The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording

Product Description

If you've ever wanted to work in the field of voice over acting, providing your vocal skills for commercials and jingles, you know how stiff the competition is! Today's successful voice actors are also skilled at audio production, so they can offer a full range of services to their VO clients, in addition to being self-sufficient in producing their own audition recordings and audio promotional materials. Veteran MixBooks author Jeffrey Fisher, along with voice actor Harlan Hogan, bring you their expert advice on making excellent sounding voice acting recordings that will have you making money in this exciting field in no time!

Customer Reviews:

Revolutionizing The Home Recording Industry, One Studio At A Time!.......2007-09-19

Just when I thought I knew it all about voice-overs, my agent and producers started asking me to audition at home. Honestly, I was overwhelmed by the thought of it all. And thought that maybe this was the technological chasm, the great divide, that would separate the wheat from the chaff....and not related to voice-over abilibity.

And then I found Harlan Hogan's and Jeffrey P. Fisher's book on Home Recording. To say it has saved my derriere is putting it mildly. Harlan and Jeffrey take you through step-by-step on what affordable equipment to buy, how to set up your home studio and how to properly record and edit yourself. They even toss in chapters on ISDN and phone patch, as well as self-promoting your home studio.

A "home run" if you ask me...and you did!

A MUST HAVE!.......2007-09-05

I put a recording studio in my home in 2006 in order to build my voice over business. I must admit, I'm not sure why I didn't buy this book sooner!! This book is a MUST for anyone who is even REMOTELY considering building their own studio.

In the process of building my home studio, I came to one conclusion: there's a reason there are audio engineers... because they understand all of this equipment, and I didn't have a clue what all the knobs and sliders meant. What little I did comprehend when building my studio has now been further explained to me in this book... NOW I KNOW!!!

The text is written so that it's easy to understand. And, it's apparent, without even knowing them, that Harlan and Jeffrey included their personalities in the book. You can just tell by reading, these are guys with a great sense of humor... which is so refreshing when you're reading about things you may not necessarily understand at the onset.

Good Overview.......2007-08-31

This book provides a good overview of the process and the equipment needed. it covers some of the technical aspects well in broad strokes with enough information to point in the directions for further study if required but is sufficient in the depth of information to be up and running quickly.

The subject is huge. There are the technical aspects of the technology, which is changing monthly,and any publication will be out of date by the time it is printed, however, the underlying processes are unchanged.

I recommend it as a good reference for anyone interested in Podcasting or Voice Overs.

Hands down the BEST hands on book on subject!.......2007-08-09

From assembling your home studio (mic, pc and software) to tips on HOW to make yourself sound better, etc., this is an EXCELLENT, easy to read primer.

an invaluable resource .......2007-07-09

I have read this book cover to cover and keep comming back to it. What a Wonderful Resourse for any Voice Actor!!!! Thanks Harlan and Jeffrey for the hard work you guys put into this book! Not only is if full of good info it is easy to understand for the non-tech people out there.

Secrets of Voice-Over Success: Top Voice-Over Actors Reveal How They Did It

Average customer rating:

Genius!!
A Bible for VO artists
GREAT INSIGHTS FROM SUCCESSFUL VO PROS!
Inspiration is sometimes all that's needed
Secrets is a gold mine!

Secrets of Voice-Over Success: Top Voice-Over Actors Reveal How They Did It
Joan Baker
Manufacturer: Sentient Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording
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VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor
YOU CAN BANK ON YOUR VOICE: Your Guide to a Successful Career in Voice-Overs

ASIN: 1591810337

Book Description

An inspirational real world practical handbook for nayone seeking a career in the highly lucrative field of voice-over acting.

Customer Reviews:

Genius!!.......2007-07-26

Like a good song that make you get up and move, this book is pure inspiration! The stories are told in a way that gives you the experience of discovering the truth of your own heart. I appreciate the contributors' honest accounts of their setbacks, and discomforts. I also wanted to know what the professionals learned on their way to reaching the pinnacle of their success. Most of all, it delivers a powerful message of having the nerve to turn out the odds. It stimulated my conscience in a way that even my understanding of passion elevated to another level.

