Voiceover technique with regards to method acting might sound foreign to some, but trained actors reading about Method Acting will be more than familiar with the basics of Lee Strasberg’s technique. They might even know that this technique was developed from an original concept by Konstantin Stanislavsky which was called the “System.” For those of you without an acting background, the concepts of acting and the various techniques are fundamental to voice acting. Yes, that’s why it’s called voice ACTING people. Let’s quickly review the Method technique of acting, the talented actors that use it (and how), and then see if we can expand it and relate it to voice acting and ultimately apply it specifically to voiceover copy.
Some of the greatest actors of our time use the Method technique, either subconsciously or consciously. When they do, the audience experiences a “moving” performance. This moving performance is achieved by the actor re-experiencing aspects of their life within the fiction of the story as if it were real, and occurring in the actual present moment. This “truth transferring” can be quite effective and profound for both actor and audience. The effect is no different in voiceover. Aristotle believed that the secret to stirring the passion in others is to be first moved oneself. In voiceover, I am constantly reminding the voice actor not to sell, but to share. Not to make their listener interested, but to BE interested themselves. No, I am not comparing myself to Aristotle but merely making the concept relevant to voiceover 😉 Aristotle said that in order to actually move oneself, a person must bring forth visions of experience from their past. The core of the Method is this: Creatively playing out the emotional memories from the actor’s imagination in a way that allows them to re-experience them within this new “story.”
Among the graduates of the Method Acting program are many world-renowned actors such as James Dean, Robert De Niro, Claire Danes, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Sissy Spacek, and Jessica Lange. As a child, I recall watching Ms. Lange in the hands of that big ape, expressing both terror and a sense of connection at the same time. It was my first experience that I can remember of feeling moved by someone’s acting. Wow. To be a fly on the wall of her mind while she was shooting those scenes…. There are actors who have taken Method Acting to a whole different level, not only bringing forth past experiences into their present role but actually staying “in character” when the camera stops rolling. This allows them to fully embrace this character as who they are, with no separation between the two. Daniel Day Lewis refused to leave his wheelchair during My Left Foot, even after filming stopped. During the Lincoln shoot, he kept his American accent for the entire process, on and off screen, and even signed his texts to people as “Yours, A.” Say what you will, but the guy’s got a few Oscars on the mantle. Now how can we apply these extreme notions to voiceover? I’m working on that. Maybe not by doing this one though – Anne Hathaway lost 25 pounds for her role in Les Miserables. She also cut off all her hair, to fully immerse herself emotionally in the scene which explores the “lengths” a mother will go to for her child, and the emotionally pain that accompanies those sacrifices. Anne’s painful past, in this case, was really her painful present. It was her new reality. Back to that voiceover though, and how we can apply it.
Embrace that copy as TRUTH and it becomes your new reality. This doesn’t mean that you need to believe in a product, and that it will taste great, or give you energy, or clean your stovetop more effectively. You just need to find the writer’s truth first, and then present your own truth through his words. I discuss more detail on discovering the writer’s intentions in this past blog on voiceover tips. Finding your own truth is no different than any of the examples I gave above regarding the methods used by Ms. Hathaway or Mr. Day-Lewis, though perhaps a bit less dramatic. Going to extremes can be exciting for these actors but they also have a different time-frame (longer), a different motivation (awards, deeper and non-product based artistic motivation, higher-profile and visibility), and a different pay-grade (higher). You simply need to do these things on a much smaller scale. So first, identifying the writer’s truth. Let’s use this Nike spot as a reference:
‘All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you’re not good enough or strong enough or talented enough. They’ll say you’re the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or achieve this or be this. They will tell you no, a thousand times no – until all the no’s become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. They will tell you no. And you will tell them yes.’
This spot is most likely print or tv, but clearly not radio due to the lack of the product name mentioned in the voiceover. So, to nail the voiceover technique of establishing the writer’s truth means simply getting a feeling for the mood of the spot. Is it upbeat? Is it sarcastic? Does it have a tone you can identify? Let’s look at the story – it talks about the battles you take on, the obstacles, to your achieving what you want and believing in yourself. It ends with an inspiration, a defiance, a stance for the highest of possibilities in yourself. It’s a lot easier to identify tone and motivation and truth when you understand the “story.” So given this story you can most likely assume that they want a strong read. . . one that demonstrates you are not someone who accepts defeat, nor someone who listens to the naysayers. Defiant, prideful, inspired, determined, encouraging. These words all fall in line with the general mood of the spot. You have now understood the writer’s truth. It’s time to find yours. This spot is a poor example of needing to find your own truth and apply it to the words in a commercial which you might not feel connected to (because almost anyone can identify with the writing and message here in Nike’s spot-on message). But get more specific. Did your dad tell you not to try out for the chess club because it’s for sissies? Did your art teacher make you draw inside the lines every single time? Did some bully say some sort of nanee nanee boo boo to you at some point? Of course he did. Take that hurt. Take that experience and confidence you now have as an adult, and throw it right back at them. Just do it with the Nike script.
For more reading on how to analyze the writing in a voiceover script, check out this podcast/article from a Voices.com series called voiceover experts.