Mastering the Mental Game of Voice Acting with Megan Fahlenbock

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We do not get the feedback. We can't go into this business expecting people to be like, I love you. You're amazing, you're great. You might get that once in a while, but that's ego talking. That's an ego-driven desire to do this. Check ego at the door. You have to wanna do this because you love doing it.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome everyone to today's mission audition. Thank you for joining us. Mission Audition is the voiceover podcast where we listen to real auditions from voices members, and we get to hear feedback from world class voiceover coaches. My name is Tara, senior Manager of Brand Communications, and I am joined by my co-host Vanessa, community Manager here at Voices.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Hi everyone. Today's topic is getting out of your own way, which will hopefully feel motivational for you listening. Before we get to the auditions, let me introduce our amazing guest, Megan Fallen Bach. She has numerous commercial VO credits, including Sears, clear Blue Milkbone Nissan, and Scene Plus in video games. She's best known as Rogue on the X-Men Mutant Academy. Two and numerous characters on starlink Battle. For Atlas Television film credits include Suits, Ginny and Georgia, the Good Witch, resident Evil, the Apocalypse Warehouse, 13 Haven Hard Rock Medical, and most recently, the Way Home. When Megan isn't performing, she is a busy hockey soccer mom and mental game coach. Welcome to the show, Megan.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Thank you. What an intro, Vanessa. And thank you, and so nice to meet you, Tara. This is great to be
here. It's great to be
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Here. We are so excited to have you on the show. Vanessa, you ready to get
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Started? Of course, I am for this audition, the artistic direction Reads. Feel free to take a sales representative role with this read while also tapping into your best dude or Valley Girl style. The voice reference is Owen Wilson and or Ruth Witherspoon as L Woods and Legally Blonde. Okay, let's do this. So I'm excited to jump into audition number one. Megan, are you ready?
Speaker 1 (01:58): Sure, I am.
Speaker 3 (01:59): Perfect. Okay.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Ready for some fun in the sun, not without our oversized beach towels. Scott's Surf Shop has everything
to cover you at the beach, including swimming apparel, sunblock, scuba gear, flip flops, and oversized

This transcript was exported on May 17, 2023 - view latest version here.
beach towels made with shake away technology that make sure you leave the beach at the beach before
you drive to the cottage. Stop by Scott's Surf Shop to start your summer off. Right.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Okay. So to start this off, I really liked her personality. I thought it sprung in the audition. Um, the distance from the mic sounds good. Maybe a bit too close. Um, but what are your thoughts on this, uh, on this audition? Megan
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Agreed. I thought they came in with some great energy. I do think maybe almost too much. I felt possibly like they were playing the idea of what the artistic direction was. They hadn't set settled into themselves or they hadn't settled into, um, just being that character. I thought there was definitely a character being played. I'm a big fan of doing two takes. Okay. And this is so I really feel like, you know, they really put it in there and, and and, and went with the artistic direction. But I'd love to hear what they had that was maybe just, just a bit more them. I really feel like there was that playing the idea and a couple other things, little too sing-songy for my liking. There was just, it was very and and similar, right? We had a lot of, we said oversized beach towels the same way.
(03:37):
And we say that a couple of times in this script. Um, so it had this, I used the word Sammy a lot when I'm, when I'm coaching. Like it just had this sing songy Sammy, and which gets tiring for us. You know, we want when we're listening. Um, and then, and then it, what also happened is there was this element of talking at us as opposed to with us. That being said, I love what they're bringing. I love the energy. I, I thought they nailed sort of, you know, that, that beach girl, I just think maybe it was just, it was just sitting too high for me overall. But I would love to work with them and, you know, get them just sitting more in their own skin and, and, and making a bit more their own and maybe splitting the difference between what the client is asking for, which is also possibly not.
(04:30):
I feel like these, this type of direction is a little bit of a trick sometimes. It's like it forces you into this character. It's a character. It is. They want, they're asking for a character spot, but I wonder if at the end of the day, that's what they really want. Right? So giving them maybe a little bit of a split or a little, little of it, like the Vanilla Reid and the Strawberry Reid. Or if you're like, think of Neapolitan ice cream, the vanilla, the strawberry, the chocolate. You know, and that can help you distinguish cuz it, you know, we get into a whole, we're opening up a can of worms when we're getting into alt because your alt an alt has to be an alt, not a similar right? Otherwise there's time is money. We're not listening to two of the similar takes. So yeah, that's, yeah. What do you think of that? Thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, I think that makes a lot of sense. And you know, I think that will really speak to a lot of voice actors where you're telling them to really bring out their personality. So you're, you're having that fine balance of reading the script and taking the direction from the client, but then still put your personality in it. Because really if you don't put your personality in it, then what's making your audition different from the other 50 people that are also auditioning?
