Sep 3, 2024
Join us as
we navigate the captivating world of character creation in voice
acting with MCVO Agent Lau Lapides. The BOSSES unpack the essence
of building characters across various domains—whether it's
animation, commercial, corporate, or e-learning—emphasizing the
crucial role of authenticity and depth. Discover how understanding
a character's choices, morality, and actions can elevate your
performance from mere impersonation to truly embodying the
character. By thoughtfully considering the script's intent and
adding your unique touch, the BOSSES aim to help you craft
characters that deeply resonate with your audience. Tune in and
embrace the complexities and creative challenges of character
development with us, ensuring your performances are both genuine
and relatable.
00:00 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
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00:24 - Intro (Announcement)
It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level.
These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being
utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business
like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne
Ganguzza.
00:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne
Ganguzza, and I am here for the Boss Superpower Series with my
lovely guest co-host, Lala Pides.
00:55 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Hey Anne, so happy to be back, as always.
00:59 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Ah Lal, I love you. You're such a character.
01:03 - Lau Lapides (Host)
I love you right back, super lady.
01:07 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
You know, speaking of characters, I have a lot of friends who do
character acting a lot of really wonderful friends and they
absolutely love it, they're very passionate about it. As a matter
of fact, a lot of students that I talk to that want to get into
voiceover. They want to be a character, they want to be in
animation and I thought it's appropriate because we're characters,
no matter what we do in voice acting today, and not everybody
thinks of it in those terms. So I thought maybe we could
concentrate on what characters we are today.
01:36 - Lau Lapides (Host)
That's an interesting topic because I think that a lot of creatives
think of character in a very artificial kind of sense, as almost a
caricature a caricature instead of a character, a well-drawn
character with depth, and dimension. So like, yeah, what is that
character? How do we define that character? It's a great
question.
01:58 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
That's a good question. So, Lo, how do you define character and how
you need to be a character? Or do you need to be a character, or do
you need to be a character in voice acting?
02:07 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Well, I think the first thing I think about is from that morality
standpoint of thinking about character. When we say, oh, that
person has a lot of character, they build their character, they
have a very strong character, they have a moral character. I always
think of it as someone who is strong, someone who has a backbone,
who has courage, and someone who is well-drawn, well-built, someone
who has those three dimensions, who has depth, who's interesting,
who has integrity. I mean thinking about all the layers that go
into what character actually is. I don't necessarily think of like
cartoon or animation or something that's unreal. I think of
something that is actually real and dimensional. And then I go from
there, I start to dive in and say, ooh, what does this building of
this character from an actor's standpoint? What does that mean? How
do we build a character from the ground up, taking our breakdown,
taking our description and really detailing it, really adding our
own unique dimension to that that becomes our character?
03:11 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
And is it necessary that you are a character in voice, acting for
every script? Are you a character?
03:19 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Well, I think that only is about how you define character. If I
define character as every single solitary role that I could
possibly play is a character, possesses character and has character
elements to it, then I would imagine yes, you're a character,
whether you are a narrator an audiobook reader or whether you're a
medical tech person, you're a character.
03:44 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Absolutely, and I think that in order to really resonate, I think,
with the script and resonate with the listener, you need to truly
embody that character, and I think it's important that we're not
trying to necessarily impersonate a character, right, it's more or
less being that character in the moment, right, and I know that a
lot of times when you are speaking in the moment, all the things
that used to matter to you like oh, how do I sound right? Kind of
flies out the window. And that's why I think it's important that we
actually get ourselves in the moment, in the character, because we
don't necessarily need to consider what we sound like. We need to
consider who we are and what we're reacting to, what scene we're in
and how we're talking to our listener.
04:34 - Lau Lapides (Host)
And who we are. From an actor standpoint, whatever kind of
character you're creating is determined not only by the writer's
point of view, but also by the moment-to-moment experience,
directorially, from your perspective, your point of view, what's
your POV? So, therefore, we need to be fully present, fully engaged
in the moment, to really figure out the character, build the
character from the ground up and really start to ask questions
about what is your character, who are they, what would they do,
what would their decisions and actions be? And I like to even go
and say are they like me, or is this within me to do, or do I have
to create this as part of my character? I don't want to mimic, as
you said, I don't want to impersonate, I don't want to be a parrot
in that way, but what do I need to do to get the qualities of that
character and then put it in so I can organically bring that out as
part of me?
05:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
and who I am. I like how you actually brought in the fold that
there's a point of view from the script writer, right, let's say,
if we are voicing a commercial or, in my case, like corporate or
e-learning right. In my case, like corporate or e-learning right,
there's a point of view that you need to consider from the
copywriter or whoever it is that is providing you with the work
right, because they want you to consider their viewpoint. But then
you also have to bring in your own point of view, and I think that
sometimes people get confused as to the point of view. Is there
just one or is there one that you're melding in with your own point
of view? Is there just one or is there one that you're melding in
with your own point of view in order to make your take on that a
unique take that will engage the listener?
06:13 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Well, you know, it's interesting, A lot of VOs who also do
on-camera work hear the language of the technical crew talking
about POVs when it comes to the camera shot. So I like to think of
it in those terms that you know, if you're shooting one scene, it
could take four hours, eight hours, 12 hours to shoot that one
scene, because the crew is concerned about what are all the POVs in
the shot list that we need to get. So when we think about voiceover
and we think about, well, we're not on camera, but what are we
doing with our voice? What are all the points of view that our
voice can stylistically shift to, whether it's written in the
script or not, really could take time to develop that.
06:55 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
You know. I love that. You said that because I think you're right
and it's funny, because I'll talk to my students and I'll say it's
a point of view that evolves, because if you have the same point of
view throughout an entire script, it becomes almost like white
noise and it becomes very predictable and consistent and it doesn't
necessarily tell the story, because I'm constantly in this
particular point of view and I'm going to talk to you like this for
the next minute or two minutes or maybe even ten minutes, and I'm
going to continue with this particular point of view and it starts
to become really repetitive and it starts to become where
repetitive and it starts to become where whew, that's exhausting to
listen to, right? So I think a point of view is constantly evolving
and changing along with the storyline and that's something that the
actor makes, those choices right, those choices on how to evolve in
a unique way that takes the listener on a journey.
07:43 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Yes, and it is the very thing that you and I, as coaches, are
always pushing home. Pushing home. It is precise, it is detailed,
it is specific. We should never be making choices that are like
whitewashed, or universal, or generic, or not making choices at
all, which is what?
08:01
a lot of talent do because they want to just let happen what
happens? Sure, but the truth is we're on a mission for choice
making and we know we're going to attain the objective if we make
the choice to go get that. If we don't make any choice, chances are
we're not going to achieve that objective.
08:17 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Yeah, then it just becomes like a neutral, flat, kind of like where
is that point of view and what makes that different than somebody
reading words to me really?
08:26 - Lau Lapides (Host)
So therefore we lack character? Yeah, we lack character and
characterization, and characteristics, how about characteristics?
So therefore, we lack character? Yeah, we lack character and
characterization, right right, and characteristics, sure, how about
characteristics? I like that.
08:33 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
And moment to moment I love the moment to moment in between the
periods throughout the scene Like the scene can evolve, and I think
what's so cool about that is that it offers the actor such an
amazing spectrum of creativity to just draw upon in order to make
that read come to life.
08:53
And it's different for all of us. I think there's, I think, the
point of view, that's the intention of the script, that makes sense
for the words that are on the page, and then there's what you bring
to it moment to moment. It evolves over time, it may change and
shift and you may not know what those scenes are specifically Like.
We don't always get the storyboard, we don't get the video, we
don't know what the music or any of those things are going to be,
but we have our own creativity, we have our own imagination, we
have an understanding of who we're voicing this for and the context
of the words that are on the page, and then it's up to us to
interpret them in a logical way that would make sense to accomplish
what the client wants from us.
09:35 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Exactly, that's exactly it.
09:37
And I think that if you don't do that work, if you don't do the
homework or the pre-work, as we call it, the pre-work if you don't
do that prep, pre-work, you're really messing out a lot, because
you want to be free, that when you're doing the gig whatever that
gig is you want to be free to really play and enjoy the character
and say, okay, I've created a framework, I have a little blueprint
for myself, I can see the visual in my head, I have a sense of
where they're going and make some decisions, so that when I veer
off and I go outside of the box, I know that I'm breaking my own
rules, which is what I want to be doing as a creative.
10:13
I want to set my rules, I want to see if that works, and then I
want to break the rules and that might work even better. And so
those characters are like, no matter how rule-oriented they are,
they're always breaking rules in certain ways as well. And really
finding out like, where's the rebel in the character? Maybe she's
been saying lines just like this, she's been delivering just like
this, and then maybe on this one she changes it. She changes it for
a reason to show that she is awake and aware of what the problem is
in the community, right. So I'm really developing a character and
characterizations that then become relatable and about empathy,
that an audience can listen to and go ooh, I do that. Ooh, that's
just like me.
