Voice Acting
Mastering Characters
An Extended Deep Dive into Characters for Animation and Games
Summary
Mastering Characters is instructed by Dr. Elley Ray, an award-winning actor, writer, director, producer, casting agent, teacher with over 40 years experience performing in over 300 productions. She is a juror at the Emmy Awards and a professor at California State University & Senaca U of Toronto.
This course is designed to provide participants with a recreatable catalog of characters with the ability to perform and sustain them.
Participants will obtain specialized insights in the animation genre of voiceover along with strategies and tactics to advance their craft.
12-weeks, 2 hours each week
This class is 12 weeks and will attempt to have multiple timeslots to accomodate all timezones. Each class session is 2 hours, but some classes may go over.
Video Recordings
This class is recorded so you'll be able to keep up to date even if you miss a session.
30 Credits
This class takes 30 credits to enroll.
Instructor, TA, and Peer education
This class has an instructor, a TA, and peer run assistance to help answer your questions. This class' format is feedback-based.
Small Class Size
This class' format is feedback-based. There are a limited number of students that can enroll in this class.
Dedicated Weekly Events
This class had a dedicated event specifically designed for it. This is in addition to the normal Closing Credit events.
Outline
Compelling characters
Objectives
- Knowledge on how to allow your unique, authentic signature voice to develop
- The ability to apply the principals of vocal health and how to maintain optimum strength for lengthy recording sessions
- Exercises routines to strengthen and stretch the muscularity of the vocal instrument
- The confidence to take written scripts and discover the response inherent to the communication characters.
- The ability to perform and sustain the 10 basic vocal placements used in character work
- A performable, re-creatable catalogue of characters
Pre-requirements
Previous voice acting knowledge and experience strongly recommended. Consider Voice Acting 201 for fundamental skills prior to this course.
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The ability to add discovery and emotional opinion to their scripts and make the audience key in the equation in varied genres of animation is one of the main takeaways.
Beyond Giving Life to Characters
-
Goals: A living personal vision board which will act as a map to help the actor
manifest their goals
in the months to come. -
Auditioning: The opportunity to perform
professional grade Auditions
in several chosen genres of animation. -
The confidence and discipline to
tackle the professional market
of animation voiceover. -
Further study: Ongoing homework and audition assignments
beyond the class
requirements. -
A working knowledge of
the professional studio
, their equipment and how to use it.
Dig Deeper
Starting Proficiency
- Keeping the most important Key to storytelling in mind
- Fearless sense of Play at the Microphone
- Team building exercises, confidence, Self-Worth, and Possibilities
- Awaken your Magician, Alchemist and Authentic Genius
- Human communication as the human connection
Unique Concepts
- Improv Games and the Theta Brain
- Decoding language and the application of emotional, mental, physical, intellectual, spiritual and musical actions
- What is PLAY - your Theta Brain and the Infinite Creative Self
- Inanimate Objects and the other-worldly
- Transcribing and voicing your favourite Villain’s, Hero’s, Sidekicks and Other’s
- Use of Musicality in expression
Tactics & Exercises
- Tactile, visual, taste, olfactory: exercises to insight emotional responses
- Puzzles: How to break rules and think outside the box
- Meditation and the use of subliminal success
- The use of vocal variables to create change up’s in expression around prepositions
- Discovery: The key element to vibrant response in expression
- Storytelling: Our longing to connect to a community
Further Mastery
- Advanced Exercises to Awaken your Strengths
- Mic Technique
- Studio Etiquette
- How to develop the unwritten questions that will help actors respond with the script & copy breakdown
- Qualifying statements- lists, poetic phrases and discarding punctuation
- Debunking the monologue
- What is a vocal assist, a vocal ‘ism’, how to use the question, and engage listeners
- Keeping track of your characters
- Obtaining agents
Standard Member Benefits
What you'll get as a Closing Credits member
Every course comes with extra benefits just for being a member of Closing Credits
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Instructor Led Courses
- 6 to 12 week courses with an industry professional to guide you through.
