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Robert Jadah
Talent and/or Voice Producer
Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 2627
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 Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007, 23:25 (GMT) Post subject: REAL voice coaching; RIGHT HERE |
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Voicers:
I have ten years in the business; credits at IMDB, and a Gilbert-defying income. I'm not a newbie.
I love learning and sharing tidbits about our lonely pursuit, and try mightily to avoid the mercenaries out there who are feeding off wannabe hopes.
But, intrigued by her effervescence and background, I did enter a little private exchange with Phyllis K. Day.
And I must share with you my impression that she's for real. She knows her voice-coaching. And she cares.
If you want to go beyond the good advice about delivery and sequence and demos on these boards; if you want to know about the instrument that IS your voice...you may want to get a hold of her.
Years ago, I contacted other voice people who offered to help. "Well," they answered to my demo, "Your mic is obviously of good quality and the recording itself is good, and if you sign up for my internet Voice Classes - only $700! - I'll tell you more."
I don't know if Ms. Day will always donate her expertise.
I only know she asked nothing of me, although I did send her a little bauble in appreciation.
Just thought I'd share another expert in our midst...
Voice On!
Robert Jadah |
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Amy Snively
Talent and/or Voice Producer
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Posts: 1028
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| Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007, 02:29 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| What a lovely testimonial, Robert. You're a mensch. |
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Scott Pollak
Talent and/or Voice Producer - Voice Seeker
Joined: 05 Mar 2004
Posts: 3828
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| Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007, 04:37 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Kudos, Robert... to you AND Phyllis for your good deeds. Julie Williams, also a top-notch, national pro who can be found on this site and others (and on KLOVE radio) gave me a handful of super helpful pointers when I struck out (no pun intended) on my own to do voiceovers. Her biggest challenge was getting me to think outside of my many years of radio.
There are a LOT of mega-talented pros here and many of them offer a LOT of help freely and gladly. |
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Phyllis K. Day
Talent and/or Voice Producer
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 251
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| Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007, 20:24 (GMT) Post subject: Critiques - Boy Do I Need 'Em! |
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| Robert Jadah wrote: | Voicers:
I only know she asked nothing of me, although I did send her a little bauble in appreciation. |
What bauble?! 
| Scott Pollak wrote: | | Kudos, Robert... to you AND Phyllis for your good deeds. Julie Williams, also a top-notch, national pro who can be found on this site and others (and on KLOVE radio) gave me a handful of super helpful pointers.There are a LOT of mega-talented pros here and many of them offer a LOT of help freely and gladly. |
What bauble? Okay, seriously, I’d love it if Julie Williams gave me a critique. In fact, anyone who wants to send me a critique in a private message, I’d really appreciate it. Please just listen to the demos on my website – but know that I am still working on getting the quality right, some will have some sort of weird harmonic. That was before the V123 gang gave me some great advice on eliminating it. Anyway…
The problem for me is that I can’t hear what I think is normal, and what I “see” in my voice doesn’t really tell me anything I don’t already know. (I can see sound, and each person’s voice looks different. The sound of the voice and what I don’t see that is missing can tell me a lot about a person’s potential. I don’t really “critique,” I just tell a person what they don’t know they have. Once I tell them, then they can reach for it. So what I do for voice talents is not really a critique as much as a treasure hunt.)
So I need critiques from others to let me know what I need to work on, to change, to add or subtract or maybe just loosen up. I feel like my voice is somehow confinded, like I'm in a box. Since after 25 years I took a 10 year break, and am back, that's not a surprise. I need a (car)toon-up. Oil change. Belts replaced. And especially more air in the tires!
WHAT BAUBLE?! (What's a bauble?...Just kidding.)
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Phyllis K. |
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Colin Campbell
Talent and/or Voice Producer - Voice Seeker
Moderator
Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 5287
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| Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007, 21:19 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Well, I am always open for detailed critiques. I get a lot of "you sound great" but that doesn't help.
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www.ColinCampbellVoice.com
Member SaVoa... #07040... www.SaVoa.org |
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Amy Snively
Talent and/or Voice Producer
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Posts: 1028
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| Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007, 22:14 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| Ok Colin, I have no feedback other than I'm pretty sure I have a crush on you. |
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Colin Campbell
Talent and/or Voice Producer - Voice Seeker
Moderator
Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 5287
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| Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007, 22:30 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Careful... notice the stock photo microphone as my avatar. I have a "face for radio" and that old mic looks better.
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www.ColinCampbellVoice.com
Member SaVoa...#07040... www.SaVoa.org |
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Colin Campbell
Talent and/or Voice Producer - Voice Seeker
Moderator
Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 5287
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| Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007, 23:08 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Ah ha... I thought you were Phyllis because you answered on this thread. I guess I am not a "total dumbass." (Just sort of one.) Again, I apologize for the mixup. But, aren't you also a great voice coach?
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Amy Snively
Talent and/or Voice Producer
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Posts: 1028
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| Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007, 23:12 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| Colin Campbell wrote: | | But, aren't you also a great voice coach? |
Nope! I am not a voice coach at all, great or otherwise. Just an actor in the trenches, slogging away. |
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Colin Campbell
Talent and/or Voice Producer - Voice Seeker
Moderator
Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 5287
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| Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007, 23:16 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Well, you are pretty good. How'd you get that shout jingle at the front of your demos? Cool!