10:58
Wow, and all of a sudden they're not thinking of character. They
wouldn't even use that word.
11:02 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
They'd say that's a person that's like my sister right, and you
know what A lot of times I'll tell people to do. Maybe for the
second take right is maybe change your character a little bit, One
that still makes sense, but change your character or change the
scenario.
11:16 - Intro (Announcement)
Change the scene.
11:16 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Like maybe you're in a hurry or maybe you're in a different place,
Maybe you're outside, or maybe you're inside in an office and maybe
the person you're talking to right has a different reaction or has
got different issues with what you're saying. Or maybe they've got
a backstory that you're responding to and that backstory changes,
and so you're responding in a slightly different way, but one that
still makes sense, right for the words on the page.
Right.
11:44
And that can give you a really great second take, more so than oh,
that second take just has to sound different, right? So if you can
push I'm going to say if you can push your creative mind to always
take in the scene creating that character and moving that character
through the scene, and then do a take two right, create a different
scene, create a slightly different character, one that still makes
sense and Law, I'm going to ask you, I'm going to have you probably
reinforce what I always tell people Does it matter that we don't
have the storyboard? Does it matter that our story is correct from
the final version of the video or whatever it is that we're
creating, or the commercial? I think?
12:25 - Lau Lapides (Host)
that in every single thing we do, Anne, I think that in every
single thing we do, Anne, there's blind, there's stuff behind walls
that we don't see and we're not privy to and we don't know, and
that's okay. That's where us, as creatives, come in and say I can
create different interpretations, I can create different scenarios.
And then, as they give me the feedback or direct me, or maybe they
just say hey, you gave me three, they're fabulous, we like it,
we're done.
12:49 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
You know what I mean. And let me ask you another question, which I
know a lot of times people will complain about this. They'll say
well, why do they write it this way, right? And then we don't know
what it means. I have no idea what it means, but yet they want us
to sound like we're talking to our friend, or they want us to what
they really want. Maybe they're not telling you for a very good
reason, right? Maybe they're not giving you that storyboard for a
good reason because they want to hear your creative, artistic
interpretation or impression of it.
13:28 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Right. Typically, I would say don't waste too much time or energy
wondering why it was created this way, why it was crafted this way
it was. Now let's see what we can do with it. And you know a lot of
directors, a lot of young and up-and-coming directors I've noticed
stylistically are very different than years gone by. They're doing
a lot more impromptu, a lot more improv, a lot more stuff like
that. So sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes you're going to
have the license and the leisure that you're working with someone
who says is that natural for you or do you need to change something
there? Right? And that actually happens a lot more than we think,
where, in essence, we're editing the script on the spot when we're
doing a job because we're coming up with something that they didn't
realize works better.
14:13 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Oh, absolutely Absolutely, and a lot of times it can spur them into
new creative avenues as well, to say, well, I didn't think about it
like that, but you know what I really like your take on that, and
so how wonderful is that? It's wonderful. I often think that we're
given this creative challenge and we should embrace that challenge
and not be so determined to get in 100 auditions a day in our
studio where we're just going and I know what it should sound like.
I really feel as though we don't take enough time and sometimes
even I have to remind myself right in a busy day. We're always so
busy that I need to really sit back and let's think and let's kind
of enjoy the process, let's enjoy the creativity, let's enjoy and
embrace the challenge of creating a character and really figuring
out and it's not easy Law, is it easy?
15:02 - Lau Lapides (Host)
No, I mean human relations. Right, human behavior is never easy
because you're always dealing with true, authentic interface with
another person, like we are doing a reasonable facsimile of real
life. That's what we're doing. It's not real life, we're in a booth
under a light, but in essence we're doing that reasonable facsimile
of it and we have to understand that your character is capable of
anything. When someone says, oh, I don't know why she's saying that
she would never say that, I say, oh, I don't know why she's saying
that she would never say that.
15:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
I said, yes, she would. Yes, she could If the situation were
appropriate. Yeah, of course she could. If you want me to be
conversational, you know, and I feel like that word is now got it's
a dirty word now, but I just want to say Well, it's
exhausted.
15:45 - Lau Lapides (Host)
It is exhausted, they use it a lot and conversational.
15:47 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
there's so many different ways to be conversational. I mean law. I
have conversations every day, like every single day of my life. We
have conversations.
