The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises ‘the right of the child to education…with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity.’ It further states that we should all work to ensure ‘that the disabled child has effective access to and receives education’. At Flying Pickle we take this responsibility very seriously.
Five ways to protect your Mental Health for Voice Actors
As a performer on stage, screen or in a recording booth you are subject to the strange forces of unfair rejections, unexpected triumphs, and almost overpowering insecurity. In a capricious, fickle, and oversubscribed industry maintaining good mental health for voice actors can feel like an uphill struggle at the best of times.
A Pro Voice Actor’s Discipline is more important than their Motivation
For the character voice actor in training motivation is a prerequisite. So is discipline. However, these too oft-conflated concepts are very different. So what does a voice actor or business owner do when their motivation deserts them? The solution is always the same: discipline.
Why A Good Voice Actor Never Blames The Script
When things go wrong, we actors can be highly creative when looking to deflect the blame. It’s perhaps unsurprising that, in a profession that demands almost delusional levels of self-belief, actors are often unwilling to accept that maybe the problem with the performance is them.
The Agony and Ecstasy of Directing Yourself for Audiobooks
One of the measures of an actor’s reputation is how easy or difficult you are to work with. Beyond super-size trailer demands and personal hair stylists, what actually causes others to label an actor easy or difficult?
How Audiobooks are Made – Part Three: Edit and Master
Examining the post-production process of making an audiobook: a complex process that allows the experienced narrator to edit their work as they go along, saving many hours in post-production and ensuring a consistent quality throughout the narrator’s performance.
How Audiobooks are Made – Part Two: Into the Booth
How is an 80,000-word novel turned into an 8-hour audiobook recording? In this blog we look at the main part of the audiobook creation process: the recording sessions in the booth.
How Audiobooks are Made – Part One: Preparation and Casting
Audiobook narration is a version of storytelling that is as old as history itself. I’m often asked: How do you learn all that text? Do you do all the characters? How do you edit such a long recording together?
Why Voice Actors Need Strong Physicality
What relevance does the rest of your body have to the sound of your voice? A lot. It’s true that you use the articulators of your mouth to create intelligible words. But where does the actual tone of your voice come from?
Making Characters with Your Teeth
For performers who’ve not done much professional voice work before, making distinct characters may prove challenging. It’s always a surprise and delight to help them discover how they can use their vocal tract to create some extraordinary people!