Speaker 1 (05:40):

Absolutely. Absolutely. Cuz everybody's getting that. And if everyone's doing, if every female is doing Ell Woods and every male is doing Owen Wilson, and I also like to challenge that also. Like, I feel like I'm, I do love ELL Woods, but sometimes, let's say it's, right now we're seeing a lot of Aubrey Plaza. Mm. So I would say I get, I love Owen Wilson, so I might even as a female or you know, I might do the Owen Wilson. So you wanna write yourself into the audition, not out of the audition. So these types of things can also, when they have, when they, when they name actors or characters from movies, it's, first of all, don't take that to to being that's what they want. That's, they're just, you know, the creatives don't always know. And there, there are a lot of hats making these decisions.
(06:26):
So it's just an idea. But if you're like, I'm not LL Woods, oh no, what am I gonna, okay, or Now I'm gonna watch LL Woods for hours and I'm gonna, then you're getting into mimick, you're getting into it. You're just really getting into playing the idea, uh, of, of somebody as opposed to bringing, writing yourself into it or being, you know, having little moments or, or taking, what's the idea of El Woods? Like she's right. Really positive. So it's not just the voice, it's her positivity. It's her go getter attitude. The other thing that is really missing from this, that I think if, if this person had thought about this, I think it just would've helped so much more is have somebody you're talking to. I always have, I always say, talk to somebody. Yeah. We don't, and it really eliminates that talking at people talking as opposed to Yeah. And, and, and force us to talk to somebody, one person. Cuz when we're in, in the car listening to the radio, what brings us in when we think somebody's talking to us, you know, it's, if someone's just talking at us, it's like, oh, everybody listen to this. I don't really .
Speaker 3 (07:35): Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
But it's like, oh, she's speaking to me. They're speaking to me. You know, that really, and that helps, I think if, if, if it really sounded like they were taking the, the sort of sales rep per, you know, person to heart, so then pick somebody who's walking in and, and something you can do in your prep is what if you talk to, you know, your Aunt Betty, what if you were, you know, your Aunt Betty walks into the store, or your mom, or your cousin, or your sister or your best friend. All that, that changes all. And then, you know, you really wanna do a lot of prep before you go into play mode, which I think is such a key in this stuff. Like, do the prep. I come from a sports background, so, you know, it's, you have to have your, your clarity, your preparation, your script analysis, all the kind of heady stuff. Do all that heady stuff. And then when you get to the game or get into behind your mic, then you wanna go on over and to be creative, be playful, have fun, you know, that's, you know, the, the, you wanna get that prep in there for it to really boost your mental game. There's such a big, mental game is such a big part of this.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Yeah. Mm-hmm. . And even just like, it's kind of sounding like maybe too much tunnel vision for this one. Like kind of just like go outside the box in that sense, which might be for some people, right. So
Speaker 1 (08:57):
It, it, it, and that's why this is, this is a long ball game. Mm-hmm. , you know, people, you
hear it all the time. It takes time. It does take time because you need to figure out who you are. You
really wanna bring yourself into it and be, and be confident enough to try stuff and you wanna try this stuff. You don't have to send that take in. Right. I also would recommend doing that first line three in a row and that last line three in a row and see what lands. Like, I often will do the first line over and over and over until I feel like, yeah, this is where I'm at. The other thing is they mentioned on in, we didn't talk about that before, but the job des in the job description, they mentioned, you know, what Scott's surf shop is all about.
(09:43):
They mentioned what the voice will accompany a montage of stunning visual take, take visuals taken on the Laguna. You know, there's a whole vibe being created. So the clarity of the spot really will help us as the voiceover artist nail the vibe. You know, we don't know what they want. We don't know if we're the right voice for the job. We don't know if we're gonna get the job, get that off the table. That is not our, our job is not to book the job. Sure. So we wanna book the job. Of course we do, but we can't, that can't be our goal. That can't be our intention because that is completely out of our control. For sure. What we can do is have a fantastic audition. We can leave it on the mic, you know? Yeah. And, and to do that, we've gotta do our preparation. We have to get clear. We gotta get the vibe. We have to see ourselves invite ourselves into the spot. Not this idea of, you know, and let's not write ourselves out of a commer an opportunity before we're even doing it. Like I was saying earlier, oh, am I an El Woods type? Or maybe I'm not, you know, am I a surfer girl? Yes. I am . You know, like we're ac at the end of the day, we're actors.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Mm-hmm. . And like you said too, like, well in your whole, and the whole point of your theme is like get outta your own way. Right. So if you're gonna kind of have that mindset of just I need to book. I need to book. You're just stepping into your, you're stepping in your own way, right? So
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Oh yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And you're setting yourself up for every time is a fail until you get a job. It's like, no, that wasn't a fail. I had a great audition. I had a great audition. That's a win. Celebrate every audition.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
That's such good feedback and, and so beneficial for so many things. And just the first, the first audition. So bring your personality. Don't get in your own way. Read to a few different people and that will be your, your different takes.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, absolutely. Reading to a d a few different, and, and even just that sort of, just to be clear about that. Then you're listen, then you listen back and you're like, oh, I liked the way I read to Aunt Betty the most, you know, or I like the, so that will be your take. And then your next one might be a little bit different. Maybe I'll drop the valley and I'll just do me as a surfer girl how I feel when I play California. You know, name a song that puts you at the beach. One for them. One for you.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Yeah. Love it. That's awesome. Let's jump to our second audition.