15:54
So, it's a fact of life that we have conversations. Now, when
somebody gives me the direction that they want it to be,
conversational, there's so many different, like 360 degrees of
conversational. It could be casual, it could be authoritative, the
conversation could be authoritative, the conversation could be
shifting, and again along with the character, right. And so I think
that conversational is just meant to be. Well, let's not make it
sound announcery, right? So what's the other word for it? But
honestly, I engage every day with other people and with things and
with circumstances and so-.
16:25 - Lau Lapides (Host)
That's your practice. That's your practice is to really do it
right, and I can tell you, one of the biggest mistakes that actors
make, whatever they're doing, is to say how do I sound, do
I?
16:35
sound real, Do I sound? And I said, listen, if I came into this
coaching session, I said with Joe. I said, coming in, I want to
sound real with Joe, I want to coach Joe and I want to sound real.
Wouldn't you think I'm crazy? And he'd say I think that was crazy.
I'd say, well, that's what you're doing right now. You're doing
that right now with a real person or a real entity, a character
that's not coming in and saying I want to feel real, I want to look
real, I want to sound real. They're saying no, I want to get a
point across to you. I want to help you with something, I want to
do something with you.
17:06 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
And I'm going to say that, well, I wouldn't say that right in a
normal situation. But the deal is, is that that's not you as an
actor? It is your job to make the words on the page sound logical
and sound like they would be something you would say. That is your
job as an actor. Right? There's no excuse. What do you mean? You
would never say that it doesn't matter. We're not asking if you
would ever say that In this particular instance, you need to act as
though that is a perfectly natural thing to say and a perfectly
understandable, logical, emphatically lovely thing for you to
say.
17:39 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Yeah, you're an actor, act right. But I mean, how do you know that?
Do you know that? For a fact Like, why limit your potential? Why
put caps on your creativity? Why not say, okay, the craziest thing
I could possibly do, I'll think about doing it Now. Maybe if the
circumstance and context were right for that, you would do it. Oh
gosh, yeah, but chances are, you may never know right.
18:04 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
And what I always am arguing with people about is saying well, yes,
you absolutely could say that, as long as you understand what the
story is leading up to it. Right Again, you picked that moment
before. What is that conversation you're having? What's happening
before? Tell me about who you're talking to and what is their pain
point. What is their problem? What are they reacting to? Or why are
you talking to them with the first words of the sentence? Why are
you saying that to them? There has to be a reason. They said
something to you, there was an action that happened and you are
reacting to it.
18:35
It doesn't mean that your first words out of your mouth may be the
exact first words in that, but you can lead into it and you can say
well, actually, yes, here's your issue, and I want to tell you
about first word coming now, right? So what happens is the first
word coming now doesn't just pop out of the air, like I don't think
law when we get together, I don't just go welcome to module one or,
once upon a time, law. No, we've evolved into a conversation.
There's been history. You know I have empathy to. Right now, you're
in a hurry, right? So I want to make sure I'm not wasting your
time, and so there's a backstory that you have to
develop.
19:13
You have to develop it. And I don't care what script, any script,
any script. Even if you're reading about a pharmaceutical medicine
and the effects that it has, do you know what I mean? Like, I want
you to be like telling the person that's reading the back of the
label, that thinks that they might have 10 of those symptoms and
making them feel better about it, right? So there's a story there.
Make that story make sense, okay.
19:36 - Lau Lapides (Host)
So the listener says, great, all well and good, but what if I
haven't experienced any of this, I haven't gone through it, I don't
have the context for it. I say, well, if you can surmise a bottom
line for your character, what is happening? Say, the character is
jumping out of a plane right now, that's what your characters do,
but I've never jumped out of a plane. I don't know what that is.
Yes, but you've taken extreme risks and you know what fear is and
you know what that moment is. Even just building a business is very
risky and fear-based. Call upon that moment in you.
20:06
That's real. It's a substitution method that we have to use,
because there's a lot of things in scripts we haven't experienced
or industries we're not in. But we have to connect it with very
real reservoir of emotion so that the character doesn't become
one-dimensional or plastic. It is real. You're fooling us, you're
tricking us, what they call in ancient Greek theater you're a
hypocrite with a why meaning. You're able to mimic a feeling, an
emotion that is very, very real for you because it's coming from
you, even though you didn't have the actual experience. And that's
what building your character is really all about is really taking
from your life, your real history, your real experiences, and
matching it up with the characters in her life, the characters'
experience, even though they may be different.
20:56 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Yeah, I agree and I'll tell you what. And again I stress that, no
matter what you're looking at, even if it's like a telephony script
like thank you for calling Rite Aid, right, yeah, why are you
saying that, right? Obviously somebody's called you on the phone
and they literally need to check on their prescription. They're
probably frustrated because maybe the text came through and it's
not ready yet, and so they're calling Rite Aid and they're
frustrated.
