What a month June is turning out to be! I hope it is a good one for you as well.
This last weekend, my dear friend Chris Sabat came to Charlotte to visit my husband and I. It was wonderful to catch up! Chris was the director on DragonBall Z and also directed me in Solty Rei. He is an amazing voice actor as well as a director. Of course, we did what VA's do best and took a trip to Shelton Vineyards for some wine tasting and a fantastic dinner. My husband and I can't wait for him to visit again!
Yesterday marked the debut of a show I've been working on for quite a while. The show is Raggs, and I voice a green puppy named Razzles. Raggs premiered in select cities throughout the country. Here in Charlotte, NC it is airing on WTVI, the local PBS, Monday through Friday at 11am and Sundays at 8am. It will air throughout the summer and will hopefully be a hit and picked up for more seasons!
Please check here to find out when Raggs will be showing in your area! I'm so excited about this show- music, fun, puppies...what more could you want??
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
I am a FanBoy
As you may or may not be aware, I have provided the voices of Goten and Videl on DragonBall Z for many years. While the show stopped recording a few years back, we still voice video games and such. This weekend I was in Raleigh, NC for an anime convention called Animazement. Myself, Kyle Hebert, and Takeshi Kusao did a panel for all DragonBall Z fans. We were overwhelmed by the turn out! Seems we aren't the only ones who miss the show! The energy from the moment you walked in the room was unbelievable...and contagious! I will never forget it.
What made it more special was Kusaosan being in attendence. He is the original Japanese voice of Trunks, Goten's best friend on the show. There is a famous 'dance' from the show where Goten and Trunks fuse together to make Gotenks (whom I also voice along with Laura Bailey). At the end of the hour long panel (which was amazing), Kusaosan asked me to perform the fusion scream...a big deal for any fan of DBZ, and a great honor for me. See, I've been doing this for years, but to have the original voice with me was awesome!
My friend Bob Souer was kind enough to link video of the event from YouTube on his blog. It's much easier to view there than the original links. There is also video of me discussing how I became involved with the show.
You can read Bob's blog here.
I've seen a few coments on YouTube teasing the maker of the clip for being a 'fanboy'. If you were there...you would know we were all 'fanboys' at that moment! I truly appreciate his enthusiasm!
In addition, an anime fan website did a half hour interview with Kyle Hebert and myself talking about cartoons, voice over, etc...I will let you know when it is posted! Kyle also has a video blog which I will appear on...I will let you know when it is up!
Finally, here is another short clip of our yell, only there is a blurry picture at the end of myself and Kusaosan doing the fusion pose. If anyone else has a copy of this picture...will you send it to me? An enourmous 'THANK YOU' to all the fans for your support. Someone on a message board called this one of the greatest moments in anime history...I'm inclined to agree :)
It was an amzaing weekend to say the least!
What made it more special was Kusaosan being in attendence. He is the original Japanese voice of Trunks, Goten's best friend on the show. There is a famous 'dance' from the show where Goten and Trunks fuse together to make Gotenks (whom I also voice along with Laura Bailey). At the end of the hour long panel (which was amazing), Kusaosan asked me to perform the fusion scream...a big deal for any fan of DBZ, and a great honor for me. See, I've been doing this for years, but to have the original voice with me was awesome!
My friend Bob Souer was kind enough to link video of the event from YouTube on his blog. It's much easier to view there than the original links. There is also video of me discussing how I became involved with the show.
You can read Bob's blog here.
I've seen a few coments on YouTube teasing the maker of the clip for being a 'fanboy'. If you were there...you would know we were all 'fanboys' at that moment! I truly appreciate his enthusiasm!
In addition, an anime fan website did a half hour interview with Kyle Hebert and myself talking about cartoons, voice over, etc...I will let you know when it is posted! Kyle also has a video blog which I will appear on...I will let you know when it is up!
Finally, here is another short clip of our yell, only there is a blurry picture at the end of myself and Kusaosan doing the fusion pose. If anyone else has a copy of this picture...will you send it to me? An enourmous 'THANK YOU' to all the fans for your support. Someone on a message board called this one of the greatest moments in anime history...I'm inclined to agree :)
It was an amzaing weekend to say the least!
Friday, May 25, 2007
I Am Animazed
This weekend I am in Raleigh, NC for the Animazement 2007 Anime convention. I am appearing on several panels as an American anime voice guest. What is wonderful about Animazement is that Japanese and American voice actors are brought together and participate on the same panels with the help of a translator. I am honored to be here.
As my next panel begins in only 45 minutes- this post will be brief. I will update when I can with many of the incredible things happening here.
I wanted to quickly write a few things however. Today I had the honor of meeting Akira Kamiya. He is a VERY famous Japanese voice actor and has voiced too many things to list. Not just anime, but also American movies brought to Japan. He has been the voice of James Bond, Eddie Murphy, Mel Gibson, and many more. Kamiya has been a voice actor for 37 years. It has not been lost on me how much I can learn from him.
I spent about an hour today talking with Kamiya about the differences between American and Japanese voice actors. Turns out, we make about the same amount of money (WOW!) and work on similar projects. There is little money in anime in Japan, so many of the actors voice commercials on radio and tv to suplement their income (sound familiar?!). Many act in movies and work on camera as well. I don't know why, but I always assumed the original voices of these shows had to be millionaires!
After our talk, I went downstairs to watch Kamiya's panel about how to be a Japanese voice actor. I learned a lot! Martial arts is great training for fighting sounds and helps your breathing techniques. Warm ups are essential to a good session.
My favorite thing I took away today was how beautiful the Japanese language is. They don't just say the words or read the lines, they make it beautiful. Inflections change everything. The words are like songs, and each note is cherished and given its own recognition. I believe I will try this technique in my own voice acting. I want each word to stand alone and be great. I want my inflection to mean more than the sentence. It is possible to portray emotion with tones.
OK, please forgive my sporadic berevity...there is much in my head and so little time now to write it all out!
As my next panel begins in only 45 minutes- this post will be brief. I will update when I can with many of the incredible things happening here.
I wanted to quickly write a few things however. Today I had the honor of meeting Akira Kamiya. He is a VERY famous Japanese voice actor and has voiced too many things to list. Not just anime, but also American movies brought to Japan. He has been the voice of James Bond, Eddie Murphy, Mel Gibson, and many more. Kamiya has been a voice actor for 37 years. It has not been lost on me how much I can learn from him.
I spent about an hour today talking with Kamiya about the differences between American and Japanese voice actors. Turns out, we make about the same amount of money (WOW!) and work on similar projects. There is little money in anime in Japan, so many of the actors voice commercials on radio and tv to suplement their income (sound familiar?!). Many act in movies and work on camera as well. I don't know why, but I always assumed the original voices of these shows had to be millionaires!
After our talk, I went downstairs to watch Kamiya's panel about how to be a Japanese voice actor. I learned a lot! Martial arts is great training for fighting sounds and helps your breathing techniques. Warm ups are essential to a good session.
My favorite thing I took away today was how beautiful the Japanese language is. They don't just say the words or read the lines, they make it beautiful. Inflections change everything. The words are like songs, and each note is cherished and given its own recognition. I believe I will try this technique in my own voice acting. I want each word to stand alone and be great. I want my inflection to mean more than the sentence. It is possible to portray emotion with tones.
OK, please forgive my sporadic berevity...there is much in my head and so little time now to write it all out!
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