Okay, here's a demo I just did in the hopes of being part of the VAC here

http://www.groupnetw..A%20samples/demo.mp3

Okay sorry to double post here

-Your name or screen name: Grant McLellan (GrantM)
-Gender: Male
-Age range (not how old you actually are, but what ages you are able to sound like): At least teenage to young adult
-Specialties (screaming, anime voices, monster voices, etc.): I'd say anime voice
-Resume URL (if you have one): http://www.geocities..rantm8/varesume.html

-Example(s) of your voice (required): http://www.groupnetw..A%20samples/demo.mp3

-Ways to contact you: E-mail - grantm8@yahoo.co.uk. Skype ID - GrantM

oh well, im feeling a bit out cold, so i might aswell try and join VAC (for some reason, even hidden for myself)
ah well, hope i get this right then =P

-Your name or screen name: Gito
-Gender: Male
-Age range (not how old you actually are, but what ages you are able to sound like): dont really know, but i guess on Teenager =)
-Specialties (screaming, anime voices, monster voices, etc.): none... tho Poems seems to do good
-Resume URL (if you have one): sry, will try and get one
-Example(s) of your voice (required): :here you go
-Ways to contact you: on Msn Bippe1990@hotmail.com , Aim Gito_kun .

~Gito

At 8/23/05 12:18 PM, GrantM wrote: Okay, here's a demo I just did in the hopes of being part of the VAC here

http://www.groupnetw..A%20samples/demo.mp3

Umm...anyone care to critique it? I don't like to hurt people. Maybe we should wait for Kagome, her being our founder and all. She can critique your sample and give you the final word on your admittance/non-admittance into the club. She should have the final say. Personally, I...didn't...think...it was all that good, sorry to say. No emotion, not much range, and just lack of quality and effort. I did like that you put in a Donut impression, made me laugh. I have no say in whether or not you join so we'll have to wait on Kagome to get back from AE.

At 8/23/05 02:24 PM, TripleArrow wrote:

At 8/23/05 12:18 PM, GrantM wrote: Okay, here's a demo I just did in the hopes of being part of the VAC here

http://www.groupnetw..A%20samples/demo.mp3

Umm...anyone care to critique it? I don't like to hurt people. Maybe we should wait for Kagome, her being our founder and all. She can critique your sample and give you the final word on your admittance/non-admittance into the club. She should have the final say. Personally, I...didn't...think...it was all that good, sorry to say. No emotion, not much range, and just lack of quality and effort. I did like that you put in a Donut impression, made me laugh. I have no say in whether or not you join so we'll have to wait on Kagome to get back from AE.

well..honestly, i think you are a bit behind =P she's already back (atleast thats what i have understood) and about mine, I where just playing some with the mic. will try and make a demo or something later, just a bit busy right now (school started last week) T_T

~Gito

I think He sounds to much like a girl

At 8/23/05 03:16 PM, K_Chan wrote: I think He sounds to much like a girl

Is that bad?

first sample: GrantM something

I'm glad you did this, but you definately sound young, and the variance was low. If you were to do any variations, it sounded forced, and over all, your voice was too soft for those lines, and emotionless, or boring. It's a good attempt, but you certantly need more training and work. Everything sounded similar, and your higher voice will make it hard when your variation is very limited.

Verdict: Resubmit

for your own good. People won't hire you or want you at your current state. Practice a bit more, that's all it takes.

Gito:

I love William Blake, but for the love of god don't try and literally ryme eye with symmetry(my spelling is off right now)! This was an extremely short clip with only one type of voice that gives no insight to what you can do. One voice, and not a bad one at that, but not enough.

verdict: resubmit, please

you look like with some more practice and variety, that you'd do very well. Please work on variations, serious is my favorite, so I'm glad you did, the poetry is a nice touch, but more!

Other than frog's, I'm prolly the toughest one, although Elliair and Kagome are the other spectrum of the sexes, Listen to those 3 before me, I'm still below them in this biz.

Well, I'm honestly not sure what to say :\
You have a good "anime voice", but yes, you do need to work on your range and emotions, and avoid talking in your demo. I mean obviously voice acting = talking, but try to stay in character the whole time instead of introducing yourself or...especially saying it's nothing special, right in your voice demo. If your whole goal is to get jobs as a VA you want to make yourself look as good as possible and making a demo in which you basically say you're not too good, is almost like telling them *not* to hire you.
However. Those were your first two demo's. You improved on your third one. You do okay at the voices, but that's what it feels like they are: just voices. I had the same problem with this too before until getting some advice from some more experienced AVAs who suggested that you really need to FEEL each character, get inside of their emotions and figure out their motivation for saying that line.
As far as mixing goes, try adding some BGM or sound effects to help people visualize the scene and make it sound more real. Keep trying though, you do have potential, you just need to listen to the advice that people have given you on the VAA and stuff ^^
We don't really have a in/out system anymore after the downfall of the roster, so I guess since you filled out the profile correctly and did make a demo, you're in.