Ready for some fun in the sun, not without our oversized beach towels. Scott's Surf Shop has everything to cover you at the beach, including swimming apparel, sunblock, scuba gear, flip flops, and oversized beach towels made with shake away technology that makes sure you leave the beach at the beach before you drive to the cottage. Stop by Scott's surf shop to start your summer off. Right.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
So he totally sold me on the Fun in the sun. And it was so early on in the audition, and I feel like this audition was so well read that you could easily put music as a brand. You could easily put music into this audition and just hit play and send it to the radio station. What do you think, Megan?
Speaker 1 (12:52):
I absolutely agree. I loved his read their read and I loved, um, I loved their take. I thought they really sat in the surfer dude. There was no playing the idea of he, they had a natural voice for it as well. And that's something we also have to look at, uh, are our strengths in all this stuff. You know, you know, whether sometimes we just, our voice isn't right for a part where, and sometimes it is still, even if you don't think your, again, I'll go, go back to what I'd said earlier, don't write yourself out even if you think your voice isn't right, because you never know. But this person definitely had that, just that natural surfer guy. Surfer dude feel. So I think he nailed that again. I would've loved to have heard an alt, but he didn't really need it. So it really, it was, I thought, I thought it was really nailed. Um, I do have some notes.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
. Let's do it. Yeah, yeah. Let's hear 'em. We're ready.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
That being said, um, so beginning, middle of an end, you know, in, when we first get a script, you know, in our, sort of our plate for clarity and, and doing the prep work and getting ourselves doing all the practice, doing the practice before we go to the game. This is the art of storytelling. We have a beginning and middle of an end. So when I look at this script, you know, the first two lines ready for some fun in the sun, not without our oversized beach towels, we haven't even introduced the product yet. I call that sort of the dangling carrot. Like what are we talking about here? You know, um, which he did that, you know, he did great. That that was fine. And then we go and then we introduce, go into the introduction. You know, Scott surf shop has everything, everything to cover you at the beach, including, and then this is a very long sentence, okay.
(14:41):
With a big list. My rule of thumb with a list is nothing's more important than the other thing, but make them sound different. Interesting. And there was that, you know, you don't wanna get into Yeah. Just you wanna, you wanna, you wanna attach something to it, you know, so that they sound differently. Otherwise, again, you get into that pattern of sameness. Mm-hmm. or you're just rolling through a list lists or tricks. Right? So the other thing is, is we are doing a callback to that, those oversized beach towels that we alluded to in that first, how about your, you know, not without our oversized beach towels, which then that goes into that made with that shake away technology that makes sure you leave the beach at the beach. So that's a very long sentence. So either you're doing a lot of editing or I've got a little trick for long, for long sentences that you can, so that you can say it all in one go. So that there isn't that blo that that big pause after oversized beach towels made with shake away.
Cuz that's linked. Right. Right. And oversized beach towels made with that are made with like, it's not the scuba deer that gear that's made with the oversize or the shake away technology. It's the last thing. So you really need to have your breath there. So I've just got a little trickle throw out to everybody. So just take a deep breath in.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Okay. Let's do it all together.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Let's do it all together. Okay. Let's just do it. So just deep breath, slow, slowly, like we're getting into sort of yoga breath stuff. So deep breath in, go for ten second count and then hold it at the top. And while you're holding it, try and take more sips. Really open up those lungs. Open, open up and just when you're like, okay, okay, now slowly let it out. Can I do that three times?
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Oh my gosh. I feel so calm already. That was challenging. The one number one, but I feel very
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Calm. But it's good. It's good. It's calming, but it's also opening up your lung capacity. So you're gonna do it again and then you're gonna hold it again 10 seconds, like as long as you can and sit more air. Cuz you'll be surprised how much more air you can, how much more we have in there. We do not breathe deeply enough. People out and it's all slow. Right? Just keep it calm and again, and you're gonna be breathing into the back of your ribs here g You're gonna feel air going to places you didn't even know you could put air. I feel that. Air. Yes. And then out. Beautiful. And now we're ready. Take a little moment cuz you've might have an elevated heart rate because we've just done this a little bit. So just get calm again. Cause you don't wanna feel like, uh, right.