Even though I'm not a voice over actor, I'm still an actor who audition on a regular basis. The principles are the same and I've had to refer to the lessons more than a few times. Needless to say, this book has served me very well. I applied the lessons to my line of work and have gotten amazing results.

It is your soul that will find food here. Unless you put the suggestions to practice, the secrets will pass you by leaving you once again with frustration and doubt. In other words, this book will point you into the direction of your hearts' desire. If you follow your heart, "Secrets" will find and move you in some way. Only when ready to receive new information will your thirst for knowledge and a new point of view expand. After reading, I asked myself, do I dare? The stories in this book tells me the answer is a question of courage and effort; a question of desire. We either love/enjoy our labor or not. It's for each us to decide.

Certainly, you'll get a second wind after reading this gem of a book called, Secrets of Voice Over Success.

Joan:
You and the other contributors' courage have encouraged me. If just one soul is empowered, that's valid enough. And, you've even managed to find a creative way to enlarge the vision of humanity by contributing to a good cause such as the Alzheimer's Association. Bravo!!! Your work is a perfect expression of love in action! Now suddenly the impossible seems possible!

A Bible for VO artists.......2007-07-23

This book does what no other VO book has. It puts aspiring VO talent into the world of successful VO talent. Every other book I've looked at is a technical guide...dry and dull. Training is important and I've had my share but this book answers all the FAQ's the other books miss. If you want to make a living at VO this is a must have.

GREAT INSIGHTS FROM SUCCESSFUL VO PROS!.......2007-07-21

One of the most common question questions I hear in the Los Angeles voice over world is how did the big guns get to the top. Well, this book uses standardized interview questions to 19 of the top vo talent in the U.S., Joan herself being one of them. You couldn't wish for a better one on one interview with each one.

Everyone interviewed certainly had distinct things to say, but some common threads were "just fell into it", battled racism on the way and hard work and persistence really pays off.

A note to the wise: if you're in this business for quick profit forget about it. This career path has alot of competition, and only those with stamina and passion for voice work will stand the test of time and make a full-time living at it.

The Alzheimer aspect was valuable in today's society where it is estimated that in the coming decades, unless something is done, millions of the aging group of Americans will succumb to this heart-wrenching disease. Go Joan!!

Tansy Alexander

Inspiration is sometimes all that's needed.......2007-06-29

I'm just flummoxed by a previous review of Joan Baker's "Secrets of Voice-Over Success". Ms. Baker is deemed by the reviewer to be irrelevant, obvious and out of date because she neglects to deconstruct the semiotics of the latest manifestations of an ever-changing gamut of voiceover styles. Whazzat? Pretty heavy, I guess, but these quibbles convey nothing of the wonderful and inspiring book I read. What could be more relevant and uplifting than the tales these voice artists relate as to how they reached the high level of success they enjoy today. These are top people, engaging in national level campaigns right now. Their voices are supposed to be irrelevant? I don't think so.

For a newcomer to voiceover like myself it's so encouraging to learn how others overcame pitfalls and obstacles to make it in our chosen field. Joan Baker's nifty volume is like a pat on the back and a helping hand along the way. Kudos to Joan and to all the artists who so generously gave of their time and experience to help make this marvelous book a reality. And what more wonderful theme to tie the volume together than touching on the effects of Alzheimer's on the lives of so many of us? Something tells me that one day, when we've reached the other side of the River Jordan, we'll be surprised to learn just how much good this book will have done to help those poor souls afflicted with Alzheimer's.

Secrets is a gold mine!.......2007-06-26

I orginally met the author Joan Baker at her Learning Annex workshop called "Make Millions With Your Voice" where I was very very impressed but after just finishing her book and meeting more than half the people in the book at her workshop-Iam overwhelmed with inspiration!
Thank you Joan Baker and the Vo Artist's in Secrets for moving me forward in my vo career that I've been navigating for the past 6 years. Thank you!
I would recommend this book to anyone seeking solutions in the Vo industry.

VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor

Average customer rating:

Like talking with a friend
Extremely entertaining and informative
Can I give it 100 stars instead of 5?
Simply excellent
The VO "Missing Manual"

VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor
Harlan Hogan
Manufacturer: Allworth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording
The Art of Voice Acting, Third Edition: The Craft and Business of Performing for Voice-Over
There's Money Where Your Mouth Is: An Insider's Guide to a Career in Voice-Overs
Secrets of Voice-Over Success: Top Voice-Over Actors Reveal How They Did It
YOU CAN BANK ON YOUR VOICE: Your Guide to a Successful Career in Voice-Overs

ASIN: 1581152493

Book Description

One of the country's top voice-over talents shares his secrets to success in this insider's guide to the voice-over industry. Not only does veteran actor Harlan Hogan offer a fascinating personal account of the crazed clients, practical jokes, and amazing coincidences encountered during his twenty-five year career, he also provides a wealth of tested tips for surviving and thriving as a voice-over actor. This indispensable guide features dozens of techniques to help readers train their voices, gain experience, make a demo, join unions, get an agent, and more. It also includes strategies for finding work in venues outside film and television, including games, automated telephone systems, and even Web sites. Actors, broadcasters, and anyone else who longs to make money speaking into a microphone will cherish this informative, insightful, and often hilarious glimpse at the business.

Customer Reviews:

Like talking with a friend.......2007-05-16

Harlan Hogan provides a lot of explanation of how things work in the VO world (or at least as they did in 2002, when this book was written). He gives great advice while lightly touching on subjects like running your business, jargon, union vs. "pre-union", etc. However, he also offers some insight that beginning voice actors aren't likely to find in a lot of other books. Harlan does this by recounting stories from his own experience that not only entertain, but relate to the major points of each section. He also lets the reader in on inside jokes of the trade like "Blooper's Soap" and the infamous Findus Foods session with Orson Welles. Sure, they're easily Google-able, but how are they woven into the fabric of the industry?

I've done radio for a dozen years, switched to the computer tech side
for another half-dozen and now I'm studying and working on figuring out
where I will best fit into the VO market. This book not only confirmed
a lot of things I felt instinctively, but it also helped me to not
listen so much to the "what if" voice that we all carry with us.

Extremely entertaining and informative.......2006-09-01

I really enjoyed this book, it is really informative, entertaining and gives and inside look at voice over acting. This is one of the few books that I will re-read becouse of all the usefull information, a must read for anyone starting out or considering a career as a voice actor.

Can I give it 100 stars instead of 5?.......2006-07-21

This book is excellent. It's packed with information about what one should expect if he/she wants to work in the Voice Acting industry, and it also includes many tips & tricks that voice actors could follow in order to advance in their careers.

It's hilariously entertaining yet down-to-earth informative - a rare combination achievable in books.

On top of that, it's easy to read, so you don't see much of those long-worded-jargons-which-you-will-find-in-technical-books for instance. Instead, you get cute cartoons replacing the too-much-information type of thing.

As I've mentioned in the title, I'd give this book 100 stars if I could.

This book truly is one of the BEST purchases I've EVER made.

~ Jessie

Simply excellent.......2006-06-19

If you're someone who's always felt they had the talent to do voiceover work, and had no idea where to start, you simply can't go wrong with Harlan Hogan's excellent book. Mr. Hogan's writing style is light and humorous, which makes the book a very unintimidating way to get acquainted with the world of voice acting.

Mr. Hogan relates his path to a VO career with memoirs and humorous anecdotes (you can tell he really enjoys his work!), while providing separate "techniques" sections throughout, covering all the aspects of the voiceover profession from getting the work to doing the work to accounting for the work. Yes, even the section on bookkeeping and the IRS is fun to read, while providing critical information to prevent common mistakes.

As an added bonus, you also get clued in to the VO profession's shorthand and lore. Do you know what "wild on the last line" means? Have you ever heard of Blooper's Soap, or know why you can crack up just about any professional VO simply by saying "IN July"? You will after reading Mr. Hogan's book!

Whether you're a clueless wanna-be (like me, at this point), a newcomer or an established professional, Mr. Hogan's _VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor_ is a must-read!

