Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in feature films, television series, animated shorts, and video games) and radio and audio dramas and comedy, doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides. The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The term voice-over refers to a production technique where a non-diagetic voice is broadcast live or pre-recorded in Radio, Television, Film, Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand Radio drama is a form of audio storytelling broadcast on radio. In filmmaking, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a Motion picture. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. A puppet is a representational figure manipulated by a Puppeteer. Rides redirects here For the album by Reef see Rides (album, and for the BBC television series see Rides (TV series. An individual who performs such voice-only roles is known as a voice actor or actress or as a voice artist. Voice acting may also involve singing, although a second voice actor is sometimes cast as the character's singing voice. Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech.

Voice artists are also used to record the individual sample fragments played back by a computer in an automated announcement system. At its simplest, this is just a short phrase which is played back as necessary, e. g. the Mind the gap announcement introduced by London Underground in 1969. "Mind the gap" is a warning to Train passengers to remind them of the sometimes significant gap between the train door and the Station platform. In a more complicated system such as a speaking clock, the voice artist doesn't actually record 1440 different announcements, one for each minute of the day, or even 60 (one for each minute of the hour), instead the announcement is re-assembled from fragments such as "minutes past" "eighteen" and "pm". For example, the word "twelve" can be used for both "Twelve O'Clock" and "Six Twelve". So far voice artists have been preferred to speech synthesis because they sound more natural to the listener.

In the United States

Broadcast media

For live-action production, voice acting often involves reading the parts of computer programs (Douglas Rain; Majel Barrett), radio dispatchers (Shaaron Claridge), or characters who never actually appear on screen but who give instructions by telephone (John Forsythe in Charlie's Angels), or mailed recording (Bob Johnson in Mission: Impossible). Douglas Rain is a Canadian Actor and narrator who was born in 1928 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (born Majel Leigh Hudec on February 23, 1932 in Columbus Ohio) is an American actress, and Shaaron Claridge, now retired was a second-shift radiotelephone operator or Police radio Dispatcher at the Van Nuys Division of the Los Angeles Police John Forsythe (born John Lincoln Freund; January 29, 1918) is an American stage, television and film Actor. Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency and is one of the first shows to showcase women Bob Johnson (born Robert Cleveland Johnson on March 1, 1921 in Portland Oregon - died August 16, 1994 in Burlington Mission Impossible (often referred to as Mission Impossible The Original Series) is an American Television series that chronicles "Stunt double" voice actors are sometimes employed; if a voice actor or actress loses his or her voice, someone who sounds similar can step in. For example, when Jeremy Irons's vocal cords became strained during the recording of the Lion King, Jim Cummings was called in to finish the recording. James Jonah "Jim" Cummings (born November 3, 1952 in Youngstown Ohio) is an American voice actor.

It is not unusual to find amongst the ranks of voice actors people who also act in live-action film or television, or on the stage (see e. g. , J. Scott Smart, an "old time radio" actor). J Scott Smart, also known as Jack Smart ( November 27 1902 – January 15 1960) was an American radio film and stage Old-Time Radio (OTR and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of Radio programming lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until For those actors, voice acting has the advantage of offering acting work without having to bother with makeup, costuming, lighting, and so on.

A common practice in animation is to cast a woman to play the role of a young boy. In the Performing arts, casting (or casting call) is a vital pre-production process for selecting a cast (a meaning of the word recorded since 1631 of Actors On The Simpsons, for example, Nancy Cartwright plays Bart Simpson and several other juvenile males. Nancy Campbell Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American Voice actress. Bartholomew J "Bart" Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons Another voice actress who would fit this criterion is Veronica Taylor, who for several seasons voiced Ash Ketchum in the North American version of the Pokémon anime. Veronica Taylor (born April 9, 1978) is an American Voice actress. Ash Ketchum, known as in Japan, is a Fictional character and the main Protagonist from the ''Pokémon'' anime. If you came here to express your personal opinion about Pokémon please go somewhere else This casting practice goes back to at least 1939, with Bernice Hansen as Sniffles the Mouse, and continues with Elizabeth "E. G." Daily as Tommy Pickles on Rugrats and All Grown Up! today. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Bernice Hansen (born 1925 was a voice artist who did a number of female character voices for Warner Bros Sniffles is an animated cartoon and comic-book character in the Warner Bros Elizabeth Ann Guttman (born September 11, 1961) better known by her Stage names of Elizabeth Daily and E Thomas "Tommy" Malcolm Pickles is the Main character from the Nickelodeon Animated television series ' Rugrats and its Spin-off Rugrats is an American Animated television series that aired from August 11, 1991 to June 8, 2004 on All Grown Up! is an animated television series that ran on Nickelodeon from April 12 2003 to August 17 2008 June Foray, even as a senior citizen, can still faithfully voice Rocket J. Squirrel. June Foray (born September 18, 1917) is an American Voice actress who has worked for most of the studios which produced Animated films The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show is the collective name for two separate American Television Animated series: Rocky and His Friends Casting adult women for these parts can be especially useful if an ad campaign or a developed series is expected to run for several years, for while the vocal characteristics of an adolescent male actor would change over time, the voice of an adult female will not.

