Friday, August 05, 2005
Bob Bergen Speaks: Part 1
The following is part 1 of an e-mail interview with legendary animation voice and voice over teacher Bob Bergen.
BB:
Hey bud!!
I`m off to a fan convention in Orlando. But let me at least start answering your questions. Thanks again for the cruise PR!! (for more info on Bob`s Voice Acting Cruise go to: bobbergen.com)
Not only is Bob the official voice of Porky Pig, he has voiced Luke Skywalker for a number of Star Wars animations, done the voices of Marvin the Martian, Tweety Bird, voiced No-Face and the Frog in Miyazaki`s Spirited Away (along with a number of other Anime redubs) done Additional Voices in just about everything and has been teaching Voice Over seminars for over 18 years.
LL: Bob, first off, thank you for doing this interview and thank you for running in and doing the last half of the ASIFA State of the Animation Industry panel at Comic Con. You saved our butt on that one.
BB: You`re welcome!! I had a blast at Comic-con!! And I enjoy panel hopping. It allows me to keep my pigish figure!
LL: Let`s start with your background, how did you get into this crazy business and when did you know that this is what you want to do?
BB: I was 5 when I told my folks I wanted to be Porky Pig when I grew up. Not the kinda thing a Jewish mother wants to hear. My Dad moved the family to LA when I was 14, and I went through the Yellow Pages looking up anything and everything that said "cartoon" or "animation". I found Hanna Barbara`s number and talked to Ginny McSwain, who referred me to Daws Butler. I studied with Daws for years, along with anyone else who taught a voice-over class in LA. A week after high school I got my first agent, Don Pitts. That same week I booked my first cartoon, Spiderman and his Amazing Friends. I worked as a tour guide at Universal for about 5 years before I was able to make it fulltime as an actor.
LL: You have been teaching your Voice Over seminars for 18 years. That means, first off, that you like teaching. Secondly, it means that you have mentored a lot of people.
How did you get into teaching?
BB: I was doing a play in 1987. My bio in the program mentioned my voice-over background. A gentleman came up to me after one of the performances and told me he was opening an acting school, and wondered if I was interested in teaching an animation voice-over class. I told him no, but thanks for asking. A few weeks later I was contacted by SAG asking if I would teach a seminar for members. They paid nothing, so I decided to do it. I figured if I sucked I wouldn`t feel guilty about getting paid. I found I not only enjoyed it, I was good at it! So I taught for free at SAG Conservatory for about a year. I then contacted the guy from the acting school and offered my services as their animation VO instructor. I taught there for about a year before opening my private animation voice-over workshop. Not only do I teach here in LA, but I also travel the country teaching weekend animation voice-over seminars.
LL: What do you get out of teaching other people to be your competition?
BB: I never think of it that way. My philosophy is if you are right for the job you`re going to get it, no matter who the competition is. This business is always looking for new talent. I take it as a compliment, and quite honestly get a thrill out of seeing a former student make it in the business.
LL: Who are your successful former students?
BB: OY, it`s 3:30 am, and I`m about to leave for a fan convention. My mind isn`t working on full caffein capacity yet, but here`s a short list off the top of my sleepy head:
Quinton Flynn, who does lots of cartoons including Johnny Quest,
His brother Bart [Flynn] who does the promos for Jeopardy! (good talent genes in the Flynn family)
Michael Reisz.
I know there are oodles more but just can`t think right now. I`ll get back to you when I get back on this one.
LL: Who were your mentors in the business?
BB: Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, June Foray, Frank Welker, Dom Messick, Paul Winchell, etc.
LL: One of the things that stayed with me from your appearance on the ASIFA panel at Comic Con is a statement you made about animation voice acting not just being funny voices, it was finding the character and acting in that funny voice. I knew I butchered the paraphrase so why don`t you restate and then explain/expand this idea a little more?
BB: It`s not about how many voices you can do, but rather how good an actor you are with the voices you have. In this business they are looking for actors first and funny voice people second. This means if you do 5000 voices but can`t act the odds are against you. But if you are a solidly trained actor, you stand a better chance of making it.
LL: I have been out to your web-site as of late. I noticed that you talk or write about your 3-step process for creating and sustaining a voice characterization. If it would not give away the secrets of your seminars could you talk a little about that process and where you came up with it?
