be a little bit different

Be a little more different – than just more of the same, by Paul Liberti

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This was a recent piece of advice from an agent who came into my Commercial Class recently.

‘Be a little bit different – then just more of the same’.

How do you do that? Find out what makes you different and embrace it. Find your point of view. That is where a voice actor springs to life.

Have you ever heard an agent say – “Oh, I can’t sign you – I already have several other actors like you.”

The truth is – they have NO ONE like you. NO one has your point of view – your quirks – your energy.

Many voice actors work so hard to sound like everyone else and thus an agent hears several actors as THE SAME.

It is your job as an actor to have a point of reference and a point of view. That is why you were brought into that audition – to find what it is you have to say within that text. No one else does that – if you allow us to see that part of you.

Find your energy level – find your VOICE. Bring that to the work you do as a voice actor. There is only one you ever. That agent has never seen the likes of you – if you truly reveal it to them.

Love who you are. Love what you do. Show them that you are here to do this work as a passion. Then they HAVE to notice you.

Paul Liberti – Casting director and voice director for narration for THE RAZOR MAGAZINE. Paul is an acting teacher who teaches all genres of voice over including Commercial VO, Animation, Video Game, Narration and Promo. Paul is co-creator of AuthorDirect Audio, which directs nonfiction reads for Audible.

5 essential characters in animation

5 Essential Characters in Animation by Paul Liberti

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As a voice actor who is auditioning/working in animation…

Identify what relationship you are playing in regards to the main character. Character contrast makes a story exciting and becomes storytelling. As an actor, identifying your relationships – will help you discover your character arc in the storytelling. All great acting is about the relationship. Understanding that relationship – gives you a reason to move forward in the story.

Characters need to BALANCE each other in a story…

Characters’ ‘push and pull’ interactions move the story along. The evil character is a negative reflection of the depth of the good of the lead character. A mentor character can often push our lead to another level of self-actualization. Each character holds an essential balance for telling the entire story.

5 Characters – Essential to an Animation Story

1. The Protagonist – “I’m ready for my entrance…”

The protagonist is our hero/heroine, and the story is told from their point of view. They have the most to lose and the most to gain. The audience is meant to identify with the protagonist the most. This character does the most growth in the story. Their journey creates the story’s theme, and what they do – moves our story forward.

2. The Antagonist – “Bwa Ha-ha!!’

This character directly opposes the main character and creates obstacles for our hero. KEEP IN MIND – this could be an actual character OR an aspect of the main character’s personality.

3. The ‘Sidekick – ‘Holy H2O Batman!’

Every Batman needs a Robin. Loyal and supportive to the main character, this character’s goals align closely with our main character. Often the sidekick has differences from the main character – but they always compliment the main character.

4. The ‘Mentor’ – ‘Do or do not. There is no try’.

The hero learns from this character. Often the mentor will take our hero on a journey and protect them on that journey. They are the ‘Conscience’ or moral compass which guides our hero/heroine, keeping them on the right path.

5. The ‘Love Interest’ – “Mhwa!”

Our hero is in love with this character, but this character may or may not love them back. They help to set our hero/heroine on their journey of self-discovery. This character is sometimes combined with other characters, i.e., the Antagonist or the Mentor.

When creating an animated character, Identify who they are in the story, and now you are not just playing a character – but a character RELATIONSHIP as well.

Written by Paul Liberti, Voice Director and Casting Director

Paul Liberti – Casting director and voice director for narration for THE RAZOR MAGAZINE. Paul is an acting teacher who teaches all genres of voice over including Commercial VO, Animation, Video Game, Narration and Promo. Paul is co-creator of AuthorDirect Audio, which directs nonfiction reads for Audible.

Paul has taught for many University acting programs annually and teaches sold out competitive classes in New York City, Los Angeles, and nationally and also for the SAG/AFTRA Foundation.