At 8/23/05 11:30 AM, Shock_Dingo wrote: Heheh thanks D-mac :)
Man you guys sure had fun at AE I wish I could of gone. Hopefully more of us can meet in the future! That's awesome I loved Vash's english VA, I'm not sure but I think either him or another VA is doing Naruto's english voice. Glad you all had fun and got back safe!

He's not playing Naruto (or even being in the series most likely), I even asked him at AE. ^^ His band is at eyeshine.net if you guys wanna check them out, they're pretty good.

At 8/23/05 04:13 PM, KagomeHigurashi wrote: Well, I'm honestly not sure what to say :\
You have a good "anime voice", but yes, you do need to work on your range and emotions, and avoid talking in your demo. I mean obviously voice acting = talking, but try to stay in character the whole time instead of introducing yourself or...especially saying it's nothing special, right in your voice demo. If your whole goal is to get jobs as a VA you want to make yourself look as good as possible and making a demo in which you basically say you're not too good, is almost like telling them *not* to hire you.
However. Those were your first two demo's. You improved on your third one. You do okay at the voices, but that's what it feels like they are: just voices. I had the same problem with this too before until getting some advice from some more experienced AVAs who suggested that you really need to FEEL each character, get inside of their emotions and figure out their motivation for saying that line.
As far as mixing goes, try adding some BGM or sound effects to help people visualize the scene and make it sound more real. Keep trying though, you do have potential, you just need to listen to the advice that people have given you on the VAA and stuff ^^
We don't really have a in/out system anymore after the downfall of the roster, so I guess since you filled out the profile correctly and did make a demo, you're in.

While I'm glad you think I have a good anime voice (which I'm glad about, I do hope to work for ADV and Funimation soon), I do admit I still can't get the hang of the whole "concentrate on performance and not the voice" thing.

I'd guess I'd be better if I had a description of whoever I'd have to voice

Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention. Someone from the VAA has offered to voice coach me (and this person also happens to live in the same city as me) but I've yet to take up the offer, I don't know why I've not done it yet.

And I have tried to get some acting training, but the acting school I found was full up, I did put my name on it's waiting list however

You know I've been posting here but haven't actually joined so...here goes.

Your name or screen name:
Michael "Niftykoala" Phillips

Gender:
Male

Age range:
Pre-Teen to 30-ish

Specialties:
Movie Preview Voice Over Guy, Bad Sean Connry, Kitty Sounds(Kitty says Mew?), Romanian/Russian-American, Accent, Fake Auzzie, Fake British.

Resume URL:
Click Here For Info

Example(s) of your voice
HaloMovieFakePreview
All Characters in preview are done by me.
(Voice Acting Copyright me-Halo and music copyright others)
Weird Solid Snake(Metal Gear 3)
It's a kitty
Weird McDonalds
Pretend Legenday Frog British Voice
How not to do a Voice Over
What happens when you don't remove mic pops and hisses.

Not so Metal Gear Ac!d-Flash

Ways to contact you:

AIM username:
niftykoala

e-mail:
niftykoala@yahoo.com
niftykoala@gmail.com

Actually there's something I need to point out.

I hope to work for ADV Films and Funimation as an anime dub VA soon since I like anime and I would would really like to do anime dubs and DVD audio commentaries since their VAs often do them.

However I've developed a negative reputation on the net because of how I'm approaching wanting to be a VA

At 8/23/05 05:09 PM, GrantM wrote: Actually there's something I need to point out.

However I've developed a negative reputation on the net because of how I'm approaching :wanting to be a VA

What exactly is your "bad way of approaching?"

At 8/23/05 05:12 PM, Niftykoala wrote:

At 8/23/05 05:09 PM, GrantM wrote: Actually there's something I need to point out.

However I've developed a negative reputation on the net because of how I'm approaching :wanting to be a VA

What exactly is your "bad way of approaching?"

Okay, where do I begin. When I first wanted to be a VA, it was because I thought an ADV VA was the same age as me, but it turned out I was wrong. Then I discovered that ADV has a VA born the same year as me and that kinda freaked me out a bit.

