Newsletter

June 2008 · Newsletter Archive

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” -George Bernard Shaw

Utilizing your natural RESOURCES

One sign of the super intelligent is their ability to utilize a variety of simple resources to their greatest potential. No one expects you to be MacGyver…but we all certainly stow away a secret desire to turn a paperclip into a honing device, don’t we?

I suppose the opposite could be said to be true: a sign of the not-so-bright might be ignoring perfectly good resources and floundering as a result. Well, if you haven’t recognized yourself in the latter more than once, you’re probably not paying attention. We’ve all ignored the obvious or failed to act to turn a situation around at one time or another. 20-20 hindsight typically kicks in, after the fact, offering the numerous ways we shoulda-woulda-coulda averted disaster.

Well, on a far less dramatic level…here we are during “Peace time”…before engaging in battle on session, shoot or gig…and in our continual attempt to aim for more and tap your greatest potential…I give you some of my favorite RESOURCES!

Your best friend: a PROPER dictionary! Do yourself a favor.

Check out Merriam-Webster.com (m-w.com) and actually USE IT!

Don’t know the usage of the word and you honestly don’t know what the script is talking about? Look it up! Or how about: you’re not sure how to pronounce the word(s)? m-w.com will even pronounce it for you! Granted it’s a bit of a ‘Southern Illinois meets just west of Nebraska’ flatter dialectical quality—but hey, you’ll get the idea and move on! Go ahead--pinch your nose and dive in!

Then write the word out phonetically on your script. (i.e. “onomatopoeia” is Ah-no-matta-pea’-uh) The world is hooked up to the Internet. This is true of any self-respecting recording studio. So, look it up and raise the intelligence of the entire studio! Even if you think you already know what the word means. Clearly there is more than one meaning to most words. Can you honestly say you know ALL of them? Well, Einstein, sometimes even you need to refresh the gray cells. I promise you NO ONE will think less of you. In fact, the irony of NOT looking it up is: everyone looks foolish because the session continues to flounder because no one knows what they’re talking about! SAVE yourself. Save the session. Be the hero for the day!

Besides that—derivations ultimately offer terrific insight into the full meaning that certainly increases your ability to play the meaning and the likelihood you’ll use the term correctly from here on out. (You, Brainiac, you. I knew there was something I liked about you. It’s the way you flex that major muscle between your ears.)

Another couple of toughies can be trying to decipher acronyms (words such as NATO or SAG or AFTRA, or even words such as FBI or CIA, formed from the first letter of each of the successive parts to create a new word) and idioms (an expression from which the meaning cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements, such as ‘Holy Cow’ or ‘no bed of roses’). This is important to note since scripts and direction are often FULL of them.

So, turn immediately to thefreedictionary.com. And guess what? You may find it becomes your BFF—ASAP! I mean, why play possum? If you haven’t the foggiest idea what it means—you have to do something!

http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com

A Term You Should Know

While we continue to update “The Sound Advice Encyclopedia of Voiceover & The Business of Being a Working Talent”, we offer a little snack food for thought while you’re sitting pool or beachside. matching—The term used when you are trying to recreate the timbre, emotion, inflection, phrasing, volume and/or tempo of a delivery to make a change to the read or to correct a minor error in the initial read.

Also, if at a session the client preferred a specific take and simply wants to change a line or phrase they may have you ‘punch in’ the corrected line. This requires you ‘match’ the original delivery as close as possible.

Notably, many, many actors, both novice and ‘well established’ alike, often harbor the common misconception they are expected to deliver only one perfect read, and therefore attempt to ‘perfect’ a single delivery repeatedly, take after arduous take, almost as if they were trying to match a read.

The truth is there are only three circumstances in which only one specific delivery is required from you:

a. If you’re understudying a role on stage. In fact, according to Actors’ Equity, you are expected to recreate the original actor’s performance as closely as possible.
b. When you are in a professional touring company of a stage production (such as “The Producers” or “Hairspray”). These productions are very strictly choreographed in every way because a very specific product is being presented and the original show is the blueprint for the touring company, which is often followed to the letter. Additionally, these productions are often heavy ‘tech’ shows and straying from the program could increase the risk of injury to cast and crew.
c. And, when adding or correcting a line in a voiceover or film or TV production.

