Here
are guys from a turtle show and a hamster show, out of costume - and
out of the recording booth - at Katsucon. On the left is Michael
Sinterniklaas, a New Yorker who is part of the voice cast of the
21st-century animated version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. On the
right is Michael Coleman, a Canadian who is part of the Hamtaro voice
cast. Both actors have worked in anime dubs and "pre-lay" voice
recording for North American TV shows. They've handled roles in
animated dramas and comedies, sometimes switching styles back and forth
on the same day. So what's the difference between voicing a funny
animal show and an animated melodrama?
Not
much, according to Sinterniklaas. "The fundamental work is the same,"
he said. "You figure what the situation is and the character, and you
serve them the same way. It depends on the situation...it's very
focused and energetic work. You can get tired after a while - you're
always on." Sinterniklaas has produced and directed dubs, but when it's
his turn to act, he has to trust the voice director to guide him
through a role. "The advantage of dubbing is that you see everything
you need to do is on the screen," he added, referring to the need to
match on-screen mouth movements, while being able to take performance
hints from the onscreen action.
Coleman
noted that there might be some differences between styles, depending on
shows, but "We're trained actors. first and foremost. I wouldn't say I
attack it differently, but the Hamtaro might be more over the top and
cartoony. I may just ham it up - that's the wrong way to say it," he
joked about his Hamtaro acting. Coleman's Vancouver dub work is handled
"cold," where an actor gets a script just before he goes into the
recording booth. By contrast, when he records a voice track in advance
for domestic TV animation such as X-Men Evolution, he gets together
with other actors in a "horseshoe" where they record scenes together.
That's a little like the Japanese group recording practice, except that
the Vancouver sessions are used as a basis for animation while the
Japanese actors are actually dubbing their parts to finished animation.
Here
are guys from a turtle show and a hamster show, out of costume - and
out of the recording booth - at Katsucon. On the left is Michael
Sinterniklaas, a New Yorker who is part of the voice cast of the
21st-century animated version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. On the
right is Michael Coleman, a Canadian who is part of the Hamtaro voice
cast. Both actors have worked in anime dubs and "pre-lay" voice
recording for North American TV shows. They've handled roles in
animated dramas and comedies, sometimes switching styles back and forth
on the same day. So what's the difference between voicing a funny
animal show and an animated melodrama?
Not
much, according to Sinterniklaas. "The fundamental work is the same,"
he said. "You figure what the situation is and the character, and you
serve them the same way. It depends on the situation...it's very
focused and energetic work. You can get tired after a while - you're
always on." Sinterniklaas has produced and directed dubs, but when it's
his turn to act, he has to trust the voice director to guide him
through a role. "The advantage of dubbing is that you see everything
you need to do is on the screen," he added, referring to the need to
match on-screen mouth movements, while being able to take performance
hints from the onscreen action.
Coleman
noted that there might be some differences between styles, depending on
shows, but "We're trained actors. first and foremost. I wouldn't say I
attack it differently, but the Hamtaro might be more over the top and
cartoony. I may just ham it up - that's the wrong way to say it," he
joked about his Hamtaro acting. Coleman's Vancouver dub work is handled
"cold," where an actor gets a script just before he goes into the
recording booth. By contrast, when he records a voice track in advance
for domestic TV animation such as X-Men Evolution, he gets together
with other actors in a "horseshoe" where they record scenes together.
That's a little like the Japanese group recording practice, except that
the Vancouver sessions are used as a basis for animation while the
Japanese actors are actually dubbing their parts to finished animation.