Will Crowder

The VO "Missing Manual".......2006-06-15

Skilfully written as a concise and no-holds-barred discussion about Voice Over acting, the author draws on years of personal experience as a fledgling radio broadcaster/stage actor; becoming the acclaimed Voice Over veteran who continues to enjoy an amazing and prolific Voice Over acting career: a Master of the Game.

Generously offering useful advise on how to get started as a Voice Over actor (by finding the best workshop, voice coach, agent, union), showing how internet technology in particular ISDN/DSL patches can help leverage one's career in the Voice Over field, and breaking into personal anecdotes that inform as well as entertain readers... Harlan Hogan has covered it all in a witty narrative that is really the "missing manual" for the Voice Over professional and newcomer.

Average customer rating:

A Classic in the Field, Highly Recommened!
If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor.

Voice and the Actor
Cicely Berry
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Actor and the Text (Applause Acting Series)
The Actor Speaks: Voice and the Performer
Freeing the Natural Voice
Freeing the Natural Voice: Imagery and Art in the Practice of Voice and Language
Your Voice and How to Use It : The Classic Guide to Speaking with Confidence

ASIN: 0020415559

Book Description

"Speaking is part of a whole: an expression of inner life." Cicely Berry has based her work on the conviction that while all is present in nature our natural instincts have been crippled from birth by many processes—by the conditioning, in fact, of a warped society. So an actor needs precise exercise and clear understanding to liberate his hidden possibilities and to learn the hard task of being true to the `instinct of the moment'. As her book points out with remarkable persuasiveness `technique' as such is a myth, for there is no such thing as a correct voice. There is no right way—there are only a million wrong ways, which are wrong because they deny what would otherwise be affirmed. Wrong uses of the voice are those that constipate feeling, constrict activity, blunt expression, level out idiosyncrasy, generalize experience, coarsen intimacy. These blockages are multiple and are the results of acquired habits that have become part of the automatic vocal equipment; unnoticed and unknown, they stand between the actor's voice as it is and as it could be and they will not vanish by themselves. So the work is not how to do but how to permit: how, in fact, to set the voice free. And since life in the voice springs from emotion, drab and uninspiring technical exercises can never be sufficient. Cicely Berry never departs from the fundamental recognition that speaking is part of a whole: an expression of inner life…. After a voice session with her I have known actors speak not of the voice but of a growth in human relationships. This is a high tribute to work that is the opposite of specialization. Cicely Berry sees the voice teacher as involved in all of a theatre's work. She would never try to separate the sound of words from their living context. For her the two are inseparable. —from Peter Brook's foreword to Voice and the Actor

Customer Reviews:

A Classic in the Field, Highly Recommened!.......2006-12-14

Some years ago, I developed an interest in voice and diction. I had noticed how well-spoken many actors were, and then later I noticed that successful people in general tended to be well spoken. The opposite also held true, I noticed even college educated individuals with poor speaking habits.

I took voice and diction lessons from a local teacher, and then moved on to the classic book in the field, Edith Skinner's, "Speak with Distinction". "Speak With Distinction" is a monolithic work, and many of the great actors of American theatre and movies regard it as the bible of speech training.

Edith Skinner refers to "Voice and the Actor", as a suggested book for further study. In many ways, I think "Voice and the Actor" functions as the perfect companion piece to "Speak With Distinction". This is because whereas "Speak With Distinction" focuses on proper pronunciation and enuciation, "Voice and the Actor" focuses on the processes of vocal production, i.e., breathing, diaphram, and the elusive process of "setting the voice free".

Also, "Voice and the Actor" goes into great detail about the need and proper use of a device called a "bone prop", which is used to prop the mouth open during voice training exercises. This isolates certain muscles, and is an old school voice training technique which is quite helpful.

Highly recommended for actors and serious students of voice and diction.

