VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

imaginator · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:18 am Post subject: Accent Irony

i've always squirmed when i thought any of my "cartoon" or "hollywood" accents might be played in the presence of a true national from whatever country i was mimicking.

what a revelation to discover that the british have to work so hard to do a convincing (and to my ear, much more "plain") american accent!

if you've ever feared for how badly your were mangling some else's cultural sound, take heart in reading this from the bbc: "how not to do an american accent".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7509572.stm

cheers, y'all.
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Diane Havens · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:32 am Post subject:

Thanks for posting! Great accent coaching session. Authentic accents show respect, and make for authentic performances. Even regional American accents -- when I was doing theater years ago with a Northeast cast, I remember accent coaching for some Southern accented characters. It makes all the difference.
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Deirdre · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:40 am Post subject:

What fun!

The "R" is really a sticking point, isn't it?
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2279 Location: Atlanta

That guy got pretty good at it at the end.
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bobsouer · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:57 am Post subject:

Rowell,

Thank you.
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imaginator · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:04 am Post subject:

make sure you read the news story that's below the excellent video.

one of the instructor's lines stands out for me especially:

"You must play a character who has an accent, but you must never play an accent."
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Philip Banks · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:09 am Post subject:

Most actors say what they hear, the trick is to say what others hear. With the average actor, the real art to coaching is convincing them of the difference.

Last Tuesday during an ISDN session for a TV commercial I was asked to "not be quite so kind" on the word emergency. I had to make sure it was an American emergency - I've paid for them Es and that R so I'm sure as hell goona use 'em.

It's still a mystery to me why the agency, out of all the "y'know that movie trailer guy voice" artists probably within spitting distance of (a) his office and (b) the studio, decided to book and dial someone in Portgordon. Non Union? No. Small beer? No. I still have the negatives? I Couldn't possibly comment.

JBarrett · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:56 pm Post subject:

Very fascinating. Thanks for posting that, Rowell!
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