Have you ever wondered who that guy is that says "In a world...." at the beginning of a movie trailer? Or who tells you the side effects of that medication you are now too afraid to take? Or maybe you never noticed. These people are called voice actors, and they are some of the most famous people you'll never recognize. Director Lawrence Shapiro and voice actor/producer John DiMaggio wanted to not only give the actors recognition, but the craft itself. In 2013, they produced the film "I Know That Voice", a documentary of countless famous voice actors talking about their personal experiences and the career of voice acting in general. It provides tremendous insight into a world that not many know about, or even consider a career at all.
DiMaggio narrates the film as well as gives his own story. He is best known for his roles as Bender from "Futurama" and Jake from "Adventure Time", but his talents expand far beyond that. He is also an actor, stand up comedian, producer and beatboxer. He is extremely passionate about his craft, and cares about the community of which he is he a part of, hence the creation of the film. DiMaggio skillfully tells the tale of the voice actor from the start of voice acting, to the start of their careers, to their daily lives, to the reason why each and everyone one of them has a passion for it.
One of the most fascinating parts of the film is how they explore the concept of fame in the voice acting world. Unless they were speaking like the character they play, or are also a famous screen actor, most people would have no idea who they were. The title of the film, "I Know That Voice", is a comment on the reaction that most people experience when a voice they recognize comes on television, the radio or video games, but they can't pin down exactly who that person is, due to the facelessness and namelessness of the job.
Some of the cast members of "I Know That Voice"
Another interesting point the film makes is the broad range of areas that voice actors cover. Most people think of animated films when they think of voice acting, but it covers so much more. As previously stated voice actors are required for movie trailers and commercials, as well as video games, television shows, dubbed foreign language films, radio, and audiobooks, among many other fields. Each area comes with it's own challenges and rewards, which the film covers in great detail.
As someone who loves to do voices and comedic bits, this film felt extremely close to my heart. Voice acting seemed like a career that only a select few were chosen to do, and was completely unobtainable. After this film, I realized it was like any other Hollywood job, it required three main things: talent, determination, and luck. This film made voice acting real to me, not just something I wondered about after watching "Inside Out" or "Family Guy". Currently, I'm enrolled in a voice and narration class, which I became more inspired to truly learn about after watching "I Know That Voice". Hats off to John DiMaggio and the rest of the cast of this documentary, this one is a must see for anyone interested in the film and television business.
Typecasting is a word that's thrown around the Hollywood industry quite often. It's defined as "the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups." Many people try to claim it's not a real thing. They say it's just a stigma we place on actors who we don't want to see in certain movies. Well, typecasting isn't what we decide to think or believe, it's just something we have to accept to be a fact of acting life.
Think about it. Could you ever take a movie seriously if The Rock ever played a role like, I don't know, a tooth fairy? The ten actors in the video are some of the best examples for typecasting. With maybe one or two exceptions, none of them could ever be taken seriously in any other type of role. On of my personal favorite examples of typecasting I've recently seen has actually been discussed in a couple of my earlier posts. Charlie Day is an actor who's known for playing narrow-minded dimwits in productions such as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Horrible Bosses. In his most recent project, Pacific Rim, he plays an incredibly intelligent scientist who manages to find a solution to an invasion of monsters from a different universe. Yeah, I laughed, too. It's absurd to even think about.
This wasn't supposed to be a particularly long post. Typecasting is a simple concept that people just don't often think about. Are there some actors who are able to escape the confines of typecasting and who go on to broaden there résumé? Yes. But many, many actors are often stuck in the same kind of role for the majority of their film careers.
Last night seemed to be a quiet evening, so what better way to spend it than enjoying a film with my closest friends. We settled on The Dark Knight Rises, the epic third part of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. The movie, which came out this past summer, smashed its way into the box office and immediately became a huge success in the eyes of movie goers, and super hero fans. Christopher Nolan's brilliance was really proven with the release of the 2nd movie from the trilogy The Dark Knight.
Personally I see such creative, and impressive filmmaking and I can't help but wonder why this movie was snubbed at the Academy Awards as well as the Golden Globes. The race for the Oscars this year is obviously a very close one however I can't see how such visual storytelling did not emerge it's self into the race. The Dark Knight was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winning two: sound editing, and best supporting actor. In such an impressive movie trilogy, I don't understand how this one falls so short for the critics. Nolan has produced a series of incredible movies, only receiving 3 nominations total even if he receives praise everywhere else you look. His 3 nominations were for original screenplay for Memento and Inception, also scoring a best picture nom for Inception.