BB: I came up with this from experience. It`s a combination of the classes and workshops I took, various directors I`ve worked with, and my own take on creating characters. The 3 things that make up a good character are:
1) The Voice
2) Your acting
3) A signature, which is that lil something "extra" that you the actor bring to the character that makes it memorable and gives it the essennce of it`s personality. It can be a catch phrase, an accent or dialect, phrasing or a specific speech pattern, impressions, etc. It`s Porky`s stutter, Homer Simpson`s "D`oh!!", Snagglepuss` "Exit, stage left!!", etc. It`s the "it" factor when it comes to cartoons and auditioning for cartoons. It`s why one actor gets the job over the other 500 who didn`t. It`s taking risks, not being safe. And it`s often hard to define.
LL: As a fellow teacher I know the secret that all teachers know and no one else well ever believe, mainly, that the teacher gets more out of the lesson than the student does. I think that is mainly because we don`t really know what we know until we organize it so that we can teach it to someone else.
Do you find any truth to this statement or am I just full of it?
If there is any truth to this statement, do you have any examples of this from your 18 years as a teacher?
BB: Absolutely!!! I learn from my students all the time. When I`m auditioning or working I`m too busy in my own process to be able to self direct the way I can with my students. I`ll often times give a student direction or an idea to play with, then write it down for my own future auditions. I also encourage all students to pay attention to their fellow classmates while they are at the mic. Don`t lose out on an opportunity to take the ideas they are throwing out in the booth, or the direction they are being given by the teacher!
LL: The question that everybody outside the business always want to know, how to you break in? How much does networking have to do with it? What are the best places to network? And how should you act in the presence of professionals and heroes?
BB: It`s all about who you know. But you`d better be ready for the opportunity when you`re asked to show your wares. This means don`t pursue til you are ready! In voice-over you get one shot per listener. Make it count!!!! And keep in mind that your "heros" are just regular folks who are fortunate and talented enough to be able to make a living at what they do. I don`t know of any VO actor who doesn`t love to take the time to talk to fans. They paid for our houses!!! Just be courteous, and don`t ask them to do funny voices in the men`s/ladie`s room !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for networking, classes, cons, etc. I also have a monthly happy hour I put together for anyone in or interested in the world of voice-over. I call it VOX on the Rocks. The info is on my website. If you live in LA come join the fun!! We get everyone from actors, to students, casting directors, agents, studio engineers, etc. It`s more of a social thing than a blatant networking thing. But it`s a great way to meet really cool people within the business.
OK-that`s all for now. More to come!!
;-),
BB ¶ 10:28 AM
The following is part 1 of an e-mail interview with legendary animation voice and voice over teacher Bob Bergen.
BB:
Hey bud!!
I`m off to a fan convention in Orlando. But let me at least start answering your questions. Thanks again for the cruise PR!! (for more info on Bob`s Voice Acting Cruise go to: bobbergen.com)
Not only is Bob the official voice of Porky Pig, he has voiced Luke Skywalker for a number of Star Wars animations, done the voices of Marvin the Martian, Tweety Bird, voiced No-Face and the Frog in Miyazaki`s Spirited Away (along with a number of other Anime redubs) done Additional Voices in just about everything and has been teaching Voice Over seminars for over 18 years.
LL: Bob, first off, thank you for doing this interview and thank you for running in and doing the last half of the ASIFA State of the Animation Industry panel at Comic Con. You saved our butt on that one.
BB: You`re welcome!! I had a blast at Comic-con!! And I enjoy panel hopping. It allows me to keep my pigish figure!
LL: Let`s start with your background, how did you get into this crazy business and when did you know that this is what you want to do?
BB: I was 5 when I told my folks I wanted to be Porky Pig when I grew up. Not the kinda thing a Jewish mother wants to hear. My Dad moved the family to LA when I was 14, and I went through the Yellow Pages looking up anything and everything that said "cartoon" or "animation". I found Hanna Barbara`s number and talked to Ginny McSwain, who referred me to Daws Butler. I studied with Daws for years, along with anyone else who taught a voice-over class in LA. A week after high school I got my first agent, Don Pitts. That same week I booked my first cartoon, Spiderman and his Amazing Friends. I worked as a tour guide at Universal for about 5 years before I was able to make it fulltime as an actor.
LL: You have been teaching your Voice Over seminars for 18 years. That means, first off, that you like teaching. Secondly, it means that you have mentored a lot of people.
How did you get into teaching?
BB: I was doing a play in 1987. My bio in the program mentioned my voice-over background. A gentleman came up to me after one of the performances and told me he was opening an acting school, and wondered if I was interested in teaching an animation voice-over class. I told him no, but thanks for asking. A few weeks later I was contacted by SAG asking if I would teach a seminar for members. They paid nothing, so I decided to do it. I figured if I sucked I wouldn`t feel guilty about getting paid. I found I not only enjoyed it, I was good at it! So I taught for free at SAG Conservatory for about a year. I then contacted the guy from the acting school and offered my services as their animation VO instructor. I taught there for about a year before opening my private animation voice-over workshop. Not only do I teach here in LA, but I also travel the country teaching weekend animation voice-over seminars.
