A tremulous and rainy Saturday morning welcomed the Certified Voice Artist Program Batch 8 members on their week three meeting last July 24 due to the inclement weather and the recorded magnitude 6.7 earthquake.
Despite interruptions in the plenary due to non-stop rain, the weekly meeting was productive and enjoyable. At least 70 people joined the morning Zoom meeting, while others still caught up by watching the meeting's live stream on Facebook.
The program began at 9:30 a.m. with resident hosts Richard Abalos, Jeff Perry, and guest co-host CJ Ugalino from CVAP batch 7. A prayer led by CVAP Batch 7 alumna Margarita Manigo preceded the "Zoomustahan Session." They pick six random participants for small talk who later do character voice warm-ups as an icebreaker.
The hosts then recapped last week's lesson on creating voices, finding niches, voice care, and more. Preceding Nickie Esmero's regular opening remarks, CJ Ugalino reminds the voicemates of the voice rules.
Furthermore, the program carried on with the awaited introduction of the hosts to Pocholo "The VoiceMaster" Gonzales. His enthusiasm was contagious as he greeted everyone "Great day!" accompanied by cheerful music. A buoyant atmosphere cloaks the meeting, not because of the Voice Master's enthusiastic voice but also with the overflowing learning in his hour of talk.
Through Pocholo's technical knowledge, supported by his life stories and wisdom, the Voice Master encouraged everyone to commit to the next step of the process, which is practicing. His philosophies, which he presented throughout the meeting, are effective coping mechanisms. Here are a few:
[quote] "You are greater than your dreams."
"Being great is a choice; do great things."
"Technology is nothing without humans."
"Happiness comes only when you let go."
At 11:20 a.m., the hosts led the participants in tongue-twisting and script reading. The fun activity gave the voice mates some tips in enhancing their pronunciation and developing their presence of mind.
They also discussed some tips in reading sample scripts such as having knowledge on commonly used marks, understanding Movement Orchestrates Vocal Expression (MOVE) as an acting technique, creating lead-in lines to intensify the emotions, and the use of human sound effects with the professional term of 'REAX' which includes the sound of laughter, cry, sigh, agony and more.
In the afternoon session, Nikie continued the conference and discussed Branding and Marketing for about half an hour. In her talk, she recommended some ways to comply with the Branding topic. Moreover, she also presented some marketing techniques on different platforms. To name a few, she talks about the importance of preparing marketing materials and portfolios, creating accounts and profiles in Soundcloud, Social Media Pages, and VO websites.
At around 2:00 p.m., Nikie did the honor of introducing the very first speaker for the CVAP Talks, a portion of the program where Pillars of the Voice Acting Industry will join the meeting to share their knowledge and experiences from their journey. Pioneer speaker in the first-ever CVAP Talks with the theme "The Future of Voice Acting on Radio" is Bernard Canaberal, who is known for his several achievements in his career.
Bernard is a veteran broadcaster and media practitioner. He was a Drama Manager in Manila Broadcasting Company way back 1998 - 2000; he was a former national director of Family Rosary Crusade Philippines and is currently the president of SIGNIS Philippines, the World Catholic Association for Communication. In his media-centric career, he became a writer for the big screen which some of the samples are "Ibabaon Kita Sa Lupa" (1990) and "Suarez, The Healing Priest" (2020). Prior to this, Bernard is known for his acting and voice acting skills in numerous shows like Saigon Commandos (1987), Primary Target (1989), and Magikland Gugu (2020).
He has won numerous awards throughout his career, including the Film Academy of the Philippines, KBP Golden Dove, and SIGNIS Media. Because of his extensive industry connections, The Voicemaster was able to invite Bernard Canaberal to give a motivational speech to newcomers.
"The Voice is the Organ of the Soul," Bernard said, quoting Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In his first few minutes, he emphasized that everyone has a voice signature. His modulated voice and captivating storytelling technique held each participant's attention.
Bernard Canaberal shared his first line "Opo, Mahal na Hari" in a radio drama during his early years. He failed back then for being overconfident in a one-liner dialogue. He questioned himself, wondering if he should have been there or not, but soon recovered after learning the power of voice. He also shared wisdom from his father, who always reminded him to be the best version of himself. Upon telling the happenings in his voice-acting career, he figured out the golden idea that there is no insignificant voice but only power in it.
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| Link of his talk : https://www.facebook.com/CertifiedVoiceArtist/videos/181185974058372/ |
When Bernard talked about success, he admitted to being blinded by money and an avarice victim. The consequences of his greedy actions made him realize he shouldn't prostitute the talent that God gave him. And this was the major statement he would like to share in the plenary; nourishing the talent together with your soul is vital to be able to respond to the call and finally say, "Opo, Mahal na Hari."
After Bernard’s hour-long lecture, everyone was inspired to continue on their chosen path. The afternoon activity was assigned and required all 13 breakout rooms to create and perform a ZoomArte live. The rest of the day's meeting focused on each participant's ability to deliver dialogues while applying what they learned in the morning session.
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| Link of ZoomArte: https://www.facebook.com/CertifiedVoiceArtist/videos/350548839866017/ |
As Nikie announced another set of assignments before formally ending the program, the CVAP Batch 8 members were obviously seen with gladness for the whole day of fun, learning, and improvement. Next Saturday, July 31, will be the participants' final meeting for CVAP Batch 8 before the expected graduation and recognition ceremony.