I find Nola's work to be incredibly deep, and ascetically imaginative with his directing. I can never quite understand why the Academy always seems to not recognize Nolan's directing after his phenomenal work in all of his movies. I think he reinvented the comic book character, and brought an entirely new spin on such a classic story, really bringing it into the modern day world and not a fantasy land of Gotham City. I can't wait to see what he does with the new Superman flick Man of Steel. I hope that Man of Steel, much like The Dark Knight Trilogy, and even this years hit Bond flick Skyfall, brings a new generation of movie goers into the stories that are simply outdated, and reinvents them in the way that keep the characters and plots updated with the times, and relevant in today's society.
Recently nominated for 8 Academy Awards, Silver Linings Playbook tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two people recovering from mental illnesses. Going into the theatre I had my hopes up high after friends, parents and critics praising the film. Surely I was not disappointed. This touching, and emotional roller coaster allows the audience to see the frustrations and struggles of people living with these disorders. Having only seen Bradley Cooper in movies like The Hangover, and Valentines Day, I was not expecting a strong, heavy hearted, leading male performance from him. I was surely mistaken after Bradley carried the film impressing me with his acting and his on screen chemistry with all of the characters. He played "Pat" a man living with bi-polar disorder who was recently released out of a mental health facility into the care of his parents Pat sr. (Robert DeNiro) and Dolores (Jacki Weaver) whom also gave wonderful performances in the show.
The film really picks up once Tiffany, a recovering sex addict played by Jennifer Lawrence, steps into the picture and befriends Pat. Her performance was stunning and even won her the Golden Globe for a leading actress in a comedy or musical. Both Lawrence, and Coopers ability to convey so much emotional depth within their facial features, especially their eyes and their necks, is unbelievable. I could not take my eyes off of either one, when either of them were on the screen. I think both of them have reached new heights in their acting careers. It's impressive to any actor who can steal the show away from Robert De Niro who still have a more than perfect performance.
The film is nominated for all 4 acting awards, best editing, best adapted screenplay, best director David O. Russell (nominated in 2010 for The Fighter) and best picture at the Academy Awards. I think this film deserves all of these accolades. The movie was a spectacular creation and beautiful tale of unlikely friends coming together. After seeing the film I couldn't help but think if even a few things about the movie were different it could have been just another rom-com and not this beautiful work of art. Don't get me wrong, I love rom-coms, but change Jenifer Lawrence with Katherine Heigel, have Gary Marshal direct instead, and it could have been a very different movie.
All in all, Silver Linings Playbook was a wonderful journey, and a stepping stone for film makers everywhere to show that even the most simple of plots can have the most lasting impact on audiences.
As I mentioned in class on Wednesday, I am a big theatre dweeb. So of course, when Les Miserables hit theaters this past December, I had to see it. As much as I love theater and film, I have never been a fan of when the two are blended together. For example, I'm not the biggest fan of RENT which hit Broadway in 1996 and movie theaters in 2005. Why? Well, I could go on for a while for a lot of different reasons. But one of the biggest reasons, which I know many will disagree, is that casting Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp was a mistake. As we discussed in class, theatre acting and film acting are two very different things. I think that Pascal and Rapp are phenomenal actors on stage and on film, but being thrown together with the rest of the broadway cast makes the film more "broadway" and not "film"- making the story seem fake and pieced together.
But back to where I was before, I think Les Mis was one of the BEST films I have seen that has been based on a musical. What stood out to me was the audio. There was no lip syncing which was impressive for the performer and the audio crew as well. The sound was crystal clear. I remember watching a scene where it was raining, and I felt like I could hear every single rain drop hit the ground perfectly. Not to mention that since there was no lip syncing, it made the story feel that much more real.
Also, I need to talk about Anne Hathaway. By far- one of the most compelling performances I have ever scene from an actress. Her dramatic 25 pound weight loss to fit the role was only step one of her commitment to the role of Fantine. Her emotional portrayal, particularly in "I Dreamed a Dream", was one of the most beautiful performances I have ever seen. She nailed it.
Needless to say, I saw Les Mis twice, and wish I had time to see it again.
Acting can be very challenging to the actor and their body as far as getting into character. Many professional actors have to gain weight, lose weight, learn new skills, or many other strategies to get into character.
