Graphics Reference
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'Oh it must be such fun doing all those silly voices', I'm told, but I correct them. Fun: of course,
I wouldn't be doing it otherwise. Silly voices: yes occasionally, but not always; a silly voice does not
necessarily constitute a character. Being, fi rst and foremost, a trained actor, I try to invest some truth in
the characters, Whether on radio, on TV, on stage or in animation, I point out that providing voices for
animation is an acting job. You have to act the part: act the emotions and action, however heightened
and ridiculous; because if you can't act you're heading for trouble. The animators can act very well and
they need inspiration from the voice track to manipulate their puppets effectively. It requires an open
imagination, a willingness to try things out and suggest ideas. A good voice track should work on its own,
without pictures, just like a radio play. The other illusion people are under is that we work to picture all
the time: 'It must be terribly diffi cult fi tting the words to all those mouth movements!' Well, yes it damn-
well is! But thankfully ninety per cent of the time involves recording before the animation, so one isn't
working to the constraints of ready assembled pictures. The voice recordings are then taken away, edited,
barsheeted, animated, mixed with music and sound effects, and fi nally placed back into the fi nished mix.
Here's a thought for directors out there: when your voice 'talent' is safely sealed into the booth, it's often
the case that conversations going on in the control room can't be heard by said talent. Now, we voice artists
are a fragile lot. We feed off love and appreciation, and encouragement - however false. Good directors
always punctuate the end of a take with words such as 'brilliant', 'excellent', 'fantastic', 'epoch-defi ning',
etc.; or 'Oh b****cks, it's the best we're going to get. Let's go down the pub'. Could I politely request
that you continue to do so? It makes us feel good. It convinces us that we are doing well and everybody
is happy. This gives us more confi dence, which feeds into a better performance, so the momentum keeps
building and by the end of the session you've got what you wanted, and we can feel satisfi ed that we've
given of our best. What has the corrosively destructive effect is hearing nothing from the control room and
yet seeing lots of mouths moving. Faces are serious, heads in hands; people can be seen on the phone
looking tense and fraught. To our febrile imaginations this translates as: 'Oh my God, he's terrible' and 'I
thought we'd booked David Jason'. And although that may happen, what they are saying is: 'Do they still do
that pastrami on rye here?' or 'I could strangle that nanny!' So please, keep the talkback on now and again.
Keep us informed. Treat our fragile egos with kindness and generosity and you will be rewarded.
Oh, I didn't get the part. This was a knockback, for sure, but there'll be other opportunities. Let's face it;
I used to be a tractor driver: I was by turn frozen, soaked, deafened and plastered with slurry on a
regular basis; so what have I got to grizzle about? It is magical seeing those wonderfully animated
models coming to life on the screen, produced by some of the most skilled and creative people in the
world, and knowing that you've played a part in that creative process. And there they all are with your
voices on the soundtrack.
It could just about be the best job in the world.
Toad's mouth was huge, and if opened too wide it looked like some terrifying wound. I initially
made the mistake of raising his head, as well as his jaw, as he spoke. Most ugly.
Mole and Ratty had very pert little mouths with pretty malleable lower lips thanks
to several inserted paddles, and Badger had l apping whiskers. Unlike the others,
Toad did not have a nose, which helped to give those characters expression,
formed in part by certain mouth shapes. The puppet-makers gave Toad a
suggestion of a front part of a top and lower jaw that could move independently
of the rest of his mouth. This made convincing 'O' shapes. 'E' shapes were easy
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