The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over (16 page)

All voiceover copy has an ideal tempo.
Tempo
refers directly to the speed at which the words are spoken. A performance may be delivered at a constant tempo or at a varying tempo. You speak at a comfortable tempo when you are in conversation. When performing, your delivery tempo may be slower, faster, or about the same as your normal, conversational tempo.

Voiceover copy also has a built-in rhythm.
Rhythm
is an aspect of phrasing and is closely related to tempo. Combined with tempo, rhythm
gives a voiceover performance its sense of musicality. It is the flow of the words, the way the words are organized in sentences, and the placement of importance, or value, on certain words. Rhythm is also directly related to the emotional content of the copy. Poetic copy has an obvious rhythm (or meter). The rhythm of narrative copy is a bit more challenging to find, but it is there. Dialogue copy has a distinctive rhythm, which often includes a sort of verbal syncopation, gradually, or quickly, building to a punch line. Just as you speak with your own personal rhythm, the characters you create for a voiceover performance will each speak with their own rhythm. It may be choppy, staccato, smooth, or even vary throughout the delivery. Finding the proper rhythm is critical to an effective and compelling performance.

The combination of tempo and rhythm in a performance is known as timing.
Timing
refers to interaction between characters or the manner in which pauses between lines of copy, and general phrasing are handled. As a voice actor, where you place a pause or a beat can create tension, humor, or drama in a performance. How quickly does one character speak after another finishes a line? Do the characters step on each other’s lines? Is there a long silence before a character speaks? These are all aspects of timing.

If you have a natural sense of timing, you are ahead of the game. If not, the producer will direct you into the timing, and you will get a sense of what is needed as the session progresses. As you become comfortable with your character’s tempo and rhythm, timing becomes automatic.

Watch TV sitcoms to study tempo, rhythm, and timing. Study the interaction between characters and how they deliver their lines. Listen for the jokes, and how a joke is set up and delivered. Watch the physical characteristics of the actors as they work together. What are their gestures? What facial expressions do they use when they deliver a joke? What expressions do they have when they react to something? How do they express emotion and dramatic tension? Use what you learn to help develop tempo, rhythm, and timing for your performances.

The combination of tempo, rhythm, and timing works differently for different media. Theater has the slowest tempo and rhythm, then film, followed by television and finally, radio with the fastest tempo and rhythm. In some ways, radio can be performed at almost any rate, but generally a radio performance is faster than the same copy performed on-camera for television or film. Because radio uses only one of the senses, the rhythm, timing, and pace are set a bit faster to create a more real and believable interaction between characters. The faster tempo of radio gives the copywriter and talent an opportunity to quickly establish and develop an interesting story that will grab the listener’s attention and hold it while the message is delivered.

One of the most common challenges when working with a script is to determine the proper delivery speed and variety. How quickly or slowly
should you speak? And how will you adjust your phrasing or pacing to add variety to your delivery?

Phrasing
in voiceover is very much like phrasing in music. It refers to the overall flow of your delivery; the variations in tempo, rhythm, and timing as you speak; and the subtle nuances of your tone of voice. More specifically, phrasing relates to the way you say certain words or sentences. For example, a short statement—“I would like some more, please”?—can be phrased in several different ways. The first word “I” can be emphasized to give personal emphasis. By the same token, changing the tempo, and emphasizing the word “would” can give an entirely different meaning. Breaking the phrase into two sentences by putting a period after the word “some” can result in a completely different delivery.

Try this exercise to discover different ways to express this simple phrase. Read each line at different tempos and rhythms, giving importance to the word in bold:

An aspect of phrasing is sometimes referred to as
pulling words
. This technique focuses on
sustaining
, or stretching, specific sounds, words, or phrases. Sustaining an entire phrase can usually be achieved simply by slowing down the overall delivery of a sentence. But a phrase can be made more interesting by sustaining only the beginning, middle, or end of some words, rather than an entire sentence.

Experiment with this line of copy to get a sense of how you can elevate the interest level of a line by sustaining certain sounds. Start by delivering the line as written, at a steady pace without altering the tempo or rhythm:

Here’s how this phrase might be written to indicate sustaining sounds:

By sustaining the beginning, middle, or end of a word, or even an entire word, you can create anticipation for what will come next. Adding natural vocal sounds to the phrasing can add even more interest, realism, and believability to the character.

Although pulling lines can help to create a more compelling delivery, it takes up valuable time, and most voiceover projects don’t have time to spare. So this technique is generally used in a shortened form, for a specific character’s speaking style, or only when necessary.

Phrasing
and
sustaining
are both elements of tempo, rhythm, timing, and pacing in that they refer to the way in which words are spoken within a sentence or paragraph. But, even more than that, phrasing allows you to make the words more real by adding compelling emotional content.

Few words in the English language are used improperly more often than the little words “the” and “a.” When used correctly, these words can help add power and emotion to your delivery. Used improperly, your message may sound awkward, and might even create an impression of your being “uneducated.” Here are a few quick rules to keep in mind when you see these words in a script. Keep in mind these rules are not set in stone, but are only guidelines. Ultimately, whatever sounds best in the context of your performance, or the way you are directed, is the way you should go:

Basic Rules for “the”

1. Pronounce stressed as “thee” (long ē):
   
   • When “the” precedes a vowel:
     Thē English alphabet has 26 letters.
     Exception: pronounce as “thuh” if the word starts with a long “U” as in “thuh university” or “thuh United States.”
     
   • When “the” precedes a noun you wish to stress for emphasis (replacing “a” or “an”):
     Yes, that is
     thē
     book you gave me.
     
