Iji Family Can't Be Honest • Chapter 1
kiwiTee for Narrator / Bakery Worker
As Narrator, you'll have a handful of lines. As the Bakery Worker, you have two lines. Willing to accept male or female voices.
(Narrator - think nature documentary)
Iji Hatsutaro. 41 years old. Father. Iji Haruko. 15 years old. Daughter.(Narrator - nature documentary)
The daughter who ended up living with her mother after her parents' separation
Decided to move to her father's house to attend her high school.
A father-daughter reunion after six years.(Bakery worker - Cheerful and happy)
Thank you for your patronage!
The best part about this audition is all the changes you've made according to the notes, and being able to actually implement those changes in your delivery. That's what separates a voice ACTOR from a voice TALENT. Great adjustments to the narrator voice. It's not quite yet where I'd like it, but knowing that you are capable of taking direction, it makes it much easier. :) As for the last audition line, nailed it with your 3rd take - that's what I'd expect a shop owner/worker to say to a customer's back as he is leaving the shop. :) There's still room for a bit of fine-tuning (I'm very particular and detailed about my direction - which is a blessing and a curse lol), but it's 90% there. :) Overall, well done!
Oh, thank you so much! That really means a lot to me! :D Being very precise about direction is not necessarily a "curse", as you put it, since being pushed out of your comfort zone is what often makes the difference in regard to learning and, thus, refining your skills further; at least that's been my experience. ;) I usually do enjoy constructive criticism because it helps me improve. That being said, I'm absolutely willing to submit a third take, but only if I'm not staring to get on your nerves. Ha. Even if I don't get the role, I'll have gained some experience. So, what's the 10% that's missing?
I love your attitude! Thanks for considering it. :) The “curse” aspect comes from my own control issues. Over the years, I’ve improved on that flaw of mine as a director and I find myself being more accepting with the creativity of others (i.e. actors). xD You as an artist have an authority to stand behind your principles and creative vision. I think ultimately the director’s vision should come forward, but personally, I appreciate nowadays it when an actor approach me with a different creative concept. Through discussion, if I’m drawn towards the actor’s concept, I tend to lean in that direction to make the whole project more collaborative, as opposed to just getting my way as I did in the past. Life lessons never stop, you know? :) —— Here’s the last 10%. —— In the documentary portion, you are narrating more like a nature documentary narrator. What I’d like you to do is change the cadence so that each item (Iji Hatsutaro) (41 years old) (father) starts from a higher register in tone, and ending it by landing the tone down below. Go here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPYxbMvgR30) and listen to his first sentence in the video. I’d like to emulate the cadence from THAT’S BEEN OUT OF REACH… UNTIL NOW into IJI HATSUTARO… 41 YEARS OLD. and then repeat the “41 YEARS OLD” cadence again in FATHER, making sure to cascade the notes in downward direction. Then repeat the EXACT SAME for IJI HARUKO… 15 YEARS OLD. DAUGHTER. See if this makes sense. —— Make sure to land the end of the narration sentence, AFTER SIX YEARS by ending the sentence with a downward inflection. —— I’d also insert a bit more energy and THROW your voice at the customer. The perceived distance needs to be just slightly farther than what you recorded. Imagine the person just slightly further away than where you’ve got him. —— Lastly, try to marry the ends of words to the beginning of the next word. It’s the “American” dialect, in a nutshell. I don’t have a specific accent in mind for the narrator, but DECIDED TO MOVE TO HER FATHERS HOUSE was so staccato, that it felt rather unnatural. If you do plan on enunciating every syllable and word-endings, then put some space between — DECIDED-TO MOVE- TO HER FATHER’S HOUSE. This is something we’d discuss more in detail if cast. — Of course, I’ll leave the resubmission up to you, but see if you can take these directions and make the changes. :)
Once again, thank you so, so much for taking the time to give such incredibly detailed feedback and helpful tips, and for your patience, of course. Yeah, it’s sometimes difficult to take a step back, especially when you’re trying to help people improve since too much pressure can cause them to “tilt”, for a lack of a better term. But that’s a different story. :) I gave it another shot but I'm hesitating to upload my new attempt because it's past 11 am PST, I think, and I don’t want to go against the rules. On the other hand, I’d love to know whether I got closer to a somewhat credible American accent. I also tried to emulate Attenborough’s line but since REACH ends on a slightly higher note, I didn’t like how that transferred to the pronunciation of Hatsutaro / Haruko anymore since I felt there was too much stress on the last syllable and it didn’t sound convincing. I did, however, leave it in but moved it to the end of the recording. So, I’m in a pickle I guess. ^^"