(17:27):
So just get yourself regulated and then take again a nice deep breath and then go into the line. Scott's surf shop has everything to cover you at the beach, including swimming apparel, sun blocks, scuba gear, flip flops and overside speech towels made with shake away technology that makes sure you leave the beach at the beach. Ooh. I still have more air. Like I still have more air. It was just a, it was a basic, it was not a real read, but, you know, but I just wanted to show you that I had all the air and more Yeah. To play and to play in there. I could have done, uh, you know, there was lots of room to play with all that breath. And a lot of the times we mess up long sentences because of the breath.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Gotcha. Yeah. Well, breathing's definitely very important. Right? So that's a good little tip for everyone
out there.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Little tip of the trade. . So, yeah. So let leading into that last, so what happened with this read just at the end, and it could have been maybe possibly fixed, um, with, uh, just editing a little. There was a little bit too much of a space for the conclusion of this, this whole point that I'm trying to make. And I went in with my breath control thing, . But that we have a beginning, middle, and an end, you know, then we have our conclusion before you drive to the cottage. And I would even throw in, you
know, sometimes we add little things like dudes and, you know, so, so before you drive to the cottage, stop by Scott Surf shop to start your summer off. Right. And do that three in a row again. Give it that three in a row. And I love a little, I call it pre-roll, just adding a little bit that you can clip out after, especially the first one. Like, oh hey, welcome. Are you ready for some fun in the sun? It's just sometimes easier than starting with ready for some fun in the sun. Hey, ready for some fun in the sun. You ready for some fun in the sun? There's so many ways to approach it, but you wanna try and approach it, not cold.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
And I feel like that's what makes the reeds different to it when you just add that word. Mm-hmm. . And then when we listen, we're just like, automatically I'm like, oh, I love this. Like, yeah, I wanna know and get ready for some fun in the sun. Like, tell me more, you know, sign me up
Speaker 2 (19:31): For two beach
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Towels. Yeah. . Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Yeah. Really shake away technology. I'm so in . Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
When probably it's just our wrist . We're just bending our wrists.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
I'm wondering about that . I was wondering about that shake away technology built in.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Yeah. Okay. Perfect. Well, any final thoughts for those listing, Megan?
Speaker 1 (19:50):
I think this person left it on the mic. Absolutely. And you know, the strengths of the voice being kind of right for the, that sort of cool duty feel. Um, and, and just really consistent and fun and, uh, and left me wanting more. I think that's always, uh, a great, a great thing to leave people with.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
Perfect. Okay, let's move on to audition number three.
Speaker 6 (20:16):
Ready for some fun in the sun, not without our oversized beach towels. Scott's Surf Shop has everything to cover you at the beach, including swimming apparel, sunblock, scuba gear, flip flops, and oversized beach towels made with shake away technology that makes sure you leave the beach at the beach before you drive to the cottage. Stop by Scott's Surf Shop to start your summer off. Right.
Okay. I'll let you start this one off, Megan.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Well, in keeping with what we were just talking about, um, and getting that sort of really long sentence, uh, nailed, I thought this person absolutely did that. There was a really nice flow to the read. I thought overall the whole read was done very well. It was kind of a nice, neat little package. I thought it was safe. It was, I would say too safe. So again, do another one. Do another one. You know, let's, you can do so everyone can do safe. It was a, it was a nice read. I think she's got it there. There's a great voice there. I think that will work for this spot. Um, I just wanted more, I didn't think it was a Reid that was, it was neither her, her nor Ellwood, you know, it was kind of
Speaker 3 (21:32):
A little zier. That's all just Yeah. Spicier a a little
Speaker 2 (21:36):
More personality, her recording environment. Yeah, the recording environment sounded great. You
know, I I didn't hear any echoing. Her voice sounded nice. It was just a little bland.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Bland, exactly. It's just the energy, all of it. So it was, yeah. Too safe. But I feel like there's lots of potential there. And I think, you know, maybe, maybe they're new or maybe they're just, that was just a really safe read. I think there's nothing wrong with that. I give safe reeds lots, but I always have an alt that's like mega personality, Megan personality. Ooh, mega personality . Yeah. So that's such an important, that that's where the alt can really serve you because you never know. Maybe a client, this medium is still pretty conservative at the end of the day. So, um, that was a very conservative reading. Yeah. I think that was just, it was safe. That's my word of it. Just safe.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
And is it true, like, when voice actors do two takes, one take is usually good for how you think the read
should be read. And then the second take would be how the client wants it to be
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Read. I love that way. I love it. One for them, one for one for me. And that would be sort of really using that artistic direction and again, still inserting you into it so it's not so them that you lose you just so that I just caution that for them. But yes, I would say that would be the safe read the most, you know, and just as try and do. And then the one for me, the way I see myself in it, and again, I will use music to get myself in that mode to really pa take it off the page and make it my own. Um, and then I might even lead when I, when I submit, I might lead with mine first, not necessarily theirs. Right. I, I'll lead with the one that I like at the end, at the end of the day, it's my audition. I wanna feel good about it. If they're not gonna, they may not take the time to read the second read. I know I've been in this business for so long, so you start to get this, have this idea of what I kind of feel like I know what they want, but, um, but I love what I've done so much that it, it just, it will, it will kill me if they don't hear what I did .
