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Voice Portfolio

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Voice Portfolio

What the heck, right?

The HTML isn't anything to write home about, but the content should speak (no pun intended) for itself.

The abVox Online Voice Portfolio

This is my online voice portfolio, an on going work in progress. If you ever need, or know anyone who ever needs a passionate voice actor, please think of me...

Thanks!

ab

abvox's picture
abvox: Voice and Sound Design Services abVoices.com

abvox: Voice and Sound Design Services
abVoices.com

Hola

You already know I'm a fan, but I've got a question. As a voice actor, you're obviously always experimenting and trying to improve your craft; expanding your range of styles too, I imagine.

Do you often try to imitate existing actors/voices for practice?

As for me, I do a killer Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth (as portrayed by the unstoppable Billy West in Futurama) and Mayor of Townsville (from the Power Puff Girls)...

Craft Expansion

Actually, I find it more fun to imitate people I know in real life. It's great fun (at work for example) to hone in on someone's voice and then drop it on an intercom all page and see who bites. The real challenge there is to do it in such a way as not to upset the person. :)

But celebrity impressions are fun, too.

But to me, where the real challenge lies is learning to do "someone's voice" and transcend the cliche'. Take Count Dracula, for example. The stereotypical Dracula has a lot of over exaggerated and drawn out inflections at the end of word phrases. There's also a Dracula-esque cadence that you'll find in a typical Dracula impression (think "I vant to bite your neck to taste your blooooooood.") The trick is to apply the Dracula voice to a more relaxed and normal speech pattern. It's much more believable and less "cartoony" to approach Dracula as a person than a character.

But here again, there are certain voices where that cadence is essential. Homer Simpson comes to mind (although I've never tried Homer, outside of the occasional "Doh!" when I do something stupid.)

Whew! Long answer...don't know what came over me.

And I appreciate your kind words. :)

abvox: Voice and Sound Design Services
abVoices.com

Sure, but..

Maybe, but I'm an artist with a goofy voice, not a goofy voicist with an art =)

I'll leave the professionalism to you..

I do agree though with the "material" aspect...because I've done something similar....once I have a good voice going, like say Droopy with the puffy cheeks (it's the only way to do the voice, and you can't move your tongue!)...I wouldn't say something retarded like "I used to star alongside Tom and Jerry".............what I would do is something more like Kevin Conroy's Batman from the Animated Series voice........and then do day-in-the-life of............mixing in my English voice for Alfred, and have them do ridiculous conversations complete with profanity and barbs about each other's past.....the humor-from-being-unexpected..........No one's ever really heard Batman going on huge talks about his feelings toward the opposite sex, or ordering a pizza....so it's fun to hear that stuff...

It's great fun when you say something "as" someone else that the person would never say. It's that "out of context" humor that really kills!

abvox: Voice and Sound Design Services
abVoices.com