I have been in three real projects in college and I've tried my best to get into character. On the first shoot I was told that I needed to be depressed and had no other direction. So I worked my way into a depression. Two weeks later I needed to pretty much have the same thing for one of my own projects. This one was significantly more difficult. I listened to the most hope sapping songs I knew, slept less than I should, and ate less than I would have liked to. And the toughest part was I was really excited for the shoot, so being depressed was difficult.
The last shoot I did had a 4 am call time. Luckily I needed to be a zombie, so staying up all night made it easy. What made it difficult was that I started getting the loopy loops. Not only did not getting sleep take an impact on my health, but eating only unhealthy food, running around and other things just took a toll on me. I had a leadership retreat and had a film shoot later where I was crew, and everyone was entertained or annoyed with my lack of comprehension on social standards and comprehension.
Productions aren’t always fun, nor are they easy. This is
fully hitting me during this one. Aside from going to bed at 1:30AM, waking up
at 3:30, and going into the city at 5AM there have been some challenges along
the way. The biggest one was getting into character. Forcing myself to get
depressed is harder than I think, it’s pretty easy to do naturally, but when
it’s needed, it doesn’t come. For two days I listened to the most hope sapping
song I knew and tried to be in the dark as much as possible, and eat little,
but I was so over joyed and excited about this project. So I probably wont be
acting much anymore. Not that I can’t, but chances are I’d be acting my own
projects and regardless I’d be overcritical of my work.
Day 2. Today finished the toughest part of the piece, I’m
emotionally drained and can’t wait to get back to school and sleep late on
Monday, if I sleep through class I’m sorry. While it was initially tough
getting into character, it was rather easy getting into another one. I wasn’t
too great at getting into depressed, but I was able to pull off annoyed/having
a lot on the mind I’m sure. At least I know that is what I was feeling. This
has been the roughest production on my body, mind and spirit yet and I would
not be able to do this multiple times. Anyways I haven’t looked at the footage
yet since we are still shooting, but I’m fairly confident that this will turn
out to be a great piece. “Happy Birthday”
So I finally did it. I watched Chinatown. Surprisingly, the story line did have several parallels to the animation Rango. Although, I must say that I enjoyed Rango slightly more.
Now, I love the old shows and movies. I grew up watching shows like Get Smart, I Dream of Genie, MacGyver, The Andy Griffith Show, Bonanza, and the list goes on. For some reason though, I wasn't sure if I would like Chinatown. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the mystery behind the story and how the characters had both good and not so good characteristics. It made them feel very human.
The cinematography was great. Somehow they were able to create that feeling of suspense in some parts of the film just using slow pans or zooms. The lighting was great in every shot, definitely leading the viewer towards that more detective or mysterious feel. Overall it was a really great movie that I won't forget.
After watching Chinatown, I was inspired to find other older films to watch. So, I scoured Netflix and came across Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing released in 1995 and directed by Henry King. As I sat and watched this film, I couldn't help but chuckle. The acting was sometimes so over the top that to just imagine real people speaking and acting like that would just seem odd. The story plot was about a female doctor who meets a man (no surprise there) in Hong Kong. She is eurasian, her father being Chinese and her mother being English. She meets a traveling journalist, and their hushed relationship grows throughout the middle of the film leading to a tragic climax.
Both of these seem unrelated, and they are, but they both got me to thinking. If someone really wanted to re-produce these movies, there would be a lot of research involved. I started to think of all the things that would have to be looked up: period clothing, the politics of the time, the way people spoke...etc. Research is such a huge part of filmmaking that I never really considered before Professor Sinclair brought it up. This is such an intriguing idea to me because history and learning about different time periods is something that I LOVE to do. It is like learning about another culture. I'm so glad we have the resources here at Ithaca College to be able to do that kind of research.
Lastly, I would like to mention that I really enjoyed watching the video on Bill Viola and his work. The pieces that we saw in the documentary were just so moving. I think what really drew me in, from an actor's perspective, was that the slow motion allowed me to study the facial expressions of the actors in such detail. Their joy, or horror, or frustration, or despair was so intense and felt so real. Right down to their eyes you could just take one glance and understand the emotion they were feeling. It was just beautiful to see. I would love to go to an exhibition of his work someday.