Also I kinda pissed off quite a number of people on the Voice Acting Alliance forums

In fact, just check my blog if you want to know...

http://www.livejournal.com/users/grantm/

Hopefully now that I have learned from my mistakes, I still hope I can be a pro VA

At 8/23/05 05:15 PM, GrantM wrote: Also I kinda pissed off quite a number of people on the Voice Acting Alliance forums

Pissed them off? Did you spam thier posts? or Send Demented Voice Acting Tracts?
Or did you argue that you argue with them over your voice acting?(I did that once)

At 8/23/05 05:20 PM, Niftykoala wrote:

At 8/23/05 05:15 PM, GrantM wrote: Also I kinda pissed off quite a number of people on the Voice Acting Alliance forums

Pissed them off? Did you spam thier posts? or Send Demented Voice Acting Tracts?
Or did you argue that you argue with them over your voice acting?(I did that once)

It was really more to do with the threads I made

At 8/23/05 05:17 PM, GrantM wrote: In fact, just check my blog if you want to know...

http://www.livejournal.com/users/grantm/

Hopefully now that I have learned from my mistakes, I still hope I can be a pro VA.

Oh wow...
Don't worry...Just keep trying...but remeber...

The many zens of being a Voice Actor :)
If you want to work for someone don't make fun of their product even if you don't like it.
For every 1 Awsome role you get, there are 1000 rejection letters.
There is a difference between being a squeeky wheel and a broken axil.
Read Contracts carefully...and remember 15%-20% is normal for managers.
And lastly...There are no small roles...only small minded egotrippers.

Welcome back Kagome and The_Zodiak. Even though we left around the same time, I was back first... for obvious reasons >_>
Yeah talking to Vash (Johnny) was awesome. I too, thought he would of been tired of all the fans wanting to talk to him, but he seemed to enjoy talking to us. And yes, the horses at the playground were too fun... despite the pain lol

VAC: I can definitely make it to Sakura-Con 2006 in Seattle, so if anybody wants to, we can have another VAC meeting. It'll be stupendous! I'm not sure about Anime Expo, but it's not for a long time, so we'll see.

I need a male actor who can voiceact a wiseguy macho crow. The crow kinda has this mafia macho attitude, so if you think you are up for it add me on AIM; Sean Montela or MSN: bitethatcat@hotmail.com

Geez... well I'm off on another trip and I won't be back for like 2-3 days. At this rate I'll NEVER get VA work :P
Oh well, more chances for all the new comers right? Good luck guys! Make the VAC proud.

At 8/23/05 05:27 PM, Niftykoala wrote:

At 8/23/05 05:17 PM, GrantM wrote: In fact, just check my blog if you want to know...

http://www.livejournal.com/users/grantm/

Hopefully now that I have learned from my mistakes, I still hope I can be a pro VA.

Oh wow...
Don't worry...Just keep trying...but remeber...

The many zens of being a Voice Actor :)
If you want to work for someone don't make fun of their product even if you don't like it.
For every 1 Awsome role you get, there are 1000 rejection letters.
There is a difference between being a squeeky wheel and a broken axil.
Read Contracts carefully...and remember 15%-20% is normal for managers.
And lastly...There are no small roles...only small minded egotrippers.

Actually ADV and Funimation are not under Screen Actors Guild regulations.

And while I know I should not rush this, I want to be pro as soon as possible since I'm a bit concerned that I really should of started to want to be a VA several years ago rather than several months ago

Well, I think your main bad reputation came from things like discussing your own 'failures' in the thread to congratulate Cristina for getting in Di Gi Charat, for instance. Just learn from the things people have told you in the past and hopefully you will be fine here.

Kagome, I need to speak with you about Orius. It seems our communication has been limited. By any chance, do you have MSN?

This Is For The MAIN Character In My Flash Movie:
'Captain Fantastic: Episode One'
I KNOW I'VE POSTED THIS BEFORE, But I've Been Sitting On This One For Quite A While Waiting On One Voice To Start Production So Please Help Me Out If You Can.

The Part Is A 17 Year Old American Student Called Troy Thompson.

The Voice Is A Normal, 17 Year Old Generic American Accent (No Accents Please)
I Want The Voice To Have An Enthusiastic Quality To It, Sorta Like Goku From Dragonball Z.

Would ANYONE With Some Time On Their Hands Who Thinks They Can Pull This Off PLEASE Contact Me At My Email Adress: themonkeyoverlord@hotmail.com

Or Add Me To MSN At The Same Adress.

