Thinking about getting into voice-acting?
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting up with two of LA’s most talented voice actors, Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt. Each of their resumes is pretty extensive. Yuri’s played big characters like Superman while most gamers who’ve played Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe have probably heard Tara’s voice. She played Wonder Woman.
Now the two voice-masters (who are married by the way) have teamed up and written a book to teach the rest of us their ways.
After the break, check out the video with info on their book as well as a couple of tips for future voice actors.
Comic-Con, mecca for all things hyper-geek. Jerusalem for nerds. We met last week for the first time, and you wowed me with web-swingers and light-saber slashers. I loved your movie trailers and TV-show panels. Then I realized something: Comic-Con isn’t about the comics, and that made me sad.
Web TV. So young, yet you’ve come so far. Millions of eyeballs scour your content and lift a special few to somewhat of a celebrity status. But who are these people? Where is that E! angle?
Enter: The Web Files, a web series hosted by Kristyn Burtt and directed and produced by Sandra Payne, puts the spotlight on web celebs and gives them the star treatment. The show is all quality and class. No pot-shots, no paparazzi, just admiration for those whom the mainstream media has considered second-rate stars.
This isn’t a gut-punch to mainstream media; they have to aim their lens at the big stars who draw the most views. It’s a money game. With The Web Files, it’s all about appreciation and information. I, for one, didn’t know the origin of Tay Zonday’s name or that he didn’t eat cupcakes. What a shame; cupcakes are my favorite, but oh well.
According to a tweet by @TheWebFiles, the show’s first video has already seen more than 1,000 hits. The next episode, set to be released sometime next week, will feature the cast and crew of The Crew.
A while back, I put up a post on Redbox, that oh-so-easy-but-inexpensive dvd rental kiosk that can be found at the local Albertsons. In the post, I commented on an article from Newteevee which reported that Netflix’s No.1 competitor would be the redbox dvd kiosks.
I laughed. Who would use redbox? The latest films available for only a buck a-piece? Here’s what I said:
As for the kiosks themselves, they sure have great profit potential. I’m not sure what their margins or start-up costs are, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t bring in a good return. As for the kiosks actually beating Netflix? Not a chance.
I was wrong. These guys will not only destroy what is left of brick-and-mortar dvd rentals, but will probably make Netflix move those discs out a little faster. What brought about this sudden epiphany? A long line of people standing in front of a Redbox kiosk … I was last in line. Let’s face it, when it comes to impulse buys and on-the-fly rentals, Netflix can’t hold a candle to Redbox, especially with new releases.
According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune (which, unfortunately is no longer available, but can be found Google-cached :::sigh:::), Redbox has around 15,400 kiosks. That’s a lot of coverage. The article also mentioned that Blockbuster plans to roll-out 10,000 of its own kiosks by 2010. A little late to the game?
Some might say Netflix’s free “watch instantly” streaming-video is more than a match for redbox’s grab n’ go rental service, but when I wanted to watch Taken, Netflix lost.
Both services are phenomenal entertainment deals. Thousands of movies and 1-at-a-time unlimited DVDs still puts Netflix in the lead for me, but by no means is this battle of disc-rentals been settled. Maybe there will be a place for both to exist. Netflix certainly does a marvelous job serving up television box-sets for rent. One thing is for sure: these two services will probably deliver the finishing-move to Blockbuster. Fatality, flawless victory.
l Kombat vs DC Universe have probably heard Tara’s voice. She played Wonder Woman.