Other than that, matching is not the desired goal of a performance it’s only a tool and nothing more. So, if until now you have always thought all that was required of you as a talent on a session was to match your initial take, again and again and again, then you have thought acting was simply ‘matching’.
Well, for what it’s worth you’re in good company. It’s an honest misconception.
Again, to clarify, at SOUND ADVICE our very unique approach forwards the idea that you’re always expected to deliver a limitless number of ‘perfect’ or at least appropriate reads.
For example: eight to ten takes of this one over here utilizing this direction, eight to ten of that one over there utilizing that direction and eight to ten of yet another delivery that’s maybe a hybrid of the two different directions—this is the norm, albeit the best kept secret in the industry.

Our job as talent is to give the director options within the context of what’s being asked of us, regardless the medium. So play. It’s your job. How many people do you know who can say that? In fact, the real objective of a skilled, professional talent in every medium is to deliver a variety of deliveries with every single take, all within the context of the scene, character and circumstance. That takes a great imagination and agility.
Mastering the art of delivering variety within the context of the piece takes courage and the willingness to truly risk. That gives you an awful lot of rope to hang yourself with, which is why it can be a very scary notion at the onset. But continually building that agility and engaging your imagination fully is forever the requirement of an effective artist—in any medium. So never underestimate the demands of the profession. They are always required of you in every medium. It simply takes intention on your part.

Who Sez Nothing’s On?

Okay, let’s face it—here at SOUND ADVICE, we’re probably the ONLY folks who will happily encourage you to watch TV! And we’re not ashamed of it! Why? ‘Cuz there’s never been such an onslaught of GREAT TV. Is that a moan I hear? Fine. Let’s do our homework, shall we?
Here are OUR favorite shows that we think you really MUST see.

Iconoclasts on SUNDANCE CHANNEL.
The Tudors on SHOWTIME. (The season finale was off the hook!)
Dexter on SHOWTIME.
Weeds on SHOWTIME.
This American Life on SHOWTIME.
Head Case on STARZ has to be the funniest show on television, besides…
The Office on NBC, or…
30 Rock and…
My Name is Earl, also on NBC.
More network ‘must-sees’ include…
Lost on ABC.
Grey’s Anatomy on ABC.
Brothers & Sisters on ABC.
Ugly Betty on ABC.
Entourage on HBO.
Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO.
Big Love on HBO.
Battlestar Gallactica on the SciFi Channel is a HUGE hit.
On the Reality Show front, here’s a few you’re bound to actually LOVE:
Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel
Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel
Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel, and don’t miss…
Cash Cab also on the Discovery Channel
How It’s Made on the Science Channel is great TV!
So You Think You Can Dance on FOX and
Step It Up And Dance on BRAVO are a riot, too.
But if it’s about the industry and you’re looking for some real insight, check out …
Sunday Morning Shootout on AMC.
Beyond that, I absolutely love THE ESSENTIALS on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) and, probably my all-time favorite…
CBS SUNDAY MORNING on CBS, which is on early Sunday mornings—when all you lambs are fast asleep, I’m sure.
Thankfully there’s a little item called Tivo… also known as a DVR (Digital Video Recorder), the generic version rents for a couple bucks a month from your local cable provider. You only need to know when these shows are on long enough to program your DVR! (Which even I can do!! Who knew?) This way you can watch this stuff (commercials and all) from start to edible finish. Yummy. What’s that you say? You don’t have cable? Fear not—I have a very simple solution: go to the networks’ websites to see these programs and more ON-LINE!
Miss watching Arrested Development? No worries. Head to hulu.com. Every episode from all three seasons can be found there in their entirety! It’s fantastic! So, now if you’re given any sort of television reference to consider for your next audition…hulu will certainly be a terrific resource for you.
Be sure to set aside at least four-five hours a week to study these POP Culture references as well as the commercials/promos you’ll find between intervals. Studying the programs themselves is required as well—as they impact popular culture a great deal and we all need to stay topical! So, there you are! ENJOY!