A notable exception to using women to voice young boys' roles is the Peanuts animated features, in which boys were actually cast to read the boys' lines (e. g. , Charlie Brown, Linus, Schroeder). ^[1] In South Park the authors Trey Parker and Matt Stone are also voice actors of the most male roles, especially the boys: Parker voices Stan, Cartman and others while Stone is the voice of Kyle, Kenny, Butters and others. South Park is an animated American television comedy series created and written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for Comedy Central Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American Animator, Screenwriter, Film director Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an Academy Award - nominated Emmy Award - winning American Animator South Park kids' voices are pitched up a little in order to seem more "childish". In addition, kindergarten kids on the show are voiced by actual young children for realism.

Rise in use of film actors for voice roles

For much of the history of North American animation, voice actors had a predominantly low profile as performers, with Mel Blanc the major exception. Melvin "Mel" Jerome Blanc ( May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and Comedian Over time, many movie stars began voice acting in movies, with one of the earliest examples being The Jungle Book, which counted among its cast contemporary stars such as Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, and Louis Prima. For other uses including various songs titled "Movie Star" see Movie star (disambiguation. The Jungle Book is a 1967 animated Feature Film, released on October 18 1967. Phil Harris (born Wonga Philip Harris) ( June 24, 1904 – August 11, 1995) was an American Singer, Sebastian Cabot ( July 6, 1918  &ndash August 22, 1977) was an English Film and Television actor best Louis Prima ( December 7, 1910 Legacy The Prima-Butera arrangements and recordings continued to be copied by younger musicians including David The film which truly brought about this modern perception, however was Aladdin which was marketed with a noted emphasis on Robin Williams's role. Aladdin is a 1992 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 25 Robin McLaurim Williams (born July 21 1951 or 1952 is an American television stage and film actor and Comedian who has won an Academy Award for his performance The success of this film eventually spurred the idea of highlighting the voice actors as stars of a film, this becoming the norm in movie marketing, with a greater focus on hiring Hollywood celebrities for name power, rather than performers with more experience in voice acting. Film promotion is a practise undertaken by most film studios Studios invest in expensive Marketing campaigns to maximize target audience attendance of the released United States cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century By contrast, using anime voice actors as a box office draw was developed far earlier in Japan. (anime in Japanese, For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

Voice actor Billy West on the problem with the use of celebrities in voice acting. William Richard "Billy" West (born on April 16, 1952 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American voice actor, known

Some voice actors, such as Billy West, are highly critical of using movie stars for voices in animated features. William Richard "Billy" West (born on April 16, 1952 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American voice actor, known ^[2] A particular point of contention is the practice of bringing in veteran voice actors (who are capable of greatly altering their voices and inflections in order to create personalities for characters) to read for a part, and then use the recording of the professional voice actor as a guide for the movie star, even though the actual character creation work is being done by the unpaid voice actor. West struck back at this practice in Comic Book: The Movie, in which the entire main cast is comprised of voice actors, including Jess Harnell, Lori Alan, Daran Norris, Mark Hamill and Tom Kenny. Comic Book The Movie is a 2004 direct-to-DVD Mockumentary directed by and starring Mark Hamill. Jess Q Harnell (born December 23, 1963 in Teaneck, New Jersey, U Lori Alan (born July 18, 1966) sometimes credited as Lori Allen is most recently known to do the voice work as " The Boss " in Daran Morrison Nordlund (born November 1 1964 in Ferndale Washington) is an American actor principally known for his voice work Mark Richard Hamill (born September 25, 1951) is an American Actor, Comedian and Voice actor. Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962, in East Syracuse New York) is an American Voice actor and Comedian perhaps best