21:19
Right Now I'm building empathy, right. I'm building empathy for the
person who's going to be on the other end of the line from my
message that says thank you for calling Rite Aid, right. So I
understand that they are busy. I understand that they're
frustrated, so I'm going to approach that with a character that's
going to make them feel at ease or feel better, and so I've
developed this story, I've developed my character and maybe I'll be
bright, but I'm not going to be overly bright so that they get
really annoyed at that. And it's funny, because I do telephony, I
have no ego. Look, I get paid to do it. I do telephony, I do
corporate, I do explainers, I do e-learning, I do
commercial.
21:58
I mean I do a lot more of the non-broadcast Of course, but the
funny thing is is that for every single script I am talking to
someone, I am a character. I have a couple of different characters
that I have worked on for my telephony scripts and, depending on
the on-hold messages which, by the way, lollapiedes, on-hold
messages are nothing more than 15 to 20 second commercials. Did you
know?
22:22 - Intro (Announcement)
Right and I actually have.
22:25 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
the majority of my customers ask me to be very relatable and not
like that. Hey, did you know 99.9% of people do this and for $9.95,
we have today's special deal. No, they want me to be real and so I
have to create that character that is engaging with someone who's
super frustrated, that doesn't want to be on hold, that is going
customer service customer service and you know what.
22:53 - Lau Lapides (Host)
If anyone has hosted a party or hosted a dinner in their home or in
their apartment, you know what it's like to host. You know what
it's like to welcome people into your space and make them
comfortable, and that's what they're asking you for in that
situation.
23:09 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
How do you say thank you for calling and mean it right? Everybody
in the world wants to go. Thank you for calling right, hello, no, I
want to hear it as if you really are thankful, that you're really
thankful that they called Right and so you've got to really dig
deep for that. I'm just saying dig deep for that telephony because
you are a character, no matter what.
23:31 - Lau Lapides (Host)
We could talk about this forever. Character is in everything, it's
everywhere, and everything it's all of life.
23:37 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Yeah Right, it's a wonderful conversation. I think we should have
part two of the series.
23:41 - Lau Lapides (Host)
I was just thinking that Part two, part two for sure.
23:43 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
So yeah, bosses, be a character. You are characters. Be a character
for everything that you do in voiceover, and you can be a character
and find out more about IPDTL, who is our sponsor, going to give
them a great big old shout out. Find out more about IPDTL at
IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we will see you,
bosses, next week. Bye, see you next time.
24:06 - Intro (Announcement)
Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host,
Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for
our mailing list at VOBosscom and receive exclusive content,
industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock
your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to
coast connectivity via IPDTL.
24:37 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Absolutely. You know what I mean.
24:38 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Otherwise.
24:38 - Lau Lapides (Host)
I wouldn't. I wouldn't do it so quickly. Hang on one second. Do you
hear that. What is that? I don't know. Okay, maybe it was something
outside. Jerry, okay, I'm podcasting, I'll be. Was something
outside Jerry?
25:03 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Okay, I'm podcasting. I'll be out in a few minutes. Okay, is Jerry
out there? Yes, I think that's my husband being loud. Well,
jeremy's out here.
25:10 - Lau Lapides (Host)
So it was one of our husbands. Oh, was it one of our husbands
For.
25:12 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
God's sake.
25:14 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Jerry's over there and Jeremy's over here.
25:18 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Tell Jeremy to be quiet.
25:20 - Lau Lapides (Host)
Annie says be, he's over here, tell Jeremy to be quiet. And he says
be quiet, shut the fuck up. What are you doing, jesus Christ? Oh my
God, that's so funny. I can't even close these doors.
25:31 - Anne Ganguzza (Host)
Oh my God, but that's so funny because normally I don't hear
anything, but I couldn't tell if it was Jeremy, if it was outside
of yours or mine. But my, my husband just opened the door and I was
like, what the heck Like so well, we did, we did the show. You want
to do an outro? I mean, we did this is going to be well, just FYI,
uh, this is going to be good for you, james. This'll be like an
outtake. So, by the way, bosses, when you're, when you've got
people running, this is why studios still have signs that say shh,
recording, because even though we have great studios and I've, I've
got, you know, acoustic panels and everything, if somebody's right
outside this door and they're screaming or they're being loud,
we're gonna be able to hear it. Yep, so, anyways, back to our back
to our, uh, our discussion. Okay, so pick up.