Humble Beginnings.

[Edwyn]

I will burn you. I will burn the HEART out of you.

[MichaelJ]

Oh Edwyn, you have such a way with words. <3

[D-Mac Double]

Hi there! Thrilled to hear that you enjoy our work. Though, I actually don't voice in indie games or other freelance paying productions. I only cast and direct them. I've starred in and played prominent roles in various animated TV series for nearly 7 years now, and consider myself to be a fairly established professional.

My question is, how long do you work at this or how much experience is need before you can jump into professional Voice acting?

Attaining readiness to pursue a professional career in VO will always be something that varies extremely from person to person. I tend to say "when you're truly ready, you'll know". It's a combination of reaching a certain level of self-confidence, and having your work validated by those with several years of experience and success in the industry. And let's not forget the major factors of living in the right place, and having built up a useful network of connections in the field.

I just wanted to know how long some of you have been doing this.

Entered online AVA in October 2004. Working professionally since January 2006, but I will be first to admit that I fluked my way in, very verrrry prematurely with the stars aligning for a good audition on just the right role. I very quickly realized that I was not yet prepared and developed enough to carry a major portion of the weight on an entire series alongside veteran actors. I had to work extremely hard to keep my spot and gradually proved to my colleagues, and to myself, that I actually belonged.

Lastly, what was it like when you first started voice acting?

I began on the Newgrounds.com scene. With regards to both acting and audio quality, standards in online voice acting were a lot lower back then. And there were a heck of a lot less of us. Yet, I rarely got cast for anything in my first few months of AVA. It took me a while to figure out why, because I thought having a good range of different silly voices made me a good actor. It didn't. I didn't have vocal projection or my enunciation down, or the ability to analyse a character and scene from a script in order to make smart acting choices, and I hadn't learned enough varied inflection and pacing styles to keep my reads interesting and memorable.

Did all go smoothly or did it take you a while before being casted for something?

I was first represented by an agent in March 2005, and was fortunate to book my first part 9 months later, but the wait in-between was excruciatingly disheartening. A lot of travelling to auditions with no callbacks afterward, rejection from industry people I grew up admiring, weeks -- sometimes months on end of sitting around doing nothing, much self-doubt, and mockery from a select few relatives. All things considered, I had it easy.

Where do you feel you are now with your work and ability?

While I still like some of my prior work, things really just kinda "clicked" around mid to late 2007, and I'm very content with what I've done from then and onward.

And, how about some tips for the rookie?

Set very specific goals for yourself. Things you'd like to learn, or refine. Try to surround yourself with people who are highly motivated and will challenge each other to improve and work beyond their comfort zones. Pay very close attention to the work of professionals and try to isolate things they do that really stand out to you. What might you want to borrow from them? What would you not borrow?

Knowing how to pace oneself is a very crucial acting skill that cannot be developed through studying anime performances and doing fandubs. Matching voices to pre-existing animation significantly inhibits an actor's creative ability, and I consider emphasis upon fandubbing to be VERY detrimental to an actor's growth. Original animation and radioplays, even comic/manga dubs give an actor much, muuuuuch more freedom with their performance. As a casting director, it frustrates me greatly to come across talents with amazing potential, who just never learned how to keep a performance interesting without visuals to guide them.

Just give me your first impression on this site and voice acting in general!

I think voiceover is one of the greatest fields in the world, and filled with many truly amazing people. In this day in age, sites such as the VAC, VAA, Newgrounds and YouTube are incredibly valuable resources for aspiring talents to connect with each other and hone their craft.

The people you listed do have professional credits to their name as well, but they're small roles or walla. Small steps.

No, that's really not how things have been for me at all. On the cartoon side of the industry, the vast majority of work is unionised and booked through agencies. Booking newer talents simply for walla sessions would be very inefficient, because they'd still need to be paid the union scale rate, which oftentimes is the amount that all the actors in a production, including leads, will be paid.

Rina/Kira's accomplishments really shouldn't be understated either. She's played several very prominent anime and game roles, and has even been a voice of Barbie for Mattel.

