I don’t do cartoons much. Well, not until Madballs came along.
Yes, Madballs! The gross-out toys that were big in the 80’s are making a comeback.
My bag is Explainer Videos, E-Learning modules, Industrials, and to a lesser extent audio books. I never pursued cartoons for the same reason I never pursued video games: to be truly successful in those genres I think you need to make it a lifestyle. You have to pursue it at the exclusion of most, if not all other voiceover genres. It’s fiercely competitive and somewhat location-based (LA primarily and somewhat NY but from what I understand the Dallas area is up-and-coming). I just had a different vision of my voiceover career than doing cartoons.
Anyway, here’s one of the videos I voiced for Madballs. See if you can guess which character I play:
The correct answer is: both of them! I will be playing 12 different characters in a series of videos this year. I’ll be posting them as they come out and they were fun as hell to do.
TIP OF THE WEEK
When this opportunity came along, it gave me pause. It’s not that I didn’t want to do it; I wasn’t sure I was qualified to do it. It’s not a confidence issue exactly but when you’re asked to play 12 different characters in the same project, you may worry. Then I realized that I’ve played as many as 24 characters in an audio book. That work is far more subtle and required me to portray women and do a variety of dialects.
I also remembered an interview with Jamie Foxx on Inside The Actor’s Studio. He talked about the tools that were put in his toolbox throughout his life that prepared him to play Ray Charles, for which he won an Oscar. This guy is so damn talented!
I’m no Jamie Foxx and I’m pretty certain I won’t win any awards for making puking and farting sounds all day. 🙂 My point is that you would be surprised at the things you can do. Look into your past and think about your training as a voice talent as well as the other skills you’ve acquired over the years. You have skills, you have talent, and you’ll be amazed at how and when they will serve you.
NEWS AND NOTES
Announcement! Check out this SoundCloud clip of my latest audio book narration stint, “Stop Guessing”
Reminder! Only a few days left of March Money Madness! All “Tax Time” sessions in March are 50% off!!! I’ll share with you some tricks and tips I’ve learned over the years to help get you get as much back as possible. Just email me to get the ball rolling.
HAPPY HAPPYS
Happy Black Forest Cake Day and Crayola Crayon Day!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
From my village to yours; this is Tom Dheere, The H is Silent, but I’m Not.
Tom Dheere is a 20-year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a coach at Edge Studio, voiceover business consultant known as the Voice Over Strategist, and is currently producing the comic book “Agent 1.22”.