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Closing Credits Community
- Access to our private Discord, forums, email lists. Work through fun and interesting challenges with your future colleagues and network.
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Weekly Events
- New Events, Workshops, Webinars, Panels, and Exercises Weekly.
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Material From All Courses
- Your interests change, and Closing Credits changes with you. Read and watch all the material from all courses.
Courses
Live Instructor-led Courses
Learn from an industry active expert
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Voice Acting
Voice Acting 101
As with any profession or trade, it takes time for people to master their craft; voice acting included. A weekend seminar at a famous studio or a week long boot camp ...
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Voice Acting
Voice Acting 201
Over the next 12 classes we will take you on the ride of a lifetime as we put you in the front seat of your emotional rollercoaster. You will work on techniques ...
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Voice Acting
Voice Acting 301
Now that you’ve discovered how to use your instrument properly and how to bring emotional context into your words, it’s time to learn how to put it all together and learn how to act.
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Voice Acting
Narration
There are many forms of narration from corporate, e-learning, tutorials, Documentary, Podcasting, In-Show (Series VO) and more. This course was designed to advance your skills in this lucrative genre.
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Voice Acting
Authentic Commmerical Voiceover
In this course, you will learn how to approach any Commercial script and, by answering a few simple questions, find a voice that is authentic, conversational, friendly, & confident – without having to do any research on power saws.
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Voice Acting
Mastering Characters
Build a recreatable catalog of characters with the ability to perform and sustain them. Gain specialized insights in the animation genre of voiceover along with strategies and tactics to advance your craft ...
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Voice Acting
Business for Voice Actors
The side of voice acting that is seldom taught but is just as important is the business. What price should you charge? What are the advantages you can promote locally, online, and in foreign markets?
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Voice Acting
Audiobook Voice Acting
One of (if not) the fastest growing market segments for voice acting is audio books. It requires you to take on the role both of actor (a full cast!) as well as director, and oftentimes sound editor and proofer!
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Voice Acting
ADR for Voice Actors
ADR/Dubbing is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production in which additional or supplementary recordings are synced and mixed with original production sound to create a finished product.
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Voice Acting
ADR/Dubbing
This is a six-week course to get you familiar with ADR and character development for voice over. Understanding how ADR works from behind the scenes as well as in the booth is important. You will get ...
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Audio Engineering
Demo Engineering
This course is designed to assist you through technical production of your own voice over spots that showcase your brand and talents. This voice-specific audio engineering course takes you behind the scenes to lay out step ...
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Audio Engineering
Audio Engineering for Voice Actors
You will be given audio examples and practical projects that relate closely to real-world professional practice. This is a hands on course designed to guide you, step-by-step, along the path to possessing a strong
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Audio Engineering
Advanced Audio Engineering
Post Processing for Voice Actors. Train your ears and improve your mixes. Every voice actor’s home studio has a different acoustic profile, they all use different microphones and interfaces, and ...
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Acting
Improv!
Improvisation is life, literally. You will learn about the fundamentals of short-form improvisation. Through this curriculum, you will gain an abundance of self-confidence, empathy and kindness for ...
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Acting
Improv for Actors
Train your instincts! Improvising is a learnable skill, not just something you’re born with. We will explore beats and instincts and develop skills for listening and being active and reactive ...
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Video Editing
Video Editing For Voice Actors
Do you see video editing as a technical puzzle, form of art, or work of magic? From recording a vlog in your bedroom to the latest Marvel flick, modern storytelling lives and breathes through the audiovisual ...
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Writing
Intro to Writing Professionally
The course is designed to guide participants into creating a productive writing space and habit, develop strong characters, build a cohesive plot, and enter the publishing world with some ...
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Illustration
Creating Manga and Webcomics
Creating Manga and Webcomics will fine tune your art skills and knowledge in preparation for the creation of high quality manga and webcomics. We will go through the steps of understanding themes, building up a ...
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Music Composition
Music Composition 101
This course prepares the student to realize, express and create music for new media including Video Games and Film with a focus on real world skills. Students will prepare a wide variety of compositions in ...