The Difference between the Audition & the Session

There’s really very little difference between the audition and the job itself. You might even say there’s virtually NO difference when it comes to the actual performance.

Yet, we actors tend to go about things a little backward sometimes—too often we give ourselves a rather long runway at the audition to get the delivery up and flying and a very short runway on the session. That is to say we often ‘ramp up’ into the performance at the audition, when in fact we are expected to deliver the goods with full performance energy and with honest joie de vivre. That’s what will inevitably land you the job.

On the job itself, we talent frequently, often hurriedly, dash off a delivery and what often follows is the impulse to get the heck out of there as soon as possible. It’s ironic, really. Can’t wait to get on the mic and then once you’re there—you can’t wait to leave. I’ve seen it so many times!

What’s required of us is stamina to hang in there throughout the session, interest in what you’re talking about and the delivery of a few good options within the parameters of the project.

Come to think of it, the only real difference between the job and the audition is the number of takes expected from you.

It’s a rarity on an audition that you’d be given much more than three attempts to deliver the take (or two) you intend to submit. You’re expected to be very decisive and creative on the fly, which is why you should arrive no more than 15 minutes before your scheduled audition. Read through the script at LEAST five or six times out loud. Your performance sounds very different out loud than it does in your head so be sure to do so as you get it up to speed.

Take the risk to go just that much further! That’s precisely what I mean when I say “stretch the canvas” because that’s what’s required of you both at the audition AND the booking.

On the actual session you’re generally expected to deliver quite a few takes, often as many as 50 or more while remaining relaxed, creative and totally interested in what you’re talking about. Certainly the number of takes varies wildly from job to job, but don’t feel defeated or put-out if you are asked to give far more options than you may have ever thought possible or even necessary. You’re expected to be the creative force on the project that can turn the entire thing on its axis! While the producer and copywriter are doing their level best to make a bunch of people happy back at the agency and back at ‘corporate’, thankfully, you don’t have to worry about that. You just have to make yourself and the writer/director happy! (Phew. That’s the guy who ultimately chose you from your audition.)

Take the risk to go just that much further! That’s precisely what I mean when I say “stretch the canvas” because that’s what’s required of you both at the audition AND the booking.

Oh, if you were wondering how long it takes to hear whether you got the job after the audition and if they’ll call you to tell you ‘didn’t get it’...well, here’s the skinny: you ONLY hear if you booked it. So, once you’ve auditioned for the gig—move on. So much of your job is auditioning. The average (if there is one) is usually between 100-200 auditions for every booking. Seem staggering? It’s simply part of making yourself known. This is why you should never rely SOLELY on your auditions. Besides, you’ll never know how many near misses you may have gotten and how close to nailing the gig you are unless you stay the course. Just keep your sights on delivering the very best auditions you are capable of delivering. Make that your mission.

So, to wrap it up, you could say the audition demands on-the-spot decision-making regarding your performance (at least more than usual)…they expect an effective take off on a very short runway. And on the booking they expect stamina—and an effortless take off on what may inevitably seem like an incredibly long runway. Both demand time and attention to master. But then, that’s what you have us for...to help you work that muscle.

But you can’t win if you don’t play. So, if you haven’t been in on a workshop in a while, come in for some hardcore, purpose-driven coaching. JUST GET IN HERE! Give Jolene, Jamie or David a call and get scheduled.

Otherwise, keep listening to the coaching sessions you’ve done with us thus far on CD. Use your resources. The goal is to make you a steady working pro! It’s precisely why we’re here.

Game ON!

Okay, so summer’s fast approaching and that means pursuing the agents, prepping for fall (yes, it typically takes a good 2-3 months) and keeping your skills SHARP!
Need a tune up? Call us to get a few good ‘Continued Coaching’ Sessions in. We want to see you succeed.
In the meantime, remember to ‘Book Out’…email your agents (and US) within a week of leaving town and let us all know when you will return and be available for work!
But don’t let your skills drop. They will be tested during the most precarious moments…so listen to your coaching CDs, review your materials and do your job. We’re at the ready, when you are! ‘Til next month! Enjoy yourself! -Kate & crew