favorite role is one I am recording right now. I am playing Agumon in FET’s fandub of Digimon Zero Two: Episode 1. I have finally found a voice that I think I can almost sound exactly like the dub! I just love the character of Agumon because he is so different than anything I’ve ever played before. My favorite production was probably the Fushigi Yugi Bus Ride dubs that Sukisho did, I played Tasuki and just had a blast recording probably the weirdest lines I have ever had the pleasure of recording.
b) The most challenging?
- I just wanted to say that challenging isn’t a bad thing by any means, as an actor any role that forces you to work hard is a good one. The most challenging production I’ve ever been in has to be Tiger’s Quest. It was my first paid role, so I had no idea what to expect, and I wanted every line to be perfect. I did about 15 takes on each line until I was happy with them. It was the first project I’ve ever done where I went into it nervous that I wouldn’t do a good enough job.


5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?
-I will always sing a song in the range of the character I am going to play. If it’s a really high I will sing a tenor song. If I have to sound a little feminine, I will sing a song entirely in falsetto, up the octave. I believe there is no better warm up than singing. I should add that I never consciously warm up, it just kinda happens. When I have to do a lower voice, I make sure I record in the morning, right when I wake up.



6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialties?
- This is another great question, and one that I’m not sure I can answer. I guess I would describe my voice as young, high, and unique. I tend to think that I have a very unique voice that is hard to describe. I tend to over articulate, so I have had a problem with mic puffs from time to time, but that’s another story. As far as specialties, I always seem to be the teenager or pre-teen hero. This is fine with me because I love playing those roles. Again though, Agumon and Tasuki are the 2 roles where I have been able to pretty much sound exactly like the dub, which was fun.



7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?
- I really don’t have a specific role in mind, but I would love to play a villain. Because villains are usually very deep and low voiced, a tenor like me can’t usually play them. I definitely enjoy the evil parts though, and hopefully there will be some high voiced villains in some things.



8) Do you have any voice acting idols?
-My two main professional idols are Ian James Corbett (Cheetor from Beast Wars, Coconuts from The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, etc.) and Joshua Seth (Tai from Digimon, Hige from Wolf’s Rain, etc.). I think that they are amazing and I love the fact that they are famous VAs for 2 different reasons. Mr. Corbett has an endless arsenal of different voices he can use, and Joshua Seth is famous because he has one voice he mainly uses. Some other VAs I look up to are Michael Reisz, Greg Cipes, Brianne Sidell, Tara Strong, Wendee Lee, and Melissa Fahn. My VAA idols are Matt Alan, MariaVu, Lucien, the list goes on and on, but whether you know it or not, I admire everyone on the boards. Everyone here is so talented, and it is so much fun to be in projects with you guys!




9) What software do you use? Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging?
- I use audacity for all of my recording needs! I think it is one of the simplest programs out there, and it’s free. You can’t beat that! I absolutely love doing dubs, because you have some video to go off of when trying to record lines. Audio dramas are probably the most challenging for me because I have nothing to base my performance off of, I have to go off the script and what minimal instruction from the director/producer. Although creating new voices for audio dramas are fun, and you aren’t held to the pressure to sound like the English VA (assuming the project is an original)



10) Do you have any professional aspirations?
-Definitely. I am planning to go to either Northern Illinois University or Northwestern University to double major in theatre and broadcasting, and hopefully start with some small jobs in Chicago, but after college I hope to move to LA to do voice acting professionally. I really want to focus on animation, but I will take whatever comes my way as far as jobs go.


11) What are you up to right now?
-Doing this interview, watching the NFL playoffs… But if you mean voice acting wise, I am currently recording lines for FET’s Digimon fandub and auditioning for various projects that seem to spark and interest for me. I don’t think I have any other lines due... I have also started on trying to get a 3rd demo done.


12) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?
- I am a huge lover of music. I sing and dance in one of the top showchoirs in the nation (Onalaska Hilltopper Showchoir) I’m a gamer, a huge one actually. I like to read, uh what else? I work as a cashier as I believe I said above, and I play poker.



13) Any final thoughts/Advice?
-To all those aspiring voice actors out there such as myself, never give up. Don’t get discouraged if people say that you can’t do it, because you can if you put your mind to it. Never settle for good, be the best you can be. Never stop creating new voices or perfecting the ones you already have a handle on. Audition for everything you can realistically participate in, and get your name out there. Make sure you love what you are doing, because if you don’t absolutely love voice acting, it’s no fun. Thanks for the interview, hope someone out there learned something :grin:

[Battousai]

My hardest recording ever, was recording one line for Battousai’s “Rurouni Kenshin Jinchuu” audio drama, “Failure is not an option for Bushinn Gattai Hyougo Kujiranami!” Sixty-two takes before I made an acceptable recording. XD;; Poor Battousai.

LMAO. Still have those too. :P

[MaNa Shuffle]

Nice Interviews Azure :)

[Azure]

Azure interviews Masako

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live)

1) Well, I'm 19 and I live in the county of Hampshire, England. I'm current
a first-year at the University College of the Creative Arts, Farnham where
I'm learning Digital Screen Arts - that encompasses everything from digital
video to audio mixing. (which is what I'm doing all the time here! ^^ )

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?


2) I've been voice acting since October 2005, so that's coming up to about
six months now. I had been watching the flash series, Bonus Stage, and I was
inspired by Matt Wilson's vocal range. However, when the voice of the main
character Elly and I first heard her, I was all the more motivated to become
a voice actor because of the energy that she put into the role. I contacted
her and asked for help to make a demo and she did. After that, she pointed
me towards the VAA and the rest is e-history. I hold that day close to my
heart.

3) What keeps you voice acting?

3) Put simply, the community! This place is so friendly. I got a lot of help
getting started and I still do with my productions. Plus it's nice to have a
laugh and get to know everybody on the board, it makes things much more
relaxed. Also, I find doing voices immense fun! Doing henshin clips or
dramatic voices are the best because it means I can be over the top without
having to worry about being too loud.

4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?
b) The most challenging?

a)The most enjoyable production I've been in has to be the Flash series,
Sanon Legends on Newgrounds. I play the main character, Keane and it
involves a lot of funny lines and cool interaction with characters. Plus it
entails power-up screaming which I love doing! It was the first flash series
I'd been a part of and it meant I could be as creative as I wanted to as it
was a new show.
b) It would have to be doing lines for Zakuro's Tokyo Mew Mew RP. It wasn't
challenging as in poor quality (it was very well written) or stressful, just
long! XD About 92 lines for volume 1 alone meant I had to stay in character
for a long time and it kinda hurt my voice afterwards...no wonder, 92's a
lot! :3


5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you
record?
5) As in rituals, I don't have a set ritual. I generally just limber up my
vocal chords and do some test lines to get an idea for what the character
sounds like. That way I can refer back to it if I can't remember half way
through recording!


6) Are there any professional VAs or productions that inspire you?

6)Professional VAs - yes. Yuji Ueda and Masako Nozawa are my two favourite
seiyuu because of their range and performance in all their productions. They
inspired me to become wacky and be dynamic when I record my lines. Also,
Maria Vu has been a big help to me by giving me the oppurtuinty to voice in
her productions and learn a lot from it.

7) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?