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Right? And I am, I am confident in what I do and, and I also wanna have fun in the room. I, you know, I, like I said, I've been doing it a long time. I wanna be exci. I have to be excited about what I do. Otherwise, why am I doing it? Money isn't enough for me. I'm not an accountant. I'm not in it for the money. You know, I just talked to my accountant, . I was just talking to my accountant earlier today, so, and he said, it's not like being an actor, you're not here for the passion . So I'm like, I'm here for the passion, you know? So I wanna love what I do and I love the art of storytelling and I'm a team player. So when I say this one's for me, I wanna show them that I'm more than this one read. That's another w reason why you wanna do more than one read. I really strongly encourage it, but don't give them two reads that are the same. So if you've got one and you're like, this is great, like the one we listened to before, great. If that's all that person had, do it. Audition for it. Absolutely. If you can do an alt, you've got time for it, then give it, give it. I think it's worth
Speaker 2 (24:53):
It. So Megan, what would you say if a voice actor talking about passion, if a voice actor is maybe having a challenge showcasing their passion, or maybe they're a little shy, or they're new to voiceover and they audition for a brand and they're a little intimidated, how do you suggest they bring that passion? Because sometimes, let's say they pretend they're talking to their mom, they may not have that passion. So what's a tip that a voice actor could take away where they do kind of like blossom and just give all that passion out?
Speaker 1 (25:25):
So in this particular script, you can't, you can't connect with it. If you're lacking passion, you're not connecting with it. Like it's maybe all it this and it that. And you know, maybe you're like, I don't even know what this brand is. It's all, you know, make it something else. That's a sim An easy acting thing is let's talk, let's imagine you're talking about something. So what do you love to talk about? You know, oh cool, fluffy kittens. All right, let's make this, let's make you know, brand blah blue, fluffy kittens. So every time you say blah blue, you're like, in your head, you're like, it's fluffy kittens and I love fluffy kittens. You know? Yeah. So find something, you know, worst case you can always, if you really can't, you don't have to audition for everything, right? You can and, or you don't necessarily need to submit it to, you know, you can practice it.
(26:15):
Use that as your practice. You know, just be like, this is the script I wanna conquer by the end of the year. This'll be something I work on till the end of the year. Um, but back to the, you, you did touch on something else. You know, if someone's shy or someone's, you know, lacks confidence or because they're new, because they're, you know, spend as much time as you can practicing and it takes time to get your confidence in this. It just time. And again, your confidence is you really want to try and figure out how to get your confidence not from your bookings. Because sometimes we don't see those for a while. You really have to get clear on who you are, why you're doing this, why you wanna do this. Usually when you get to the why, why am I doing this then if I'm so scared and so shy about this, why am I doing this? Like, ask yourself that. Because I listen to the radio and I think I could be that person. Great. Say that again to yourself. Because I listen to the radio and I think I could be that person. Maybe you need to look at yourself in the mirror and say, I got this. What's going on? What's in my way here? What am I afraid of? Mm-hmm. , you know, love it
So much. I have, I could go on. This could be an hour in
Speaker 3 (27:28): Itself, so
Speaker 2 (27:29):
I know it's so, that's so powerful though. Just tho those small adjustments and those small mind shift
changes are so powerful in the, in the long run.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Absolutely. And like the why and, and that I've got this, you know, no one else. We do not get the feedback. We can't go into this business expecting people to be like, I love you. You're amazing, you're great. You might get that once in a while, but that's ego talking. That's an ego driven desire to do this. Check ego at the door. You have to wanna do this because you love doing it because you, for whatever that is. Because, and it, it's, it's not just having a great voice, right? We all know that. It's, it's being able to navigate a script and tell the story and like, I love it. And I love the challenge of a script that's like boring. I'm like, okay, , let's take this off the page. You know,
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Fluffy kitchens, it's fluffy kitchens fluff, all day long,
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Fluffy, fluffy kittens all day long. . Yeah. No. I don't even know why I use that. Is it ? It
would be nice. They're cute. Yeah, they are cute. They are people like fluffy kittens.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Oh, that is so helpful. Thank you. Okay, let's move on to our next audition.