If you are an actor and don't have this book, your no actor........1998-12-30

Ciss Berry is actin

The Actor Speaks: Voice and the Performer

Average customer rating:

most complete voice guide for the actor
One of the best
Too much spesialized
The Actor Speaks
Practically Great

The Actor Speaks: Voice and the Performer
Patsy Rodenburg
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312295146

Book Description

In The Actor Speaks, Patsy Rodenburg takes actors and actresses, both professional and beginners, through a complete voice workshop. She touches on every aspect of performance work that involves the voice and sorts through the kinds of vexing problems every performer faces onstage: breathing and relaxation; vocal range and power; communication with other actors; singing and acting simultaneously; working on different-sized stages and in both large and small auditoriums; and approaching the vocal demands of different kinds of scripts, etc. The final word on the actors voice, The Actor Speaks is a classic work that every actor must have.

Customer Reviews:

most complete voice guide for the actor.......2007-08-07

Ms. Rodenburg is one of the most wise and trusted teachers in the theater today. Her books are a veritable map of how to have and maintain a free voice - that which any good actor yearns to have, especially doing 8 shows a week as in the regionals or on Broadway. The books are the next best thing to being in the classroom with her - something every actor should experience at least once. Whether you are just beginning your acting studies, or in the thick of a professional career, this book will be an asset to you.

One of the best .......2007-07-16

Patsy's work I think is fantastic. Patsy learnt from Cecily Berry, and Clifford Turner which laid her foundation down for her work.

She is very thorugher, and so thorugher I am still working my way through it (since last year!) So if you want something quick, fast and easy this book isnt for you.
Although I am not an actor , I bought the book to help me work with my voice so I can give better speeches.
Patsy covers everything I need to know, and although It is taking me some time I am improving.I think it is extremly challenging at times because some of her work ask you to do a lot of exercises . And you really need to make the time to do them all. I was reccomended to this book after completing a short actors course in Sydney by the voice director. And although I was a little skeptical at first, after all why buy an acting book to help with speech work? But the same principles apply.
For speakes, actors, performers, etc this is A MUST to have on your book shelf. Buy it and continuelly use it.
You can not afford to pass this book up for the sake of your career!

Too much spesialized.......2007-02-07

The book is useful only to actors because it contains too many exercises and details on voice production and support. It's very complicated and very large. However as the actors said, it's a bible for them. Buy it only if you are an actor...

The Actor Speaks.......2007-01-13

I highly recomend this book for budding young actors, it is filled with great tips and techniques. I loved it.

Practically Great.......2003-08-31

The Actor Speaks is a practical guide to acting. It tells you what to do with your instrument. It is a great book for any performer. However it is purely practically, it doesn't get you out of playing Hamlet perfectly in the livingroom. To prepare for the real industry outside the practical I also recommend picking up "My Fractured Life" by Rikki Lee Travolta. It gives a very detailed and graphic look at real life as actors trying to make it in modern society and some tips on getting luck to play in your favor.

Average customer rating:

Lots of info
Fun for film buffs
marni Nixon bio
Hollywood's most famous vocal "Ghost" appears in the shimmering flesh!
My Fair and Wonderful Lady

I Could Have Sung All Night: My Story
Marni Nixon , and Stephen Cole
Manufacturer: Billboard Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0823083659
Release Date: 2006-09-01

Book Description

*The most celebrated "voice" in Hollywood speaks for herself!
* Beloved show-biz icon Nixon dubbed songs for Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn--now she tells her story for the first time
* Entertaining behind-the-scenes celebrity stories from six decades of performing

Everyone knows Marni Nixon...even if they think they don't. One of the best-known and best-loved singing voices in the world, Nixon dubbed songs for Natalie Wood in West Side Story, Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, and Deborah Kerr in The King and I. She was the voice of Hollywood's leading ladies, arriving in filmland after a debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at 17 and continuing her career with Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Stephen Sondheim, Rogers and Hammerstein, and many others. Her inspiring autobiography reveals Nixon as a singer, an actress, and a woman fighting for artistic recognition. Today, a survivor of breast cancer, she works on Broadway and television's Law & Order SVU, tours with her own stage show, and teaches master classes in voice. Marni Nixon: The Voice of Hollywood reveals the woman behind the screen is revealed, in a frank, funny biography that is as remarkable as the woman whose story it tells.