~Amber Capogrossi
3 months, or 13 weeks, or 91 days. However you want to look at it, December is fast approaching. No, I'm not counting down to what many believe will be the end of the world. Lord of the Rings fans will know exactly what I'm counting down to... the release date of The Hobbit (Part 1)! Exactly three months from today, there will be huge lines in the theaters, with popcorn exploding from the seams and soda slurped up huge, plastic straws. All will be waiting impatiently for the movie to start.
December 14, 2012. A young Bilbo Baggins will be begin his own journey down a dangerous and exciting road. A road that will eventually send fate hurling his own nephew, Frodo, into a perilous journey as well. This is a story that is very near and dear to my heart. The Hobbit by Tolkien was the first fantasy book I ever read. My dad, the source from which I draw my love of everything fantasy and sci-fi, handed Tolkien's book to me when I was eleven and told me that it was a story worth reading over and over again. So I read it, and I loved it. I continued the story by following up with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I was an avid reader since then. I read books that ranged from the Shannara Series by Terry Brooks to Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. At this point in my short life, my refrain had commonly become, "The book is always better than the movie." When I saw The Lord of the Rings directed by Peter Jackson, my whole world was shaken.
Not only was the story preserved in the films, but it was done in such a way that the beloved characters I saw in my mind were there before my very eyes. It is hard to find another movie that can actually sit so close to their paper and ink counterpart. I am still an avid reader and believe me when I say that the only other movie that I have seen is The Hunger Games directed by Gary Ross. In The Lord of the Rings, the whole of Middle Earth was there; it was almost tangible to my imagination. This was such an amazing feat that required so much talent on the part of both the cast and the crew. The acting was so superb, the visuals were perfect, the story was intriguing, character development was fantastic, this movie was and is truly a classic.
I was so drawn into this film, that at the age of fourteen, I watched all of the Behind the Scenes footage that came with the extended versions of the films. Again, my life was utterly changed. I fell in love with everything that is FILM. From learning about the make-up to the intricate creation of the miniatures, to the development of the different cultures through costumes, to the creation of all the magical creatures, to how they actually built the sets, to location scouting, the list can go on and on with how much I absorbed. It opened my eyes to a way to make the worlds I read about in books "come alive" in our reality in some way. It was at this point that I found a dream that resides so strong in my heart that it feels as if my entire being is going to explode. This is how I became so passionate about acting, and from there, about what happens behind the camera too. For the discovery of my passion, I have to thank all who were involved in the making of these fabulous films.
Peter Jackson is and forever will be one of my favorite directors. So many of his films, including King Kong, have kept me sitting on the edge of my seat and allowed me to escape into worlds and times that I can only do through reading books most of the time. Such is the depth with which his films are created. Every detail must be and is as perfect as can be. My favorite book series is the Green Rider series written by Kristen Britain. If anyone ever tries to make these fabulous books into movies, I would hope that it would be Peter Jackson, because they deserve the best.
I encourage any who have not seen The Lord of the Rings to borrow the film from someone. It is an experience that shouldn't be missed. I can't wait for The Hobbit! Someone said to me the other day, "Yes, but they have a lot to live up to after Lord of the Rings." I agree, but I trust that both the cast and crew will be able to pull it off. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, it is below:
~ posted by Amber Capogrossi
So I was listening to the Space Jam soundtrack yesterday and began to wonder how they shot the movie. The cartoons play such a big role in the film, it must have been difficult for the actors to play their parts with no one there. I also began to think, how exactly would you be able to get the looney toons to look active and natural within a scene. The concept intrigued me, I'm not sure how you would go about doing that. The movie came out in '96 so they couldn't have used anything very high tech.
Hey everyone. My name is Corinne Theis and as was said by everyone else on this blog I am a TV-R major video concentration. Last semester I added a minor in Speech Communications, partly because it gives you a different perspective on how media effects people and the way people view things. I'm not really all that in to professional sports, although I don't mind playing a quick game of base/softball, soccer, tennis, whatever. I love all types of music, right now I really love listening to country (and yea i know i'll probably get some heat from that) and i'm not that big into rap or screamo. I'm not really sure what I want to do in the future, probably either act in or edit a tv show, but we'll see what happens.
Also I'm really involved with ICTV and have met some of the most amazing and wonderful people though it. ICTV is also having its Rush Night, and for the .01% that don't know what that means, it the night when all the shows have sign ups. I really think everyone should go and sign up to work on a show its a great experience.