7) Well, British really. It's kinda high for my age yet my parents tell me
that I've always had a lower voice but I don't think so. During the early
teenage years, I couldn't stand my voice, it sounded so whiny and high. But
over the last couple of years, it's gotten lower and more adapt to different
accents and tones which allowed me to even consider voice acting at all.

8 ) Can you tell us about Nomad and some the inspirations behind it?

8 ) The Nomad was originally a piece I did for a film festival back in 2002.
Since it was only four minutes long, I wanted to build up on it and over the
years I added bits, so it became a little more substantial. Once I joined
the VAA, I realised that I could fulfil my dream and perform the Nomad as a
radioplay. It motivated me to write 6 scripts for it and finally allowed me
to get closure on the story. It's kinda sad that after four years, it's over
in some capacity. I got my inspiration from it, simply by tossing up words
about a wanderer, hence the title The Nomad. But for the scripts, the
inspiration was drawn from productions such as Nadesico and Record of Lodoss War because of their deep narrative and involving dialogue which isn't
obvious and makes you think.

9) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?

9) Well, I got cast for Usui Kenta in Karin shortly after I arrived at the
VAA, but the production never materialised so I never got to actually record
for it, so it would be nice to do it eventually. I'd also like to play
Suguru from Mahoromatic as he's kinda like a younger Keitaro (Love Hina) and
would be interesting to attempt.

10) You also produce, what has been your favourite production to work on?

10) I'm currently producing a Silent Mobius fandub (the prelude is available
to watch in the Visual Projects thread) which I am finding very fun to work
on. It's action packed and sound intensive which means everything has to
sound right and be synched very well. It's one I'm definetly learning a lot
from!


11) Does being a voice actor yourself help you as a producer?

11) Oh most definetly. It allows me to get an idea about how I want the
character to sound like and pronounce certain words. If I have an idea about
how it should sound, I know that my cast will be able to handle that line. I
can relate when I find an awkward-sounding sentence in all sorts of
productions! XB


12) What software do you use to produce?
12) For fandubs, I use Adobe Premiere Pro, as I'm also learning to use it at
university. It helps get an idea about how to use the software and in terms
of audio layering and real-time editing, it's a godsend! For audio editing
and radioplay creation, I use Adobe Audition. It's so good with layered
audio and sound effects. Plus it's Noise Reduction feature is so much help.


13) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging ( as a VA and producer)?
13) Well, I don't find either exactly hard or challenging, but in terms of
getting things right, fandubs would be the harder because of lip synch. With
radioplays, you can sort it out however you like; with fandubs it's not so
easy. With the added factor of visuals to worry about, it can get annoying
when something doesn't match up or if the sound effects don't sound well in
relation to the actions. :/

14) Do you have any professional aspirations?
14) Of course I do! I realise that I couldn't be a voice actor as my main
job. It'd have to be a secondary job as not much work comes around in the
UK! Plus the pay would be a little too sparse on its own for my liking.

15) What are you up to right now?

15) Well, at this moment I'm typing up answers to this review! ^^ But other
than that, I've just finished recording a song by Ronan Keating which I'd
been meaning to do for ages.


16) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

16) Well, as my voice acting interests encompass my university work, it
pretty much covers most of my digital hobbies. But outside of that, I like
motorsport, Formula 1 in particular. I also used to play online racing with
some friends, but I kinda realised that it wasn't as constructive as it
should've been unlike AVA-dom.


17) Any final thoughts/Advice?
17) Well, I just wish to say thank you to all of the producers that have
casted me for their productions - it means a lot to me and I appreciate the
support! Also, for those who are new to voice acting, it's a lot of fun and
you're going to enjoy yourselves ultimately. Sure there may be times that
you get swamped with lines to record, but with every script you do, you get
a strong sense of satisfaction which spurs to keep going. So, keep at it!
v^^

[Lucien]

Yayyy the AVA interviews continue :D

[Azure]

Azure interviews Mindy

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live)
My real name is Mindy Owen, 23 years old, married, and living in
northeastern Mississippi. I met my husband online over 5 years ago; he
auditioned for the role of Thomas Woolfe in my Sabrina Online Radio
Play so the voice acting universe is a bigger part of my life than most
people's! I've lived in Mississippi all of my life but we're certainly
looking elsewhere to rest our rumps.



2) How long have you been voice acting and how’d you get started?
I have been amateur voice acting online for over 6 1/2 - 7 years now
although not a lot of people on the VAA know about me because I'm not
very social at all. When I was a child, I made my own mock "radio
station", muted the television during my favorite cartoon episodes so I
could "voice act", and did all sorts of audio and video manipulations
and projects before I even had a computer. I've wanted to voice act
ever since I knew there were real LIVE people who did those voices.



3) What are the best and worst things about voice acting?
The best things certainly outweigh the bad (for me, at least); the best
things for me are being able to come up with all these different voices
for different characters and becoming somebody completely... well,
different. I've always had self-conscious problems so becoming another
entity for even ten minutes thrills me. I'm not quite social enough to
become a stage or screen actor so voice acting works best for me. Also,
I like confusing people with my voice.



4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?
All of the productions I've EVER participated in have been enjoyable,
but I would have to say the role as the character "Creep", an adorable
webspider, in Lanton Entertainment's "Georgina and Creep Show" episodes
have been... interesting. Most of us know that when you take on
copyright characters, you are held up to a standard but with original
characters-- it's fair game. Creep is just like me: bouncy, random, and
cute! I gave him my own voice and really brought out his (and mine!)
personality with each show. Creep's creators pretty much give me full
reigns and ol' Creepy boy and I ride off into the sunset!



b) The most challenging?
So far, my role as "Garrel" in Shangster Shan's "Silly Kingdom" chapter
2 because of the massive pool of talent in that cast and Shangster
Shan's towering, respectful demeanor. I had a small role, but man, did
I retake every single over a million times. My amateur voice acting
sessions are not very long, but I spent a good three hours on less than
10 lines for that production!



5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before
you record?
Actually, I don't. Maybe just a glass of water or singing "Do-Re-Me",
humming a few bars.. nothing too spectacular. I dive right in (which
probably isn't the best idea but it works for me!)


6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?
I'm 23 years old and sound WAY younger- naturally, too. A guy once
described my laughter like this: "It's funny when you laugh- it is like
a baby with many other babies, in a giant floating balloon". I guess my
voice could be described that way, too. As for specialities, I can
pretty much mimic anything that's within my range. I come up with my
best voices and impersonations while driving my vehicle. My medium-low
range is quite good although I don't get to use it very often in
productions. It's my "motherly" voice and it fools people everytime.



7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?
This is going to sound silly, and I'm not a big Pokemon fan, but
recently I have perfected my "Ash Ketchum" voice so snagging an Ash
role would really make my VAing day. A role as Babs Bunny from "Tiny
Toon Adventures" or Dot from "Animaniacs" would be nifty as those two
characters (Tress MacNeille!!!) were my inspiration for pursuing a
possible voice over career.



Do you have any voice acting idols?
TRESS MACNEILLE!! THE woman who started it all for me. I love her work
so much that I can practically point out her voice ANYWHERE and I
strive to be as versatile and accomplished as she is! Veronica Taylor,
Cam Clarke, Rob Paulsen, Wayne Grayson, John Campbell, Robbie Rist,
Robin Williams.. want me to keep going?