Customer Reviews:

Lots of info.......2007-10-03

I had long known about Ms. Nixon's film work, dubbing for Deborah Kerr, Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn, but this memoir filled in a lot of gaps. I really enjoyed it.

Fun for film buffs.......2007-01-13

If you have ever wondered who sang Kerr's songs in KING & I or Wood's in WEST SIDE STORY, then this is the book for you. Marnie Nixon was the dubbed voice of many non-singing stars'in some of their best roles. Here she tells her story and while at times it drags a bit, I found it very interesting and entertaining. The chapters about her work in film are espcially engaging.

marni Nixon bio.......2006-11-10

Enjoyed this book so much.It was fun to read about all the colleagues she had worked with during her career. A very pleasant read.

Hollywood's most famous vocal "Ghost" appears in the shimmering flesh!.......2006-10-19

Marni Nixon's was one of those famous people who fascinated me from the moment I heard her story of being the vocal "ghost" in three of Hollywood's most remarkable musicals. Her's is a story I was waiting to hear, and with this great book, it was worth the wait.

For anyone interested in musicals, Hollywood or performing, Ms. Nixon's wonderful book will be a boon. From her personal stories about Hollywood to her journey from singer to remarkable actress, the book is a wonderful read.

Her story would make one of the most fascinating movie musicals ever. Part "Singing in the Rain" and part Hollywood Grimm's fairy tale, I want to see this story made into a movie musical. Anyone out there listening?

Bravo to Ms. Nixon! Thank you for sharing your amazing story. I was completely enthralled as well as inspired.

My Fair and Wonderful Lady.......2006-10-12

"I Could Have Sung All Night" by Marni Nixon is a wonderful, enjoyable autobiography of her life. Marni Nixon has dubbed singers Audrey Hepburn (My Fair Lady), Deborah Kerr (The King and I), and to my surprise Natalie Wood (West Side Story). Growing up with these movie musicals I knew about Marni Nixon's dubbing in "My Fair Lady", but when reading the chapter on "West Side Story" regarding the dubbing for Natalie Wood, I was surprised. When watching West Side Story, I really thought it was Natalie Wood doing her own singing!
Marni Nixon tells wonderful stories about her travels in Israel with Liberace, her stint with Victor Borge, and many other anecdotes.
The book is a fun and entertaining read, and I could not put it down. Thank you Marni Nixon!

Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames (Charles River Media Game Development)

Average customer rating:

Great for knowledge on how video games are made
Good, but Focused
A 'must' for any video or computer game writer.
Bringing a Story to Computer Games

Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames (Charles River Media Game Development)

Manufacturer: Charles River Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

Game Writing Handbook (Charles River Media Game Development) (Charles River Media Game Development)

ASIN: 1584504900

Book Description

As computer games become more and more like Hollywood productions, the need for good story lines increases. Research shows that stories are highly valued by game players, so today's studios and developers need good writers. Creating narrative - a traditionally static form - for games is a major challenge. Games are at their heart dynamic, interactive systems, so they don't follow the guidelines and rules of film or T.V. writing. Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames addresses these issues and is the first book written to demystify this emerging field. Through the insights and experiences of practicing game writers, the book captures a snapshot of the narrative skills employed in today's game industry. This unique collection of practical articles provides the foundations to the craft of game writing. The articles, written by member of the International Game Developer's (IDGA) Game Writer's SIG, detail aspects of the process from the basics of narrative and non-linear narrative to writing comedy for games and creating compelling characters. Throughout the articles there is a strong emphasis on the skills developers and publishers will expect a game writer to have. The book is suitable for both beginners and experienced writers, and is a detailed guide to all the techniques of game writing. This book is an essential read for anyone wishing to get into this exciting field, particularly for new game writers wanting to hone their skills, and film and T.V. scriptwriters who want to learn how to transfer their skills to the games industry.

Customer Reviews:

Great for knowledge on how video games are made.......2007-03-12

Great book for seeing how video games are made!

Good, but Focused.......2006-12-30

This is a good book. It suffers from having multiple authors in that it lacks the consistent tone that most writng books have, but all the writng is still good.