Speaker 7 (28:36):
Hey dude. Ready for some fun in the sun Now without oversized beach towels. Scott Surf Shop has everything to cover you at the beach, including swimming apparel, sunblock, scuba gear, flip flops, and oversized beach towels made with that shake away technology that makes sure you leave the beach at the beach before you drive to the cottage. Stop by Scott's surf shop to start your summer off right bra ready for some fun in the sun, not without oversized beach towels. Scott's Surf Shop has everything to cover you at the beach, including swimming apparel, sunblock, scuba gear, flip flops, and Oversize Beach tells me with shake away technology to make sure you leave the beach at the beach before you drive to the cottage. Stop by Scott Surf Shop to star your summer off. Right.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Okay. I'm gonna kick this one off cause I have a few notes myself. So I like this audition particularly because he went off script like he caught me from the beginning. Um, however, the Ss sound a bit harsh. It sounds loud to me, but I do like how both takes are different. Um, because like we said, typically if you
know there's two takes and they sound the same, then you need to, you need to make them sound
distinct. Mm-hmm. . So what is the feedback that you would give to this talent? Megan?
Speaker 1 (30:02):
Yeah. Great. I similar, I had that same sort of, um, feeling right away. I loved how he really just made this his own right away, straight out of the gate. And yeah, his first one was maybe a little bit less of the surfer, but it was still the surfer dude was still there. There was that hint. He maybe could have even then kept it, cuz I think he did a little bit of the same thing with the shake away technology. So maybe just kept it a little on the safer side or the, the less on the very first. But that, that's a really, that's a really, really picky note. Like, just go back in and, you know, that's what I would've given him. Quick edit. Yeah. So quick edit, you know, just cool. Cause you're gonna, you're gonna push that in that because he really pushed it in the second take.
(30:45):
He really brought it with the bra and the, and all of it. . Yeah. Great voice. Great voice for this. Um, and you know, yeah, they were very different, but they were, there was a similarity, but I'm okay with that. Mm-hmm. again, there's, I think he, I think he could really, he could see this like this, this script does have a very, it, it, it, you can kind of see it when you see something, you know, it's just the way we, we all sort of go in subjectively with all, you know, it's just our natural thing that we do. And I think this script spoke to him in a certain way, so mm-hmm. It did, but he, he did shake it up a little bit. I'm glad he did two takes. Um, and I thought overall great, great reads, you know, great reads. Right. And I think he's a great contender because you can see that he's, he sounds like he might be directable,
Speaker 3 (31:40): Right?
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Because he did two takes. He's thinking about it a couple of ways, which makes me think he could probably thinking about it in other ways. Um, and he did make some subtle changes all the way through that made me like, he sounded like he's, he did his work, but I didn't hear his work.
Speaker 3 (32:00): Gotcha.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
And that's a big one. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:03): Okay.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I, I definitely felt at the core of each audition was a beach vibe. And I, I liked how he threw in a few of his
own words. Like you were saying a few auditions ago, to bring in that personality. I really felt like he
embodied this script and then sprinkled in his own personality, which was really cool. And it, it made the
audition stand out for me.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Yeah, I agree. And he did that fun thing about that with shake Away technology and the bra. Right. All
those little things. He took it off the page.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Yep. Mm-hmm. . And
Speaker 1 (32:36):
That's such a big thing. You know, we really wanna away from Reedy and on the page and Yeah. Yeah. Back to a couple ago, uh, the safe read that, back to that safe read. It was, it was, you know, I, I didn't stay on that for as long, but it was very on the page still mm-hmm. . Yeah. We could hear every single word. It didn't come out sort of as naturally. And that, and that's a again, why you, you know, sang it a few times in a row, the same sentence, you can, by the third time you're like, oh, I know you, you've almost me. You've memorized it too. So then it really comes out naturally. Usually my third, I often when I go into a record, like a, a job job and I do it a little bit differently because I, I'm, I'm, I, I, I'm a on-camera actor as well, so I go to sound studios, I work with directors base on, I go into the booth, their booths, and I always ask to do it a few times in a row. And then so that by the third I'm really settled into it. And I do the same. When I do my auditions, I'll sometimes say the script 30 times. Like, I'll just do it, do it, do it maybe maybe by 30. That's a little much. But I'm, I'm definitely, I don't listen, I'm definitely reading for five minutes, like sometimes like three to five minutes. And I don't actually listen back until the last minute or last minute and a half because the first few minutes are me just working it out.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Yeah. And I think overall in voiceover, you just need to take risks. Mm-hmm. , I think some people are scared. Right. And, and that's fair. But I think at the end of the day, you have to take risks like going off script or whatever the case is, and even like getting physical when you're in the booth. Like, not just like standing there and like me hitting my mic all the time. and my pop filter, like putting your body into it. Right. That's a big thing. And