9) You also produce, what has been your favourite production to work
on?
My favorite production to date: Sailor Moon episodes 45 and 46. The
fruit of my fandubbing labor. A lot of sweat, determination, and
colorful words went into that production and I'm VERY VERY proud of it.
It has recieved so many good reviews and recommendations from people
all over the world- it truly is my landmark production and is only a
glimpse of what is yet to come. (Sabrina Online Radio Play is a very
close second!)



10) Does being a voice actress yourself help you as a producer?
Yes, it does. As a producer, I coach the voice actors and help them
reach goals with their work that they never thought possible, and in
turn, this helps ME, personally, with furthering my voice acting
boundaries. All of this gives me warm butterflies in my tummy.



11) What software do you use to produce?
Goldwave and Adobe Audition/Cool Edit. I was a Goldwave junkie for the
longest until I tinkered with the wonderful multi-trackness from Adobe
Audition/Cool Edit. I swear- THE best thing since baked, gooey
brownies.



12) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging ( as a VA
and producer)?
Believe it or not-- audio drama! With the fandubs, you have the visual;
with audio- you don't and you have to make SURE the audience KNOWS
what's going on. This is a very tricky process and one that most
overlook, even I did in my early days of amateur producing.




13) You’ve worked on the Sabrina Online Radio play which has run for a
long time, what are the challenges and rewards of such a long running
project?
The rewards: accomplishment, respect in the community, both audience
and project members, encouragement, a dedicated fan following, always
room for improvement, and just the excitement of mixing something
totally new... with the same characters and story.
Challenges: rabid fanboys/girls, endurance, meeting deadlines,
disappearing/quiet voice actors, recasting actors who go on leave,
KEEPING a similiar voice for each character when the main actor leaves,
keeping EACH episode interesting, and co-producer drama. Oy. Yes, all
my challenges are "annoyances".



14) You work in commercial radio can you tell us a bit about that?
I work for Clear Channel Broadcasting and mostly sit in a studio making
sure shows go on the correct stations, the network spots are ripped
into the system, and nobody loses their job. I work there mostly on the
weekends so my commercial voiceovers are quite limited, but I do get to
pick up a copy and read for the masses. Weekends also call for
deejaying/radio broadcasting.. and that's extremely fun. While I must
remain professional, I can let loose and have a blast on the air
reading silly stories, reading the weather forecast, and announcing
area events (sounds boring but it's something to do with my voice). I
don't have my own talk show (I'm hoping one day!), but I've been able
to sit in on quite a few and even take a small part in them.

If you don't have any voice acting classes or animation studios near
you, go apply at your local radio station. The ONLY experience I had
prior to applying for my radio job was my amateur producing/voice
acting. I landed the job out of 300 applicants (..of course, pestering
my poor bossmen to death helped, too!)



15) What are you up to right now?
Currently, I am still producing the Sabrina Online Radio Play (episode
13 at the time of this writing) and recasting/organizing for my Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtle OVA fandub. I'm also helping a couple of AVA
producer-friends write scripts for their productions as well as working
on my AVA sampler and professional demo.



16) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?
I do enjoy listening to good music and kicking back to watch a movie. I
love spending time with my husband and our pets (a dog and ferret).
Walking, hanging out with friends, surfing the internet, writing,
drawing, and reading. I'm practically a homebody.



17) Any final thoughts/Advice?
Amateur voice acting is a HOBBY. PLEASE have fun, drink (whatever), and
be merry. If you're REALLY thinking about pursuing voice acting, it is
NOT something that brings in a ton of cash unless you've been doing it
for years. While I certainly don't suggest you drop your dream, keep an
open mind and pursue other fields as well. Don't limit yourself to one
career.

[Edwyn]

Yay, people I actually know in recent interviews! :-P Are these being archived?

[Azure]

I ought really to back them up formated ^^,,, once we get the new site done I'll put them up there. Though hopefully if I've done it correctly you can go to post 1 and click the links to find all the interviews.

[MaNa Shuffle]

this thread is intresting ^_^
nice thread Azure ^^

[Windy*]

Oooh, I hadn't noticed there were new interviews~! I really enjoy reading these; thanks, Azure. :D

[Azure]

I should probably have plugged them more, they only stalled as people stopped asking to be interviewed. I'd rather not poke people myself since I don't want to upset anyone ^^.
Currently the only person who I have on my list is Lirifox, if you want to apply to be interviewed or want to conduct an interview please PM me.

[KStar]

can I post mine with my answers?

[Azure]

I tailor edit the questions for each person, some get standard questions but there are a few with whom I've done special stuff. ( At some point I'll get some more questions out there)
If you want to be considered for an interview please PM me with your Va resume, I know you're new here but I'm not sure what stuff you've done before and since you only get one interview it's best to wait until you have a wide range of experience to share.

[KStar]

oh ok n/m then ^-^

[Azure]

Azure interviews Ayame!

1)f there are images in this attachment, they will not be displayed. Download the original attachment
First of all can you tell us about you?? (Age, where you live)


Well, I’m a California girl, for starters. I’m a 16 year old who just completed her sophomore year of high school and, well, that’s basically it ^.^



2)How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?


Well, let’s see…I received my first few roles sometime in the early 2000s, though to be honest I have no idea exactly how long it’s been ^^; To be perfectly honest though, I did not start becoming very active until two or three years ago.


Well, I got started because my sister, Nanuri, was into it and I thought I’d give it a shot as well, since I liked regular stage acting ^.^



3) Is that still the thing that keeps you going? or have things changed?


Hmm, what keeps me going now? Well, I love seeing projects get completed. It’s really cool to know that it’s actually me coming out of my speakers. It’s fun to see how much I’ve improved as well – I barely used to be able to go above my regular speaking voice, and now what I primarily play are little girls! I want to see how much more I can improve, as well as (hopefully) go professional some day.


4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?



Ohh, that’s tough. Hmm…well, I guess I’ll have to say the Mai HiME clip that Chinomi and I did, just because Midori’s one of my absolute favorite characters of all time. Battle clips can be so much fun, but making all those little noises can be really annoying too ^^;


b) The most challenging?


Probably Sukisho and topleka’s AIR fandub. It’s incredibly hard for me to maintain that high a pitch and still be able to create believable emotions. I’m working on it, though!


5)Is there a single most important thing you’ve learned?


Hmmm…probably to turn lines in on time. If you want respect and a good reputation as an AVA, the first thing to do is turn lines in on time. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten extremely bad at this >.> . But when I started off, I believe it made a good impression on producers I worked with.


6)How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?


Well, my normal speaking voice resembles a sort of gravelly valley girl, I suppose. My character voices tend to be high-pitched little girls and cutesy teenagers, though. Voices I’m sort of well-known for would be Colette from Tales of Symphonia and Mikoto from Mai HiME.


7)Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?


And Megumi Hayashibara character, really. Though specifically Nuku Nuku or Momiji ^.^ I did play Momiji once in a short RP clip I produced, but I’d really love to play her in a fandub. Also, Mai from Mai HiME is a role I’d love to play.




8.)What would you say makes a good producer and a good VA?