Voice actors have a small but dedicated fan base, with appearances at large events like Comic-Con International, various anime conventions, and websites dedicated to profiling their work. Comic-Con International San Diego, commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, is an annual multigenre Fan convention founded as the Golden

Commercials for television and radio are also cast using voice acting agencies. Ernie Anderson was one of radio's most prominent voices throughout the 70's and 80's and was heard on radio stations across the United States. Ernie Anderson ( November 12 1923 &ndash February 6 1997) was an American Television and Radio, voice announcer Today while Don LaFontaine fills the category of "The Voice of God," Ashton Smith, Howard Parker and Miguel Ferrer provide most of the narration for movie trailers. Donald LaFontaine ( August 26, 1940 &ndash September 1, 2008) was an American voiceover artist famous for recording Ashton Smith (born circa 1962 is a Voice actor, recording many movie trailers television commercials and network promotions Miguel José Ferrer (born February 7, 1955) is a Screen Actors Guild Award -winning American Actor, who is often typecast Beginning in the early 2000s, many organizations have moved toward a younger, more natural sound; a few notable voice actors in this category are Rick Robles (ABC, Animal Planet and ESPN) , Ethan Erickson (various commercials) and Paula Tiso ( various networks, and commercials)

SAG and aliases

A voice actor may be occasionally credited under an alias. Ethan Erickson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 5, 1970 (or alternatively 1973 and is an American Actor. Paula Tiso is an American voice actress who is best known as the English voice of Lulu in Final Fantasy X and its sequel A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) Sometimes producers aren't willing to spend the higher cost of hiring members of the Screen Actors Guild, which prohibits its members from taking non-union jobs; but a voice actor needs income, so he or she may take a job under a false name in an attempt to avoid the SAG's notice. The Screen Actors Guild ( SAG) is an American labor union representing over 120000 Film and television principal performers and background If caught, the SAG may respond with fines and suspended health coverage, so the actor has a motivation to do all he can to discourage people from linking his or her name with the alias.

Training and How-To Classes

Instruction in how to enter the voiceovers marketplace and how to market one's services is offered at various acting schools and also at adult learning facilities such as Chicago's Discovery Center.

Many VO coaches who have had success in commercial, narration, and animation offer private training, tele-seminars and weekend workshops for both novice and experienced voice actors. The VoiceOver International Creative Experience (VOICE) in Los Angeles is an annual global conference open to all voice actors, coaches, agents, and producers whose goal is to promote community, education, and technology within the VO industry.

Steady work as a voiceover talent in the US is normally possible only in major metro areas such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, although with the rise of the Internet and digital voice networks (i. e. fiber optic or ISDN lines) that can transmit recordings that voice actors make, this may be slowly changing.

In Japan

Main article: Seiyū

Japanese voice actors (seiyū) work in radio, television and movies. A is a Japanese vocal actor Seiyū work in Radio, Television, and movies; they perform voice-overs for non-Japanese movies they provide narration and they A is a Japanese vocal actor Seiyū work in Radio, Television, and movies; they perform voice-overs for non-Japanese movies they provide narration and they Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Their work largely mirrors that of their Western counterparts: performing roles in animated cartoons and video games, performing voice-overs for dubs of non-Japanese movies, and providing narration to documentaries and similar programs. In filmmaking, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a Motion picture. As Japan produces over 60% of the animated series in the world and a similarly large percentage of the world's computer and video games, the largest market by far for voice actors in Japan is providing voice-overs for anime and computer and video games. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. (anime in Japanese,

Because the animation industry in Japan is so prolific, seiyū are able to achieve fame on a national level and are able to have full-time careers as voice-over artists. Japanese voice actors are able to take greater charge of their careers than in other countries. Japan also has the institutions to support the career path, with around 130 seiyū schools and troupes of voice actors that work for a specific broadcast company or talent agency. They often attract their own appreciators and fans who watch shows specifically to hear their favorite actor or actress.

Seiyū frequently branch into music, often singing the opening or closing themes of shows in which their character stars, or become involved in non-animated side projects such as audio dramas (involving the same characters in new storylines) or image songs (songs sung in character that are not included in the anime but further develop the character). This article is about audio performance for other uses see Radio (disambiguation. An image song or character song is a song on a Tie-in album for an Anime, Game or Dorama that is usually sung by the Seiyuu

References

See also

• List of notable voice actors
• Adventures in Voice Acting
• voiceover