D'Arcy Smith joined the VO Peeps in August for a video game workshop to help us nail our accents.
D'Arcy led us through the basics of RP, Southern, and Mid-Atlantic and showed us how to maintain and sustain a character! We covered the importance of recording yourself and listening back to your accent work, mouth placement, tongue shape, and the rhythm of each accent.
Words of Wisdom
"Strong and wrong, loud and proud" - D’Arcy
"Finding non-verbals help to bring your character more believability" - D’Arcy
"In RP there is no 'r' at all. Mid Atlantic will still have a hint of an 'r' " - D’Arcy
"Mid Atlantic can be described at the pronunciation of British RP, with the rhythm of an American Accent" - D’Arcy
What Peeps are Saying ...
"Anne, fantastic VO Peeps Video Game Workout last night. D’Arcy Smith - loved the dialect coaching. THANK YOU!" - Theresa Dodge
"D'Arcy gave us practical tips and invaluable feedback on how to create believable accents. I now know exactly how to roll my tongue to create a believable Southern, Mid-Atlantic, and RP accent. I also finally know the subtle difference in tone between RP and Mid-Atlantic and how to properly differentiate the two." - Dianna Conley
"Had such a wonderful and informative workshop with VO Peeps guest D'Arcy Smith this week, on how to create and distinguish between #generalamericanengl #britishrp and the #midatlanticaccent. Although I was already familiar with all of these accents he gave useful tips on how to make those distinctions even clearer. It was also nice to hear someone of his caliber reaffirm many of the approaches I use when coaching folks in the GAE speech. Thank you Anne Ganguzza for hosting yet another meaningful workshop for the Voiceover Community!" - Monique Bagwell
Video Replay
As always, VIPeeps have access to workout archives in the member's section of the website. Purchasing a VIPeeps™ Club membership will give you instant video access to previous and future VO Peeps educational archives, as well as over 150+ hours of educational content that you can access at your convenience, 15% off all live Guest Director Workouts, a directed monthly workout with Anne and other great guest directors, exclusive on-site forums with VO Tips and Tricks, your own VIPeeps Member Page, and an exclusive members-only Facebook Group.
Upcoming Events
Makes sure to Check out our events page for more exciting guest directors and workout opportunities. Our next event is:
with Randall Ryan
September 15, 5:30-7:30pm PDT
Online via ZOOM
This September, find out how to make your auditions stand out with Randall Ryan of Hamsterball Studios
Actors are constantly asking how they can submit better auditions and increase their percentage of bookings. One key aspect is to be able to create a character quickly and confidently and to know how to give pertinent variances. Ultimately, actors who can “cloak” themselves in roles are the ones who get cast, and those who are able to elicit a “Wow, I hadn’t thought of that!” reaction stand out even more. In this workshop, we’ll work on cold reads: receiving an audition, making quick and confident decisions, and creating more than one character to submit. This is best suited to actors who are regularly submitting auditions and even better for those who are familiar with video game castings. But even though it will have a video game focus, these are principles and techniques that can (and should) be applied to virtually any genre of auditions.
About Randall Ryan:
Randall’s journey into voice casting and directing was an unusual one. A musician from the age of five and a touring songwriter/performer for 15 years, he stopped touring to co-found InternetSound (later HamsterBall) in 1995. Quite by accident, Randall found he had a knack for directing talent, and soon voice-over became a bigger and bigger part of HamsterBall’s mix.
Randall’s recent casting and directing video game credits include Chivalry 2, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online, World of Tanks, Dungeons & Dragons Online, Vacation Simulator, Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues, and GI Joe: Operation Blackout. Legacy titles include World of Warcraft, Deer Hunter, Transformers, Barbie, Disney Princess, and Dora the Explorer.
Randall co-hosts the Let’s Talk Voiceover podcast. He still composes music, performs the occasional live gig, and thinks dogs make the best people.
We'll meet via Zoom on Wednesday, September 15th, from 5:30pm - 7:30pm PT!! Reserve your seat today!