Let’s see…a good producer is responsible, produces finished products in a reasonable amount of time, and produces something that he or she can be proud of. A good producer will also provide the VA with everything he or she will need to record a set of lines, such as script, video references, and emotion cues in the script (if it’s an RP). A good VA turns lines in on time, is friendly, can act, and can do believable character voices.




9)Do you have any voice acting idols?


Ohh, tons. Primarily Megumi Hayashibara – not only can she act, but sing too! Other favorites/inspirations include Nana Mizuki, Yukari Tamura, and Yukana. I also admire any AVA who has become a professional or who is actively pursuing this objective!


10)What software do you use to VA?


Goldwave. It’s user-friendly and incredibly diverse.


11)Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging ?


Probably fandubs, because in an RP you can essentially do whatever you want with a line. In a fandub, the emotion in a line, as well as the speed at which it must be said, is dictated by the video footage.


12)Do you have any plans to produce?


Yes, I do. I have a year-old Ragnarok RP I plan to revive this summer, and I currently have 2 singing groups I manage running. Soon I plan to dub an Ah! My Goddess! OAV clip, too!



13)What are you up to right now?


Well, right now AVA wise I’m recording for various ongoing projects and short clips, such as a Cardcaptor Sakura clip produced by KitsuneSqueak and the full episode dub of AIR I mentioned earlier. I’m also recording for various song dubs, such as Usada in Part Night, and I’m also working on lines for one RP, the Fallen Angel.


14)What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?


Quite a few, actually. Primarily I’m interested in color guard, but I also love singing, theater acting, watching anime, and talking to my friends.


15)Where do you see the AVA community going?


I believe that the VAA will continue to grow and provide the place for many pro voice actors and producers, script-writers, and mixers to get their start. I know that if I had never found it, I wouldn’t have ever considered becoming a pro one day.


16)Any final thoughts/Advice?



Have fun! Make friends! Don’t cause drama! Audition lots! Oh, and comment on and watch other projects. It’s a great way to get inspiration and to see what being an AVA’s all about ^.^

[Azure]

Azure interviews Klaymen

1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Age, where you live)
*Azure inserts something witty for Klaymen to say.* Wait you can do that for an interview right? You can’t? Fine. I’m 21 years young. My name is John, but most folks call me Klaymen. It’s been my nickname ever since a portapotty incident in high school. I pay taxes in Illinois but spend a majority of my day in St. Louis. Either going to school at LeCole Culnaire or looking for auditions to try out for.

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?
2I’ve been VAing as an amateur almost 2 years, but really I got interested in it when I was a little kid and spent the summer with my grandpa. He had these recordings of old radio dramas on a 45s. Vinyl baby. He told me that all of these voices came from this one man. I wanted to be that man. It wasn’t until around November of ‘04 I found FLAVA but it was having a lot of technical issues at the time and I’ve had my roots in the VAA ever since.



3) What keeps you voice acting?
3The testing of my limits! Everyone has potential. What you do with it, only you can decide. I love to try parts I think are outside of me. You know, see what voice comes out of my mouth. And sometimes it scares the crap out of me but other times I learn a voice type and add it to my skills.
4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?
b) The most challenging?
The answer to both is the first production I was ever in. I played Mrs. Stevens in Icypopcorns radio play. The only way I can describe her voice is a 75 year old chain smoker, speaking out of the hole in her throat. And for a first role I had a lot of freedom to interpret it how I wanted to which was wonderful.


5) Do you have any pre-recording rituals/warm ups that you do before you record?
It depends on the voice. Like for the high pitched roles I’ll drink water before I clear my thought as I have some gravelness to my voice. . If I have to be monotone I’ll wait until I’m tired before recording. For most others it’s just a roll of the neck and cracking my knuckles.

6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?
Ok, this one I have the hardest time answering because I can’t tell myself. Others have described me as a masculine medium to low range, but I’m always trying to stretch that. Specialties…hmm I suppose that would be the senior citizens. Willie old men, butlers, hell even a grandma or two.

7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?
I don’t really have a character per say I want to play but personality wise, an older teenager that isn’t depressed. It seems it’s the only role I been struggling getting the voice down for. I’m ok with others but damn if I can’t figure out that voice.

8)Do you have any voice acting idols?
My anti-idol is Crispen Freeman (I won’t get into details), but for idols, Phil Lamar is my favorite of voices to try to pick out in a series.

9) You also produce, what has been your favourite production to work on?
Working on the AVA holiday CD. Gathering everything together and compiling it was work, but it was fun. It also required a different approach to it besides a typical rp or fandub. I love the way it turned out.

10) Does being a voice actor yourself help you as a producer?
Yes, because as a producer you have a lot more time invested in a project and as a voice actor you’ll respect deadlines and such a lot more. It kind of forces you to make yourself reliable. Not audition like crazy and never come through for the producers.

11) What software do you use to produce?
I actually use three different programs; Premier, Audition, and Audacity. They each have their own specialties so I get the best of all of them. I wouldn’t have it any other way. For my music I use a mixture of my keyboard/ stuff I find on the internet, but I lost the cord for my keyboard. I’m kicking myself about that one.

12) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging ?

Fandubs. There are a lot less freedoms you have with your voice. You have to match lip flaps and still have that emotion. Radio plays you can take your time and explore the character.

13) I have to ask about the PodActs theme song, what inspired it? Who are your musical heros?
My local radio has this commercial for an insurance company. It’s so god damn catchy and wouldn’t leave my skull. I found some similar music and thought the podcast needed an intro. So put two and two together and you get the PodActs theme song. I will admit that when I sung the last line Guns & Roses popped into my mind. Musical heros… I have influences like Rob/White Zombie, The Sex Pistols, Nirvana, The Ramones, Run DMC, Lynard Skynard, Snoop, Black Sabbath, Megadeath, ZZtop, well… I have a huge list I could give you but I’ll end it with what I’m currently listening to. The Birthday Massacre.

14) Do you have any professional aspirations?
In voice acting? YES. Right now I’m asking some of the big commercial voice over people in St. Louis, which agencies are reputable and such to start with. Though I can tell you you’ll need some experience like doing a commercial or such before they’ll sign you. At least, that’s how it’s been with two of the places I’ve looked at. Thankfully I had been in a series of commercials for South Western Illinois College so I was ok there. Just trying to find a good investment and making sure they’ll supply you with steady auditions.

15) What are you up to right now?
Right now it’s a balancing act between driving, working, school, AVAing, and trying to find free time. But being an insomniac helps there. As for things on the VAA I just finished lines for the first part of Topleka’s Anime Clue radio play. Hmm… I’m always trying to get ideas for the PodActs commercials. Oh in the soon future I’ll hopefully be helping Cody with a project of his.

16) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?
16Outside of voice acting I love cooking, hence the going to the culinary school. I draw when I can and also come up with short stories. One of my friends and I are working on a comic book/graphic novel, and a few film sketches as well. I guess I’m juggling a lot of things. Sporadicness is key.

17) Any final thoughts/Advice?
No one ever got anywhere by giving up. You have to suck it up and keep trying. And for the love of all, take a risk.

[Azure]

1) First of all can you tell us about you?? (Age, where you live)

My name is Maria Vu but Maria is actually my middle name. I am a military brat so I have lived all over and and I currently live in Arlington, Texas. I will be 30 in December.