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Huge. Yeah. Huge. Like air quotes, like, especially like that script breakdown, you know, SCO surf shop. I would do air quote, quote. Yeah. I'm very physical. Like I've got a huge also, um, uh, animation background. So it's, you know, I can't, whenever we've, we've been filmed in, in our animation records, um, it's the, I hate it. Like, it's not like I'm not an on, you know, I'm not an on camera actor right now. I'm, I'm a voice actor right now and I'm so busy behind, like my character is running. I'm a, there's so much physicality. And same goes for the commercial reads. Bring the phy, I wink, I, I, I, yeah. A a, a little shoulder sh shrug a little, you know, a little lean in a little. Hello.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
Shoot me here in the, and there a
Little shimmy here and there. Yeah. A little dance before all this stuff. You, if you're not in your body. That's something I also, when I work with my clients, get you warm up. Warm up. Yes. We love being voiceover actors and we love saying, why do we love being voiceover actors? Because we can wake up at and roll outta bed in our pajamas Right into our booth and start working . But that's not the reality of it. If you're, if you're, if your body's stiff and tired or still it's going, we're gonna hear that in your voice, you know? Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . So you've got your whole bo mind Body, soul has to be a part of this, otherwise love it. What's the point?
Speaker 3 (35:43): Yep. Completely
Speaker 2 (35:44):
Agree. Yeah. Okay. That's amazing. Such, such great tips. Okay, let's move on to our last audition.
Speaker 8 (35:51):
Ready for some fun in the sun, not without our oversized beach towels. Scott's surf Shop has everything to cover you at the beach, including swimming apparel, sunblock, scuba gear, flip flops, and oversized beach towels made with shake away technology that makes sure you leave the beach at the beach.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
Okay. So I thought that he, he had a very unique personality, um, but his voice was heavily processed
from what I could hear. It worked, but it was heavily processed. What are your thoughts, Megan?
Speaker 1 (36:24):
Totally. That was my knee jerk. It was so heavily processed, but I also wasn't sure, you know, sometimes really good mics have almost that quality and it was, it's cuz I loved his read. I actually loved what he did. I love out of everybody. He was the only one that had this, he played with, you know, to cover like, we had this whole like, oh, right, cuz you don't wanna be nude at the beach. Like , you know, he made it, he brought a lot of comedy into it, which and himself into it flip flops the way he said flip flops, . He was the low key dude, you know, I would, I would want his ready for some fun in the sun. So right off the bat, what we hear heard was kind of a heavily processed right away. And then a, a not very strong opening line.
(37:13):
Okay. I thought ready for it was too laid back. I think he could still have that yo ready. Like I didn't, I lost the twinkle in his eye, you know? Yes. And there was so much twinkle throughout. I think he, you know, he still might get the job because he, he really, even though it was voice quality, if it is pro, you know, we don't know it. That's the problem is you don't know what you're gonna get on the day. It was too proce. Like it is too processed. But I loved his read. I loved the read so much, and then I'd won an alt because you know me, I like an alt , but, um, noted . Yeah. Yeah. So I, yeah. So I'm not sure. Yeah. I'm with you on that. Any other, yeah, what are some other thoughts?
Speaker 3 (37:56):
Yeah, I think he could've, could've brightened it up a little bit. Mm-hmm. . Yeah, for sure. Speaker 1 (38:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
And just a, just a question because we are talking about the, the heavily processed voice for a newbie actor or maybe a voice actor that just isn't, doesn't, um, they don't, I'll say maneuver their voice very much. Can you explain what a processed voice is and what that means?
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Y yeah, I mean, it sounded to me like it was, it was processed by like tech technically processed, right? Like he, he was, he's obviously very good with tech. Like, I wouldn't know how to process my voice as a technically challenged individual and someone who also, I, I'm not actually, I can learn this stuff, but I don't need to . So yeah, I'm just really, you know, I've, I got two kids, I'm busy. I'm a, you know, you've read, you heard my bio, I'm a busy person. I don't have time for this. But, um, yeah, there was just, it sounded like I could, it's almost like, um, you know, when you hear musicians and all the kids are talking about it, you know, my right. You hear it's that heavily processed sound that you hear from certain Milli Vanilli was a classic in the eighties.