Omahdon/Edwyn (Dammit. Get to North America FASTER.) doesn't exactly live in a place with a character VO industry, but is a shinning example that even from a home mic setup, if you work hard enough, smart enough, and consistently enough, amazing things can happen.

[topleka]

No, that's really not how things have been for me at all. On the cartoon side of the industry, the vast majority of work is unionised and booked through agencies. Booking newer talents simply for walla sessions would be very inefficient, because they'd still need to be paid the union scale rate, which oftentimes is the amount that all the actors in a production, including leads, will be paid.

Rina/Kira's accomplishments really shouldn't be understated either. She's played several very prominent anime and game roles, and has even been a voice of Barbie for Mattel.

Omahdon/Edwyn (Dammit. Get to North America FASTER.) doesn't exactly live in a place with a character VO industry, but is a shinning example that even from a home mic setup, if you work hard enough, smart enough, and consistently enough, amazing things can happen.

I do apologize if it seems like I'm not giving due credit to the accomplishments of a lot of the people here. I've known most everyone on the list for a very long time, and I'm extremely proud of their work. Instead of small roles, I probably should have said that most of the people listed aren't living off of it, yet. I kind of assumed that the question was more about how long it takes to become a full-time professional, rather than how long it takes to get professional work. I didn't want to say "It'll only take three years!" and give the impression that once you get that first role (no matter how big), you're set for life.

As for walla, I'm used to right to work instead of union, so I do see a lot of newcomers starting out in walla. It was misleading of me to suggest that the same holds true everywhere.

[CodedKira]

Whoa, let me first say that it's an honor that you replied Deven, and it is an equal honor to have Edwyn to have posted as well.
VA world is quite intimidating isn't it? Regardless, I'm ensured that this is what I want to do, and I'm aware of how tough the road is.

I want to thank you for the advice, I'll keep it in mind as I continue to audition here and where ever else I go in the future.
Lastly I'd like to wish you luck in your future projects and especially with Dust. I got a sneak peek at it during Anime Expo and I've been waiting for it to come out ever since! (This also goes for Edwyn in his Detective Grimoire project.)

You, Edwyn, and Rina-chan are huge inspirations to me, so thank you again.
You don't know how much it means to get advice from you.

I'd also want to extend my thanks to everyone else that posted.
I've taken all of your advice to heart and I'm looking forward to using it!

[D-Mac Double]

I do apologize if it seems like I'm not giving due credit to the accomplishments of a lot of the people here. I've known most everyone on the list for a very long time, and I'm extremely proud of their work. Instead of small roles, I probably should have said that most of the people listed aren't living off of it, yet. I kind of assumed that the question was more about how long it takes to become a full-time professional, rather than how long it takes to get professional work. I didn't want to say "It'll only take three years!" and give the impression that once you get that first role (no matter how big), you're set for life.

As for walla, I'm used to right to work instead of union, so I do see a lot of newcomers starting out in walla. It was misleading of me to suggest that the same holds true everywhere.

It's all good, no hard feelings. We should really talk more, fellow castmate of the TOME variety. I like what you do.

Whoa, let me first say that it's an honor that you replied Deven, and it is an equal honor to have Edwyn to have posted as well.
VA world is quite intimidating isn't it? Regardless, I'm ensured that this is what I want to do, and I'm aware of how tough the road is.

Oh, it's my pleasure! As far as intimidating goes, I'm going to say yessss and no. Indeed, it's absolutely a huge challenge to get consistent work, let alone any work. But on the brighter side of things, the business is filled with a lot of very friendly and helpful people. Quite a contrast to all the horror stories I've been told regarding the far more dog-eat-dog world that camera acting can be.

[Stardust Productions]

I'm kind of new to voice acting period... I am personally not interested in doing professional I just want to have a good time playing with my own voice and seeing how it goes

[Zhadow]

Just a hint.

keep on voice acting, and you'll eventually find how good you are.