2) How long have you been voice acting how did you get started?

I started amateur voice acting in December of '97. My daughter was a year old and I got into it when a man by the name of David Brenner held auditions for a flash type video game on one of the forums I would frequently visit. I was heavy into musical theatre in highschool and college and I figured why not? I got casted as a fighter pilot and after that I discovered Mark Sprague and his SM dubs and that led me to playing Nehelenia in Negavision's Stars dub and the rest is history.


As for professional voice acting-I started working for FUNImation in 2004. I got started with FUNI through my best friend, Kyle Hebert. We met, ironically, before he was even a voice actor. We both have daughters that are the same age and met through a forum and chatted about how hard single parenting can be. He gave me the contact info for FUNI and I called and got put on the open call list like everyone else. A couple of months later I drove up with my current roomie, DOtti, and tried out for Sonny Strait. He told me I had a flare for character voices and that I needed to relocate to work there. So a year later I did and the very first role I was called for was Mika in Kodocha. I got to play her again recently for Chris Cason, who is another director that uses me alot. I have been lucky in that respect. There are so many talented actors at FUNI, who like me, are under contract and some are rarely used at all due to time constrictions on properties and such. So I count myself blessed to be able to work as much as I have been able to so far.


3) Is that still the thing that keeps you going? or have things changed?

Things have changed a lot over the years. A lot of the avas I started with have given up their dreams of going pro and switched their talents toward other things. It is sad but completely understandable in a sense. I think my desire to want to direct my own dubs/projects keeps me going.



4) a) What's been the most enjoyable production you've been in?

AVA wise- Most things done by Nicole Jones. I love her dubbing style and think she would make a great audio engineer. And of course Negavision. I have been with them for years.

Professional wise- Negima. It was a fun show to work on.


b) The most challenging?

Wow...um...a show I did for Chris Bevins a few months ago. I had a bit part in it and the character was in a...'compromising position'...and that was pretty challenging. Especially trying hard not to laugh.


5) Is there a single most important thing you've learnt?

Voice-over work is very competitive and also it is something you have to seriously want to do. You will not get rich from it and you spend a majority of the time feeling like a pimp prostituting your voice out to every director you come across. Networking is key! ^^

6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?

I have a pretty good range. Ironically I get casted a lot as five years olds with some directors because a lot of the talent, as opposed to Monica Rial and Carrie Savage (who both work a lot at FUNImation now) don't really have a high pitched enough range. But I have done everything from grandmothers to little boys. It can be challenging not knowing what you are being called in for and having a few minutes to come up with a voice on the spot.

7) Which character you haven't played yet would you most like to play?

Hmm...let me break it down in terms of category..
Anime- Silvia in Sousei no Aquarion (the official dub)
Tsubasa- Primera. I really like her and she is nuts like my usual hyper characters.
Disney- MULAN...I love her!
Dynasty Warriors- Any female. The games just rock!
And I really wouldn't mind playing anyone in a gundam or macross series. I hope FUNI gets one!

8) Do you have any voice acting idols?

Not idols but people I admire. I love Tara Strong. I think she has a kicka$$ range! I think Kyle Hebert, Chris Cason and Sonny Strait are very versatile and Chris Sabat is insanely talented. I am also a big fan of Lea Salonga. If you don't know who she is, she is the singing voices of both Mulan and Jasmine from Aladin. She also won a Tony for Mis Saigon and has a very beautiful voice. And Maaya Sakamoto also has a beautiful singing voice and is a pretty good seiyuu.


9) Do you think being a VA is different from producing does being a VA help?

I think they are different in a way. But being a voice actor cna help you relate better to what the actor is trying to do. If you have been in the same situation, struggling with inflictions or trying to make sense of a script, you can help the actors better understand what you want.



10) What software do you use to produce and to VA?

Depends on the product. I have Cakewalk pro, which is a program I got from Ishtar a few years back when we lived five minutes from each other. She also gave me virtual studio. I also use adobe audition and virtual dub alot. In the past I used a program called "Dub it" but found it to be pretty taxing on the videos themselves.


11) Do you find audio drama or fan dubs the most challenging ( as a VA and producer)?

Audio dramas no contest! With video we can tell what is going on and critique it based on how we think the person should have sounded/acted. In audio we have to let our imaginations take over and it is harder to critique, not knowing what the engineer/director was going for in the scenes themselves.



12) You also voice act processionally, can you tell us how you got involved with FUNimation?

So far I have had the luck to be involved in Samurai 7, Case Closed, Negima, Kodocha and 2 others that I am not allowed to list until they are released.


13) What do you think are the biggest differences between recording at home and recording in a studio, does having a voice director present dramatically change how you work?

The director is probably the biggest difference. Being in a sound booth comes in second though. The directors know what they want. They have a preliminary idea as to how they think a scene should be played out. So it can be challenging to try to meet those expectations. It is the polar opposite with our own productions at home. We do the lines, sometimes to the point where we are tired of redoing it and then settle. We get to dictate when the scene is done. To me that is the biggest difference.


14) What are you up to right now?

Well I just had an audition for a new property FUNI has and I just got to record for Mika again. More to come hopefully...hint hint Cason! :P

15) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

I love martial arts films (like Storm Riders), writing, singing, comic books, going to the movies, hanging out with my daughter, cooking, reading, and long walks on the,,,,wait a sec...lol


16) Any final thoughts/Advice?

I think there are alot of talented people on the board. If you really want to do this on a professional level you must first get in the frame of mind that rejection is a huge part of voice acting. It is with any aspect of acting really, but this is huge. Also, you cannot go in half-hearted. You have to fight for everything you get. And there will be days when you wonder why you ever wanted to do it in the first place, believe me I know, but giving up can never be an option because eventually it will pay off. ^^

[Renken]

Great interviews! Keep it up Azure. ^^

[enchantma]

aww man! these are SO cute!!!

[Azure]

Azure interviews Mat Growcott
1)First of all can you tell us about yourself? (Age, where you live)

My name is Mat Growcott, I’m 16 and have just left school. I’m from England, although I’m only about 10 miles away from the welsh boarder. I like to think this gives me a good mix of both countries (I complain about the rain while watching sheep. How much more exciting can it get?)

2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?

I guess I started about 2 years ago, although it may have been a little earlier than that. At one point I wanted to read some fanfiction work I had written, but can’t remember if I ever got round to it.

I found the VAA when I was searching google for an agent. I had just recently gone to a stage school and noticed how much they all…sucked…to put it nicely, and figured the only way I was going to enjoy my acting career from then on was to try and find a way into professional stage performance. Big dreams for a 14 year old. I stuck around here because it’s fun to see the various talent that sifts through, and I still can’t get over the fact that I’m performing with people in AMERICA!

My earliest VAing memory was getting cast in basically every role in a James Bond production. The producer pretty much left me with everything. I edited the script for him, I cast a lot of the parts with my friends. And then he said it was getting too much for HIM and cancelled it. From that day on, I kept auditioning for things to a minimum and began working on my own projects more.

3) Is that still the thing that keeps you going? or have things changed?