(39:05):
Oh, okay. Right. So for a new just be you, we want your voice. Clients want to hear your voice. If they hear something that sounds heavily processed or someone knows their technology very well, they get nervous that they're not going to, who knows what you may get next time. Who is, what is this voice now that's different than self imposing a pro, like doing something to your voice. Having a, having an affectation like a, like a, like this surfer b dude, um, thing or surfer girl thing. And what I wanna say about that is whenever we do an accent or an affectation, you, when you're doing the j the audition or reading the words or performing, you cannot be thinking about doing that affectation or accent anymore. In the same way that I'm not thinking about my accent as I'm talking to you. The second I'm, if I start talking with a southern accent, I'm gonna, you know, I'm, I might be, if I'm thinking about it, I'm not acting right.
(40:12):
It's gotta be so second nature that I'm not thinking about it because my job is to make inten make choices and intentions. I can't be thinking about my accent. Right. That's just gotta follow. And if your accent comes in and out, it, it might, you know, when you're learning and that's okay. Um, and you might wanna check it at the door, then you might do one where you have it a little bit. Um, but if you're thinking about it, then it's not ready yet. Right. Like, it really has to be just there. And then you're thinking about what your job is, which is being in the moment, you're being at the beach, you're at the beach, you're working at Scott's surf shop. Maybe you're Scott like the auntie. Yeah, yeah. Like the guy before that we just listened to. I thought he played Scott. Yeah.
(40:55):
He was Scott at Scott's Surf Shop. Right. And if you're playing the sales representative, then be at, like find your, where That's another thing I, we haven't talked about. I really love to put myself in the, the where, like the who. I have a who, what, where, when, why, you know, I go through that whole list with myself. So for a new, you know, just do you get yourself into that we're actors, like, be in that surf shop, see the beach, you know, sell your clothes and your flip flops and your incredible, you know, shake away technology beach, oversized beach blanket, you know, so yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
That's super helpful. Thank you. All right, so let's talk about who you think the winner is, Megan.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
My goodness. Okay. And it
Speaker 3 (41:46):
Was a quite fun read. So, um, you know, they're all different. They're all unique, but yes. Which one are
you choosing as the
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Winner? Which 1:00 AM I choosing as the winner? So, yeah, this is a really tough one because I liked a
little bit, it's a real toss up, but we're
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Putting, gosh, I know, we're, we're putting the pressure on. I feel like we need Jeff, our producer to do a
drum roll. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Yeah. Drum roll it. Drum roll it.
Speaker 7 (42:25):
Hey dude, ready for some fun in the sun now without oversized beach towels. Scott Surf Shop has everything to cover you at the beach, including swimming apparel, sunblock, scuba gear, flip flops, and oversized beach towels made with that shake away technology that makes sure you leave the beach at the beach before you drive to the cottage. Stop by Scott's Surf shop to start your summer off right bra ready for some fun in the sun, not without oversized beach towels. Scott Surf Shop has everything to cover you at the beach, including swimming apparel, sunblock, scuba gear, flip flops, and oversized beach towels. Me with shake away technology to make sure you leave the beach at the beach before you drive to the cottage. Stop by Scott Surf Shop to star your summer off, right? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
He showed up as Scott, he embodied Scott, he's he's on payroll at this, at the shop.
Speaker 1 (43:26):
Yeah. I think at the end of the day, like the right voice, like we never know, you know, but if I were that, you know, he, the voice lended itself to that beach thing. There were definite risks. I felt like there was gonna be some direct ability where we could play a little bit. We could take it down. We could take it up. Um, and, and yeah, maybe that, maybe that just goes to show you just give them two takes because it just gives you more of a shot. I think showing your range and, and, and putting yourself out there and taking risks, you have more of a chance to take risks. So yeah. Way to go number four.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
So Megan, how can talent get in touch with you?
Speaker 1 (44:04):
Talent? Get in, get in touch with me, please. Get in touch with me. I'm, I'm really just doing socials right now. My websites have been under construction for a long time. Um, and they're just at the bottom of my list right now. But please follow me at, on Instagram as my main is the really, the, the social I use. And I'm either at Megan Fallen Bach or at Mega Play Coach. Yeah. At Mega Play Coach at Megan Fallen Bach. And I do answer, and I'm open to, you know, to conversing with you. I, I love when people reach out to me, so, you know, get in touch.
Speaker 2 (44:39):
Yes. That's great. Thank you so much. Okay. Listeners, if you wanna brush up on your skills, we have so many scripts that you can practice, including today's at voices.com/blog. And for any additional resources from Megan, please feel free to follow her, reach out to her on social and make those connections.
Speaker 3 (44:57):
Thank you all for tuning into this episode of Mission Audition. My name is Vanessa and my amazing co-
host is Tara. And we are signing off.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
We will see you next time and happy auditioning.
Speaker 3 (45:08): Thank you, Megan. Hey,
Speaker 1 (45:10):
This was amazing. Thank you. You do
Speaker 3 (45:12):
Like, honestly, this was the most
Speaker 9 (45:13): Fun.