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Amy Snively
Talent and/or Voice Producer
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Posts: 1028
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| Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007, 23:17 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Thanks! I paid a troop of jingle singers to do it  |
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Phyllis K. Day
Talent and/or Voice Producer
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 251
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| Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007, 00:10 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| Colin Campbell wrote: | | Well, I am always open for detailed critiques. I get a lot of "you sound great" but that doesn't help. |
Colin, you do sound good! Fantastic, obviously long at VOs and the business. Pros are tougher to critique for several reasons. First of all, they are already pretty good and whatever they need to fine-tune, it’s pretty small. Plus we are creatures of habit and do what clients want us to do even if we know it’s not good theatre. Yes, I understand, I’ve done the “Buy this car or I will kill your dog” spots too. I sounded ridiculous but the client loved ‘em. They even went “agency” in two states.
In my mind, there is a clean voice inside everyone. Stuff gets in the way. Sometimes it is a physical thing, like, someone talking through his or her nose, or it is emotional. Emotional tends to cramp the space the voice is in, or puts up a wall behind which the voice is emanating.
I see your voice as one large block, shiny like onyx but it isn’t hard like a stone. It’s more like clay. There is some kind of effect from your ears and jaw (as if you are clenching your jaw) and it is putting pressure on your onyx clay. Something is impinging around or just below your ears, and in the jaw, where it connects below the ears.
You have more range in your voice that isn’t being allowed to come out. That is, you could go higher, add notes to your sound, if you could release the tension around the jaw. It’s not necessarily your jaw itself, but maybe the muscles around that area. If you play around with a few lines with your teeth clenched, and then do the same with your mouth open too much, you’ll hear a difference. When I see and hear your voice, I begin to get a sensation around the muscles where I would clench my jaw. Don’t worry, almost no one else will feel this way! And I wouldn’t if I didn’t listen very closely.
What is standing between you and your “clean” voice is barely there on your drama demo. This is very interesting but fits; there is also something emotionally affecting your natural voice. The onyx looks like it’s tight like a balloon and it needs more room – but for some reason, you’re not relaxing into your reads (other than drama, I went to your website and listened to everything).
Your drama reads are more relaxed and your voice is higher, which for you, means you still sound rather deep, of course. Your voice could go all the way to a “sigh,” some notes higher than what I hear on the demos – and it would sound very nice too. To incorporate this into your natural read would give you a richness and resonance that will just amaze you. You think you sound good now? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
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Phyllis K. |
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Colin Campbell
Talent and/or Voice Producer - Voice Seeker
Moderator
Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 5287
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| Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007, 00:24 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Wow! I have to digest all of this! It is interesting to me that you pointed out my "drama" demo. Those were things I did for fun. Maybe that is why you centered on them. They weren't paying jobs at all. Just things that I wanted to try and eminate because I liked them. I will work on some things and post again. Thank you so much Phyllis!
If you go to the "voice over Idols" topic and find the Orson Welles clip from "War of the Worlds" that I posted, you would see what I have been trying to get to most of my adult life.
I will try to "loosen my jaw."
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Phyllis K. Day
Talent and/or Voice Producer
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 251
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| Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007, 01:38 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| Colin Campbell wrote: | | Wow! I have to digest all of this! It is interesting to me that you pointed out my "drama" demo. Those were things I did for fun. Maybe that is why you centered on them. They weren't paying jobs at all. Just things that I wanted to try and eminate because I liked them. |
Hoo ha! Something interesting always comes out when I do a critique. Of course I didn’t know that you did the drama demo for fun or that you had a man crush on Orson Wells. Yes, indeed, I’d say that you are more comfortable and happy (relaxed, maybe?) when you’re being YOU…
| Colin Campbell wrote: | | If you go to the "voice over Idols" topic and find the Orson Welles clip from "War of the Worlds" that I posted, you would see what I have been trying to get to most of my adult life. |
…instead of reaching for Orson Wells. Now there’s a guy who really let the wall down, all his emotion were right up in front. He had problems in his life, and he used (among other things) the energy from them through his voice to get that sound. I doubt he knew it as such, but being an actor he transferred that ability to voiceovers. Oh, how relaxed his voice looks. Can you hear it? Like it would leak out if he stood on his head.
From what I understand, on stage one has to take his or her mask off to put on the character’s mask. To do VOs well, we have to do the same. We have to start as ourselves or our work suffers. That's not to say people won't make it as a VO artist if they don't but they won't be as good as they really are.
I couldn’t find the War of the Worlds demo, but I did listen to the other one that is posted from a session he walked out on. That one was so funny.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the critique and felt it was constructive. I found your voice to be very interesting. Thank you for asking me, I enjoy doing them because I think they are useful and will help. I look forward to hearing what you’ll do next.
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Phyllis K. |
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Colin Campbell
Talent and/or Voice Producer - Voice Seeker
Moderator
Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 5287
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| Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007, 01:41 (GMT) Post subject: |
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You are more helpful than you know... and I have been at this for a long time.
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Member SaVoa...#07040... www.SaVoa.org |
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