Things have changed a bit now I think. At first I would do productions because it would give me a chance to act in something that I know will get done. Now I do productions to perfect the things that I haven’t been doing for so long, like writing and directing. If you take a look at some of my early work it’s pretty desperate (Almost as desperate as it is now.)

4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?
b) The most challenging?

a) I loved doing the big ape. Other then PopeMan, which I was never a big fan of, I had never really done anything where the story didn’t revolve around me. So it was nice to be the character that just got to sit back and blurt out some good one-liners now and again. Although if I’m honest, I love Bored of the Rings. It was my first proper project and I still get butterflies in my stomach every time I release a new one.
b) The most challenging was probably Bored of the Rings. In the first 3 episodes (plus the trailer) I played over 30 different characters. About 10 of which were main characters. I’m pretty proud of the fact that a lot of them sounded different.

5) Is there a single most important thing you’ve learned?
Never get too much into it, it can kill you. At one point I was writing 3 or 4 20 minute scripts a week, I was hardly sleeping and I was losing all self confidence in my work (Write that much and you’re bound to have an off scene or 2)

I mean, seriously, at one point I must have been the hardest working person at the VAA, in terms of media anyhew. This is not a good thing.

The proof is in the pudding. Somewhere in the shorts and sampler section (or the completed works sections) there are 6 or 7 projects of mine all lumped together from a space of about 2 weeks. Some are brilliant (BabyKillers :P) and some are not so great…imo. But I think in some cases you can even hear how tired I am.

6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?
My normal voice is pretty much a generic british voice I think. It’s deepish but not overly so. I think my specialities are weirder characters. I love doing both Gollum and Yoda for that reason. On top of that I do a hell of a lot of accents.


7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?
If anyone ever gets round to doing a Discworld radio play, I’d try and go for any of the characters available. I might do one myself if I ever get time…I’d like to try and do Yoda for someone else’s star wars production.

Also I wanna play a murderer or something similar, in a good original radio play. Not just a generic ‘Whoa, normal teen boy is blamed for murder, his brother and him have to avoid getting arrested’. Something juicy, like an audio drama about Jack the Ripper or something.

8)Do you have any voice acting idols?

Not really. Not in terms of modern VA’s anyhew. I’m a huge fan of Peter Sellers, probably the most amazing VA the world has ever known :D. Well…comedy VA anyhew. When he was on the Goon Show he would do 8 or 9 main voices every week, and it would be virtually impossible to tell he was doing them, compared to his normal voice and compared to each characters voice. On top of that his delivery was perfect.

I’m a big Kelsey Grammar fan. He’s done Voice over in the past. Once again, his delivery is amazing, and his acting also brilliant.

9) Do you think being a VA is different from producing does being a VA help?

The two are very, very different. I’ve seen people complain about having to do a line 50 times to get it right. Now imagine you send that line over to the producer, he mixes for two hours, gets to that line, places it in the mix and…the program crashes.

Being a producer is very tedious. It’s good fun for a while, and the finished production is always a joy to hear. But for a long time there’s a period where I just feel I could be doing more fun things. Things like trying to bite my own lips off. That’s why I mostly save doing my lines until I’m ready to put them into the mix, it gives me something to do while I’m bored.

I, personally, don’t find being a VA helps the actual production process. I get too picky. It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes I open a line and I just panic ‘Whoa, that’s not how I’d have read that…oh dear…oh dear, oh dear…’. I get over it eventually and see why they said it like that. But there’s a few minutes where I feel like I have to confront somebody!

On the bright side, it means I can avoid trying to find extra’s!

10) What software do you use to produce and to VA?
Adobe audition all the way! I used to use Audacity and Goldwave until they made my brain bleed, so I upgraded, although I still use goldwave occasionally.

11) You also act on stage how does that relate to voice acting?

I think the voice is less…I don’t want to say less important. There is less emphasis on the voice. In the majority of stage play’s I have been in there has been no set voice for any of the characters. Sure, you change your voice to how you think the character would sound, but you don’t have to. As a voice actor, if you’re going to get anywhere, the likelihood is you’ll need a decent range.

Also, there is less tension. I’ve known a hell of a lot of people be physically sick before going on stage. You don’t have the lines in front of you and if your friend screws up, you’re screwed up. I sometimes think there is no bigger team job in the world then stage acting, simply because if one person does something wrong then the whole thing can fall a part. Voice acting doesn’t have any of that. If it goes wrong, you can do it again.

Also, you are a lot more likely to get cast in things as a Voice Actor. Your looks and build don’t matter in a recording studio.

12) What are you up to right now?
PopeMan Chronicles, for those sad scary people who enjoyed the first :P. I think this one is a lot better, I hope you all agree with me.

I’m working on a spoof documentary on an English pop band from the 60’s named ‘Jerry and his Nasty Fish’. It has original music and so…is going to be slowly coming together. It’s mostly parody the Beatles I think, but some other things will definitely come in there.

I’m doing ‘Welcome to the D.O.D’, a script I wrote ages ago that I think is pretty funny. It’s all about the tedium of the afterlife. I’m working on a Metal Gear Solid 4 parody…that might even be out before metal gear solid 4 is released. I’m trying to come up with ideas for a script based on the movie ‘Highlander’, it was an ok film, but they completely buggered it up. So much emotional potential in that film and it became what is basically an action film (The only emotional bit is when ‘Who wants to live forever’ begins playing. And that’s just because it’s a beautiful song)

And I’m working on a compilation CD of the last year of RI productions, many of which I’m remixing. Many, Many hours of work ahead of me on this one.

13) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

I’m an avid guitar player and will play everyday, often for up to 8 hours. I love hanging out with my friends, because it’s where I steal most of my jokes from :P. And that’s about it.

14) Any final thoughts/Advice?

No matter if you’re a newb or an old user, take what people say to you seriously. But take it with a pinch of salt. Don’t let people stop your own style from maturing just because it’s so different that a lot of people here don’t like it or else you’ll just be another one of the crowd. Keep working on it and screw the nay sayers.

For writers, check out many different sources. I’m sick of seeing so called ‘original projects’ that are obviously stolen (or *cough* heavily influenced *cough*) from an anime of some sort. If you’re a comedy writer, don’t go for the obvious jokes. Play word games, make references to pop culture in your scripts. Just being random for random’s sake isn’t funny. Being random because it’s so out of character from the original thing is very rarely hilariously funny. Being random and being in character. Now that’s a skill. For drama writers, make it interesting. Why should I care if some angsty teenager’s mother was raped by the ugly duckling? MAKE ME CARE.

I’m done ranting now. Keep up the good work VAA, and thank you azure for the interview!

Hope thats ok...thanks!

[Moore]

A great interview. I love reading these. I've done quite a few interviews and aunched a series on a James Bond website. Others have now taken over them but I still sort of do editing and stuff.

I really like these, it's great stuff. Keep up the great work!

[Azure]

Glad you like 'em =3

[Lucien]

I’m a huge fan of Peter Sellers, probably the most amazing VA the world has ever known :D. Well…comedy VA anyhew. When he was on the Goon Show he would do 8 or 9 main voices every week, and it would be virtually impossible to tell he was doing them, compared to his normal voice and compared to each characters voice. On top of that his delivery was perfect.

Good to know someone else here admires Mr. Sellers for his impeccable voice work.