It is focused on the interface betwen the writer, the game, and the team, and is long on cautionary points. It will be of value to anyone who is writing, producing, or leading all or part of a game team, particularly if they lack practical experience.

If you are only interested in a book about writing for games, Lee Sheldon's 'Character Development and Storytelling for Games' is probably a better choice, but if you are intending or actually writing game, or working with a game writer, this is a good read and a potentially vital resource.

A 'must' for any video or computer game writer........2006-10-14

Computer games are becoming more like Hollywood productions, requiring good plots and valued story lines which use good narrative styles. In Chris Bateman, Editor's Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames are practical articles on how to do so, written by members of the International Game Developer's Association and covering all kinds of game writing, from comedy to plots. A 'must' for any video or computer game writer.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Bringing a Story to Computer Games.......2006-08-10

The days of the super simple games like Pac-Man are long gone. Today's games must entertain with all the finesse and skill of a Hollywood movie. This is not to say that a game must be all narrative, neither is a movie.

This book is the first complete guide to writing stories for games. They are not stories alone, that would just be a book. But nor are they just action games. They are games with a story.

The book is edited by Chris Bateman, an expert in market oriented game design and narrative. He has gotten an even dozen of game developers to contribute in various aspects. They range from game developers to writers, to educators, to journalists. Each is able to bring his/her own insight to the book and to the writing profession.

As computers, software, game engines (and always more memory) develop, games can grow more powerful, more lifelike, more movie like.

Freeing Shakespeare's Voice: The Actor's Guide to Talking the Text

Average customer rating:

How to take your Shakespeare to the next level
All caught up in technical lingo
Absolute necessary for the Shakespearean Scholar

Freeing Shakespeare's Voice: The Actor's Guide to Talking the Text
Kristin Linklater
Manufacturer: Theatre Communications Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Playing Shakespeare: An Actor's Guide (Methuen Paperback)
Freeing the Natural Voice: Imagery and Art in the Practice of Voice and Language
Speaking Shakespeare
The Actor and the Text (Applause Acting Series)
Freeing the Natural Voice

ASIN: 1559360313

Customer Reviews:

How to take your Shakespeare to the next level.......2005-12-18

In one of the most eloquent handbooks
I've ever had the pleasure to peruse,
Kristin Linklater guides you through a rich
and expertly constructed path designed
to help you give your voice to Shakespeare's text.
For her, the body and the voice are one:
an instrument that needs each part to work.
To speak the speech, you start with how it sounds -
the open vowels and clear consonants
each bring a unique bodily sensation.
Then you progress to what it actually means -
the content, the "emotional", the life -
and later bring this to poetic form.

Ms.L insists you also understand
Th' Elizabethans and their take on life -
her explanations always held me rapt.
Her methods are direct; each chapter builds
upon the one that came before. However,
this shouldn't mean the structure is rigid:
there's lots of room for your experiments.

This book is one of my best purchases.

All caught up in technical lingo.......2000-06-14

This book has some good ideas but it is somewhat too cumbersome in it's technical language. It took several read overs to really understand what Kristin was trying invoke. This book is not a good source for new actors but may be more appropriate for those in upper college theater/drama class or master classes.

Absolute necessary for the Shakespearean Scholar.......2000-04-11

The master teacher Kristin Linklater has written a user-friendly, brilliant book on her approach to Shakespeare's language. Anyone interested in reading or performing Shakespeare shouldn't be without it.

Average customer rating:

Scenes for Actors and Voices
Daws Butler
Manufacturer: BearManor Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Art of Voice Acting, Third Edition: The Craft and Business of Performing for Voice-Over
The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording
Daws Butler, Characters Actor
VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor
Secrets of Voice-Over Success: Top Voice-Over Actors Reveal How They Did It

ASIN: 0971457069

Book Description

Daws Butler was the Master of Voice. He spoke the words for most of the classic Hanna-Barbera characters: Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Elroy Jetson, and a hundred others. He also originated the vocal character of Cap'n Crunch and other famous Jay Ward cartoon characters. His significant work as both a writer and an actor with Stan Freberg in the 1950s on The Stan Freberg Show and multi-million-selling records such as St. George and the Dragonet are still held in reverence today.