LL: What do you get out of teaching other people to be your competition?
BB: I never think of it that way. My philosophy is if you are right for the job you`re going to get it, no matter who the competition is. This business is always looking for new talent. I take it as a compliment, and quite honestly get a thrill out of seeing a former student make it in the business.
LL: Who are your successful former students?
BB: OY, it`s 3:30 am, and I`m about to leave for a fan convention. My mind isn`t working on full caffein capacity yet, but here`s a short list off the top of my sleepy head:
Quinton Flynn, who does lots of cartoons including Johnny Quest,
His brother Bart [Flynn] who does the promos for Jeopardy! (good talent genes in the Flynn family)
Michael Reisz.
I know there are oodles more but just can`t think right now. I`ll get back to you when I get back on this one.
LL: Who were your mentors in the business?
BB: Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, June Foray, Frank Welker, Dom Messick, Paul Winchell, etc.
LL: One of the things that stayed with me from your appearance on the ASIFA panel at Comic Con is a statement you made about animation voice acting not just being funny voices, it was finding the character and acting in that funny voice. I knew I butchered the paraphrase so why don`t you restate and then explain/expand this idea a little more?
BB: It`s not about how many voices you can do, but rather how good an actor you are with the voices you have. In this business they are looking for actors first and funny voice people second. This means if you do 5000 voices but can`t act the odds are against you. But if you are a solidly trained actor, you stand a better chance of making it.
LL: I have been out to your web-site as of late. I noticed that you talk or write about your 3-step process for creating and sustaining a voice characterization. If it would not give away the secrets of your seminars could you talk a little about that process and where you came up with it?
BB: I came up with this from experience. It`s a combination of the classes and workshops I took, various directors I`ve worked with, and my own take on creating characters. The 3 things that make up a good character are:
1) The Voice
2) Your acting
3) A signature, which is that lil something "extra" that you the actor bring to the character that makes it memorable and gives it the essennce of it`s personality. It can be a catch phrase, an accent or dialect, phrasing or a specific speech pattern, impressions, etc. It`s Porky`s stutter, Homer Simpson`s "D`oh!!", Snagglepuss` "Exit, stage left!!", etc. It`s the "it" factor when it comes to cartoons and auditioning for cartoons. It`s why one actor gets the job over the other 500 who didn`t. It`s taking risks, not being safe. And it`s often hard to define.
LL: As a fellow teacher I know the secret that all teachers know and no one else well ever believe, mainly, that the teacher gets more out of the lesson than the student does. I think that is mainly because we don`t really know what we know until we organize it so that we can teach it to someone else.
Do you find any truth to this statement or am I just full of it?
If there is any truth to this statement, do you have any examples of this from your 18 years as a teacher?
BB: Absolutely!!! I learn from my students all the time. When I`m auditioning or working I`m too busy in my own process to be able to self direct the way I can with my students. I`ll often times give a student direction or an idea to play with, then write it down for my own future auditions. I also encourage all students to pay attention to their fellow classmates while they are at the mic. Don`t lose out on an opportunity to take the ideas they are throwing out in the booth, or the direction they are being given by the teacher!
LL: The question that everybody outside the business always want to know, how to you break in? How much does networking have to do with it? What are the best places to network? And how should you act in the presence of professionals and heroes?
BB: It`s all about who you know. But you`d better be ready for the opportunity when you`re asked to show your wares. This means don`t pursue til you are ready! In voice-over you get one shot per listener. Make it count!!!! And keep in mind that your "heros" are just regular folks who are fortunate and talented enough to be able to make a living at what they do. I don`t know of any VO actor who doesn`t love to take the time to talk to fans. They paid for our houses!!! Just be courteous, and don`t ask them to do funny voices in the men`s/ladie`s room !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for networking, classes, cons, etc. I also have a monthly happy hour I put together for anyone in or interested in the world of voice-over. I call it VOX on the Rocks. The info is on my website. If you live in LA come join the fun!! We get everyone from actors, to students, casting directors, agents, studio engineers, etc. It`s more of a social thing than a blatant networking thing. But it`s a great way to meet really cool people within the business.
OK-that`s all for now. More to come!!
;-),
BB ¶ 10:28 AM