[Mat Growcott]

Good to know someone else here admires Mr. Sellers for his impeccable voice work.

Yeah, can't beat him. I'm just sad he's most famous for the Pink Panther stuff. Talk about a bad legacy. Not bad films, but when compared to Seller's best stuff...well...they're nothing :D.

[Azure]

Azure interviews Amby Leigh

1)First of all can you tell us about yourself? (Age, where you live)

Well, I'm 19 years old right now, but I'll be 20 in less then a week. I
hail from Peckville, Pennsylvania, but since most people have never ever
heard of it before, I usually just say that I'm from Scranton PA. It's more
well known and it's right down the road from here.

2)How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?

I just had my 5 year anniversary this passed June. I started voice acting
thanks to my friend Dani (she still pops her head in around here from time
to time). The two of us met through another message board and one day she
asked me to listen to some lines she had done for a Final Fantasy 9 radio
play she stumbled upon. She told me I should voice act too to because it was
fun and it was something we could do together, so she sent me links to a few
websites of projects that she had found and the VAMB. I found Flava and the
original VAA while searching around ezboards a few months later.

3)Is that still the thing that keeps you going? or have things changed?

To a point, I would think so. The reason I got so into voice acting in
the first place was that I'm a huge theatre fan and I love to sing, dance,
and act on stage. BUT for a teenager in Northeastern Pennsylvania, not only
did I never really have the chance to be on a stage and act, but I kinda got
labelled as an oddball because I'd rather go see a play then sit through a
football game. Being able to just turn on my computer and act in my house
was perfect for me! I could vent my creativity and be as emotionally into
the lines or over the top crazy as I wanted to be without having to worry
about getting mocked for it. And even though I now have more chances at
being on a stage and being excepted by my peers, I still think that I voice
act for somewhat the same reason. Sometimes I'm just not willing to let my
emotions hang out while I'm acting with people at school and the theatre I
work at in the summer because I'm still afraid that I'm going to get labelled
as an oddball like I did in high school. When I'm alone recording in my
room, there's no one looking over my shoulder thinking I'm weird. Well,
accept my family, but they don’t count.

4)a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?

Oh God, that's hard! I guess I'd have to say "Timepiece: Echoes in
Passage." To this day, it's a production that I hold close. I mean, it
wasn't exactly the best radio play I've ever been in, in fact looking back
it was SO corny. We thought it was so different at the time because it was
going to be so “serious” but now it just sounds like a soap opera in space.
However, all of us that played the main cast had a hand in coming up with it
and really put a lot of thought and effort into developing something that
hadn't been done before. I've never really worked on a production quite like
that at that time and really even to this day.

b) The most challenging?

I once played Aya Brea in a Parasite Eve radio play and I didn't get the
script in parts. I got like the whole script for the whole game. It was SO
many lines. Most lines I've ever had in a production. And I’m the kind of
person that likes to go all my lines in one sitting so they are consistent
with each other. I did them all and I killed myself making them good. And
then production died. I was so upset after that one.

5)Is there a single most important thing you’ve learnt?

Drama sucks? Just kidding! Hehe. That's more like the second most
important thing. The most important would have to be all the skills that I
have learned over the years. Being here so long and being in so many
productions, I couldn’t help but learn more with every thing I’ve done. I’ve
grown as an actor and I’ve learned how to use audio programs. For example,
last week I had a job running sound for my college’s orientation theatre and
they had a skit that the directors wanted to use karaoke tracks for, but
didn’t have them. They were amazed when I took the CD home, removed the
vocals, and played it for them the next day with all the cuts they wanted as
well. Something I never would have learned if I hadn’t been here.

6)How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?


Geez, I don't know. I guess I've got a nice range. Low to high. Fly high
if I really try. Hey... that rhymed, didn't it? Hehe. Anyways, I've always
found that I'm especially good at sidekick type characters. Either the sassy
tomboy or the shy girl. I guess mainly because I'm a sassy, yet shy, tomboy
in real life so it comes kinda naturally.

7)Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?

I really like playing original characters, so there are not many already
existing characters out there that I want to play. For the longest time
would have said Fuu from Magic Knight Rayearth, but recently someone scouted
me to play her in an upcoming fandub clip and I'm playing her in my
production of the manga. So other then that, I guess the other one I've
always wanted to play was Garnet/Dagger from Final Fantasy IX. She's my
favourite FF heroine so I'd always thought it would be fun to voice her. And
it's a plus that she doesn't really have an official voice that I would have
to meet the standards of.

8) Do you have any voice acting idols?

Of course I do. Hmmm. Let's see... Wendee Lee, Steve Blum, Kyle Hebert,
Bridget Hoffman, Scott McNeil, among others. But my biggest idol has to be
Melissa Fahn because she has accomplished what I hope to one day also. She's
not only a working voice actress but at the same time she's also a working
stage actress. She's even been on Broadway. Being able to do the two things
I love to do most in the world at the same time... that is like my ultimate
dream.

9)Do you think being a VA is different from producing? Does being a VA help?

Oh it's definitely different. VAs and producers have two totally
different list of things they need to worry about. Producers have to worry
about music, casting, scripting, etc. VAs have to focus on emotion,
delivery, voice, etc. Both hold different challenges. I've only produced a
few things, but being a VA definitely helped. Mainly because I know where
the actors that are working for me come from. I've been there before. Also,
until you've produced something for yourself and you know what kind of work
it takes, you can't really know where another producer is coming from. The
same thing goes for acting.

10)What software do you use to produce and to VA?

Same for both. Adobe Audition 1.5

11)You’ve been a member of the AVA community for some time, do you think thecommunity has changed?

OH YEAH! Definitely! Most noticeably it is how it has grown in the
number of people like a wildfire. There are so many people on the boards now
compared to when I first started. It really amazes me sometimes. 5 years
ago, it would be normal to get maybe 2 or 3 people to introduce themselves
in the hi forum in a week. Now it's two or three new people posting in the
Hi forum almost everyday. I also think that as the AVA community gets larger
and older I think we are finding better and better resources to use to act
and produce with so the quality of the productions that people are turning
out nowadays has grown a lot, as well.

12)You also act on stage how does that relate to voice acting?

Voice Acting and stage acting have really proven to be complements of one
another. I say all the time in my stage acting classes that doing so much
work with my voice has really helped to fine tune what I can do with it on
stage and at the same time the work that I have done in acting classes and
with my directors has helped me to develop a better understanding on how to
bring out a character from within and make that character real and
believable.

13)What are you up to right now?

I'm producing a radio play based off of the second half of the Magic
Knight Rayearth Manga. I'm also running the latest attempt at Broadway Idol.
I wasn’t looking promising at first, but now it’s finally getting off the
ground.

14)What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?

Truthfully? Voice acting and theatre are the only interests/hobbies I
have time for. During the school year, when I'm not in class I'm either at
work (which is in the theatre doing general upkeep/babysitting it while
outside groups are there), at a rehearsal for a production, or I'm home
recording some kind of song or lines RIGHT before I got to sleep. And in the
summer, I sleep most of the day, do lines in the evening, and iparty all
night. I have don't have a social life, and I'm not afraid to say that loud
and say it proud!

15)Any final thoughts/Advice?

