Kamusta kayong lahat!
Welcome to my 3rd blog for the Certified Voice Artist Program (CVAP)!
If I were to summarize the main message of the third CVAP class in one word, it would have to be "Practice", it was a prevalent theme throughout the 5 or so hours spent in that Zoom meeting. Before I delve deep into the core lessons and learning I made over the week, I would like to again commend all the presenters for keeping the lectures entertaining while still being highly informative. They really set this program apart from common lecture seminars thanks to their wit and charm.
This week was not as intensive as the last two weeks, there were less assignments given but the actual live activities became more interactive and involved. They really had us reflect on how we can use our talents to help people and make a difference. But what stood out to me the most during this week was the testimonies given by a Voice Talent veteran named Amadani Mandia. His experiences on the development and evolution of the voice talent business was both interesting and at times terrifying. He gave a talk that I will go deeper into later in the blog.
Please, allow me to provide you with the highlights of all that I have learned over the week, starting from the live activities, testimonials, and down to the assignments!
The Importance of Practice
No one ever really started out the best, sure some people may have born talented, but the key factor that really puts you above the rest is effort. You work on yourself to keep developing yourself, and that action is what we call "Practice". This the act of using all we have learned the past two weeks and putting those theories into action. With enough work, I was able to create something new with my voices and improve over time.
You needed needed to get over our embarrassments and record yourself performing these actions, only by trying again and again can we know our weaknesses and build upon our strengths. You also needed to be your own critic and review your work to learn more and more on our self-improvement.
Tongue Twisters
Apparently, one of the most effective practice exercises for voice work is Tongue Twisters. These challenges allow you to enhance your speaking capabilities, they will help you pronounce hard syllables and enunciate your words properly. This is important since most clients will not let their scripts be changed so we have to be ready to say anything no matter how difficult it may be.
To prepare us for this, we were required to perform tongue twisters live on Zoom! I was actually picked, but luckily I got an easy phrase so it wasn't all that difficult. I'm glad to have been able to participate in this activity.
Create your own Hero
The 2nd live zoom activity was creating our own superhero and explaining how their powers would benefit the world at large. Many groups had such creative premises ranging from simple sketches on poverty, to full blown superhero brawls. They were all so creative and inspiring when they presented your scenarios. When it can to our group, we decided to individually introduce our heroes and their power, like a roll-call. I made a dinosaur that can de-stress people, which was a nod to my channel logo.
Reaction to "The Talk" by Sir Danny Mandia
Sir Danny Mandia was a very prolific figure within the Filipino Dubbing industry, he was even called "The Father of Modern Filipino Dubbing". He was one of the very first dubbing directors in the country, and spearheaded the dubbing of several iconic IPs at the time such as Voltron, Zenki, and Ragnarok the Animation. He was also a mentor the voice master himself.
During his talk, he revealed so much life experiences and imparted his wisdom in anyway he could. He revealed how he began, how he rose, and how he was betrayed by people he trusted. I never would have imagined that the dubbing industry back then was so double faced, it was a takeaway that grounded this art to reality, showing that when it comes to money, anything can go.
But despite these setbacks and harsh situations, Sir Danny always thought of his fellow man above himself. He reminded us that our talents are not meant to be hoarded all to ourselves, its our God given gift, and we had an obligation to share it with other people, and to all the world. He reminded us that two wrongs will never make a right, don't trick others and always treat your fellow man fairly.
He gave importance to valuing your own accomplishments, never sell yourself short, whatever you achieve no matter how high or small will always have value. Be happy with your successes and don't be embarrassed with being happy with them. But he also sternly warned us on being prideful, never think you are above someone just because of your talents. All men have a certain uniqueness that makes them better in certain things. We all have our strengths, don't flaunt yours against the weakness of another.
The latter part of his talk delved into certain practicalities one needs to embody when performing in voice acting. First of all, know that you are still an "actor", you need to know what kind of person your character is and try your best to embody their characteristics. Just making a generic voice and reading lines will not make your performance memorable, it will be a weak show of your talents. To truly be recognized, be distinctive, move with your character and fill in their shoes, doing so will make your voice truly stand out.
All of these lessons will stick with me long after the program ends, likely till the end of my days. But nevertheless I hope you've enjoyed going through my blog as much as I had writing it. Allow to give a big thanks to CVAP for giving me this opportunity!
Till next time guys, if you wanna learn a bit more of my thoughts, watch my Vlog below, thank you!