Paul has worked as a dialect coach on film sets, Broadway and London’s West End Theater, and Regional Theater with recent shows like Disney’s Frozen, USA Network – Falling Water, The National Theater’s – One Night in Miami, Greater Tuna, Anastasia, My Fair Lady, Carousel, Brigadoon and many others.

Paul has been a voice actor for Pokemon, Blues Clues, Noggin’s Pinky Dinky Doo, Saturday Night Live Cartoons, and Sesame Street and Jim Henson’s Muppets. He is currently the voice of Curious George & The Man In The Yellow Hat.

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imdb-logo

How to Boost your IMDb STARmeter Naturally and for FREE

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If you’re a film/TV actor, then most likely you’re familiar with IMDb.

If you’re not, IMDb is the Internet Movie Database, an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, plot summaries, trivia, ratings, and fan and critical reviews.

Essentially, it’s the who’s who of who’s working in the on-camera industry.

(For theatrical actors who have worked on Broadway, there’s IBDB, the Internet Broadway Database, which is the official source for Broadway information.)

For actors on IMDb, there is a ranking system called the STARmeter. It’s basically an online actor popularity contest / thermometer of who’s getting hot or who’s cooling down.

The STARmeter is available to view on IMDb Pro only, and it is updated weekly on Sundays. The ranking system was created and is managed by IMDb and they alone determine how every movie and actor are ranked based upon a complicated equation.

The lower the STARmeter number, the better:

200,000 and below indicates actors who are working regularly.

3,000-5,000 are actors you might have heard of.

2,000 and below are well known actors.

900 and below are stars, celebrities and top directors.

Who’s currently the #1 actor? At the time of this article being written, it’s Joseph Quinn who was on Game of Thrones in a small role but had a breakout role this year as Eddie Munson on Stranger Things season 4.

Joseph Quinns IMDb page

So, how do you boost your STARmeter?

First, make sure that your IMDb profile is up-to-date and that all of your information and credits are correct. (Verify that your film/TV credits are all there with the role you played, episodes you were in etc., add in your headshots, shots from being on set or screenshots from the production, add your bio, film/tv demo, articles with links etc.)

Second, the more credits you have plus online notoriety leads to more people clicking on your IMDb profile page thus boosting your rating. What if you don’t have credits? Well, you can actually produce your very own short films which is a fantastic way to start earning credits, improving your craft, getting camera time etc.

Third, share your IMDb page through your actor website, different social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social networking sites leading to more people checking out your IMDb page.

Fourth, link your IMDb page in your email signature and in the bio section of your social media platforms.

Fifth, you scratch my back and I scratch yours: Another tip is to help other people promote their IMDb page, promote other actors, filmmakers, projects, producers, and then vice versa ask them to promote you and your projects.

Sixth, list your IMDb page in your press kit (if you have one).

IMDbSeventh, increase your overall STARmeter by working on a film set or attending film premieres with actors and celebrities rated in IMDb’s Top 5000 STARmeter. If you are in still frames, behind the scenes or event photos that are published to IMDb, you can tag yourself in the photos and get backlinks to your profile. This is especially advantageous if the photo is linked to a top 100 profile often, and a recently released title. The photo(s) display on all pages tagged, and crosslink your page with massive traffic.

Eighth, once you have all of this accomplished, forget about it and let IMDb and it’s algorithm do it’s thing. Focus your passion on your career and don’t worry too much about your STARmeter. Yes, you can pay for clicks but IMDb has already figured this out so there’s no need to waste your money. You’re better off using a site like Karmalicity. It’s a much more appetizing way to increase your STARmeter than paying big bucks to have a server farm hit your IMDb page. Plus, you get to join an online community of like minded professionals.

Ninth, check your score every 4-5 months to see where you are at and then adjust from there.

Having a steady flow of page views and likes will increase and hopefully stabilize your IMDb STARmeter ranking. Good luck and check out my IMDb page for more info on me.

Tony Nation is a professional actor who has worked in all areas of Showbusiness. You can currently see him on HBO’s THE REHEARSAL in the pilot episode, in season 3 of THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL and in an upcoming animated feature film in 2023.