Don't jump the gun. Voice acting and producing may look or sound easy,
but it's much more work then you'd think. Too many times I see people show
up on Tuesday, they have auditions up on Wednesday, and then after they have
a cast list on Friday they take the time to ask, "How do I mix?" Or for
actors, someone shows up one day; having never acted before in their life;
and the next day they have out a demo reel that is all the same exact voice.
Then when there is little, no, or negative response to their work, they take
personal offense. This isn't every person that shows up, but it's a good
percentage. First off, DON'T take things personal. Advise given is given to
help you improve. And second, take the time to become familiar with the
community, as well as the programs and skills used to produce and act FIRST
before ending up in way over your head.

[Lucien]

Yayyy more!

[Cefaclor]

Thx Azure. These are a lot of fun to read :-D

...

Yayy more! XD

[chronocrossed]

I'm supposed to be interviewed pretty soon myself, I think.

[Menchi]

yay for more interviews, they're good to read

[Azure]

It's been waaaaaay too long but here's a new one. :)

Azure interviews Chronocrossed


1) First of all can you tell us about yourself? (Age, where you live)



Well, I am 25 years old and currently reside in Cedar Rapids, IA. Yeah, it’s not the greatest hotspot to pursue a VA career, but I was born here and it’s not a bad place to live really.



2) How long have you been voice acting how’d you get started?



You wouldn’t know it by the amount of posts I have at the VAA, but I’ve been voice acting four about six years. I first discovered VA-ing with the old FLAVA board. I knew I had a gift with voice impressions, but had always wanted to express it and so much more. When I found FLAVA I sent a few auditions and crossed my fingers. I was new then and didn’t know all the things I do now, so no one cast me.



So what really got me started with this was the video game “Chrono Cross”. The story was so engrossing, but like many of the early RPGs there wasn’t any voice acting done for it. I thus decided to produce a radio play of the game to correct that, and I also figured to fix my problem with not getting cast by having me play one of the characters. Oddly, I’m still working on the conclusion to this RP due to numerous reasons.



3) Is that still the thing that keeps you going? or have things changed?



There was one point during production of the first half of my Chrono Cross project that I felt like quitting the producing end of things and going full force into voicing only. But when I came up with my other ongoing production (Star Shrek) I found a little more motivation to continue producing. I saw the humor from it that I brought to others as reason enough to continue.



I also thought about just the opposite end of the spectrum (quiting VAing and just producing) due to the frustration with my all the mics I used to have. But what ultimately kept me going is the pure enjoyment I get out of hearing a finished production and satisfaction that I know I helped make it happen in some small way.



4) a) What’s been the most enjoyable production you’ve been in?



I’d have to say the most enjoyable is my own Star Shrek comedy series. Basically because I’ve written it and it makes me laugh even before the voices are done. Currently I only voice one character for the production and without Lucien, Tony, Ishtar, and the rest of the cast I don’t know what I’d do. Because no matter how funny it is on “paper” it takes the voice talent to truly bring it to life.





b) The most challenging?



I’m tempted to say Star Shrek because while it is enjoyable, it also has is fair share of challenges (I’m not great at directing my own performance sometimes for example), but I’d say the most challenging production I’ve been in was Hikuro’s Tekkaman Blade dub. It was the first dub I participated in and I I’ll be the first to admit my lines never turned out exactly right. I was later replaced, though it had nothing to do with my lines as I understand it. Hikuro just got a little impatient with awaiting lines from me on another project and just recast me in that role as well as me Tekkaman Blade role. Anyway, I faced numerous problems while recording for the project including not being able to sync with the character’s lip movements. When going from Japanese to English (I am sure everyone’s aware) the original Japanese words fit better with the mouth flaps than most translations to English can.



5) Is there a single most important thing you’ve learned?



That there is a difference between what producers are looking for in a voice and what you think they’re looking for. Basically what I mean by that is: if a producer wants a deep voiced character, as a VA I got ask “okay, how deep”? Because if I just assume that it doesn’t matter, I’ll likely get over-looked. There other similar situations like this I’ve come across. As a VA you basically have to be patient with your producer and take the time to get it right. You see now matter how small and insignificant a role is, you should voice it as if it were a starring one.



6) How would you describe your voice, do you have any specialities?



Well, my normal speaking voice can sometimes be quite annoying (to myself at least). You see, I often sound as if I’m mumbling even though I’m speaking at a pretty decent volume. I also tend not to annunciate enough. I remember one fellow VA in reviewing my voice on a project (where the voice I use was my normal one) and saying she felt like slapping my character because his voice reminded her of “an annoying student at school that just won’t shut up”. I’m grateful I can do vocal impressions at least, which happens to be my main specialty. I can also change my normal voice enough to sound like a completely different guy.



7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?

I have for a while wanted to play Tidus (from FFX). I think my impression of him isn’t that bad. Oddly though, every time I auditioned for him I have not got cast. Aside from that character, I’ve also wanted to play Goofy (from Disney). I’ve been cast as him but have yet to see any of the productions released. It’s a shame because I really thought I do a good imitation.



8) Do you think being a VA is different from producing does being a VA help?



Being a VA is definitely different from producing. There are more things a producer has to deal with than a VA does. For instance, a producer has to worry about sound levels of all of the VAs, Music, sound fx, etc. Where on the other hand, all a VA pretty has to do is make sure their lines sound great. There is no doubt however it does help to be a producer first because you get a feel for the mindset of your VA talent. You also have a better idea of what good voice acting is and how good quality sound files should sound.



9) What software do you use to produce and to VA?



I use Sony Sound Forge 7 for voice acting and audio cleanup on the producing end. For the rest of the producing I use Vegas Video (which is great for audio due to its multiple audio tracks).



10) You’ve been a member of the AVA community for some time, do you think the community has changed?



Definitely. As many of us have gained experience the quality level has gone up considerably. Many of my fellow producers produce work that could well rival the professional audio plays. The same could be said on the acting spectrum. For one example, Lucien Dodge could and should be VAing on a professional basis. His voice is that good.





11) What do you think the most important skill a voice actor needs?



I’d have to say patience. You’re likely not going to get your lines perfect on the first attempt. You’ll probably be recording the same lines over and over for a good while until they’re just right.



12) What are you up to right now?



I am voice acting for Darker Projects mostly. I also have been acting in a few Half Life 2 fan video game projects. And of course I am still working on my Star Shrek and Chrono Cross RPs.



13) What interests/hobbies do you have outside voice acting?



Outside of VAing, I play video games when I can (RPGs mostly) or I’m writing. I’m writing a few different novels at the same time actually. I hope to someday get them published.



14) Any final thoughts/Advice?



My best advice would be to practice often if you want to become a professional at this one day. Also it would help to be in an area where voice actors are needed. Heck, even if professional VAing is not a serious consideration I would still recommend you practice. Regardless of what direction you’re planning to go with VAing, give it your all.

[Lucien]

7) Which character you haven’t played yet would you most like to play?

Do you have any voice acting idols?

I think this is a mistake; I want to hear who his VO Idols are.

Another nice once btw Azure ^^

[Azure]

Good catch I totally missed it, he must have skipped that question ^^, lala EDITO!

[chronocrossed]

Oops, let me think about that and get back to you.