If You Wish To Audition Now, Send A Recording Of You Saying The Line:

"Hi, I'm Troy Thompson, Also Known As Captain Fantastic. Nice To Meet You."

And Forward It To Me Via E-Mail.

Thanks A LOT!!!

-Darra Fahy.

At 8/23/05 07:05 PM, KagomeHigurashi wrote: Well, I think your main bad reputation came from things like discussing your own 'failures' in the thread to congratulate Cristina for getting in Di Gi Charat, for instance. Just learn from the things people have told you in the past and hopefully you will be fine here.

Oh, I thought it was Hare Guu she got on

I'll admit I did go overboard a bit, but you have to understand how desperate I am to work on an anime dub

People back from AE: Welcome back! I'm a bit late, I know, but I just got back from an orientation thing at my school (was showing the freshmen around and such).

Sounds like you all had fun. I really wish I was able to go, but the con was just bad timing for me: I was just super busy with stuffs, and my family was in a bit of mess, so I had to deal with that aswell. I hope to goto AE next year, if ya'll plan to go again. I'm definitely going to AX, though. I haven't planned to go to any other cons (gotta save up) but hopefully I'll be able to goto any others in 2006 and meet up with you. :)

GrantM: I would have to agree with TESM's critique... just try again. I kinda like how you're persistant, but you should really take the advice of others; take it all in and improve off of it, otherwise all that drive to achieve your dream of voice acting is a waste of time. (You not listening, I believe, is what makes the VAA not like you so much.)

Have a listen to other people's (who're experienced) demos and compare them to the ones you make. See the differences. See how you can add things and take things out to make it better. It's how I started off-- lurking and checking out the VAAers' demos.

Also, I have a serious question for you:

What draws you to professionally voice act?

If it's because it just seems like fun, then you're definitely not going to like voice acting Pro. Does four months of open calls and sending in demos to all the big VAing industries and no call back sound fun to you? The air is heavy with depression, rejection, doubt, and loneliness. Suddenly a small house and a family in Nebraska sound like Eden.

No? Maybe you just want to give it a try, then? If that's the case... don't bother. Fire eating would be easier. Try it.

Or maybe it's because of that age thing you stated earlier; where you just HAVE to do it? If so... then well, I really hope you'll be able to show that you're actually talented and have lots of potential, because that reason is just impeccable.

Not that I'm trying to be mean then, but you really have to be PASSIONATE and PATIENT if you really want to go for a Pro voice acting career. You gotta improve as much as you can, and when you can actually see that you have improved after however long of honing your voice acting skills, THEN you can go out there and send out your demos. This won't happen overnight either, which is where the patience comes in.

I know you have some sort of age issue going on. Or at least, you think you do. Well, you don't. You can start as early or start as late as you want in the buisness of acting. It's not modeling. You don't have to look young. You can still manipulate your voice at the age of 50, unless you have throat problems of course. I don't know you real age, but you seem pretty young, so just don't worry about it. Right now, all you need to worry about is to being able to improve and practice as much as you can.

I hope that helps. I know a lot of people from the VAA don't like you, but I really want to see you succeed and show them that you ARE actually talented, and you've got what it takes to go pro. :)

:At 8/23/05 07:57 PM, GrantM wrote:

I'll admit I did go overboard a bit, but you have to understand how desperate I am to work :on an anime dub

I don't know what exactly you said to "Cristina" but I don't really need to know.

Good voice actors(The one's people want to work with), strive to create cohesion between themselves an others in the field. Being desperate is NEVER an excuse for being mean, rude or obnoxios.
If you do start a carreer (It's not going to a happen overnight) you will come across people from all walks of life, and with less and more experience than you. Burning bridges befor you start building them will get you nowhere.

Living in Seattle, I've Audtioned for Nintendo, Sega, and Playstation. While some people I've worked with(Non-Pro) got roles in the games, I did not. That doesn't mean I give up. I keep going...I did Acting for fun and I do VAing for fun...Working in flash is usefull for resumes when auditioning for pro work.

Think about this if you in such a hurry. The voice of Tony the Tiger started his carrer at 37. Other VAs have started later in life than that!

I've also met voice actors who got ONE major role, then because of getting on a Egotrip, were never hired in the field again.

So like Kagome says, don't dwell and mope over what you haven't accomplished...Strive to make yourself better, and learn how to see the good work that others can do to.
(That DOESN'T mean suddnly become a Otaku fanboy who gives out Praise and Worship at the drop of a hat.)...learn to take everything in stride.