I Know That Voice Page #9

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to Andrea Romano,

who followed in his footsteps.

This was the, the core

team of individuals

who sort of set a precedent.

Gordon Hunt was

the voice director

at Hanna-Barbera

for many, many years.

And so it was just

a real actor's director,

and because of the nature

of the way we make cartoons,

which is we record

the voices first and then

animate to that,

you affect the entire process

if you don't get a good

performance from the actors.

Being from the theater

I was envisioning

the characters as I might

cast them for a play

rather than just

looking down at the page

and listening to the voices

coming in.

So I think inadvertently that's

how we came on that style.

Gordon was really

an actor's director

and so um, he instilled in me

the fact that these people

on the other side of

the glass are actors.

They're not mimics,

they're not puppets,

they're actors.

It's almost like their voice

is their movie star face

and that's what they're

really bringing to the party.

Just being on the other

side of that glass,

I know what it feels like

so I'm really sensitive

to making people feel

comfortable and getting them

loose enough that we can

just play around.

Actors love to play,

especially voiceover actors,

you just wanna, like, play.

But I... I will credit

Andrea Romano

for essentially teaching me

how to voiceover direct.

She just has a very casual,

easy, keep it going,

only get as much as you need,

playful style.

And I... I adopted that when

I started directing people.

I probably use as many

different styles of directing

as I can and I...

I try to deal with

every specific series

differently because, you know,

I'll direct a "Batman"

episode and then go to

a "SpongeBob" episode

and they couldn't be

more different as far

as the energy

and what we're doing.

They also have to be honest,

and real, and genuine,

and so I always deal

from that point of view.

To be a good voice director

you, you know,

you do research on the story

and you have to know

the story you wanna tell.

To be able to give direction

without line readings...

"Say it like this, and I'm

walking through the door,"

I mean, because it's not

my performance anymore,

it's the director's

performance.

So you're on a boat

and you're...

and they're doing

the character for you,

they're doing

the character for you,

they're in the story going,

"So you're in a boat

and you're swimming along

and you say... "

and I peter out at that point.

They sense whether the actor

will be happy

with a line reading

or won't be.

I don't mind

line readings at all.

I will do anything

to get a performance.

I will do anything

and have, almost.

Charlie's the fastest

director ever.

He'll give you a line reading

because it's the best direction.

He is an exception to the rule.

Can we show Charlie right now?

Charlie, I love you.

This is so spontaneous

and part of what makes

the work so thrilling

is not squashing the energy

and keeping the actors

engaged and excited,

and spontaneous and still

being able to balance

what's being said in the room,

being able to deliver it

as quickly as possible,

as clearly as possible

and without having anybody

feel like they're being

dishonored.

With computers now anybody

can sit at home and make

a little animated piece.

And you can get that out there

and people can see it

and so many folks

are getting, you know,

the invite either

to come and create

or to do a show

of that little bit

that they created

on the internet,

some little YouTube film,

and that's how

they're getting word out.

That's really great.

As far as getting your work

out there to be seen

by industry professionals,

I think the game

has totally changed.

At one point it was

friends of friends.

You could only get

your foot in the door

if you knew someone else.

But now when I'm

searching for talent

I'll go on the internet.

Technically from...

as a guy who has

his own podcast

and a producer side of things,

it's great

because I take my laptop

or my iPad

and a plug-in USB mic,

and I go to Johnny D's house

and we sit down.

Boom, here's the mic,

get a drink of water

and we just talk about stuff.

I am actually quite astonished

at who I was lucky enough

to find for my podcast

this week.

- That's right.

- Tracy.

- Tracy Morgan.

- Genius.

That's what they told me

I had in the Bronx.

I had genius in my mouth.

Nice, I got you goin' on it.

So now I got, what,

6 or 7,000 people

that listen to it every day,

costs them nothing,

costs me nothing to produce,

except my time

and I'm literally talking

to people who are all

my personal friends.

- Who's your friend?

- You.

You're my friend

and you're my friend.

I love this guy.

- I'm a moron!

- Don't worry.

I've got a plan

that's gonna solve this biz.

Homies help homies, always.

I'm ready to hear

your plan, homey.

You know, I do a lot

of on camera gigs

where everyone does

the shtick and the b-roll

about how they love each other.

It's such a bullshit.

The truth is in voiceovers

you really do love each other.

And they're...

it's just good people.

And I don't know if it's

because you're not seen

and you don't get the...

the acclaim,

I don't know if that's

the component

that makes everyone so kind,

but they really are good people.

This is one of the rare mediums

where people do

refer you for jobs.

Most of the jobs I get

are references

from other voiceover actors;

that never happens.

Or you don't get a job

and you say,

"You know who would

be good for this?"

Not me, but, you know,

Nika Futterman would be better

"or so and so would be better. "

That never happens,

but it happens here.

Jim, I challenge you

to a Tyson fight.

It will be indubitably good.

In a sense what we have here

is a failure to exacerbate.

Don't look at...

don't laugh at me.

I'll crush you like

a Hostess Twinkie.

I will get truly righteous

and put hurts on him

that will show up

in his grandchildren.

I think Jim's, Jim's Tyson's

a lot better than mine.

He's amazing,

he's like the everyman,

he's all over the place.

And you know what?

He's so talented

you can't even stand it.

Jim Cummings, I know,

I forfeit.

I gotta forfeit because

Jim would win, I think.

I think the camaraderie

stems from the fact

that no one ever

sees our faces.

In voiceover you find

a lot of people have

a little bit less of an ego

because if you...

if you love what you're doing,

you don't need that validation.

We've seen... we grew up

on these cartoons,

we think this can be

an art form

as well as entertainment.

The future of animation

and voiceover has expanded

into so many realms.

Now it's all over.

There's Adult Swim,

there's flash animation

with "South Park" where it's

two guys doing everything.

Or there's video games

where it's 17 guys

from the Bay Area, you know,

screaming their guts out

making these characters

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