He also ran a voice acting workshop for years.

This is his book of scenes, exercises and advice for voice actors, written for those who are now tops in the profession. Among his many successful students are Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson), and Corey Burton (from Closet Cases of the Nerd Kind to Disney's Treasure Plant), who wrote the Foreword.

For the first time in print, finally a book for voice professionals by the top man himself!

Singing and the Actor
Average customer rating:

More Vocal Pedagogy Programs Need This Type of Book

Intelligent and Straightforward

A self-contradicting and and completely inaccurate book

Great technical Walk-thru of voice mechanics!

Great technical Walk-thru of voice mechanics!

Singing and the Actor
Gillyanne Kayes
Manufacturer: Theatre Arts Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Voice | Instruments & Performers | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Acting & Auditioning | Theater | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

Successful Singing Auditions

The Complete Professional Audition: A Commonsense Guide To Auditioning For Musicals and Plays

Auditioning for the Musical Theatre

How to Make It in Musicals: The Insider's Guide to a Career As a Singer-Dancer

Singing in Musical Theater: The Training of Singers and Actors

ASIN: 0878301984

Book Description

Classical singing training is no longer relevant for the theatre performer today. So how does an actor train his singing voice? Now in its second edition, this practical handbook takes the reader through a step-by-step training program relevant to the modern singing actor and dancer. A variety of contemporary voice qualities including belting and twang are explained, with exercises for each topic. This new edition has been revised throughout.

Customer Reviews:

More Vocal Pedagogy Programs Need This Type of Book.......2006-12-16

Having an actual Master's in vocal pedagogy (classical and non-classical), I would like to give an expert's opinion. This book was a great find when I was working on my master's thesis. The classical-only vocal pedagogy teachers are currently finding that they are being left behind, because of the emergence of scholarly, and expert evidence of the healthy and effective inclusion of ALL types of vocal techniques. Ms. Kayes book "Singing and the Actor" is not only CORRECT but, also desperately needed. Today's classical-only trained pedagogues may be just to embarrassed to admit they were dupped into believing that they have all the training they needed to work as a private voice teacher in the real world. If you are a voice teacher, and don't have this book, I beg you to get it- there is enough ignorance and arrogance some of today's voice teachers- it's 2006 for crying out loud!

Intelligent and Straightforward.......2001-11-12

This book contains detailed descriptions of the vocal qualities needed in today's theatre singing. It doesn't preach classical techniques, but it does tell you how to find sounds like twang, "speech", and cry safely and correctly. Clear and practical stuff with things to try out and assignments. A really useful book packed with information that I haven't seen published anywhere else. I loved it.

A self-contradicting and and completely inaccurate book.......2000-07-16

This book is filled with incorrect misleading information on ways to manipulate the human voice to achieve sounds (ie. belting) that are scientifically proven to be damaging. Many of the techniques described in this book require the physical manipulation of the vocal apparatus, a process which can lead to undue strain on the vocal folds and surrounding musculature. Though this books does occassionally contain accurate information on the process of healthy singing, there is far too much that is incorrect and poses permanent damage to the voice. The author frequently contradicts herself as she explains her process of vocal "training." The techniques of this book ask the reader to embark on an unhealthy and permanently damaging course of vocal study. I recommend this book only to those wishing to know how NOT to sing.

Great technical Walk-thru of voice mechanics!.......2000-05-05

I've read several good books on voice for acting and singing. There's a lot to learn and I've found it helpful to look at it from many points of view. Other books cover the mechanics to some degree, but this one devotes a great deal of space to exercises that help you identify all the pieces that contribute to the production of sound. With these exercises, I find it a lot easier to methodically troubleshoot when something is not working and narrow it to the problem area, eg, larynx, support, etc. and action that causes the problem, eg, nasality, "excessive pressure on the vocal folds" etc. I also learned the mechanics involved in several techniques, such as "belting" or "crying". I would recommend this to any singer or actor starting out for understanding how the voice works.

Great technical Walk-thru of voice mechanics!.......2000-05-05

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