THE ACTOR’S VOCAL GIFT Naturally, the voice is vital to acting. And it stands on its own as a ubiquitous field of endeavor with regard to voice-over acting. But there is also the task for the cultivation of vocal techniques (especially to eliminate, neutralize, or develop accents) that aids an actor in the role of a character, and there is the knowledge, care and training of the vocal instrument, not unlike what a well trained singer experiences, that also becomes part of any complete actor’s regimen of activity to master the craft. This triumvirate of the voice as a resource: exercise and care; the crafting of pronunciation to bring to life an actor’s character; using the voice in its own right to secure work opportunities, intertwined though they may be, is what will be the focus of this section. Speaking With Distinction In many countries, voice and speech can be taught together by the same acting teacher. In the United States, the two are often taught separately and by different specialists. For young actors that are confused by the differences between voice and speech work, voice training primarily deals with the production of vocal tone -- the range, openness, expressiveness, and flexibility of the actor’s voice. Speech training concentrates on articulation, dialect and scansion. Stemming from a general field where there are many schools of thought put forth by varied instructors, expect overlap, both often incorporate breathing, physical relaxation, and emotional work. And both kinds of training are equally important to the actor. Knowing Your PVRs. In The Art of Voice Acting, James Alburger describes PVRs as the fundamental elements of vocal variety that create the dynamics of a performance. When you understand and apply pacing, volume, and range, you will be able to make any vocal presentation captivating. Pacing is the speed of your delivery. It is closely related to the rhythm and timing of the copy and to the tempo of your delivery. Pacing is how fast or how slow you are speaking at any given moment. Volume refers to how loud or soft you speak at any given point in time. Range refers to the performer’s ability to put variety into the performance by adjusting the pitch of the voice -- and its ability to scale high and scale low -- to maintain interest. Voice actors, in the field of animation, have developed a wide range from which to create many characters. PVRs, referring to the degree of variety in a performance, are achieved by adjusting pacing (rhythm, timing, and phrasing), volume (loudness), and pitch. Excitement, enthusiasm, awe, sarcasm, pity, wonder, sorrow, cynicism, and sadness are all expressive modes in which a person (or an actor), makes use of a vocal range to bring out these feelings. Other areas that the prospective voice-over actor must be concerned with include articulation, the clarity with which words are spoken; diction, the clarity of your delivery through the correct pronunciation of words; rhythm, the flow of words and the placement of emphasis on certain words; timing, the space between which one character pauses, and another chimes in; phrasing, which encompasses the flow of your deliver, the variations in tempo as you speak, and the subtle nuances of your tone of voice. An Emphasis on Accents Any actor willing to do the work of learning accents can find the possibilities for employment widened. The amount of work requiring accents in recording books and commercials, and in the theater, television, and cinema, both on camera and in dubbing, is considerable. Work on accents consists of memorizing a new pattern of sounds and drilling them as they become easy and habitual. In order to study accents you must learn not only to hear, but also to analyze what you hear. You must then learn to reproduce or imitate, the sounds which are different from your own way of speaking, and to do that you must constantly drill. This includes recording yourself and listening for accurate reproduction of the sounds. You also need to listen to tapes of foreign languages, and do the exercises accompanying them. Aiding the effort to gain concise analyses of the sound systems of languages, the International Phonetic Association (IPA) makes a good starting point. The aim of the IPA is to promote the scientific study of phonetics and the various practical applications of that science. The Association has edited the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, published by Cambridge University Press (1999), and also publishes a chart of the International Phonetic Alphabet.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 10:31:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015