   • When “the” precedes a word you wish to indicate as unique or special, or is part of a title:
     thē
     place to shop,
     thē
     King of France.
     
2. Pronounce conversationally and unstressed as “thuh”:
   
   • When “the” precedes a word that begins with a consonant:
     The kitchen cabinet is empty
     .
     The car ran out of gas. The dog chased the cat.
     
   • When “the” modifies an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree:
     She’s been exercising regularly and looks the better for it.
     

Basic Rules for “a” and “an”

1. Use “a” before words that begin with a consonant, “an” before words that begin with a vowel:
   a lifetime of choices, an extreme sense of duty.
   
   • Words that begin with a vowel but are pronounced with the consonant sound “y” or “w” are preceded with “a” (“uh”):
     a European farmer, a united front, a one-room school.
     
   • Words that begin with a consonant but are pronounced with a vowel sound are preceded with “an”:
     an SST (es es tee), an F (ef) in English.
     
2. Pronounce stressed as “ae” (as in “hay”) (long ā)
   
   • When “a” intended to emphasize the next word in a singular sense or is referring to the letter “A”:
     That is
     a
     singular opportunity. The letter
     A
     is the first letter of the alphabet
     .
     
   • The pronunciation of “a” in its stressed form (ae) will be relatively rare for most voiceover copy as it is not generally conversational. However some technical copy may require this pronunciation to properly convey the message or instructions for training purposes.
     
3. Pronounce unstressed as “ă” (“uh”) when:
   
   • “a” precedes a consonant: a
     horse, a new car, a cat, a personal debt
     .
     
   • Your character is speaking conversationally or casually.
     
   • This unstressed form of “a” (“uh”) is used in most situations.
     

What is it that you bring to the performance of voiceover copy? Are you happy? Sad? Angry? What is the mood of the copy? How do you visualize the scene? What is there—in your personal history—that you can tap into to help make the words real and your performance believable? Answer these questions and you will have your personal attitude. Answer these questions in terms of your script, and you will have your character’s attitude.

Attitude
is the mindset of the character in the copy. It gives a reason for the words, and motivation for the character’s existence and behavior. When you read through copy for the first time, find something in the words that you can relate to. Find an emotional hook. Bring something of yourself to the copy as you perform and you will create more effective characters, a strong suspension of disbelief and a believable illusion of reality.

Every moment of your life is stored in your memory. And every emotional experience has a physical tension associated with it that might reside anywhere in your body. There is also a sensory experience associated with the emotional experience that is closely linked to the physical tension.

Your five senses are some of your most valuable tools as a voice actor. Constantin Stanislavski, founder of “method acting,” developed this tool to help actors create believable characters, and most acting schools teach some variation of the technique. To truly master the technique of
sense memory
you may need to take some acting classes which involve creative exercises in which you tap into your senses of sight, touch, taste, sound, and smell.

It is said that all creativity originates in the sensory organs. So, to fully utilize your creative voice-acting abilities, you will need to develop skills for recalling and utilizing sensory memories. Once the basic concept of
sense memory
is understood, you can apply this technique to become a better communicator and achieve some amazing results. Here’s how:

Close your eyes and think back through your life to a time, event, experience, sensation, or feeling that is similar to what your character is experiencing and hold that memory in your mind. Make the memory as visual as you possibly can. With that memory held in your mind, recall how your senses were affected by what took place. Was there a special smell? A
certain sound? Did something taste odd, or especially good? Did you see something unusual? Do you recall touching something in your memory?

As your memory becomes more visual, observe where in your body the physical tension for that memory is being held: neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, legs, arms, and so on. Recall the physical tension, body posture, facial expression, and hold onto it. Keep that memory firmly fixed in your imagination. Now, open your eyes and allow your character to speak the words in the script, in a sense filtered through your experience.

Although it may take some time for you to master this technique, even doing just the basics will put you well on your way to becoming a successful voice actor. Many people who do voiceover either don’t utilize this technique, don’t understand how to use it, or simply are not aware of it.

The visualization exercise on page 160 (CD/9) takes the concept of
sense memory
to a higher level to help create a totally believable character.

All commercials have an attitude. In fact, all copy has an attitude. Your job is to find it and exploit it. One way to find the attitude is to uncover the thoughts or feelings behind the words. This is commonly known in theater as
subtext
. Subtext is what sets your character’s attitude and establishes, or shades, the meaning of what you are saying. It is the inner motivation behind your words. Subtext allows you to breathe life into the words in a script and into the character you create.

Using your sense memory to unlock emotional hooks is a technique for setting attitude. Now take that process a step further and define the attitude in words to arrive at the subtext. For example, let’s say you have this line: “What an interesting fragrance.” If the thought behind your words is “What is that disgusting odor? You smell like something that’s been dead for a week!” the perceived meaning will be quite different than if your thought and/or feeling is “Wow! You smell amazing! That perfume you’re wearing makes me want to be close to you.” Each of these subtexts results in a different mental and physical attitude that comes through in your voice.

What you are thinking and feeling as you deliver your lines makes a tremendous difference in the believability of your character. You have a subtext in your everyday conversations and interactions with others. The idea here is to include a subtext in your performance. Decide how you want the listener to feel or respond to your character—what emotional response do you want to produce? To get the desired response, all you have to do is internalize the appropriate thoughts and feelings as you perform.

For some copy, creating a believable character can be challenging, even with a well-understood subtext. The problem may lie in the subtext itself. If you have chosen a subtext that is weak or unclear, try changing the subtext to something completely different, using an entirely different set of emotional hooks. You may find that by shifting your subtext, your entire performance attitude will change.