MorningStar Smiles

This section is for all posts of news or updates made in 2007.

There are only a few more weeks until The Poisoned Rain of Agharti will be finished! In anticipation for that I made the movie poster below.


Other VA news include my senior final theatre project getting well under way. It's a huge project but it's also a lot of fun. I'm doing an audio book narration. It's something I've never done because of the sheer size of the task but something I always wanted to get experience in so doing it for a final project was great motivation to tackle it. I'm also getting valuable experience in directing and sound engineering because I will have to mix all of it on my own and am directing other voice actors for all the characters that speak throughout the book.

Cyrus (main boy in Agharti) also asked me to be two characters in his original cartoon as well last week and I'm looking forward to recording that after I finish up with Tiger's Quest. I've only got about 40 out of 210 lines to go! This is the largest project (next to my audio book narration now) that I've ever participated in. Anyways, I'm really looking forward to Cyrus's cartoon "Ling Daydreamer." The script is really fun (he's got a real talent for coming up with funny material) and my two characters are both a blast to play.

I wish I had time to take on more roles but I have a lot of graphic design work lately and, unfortunately, that needs a lot of my time right now as well. Oh well.

-Enjoy everything!
MorningStar Smiles

I finally finished my first sound studio!!!! This is so exciting and awesome. It's been 3 crazy months and half my summer earnings but somehow I managed to get to this point and I'm so happy and excited to start pursuing more professional work (after I finish Tiger's Quest of course). Rather then re-type everything, you can check it out at the VAA forum thread here.

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

*sings* Ooooooooooooooooooooooh it's a busy busy busy busy busy busy day!

*sigh* Too busy. This school year is a nightmare. This is the busiest I have ever been in my life. Sure, I could drop some credits and go an extra semester but I would personally like to graduate college in the traditional four years time. It's time to move on and it's better financially to take 19.5 credits this semester and 23 (yes, 23) credits next semester and pay a course overload fee than to go and extra semester and pay way more. Did I mention with my freelance work and 2 work-study jobs I'm working about 20 hours a week to boot?

What I'm excusing by this lament is my lack of updates...and a refreshing opportunity to rant. I haven't had much time at all for voice overs lately and even my sound studio isn't quite complete yet (though I'm almost finished covering the fiberglass panels and putting them up to help with sound).  It will actually be finished by the end of the week but I'm very disappointed that it took this long to get everything together and installed. C'est la vie.

So! What's new in Crystal's voice over world?
-Continuing to work on lines for the character Windie in Tiger's Quest: The Tiger's Second Quest, and After the Quest
-Small flash movie role as the wizard Dante in a couple of episodes by Outside Box Studio
-Acceptance speech role of the "translator" that will be seen if my longtime director David Riedel wins the 2007 European Machinima Festival for his film, "Fallacies of a Stranger" (it's in German but has English subtitles)
-Recently cast for the role of Agent Karper (this name always reminds me of fish) in "Darkness Unleashed" (a Star Wars Machinima film)

AND, my Senior Theatre Project (which will be completed this semester) will be the enormous task of recording an audio book on my own. It's something I've never done before and will be not only great practice for audio book narration, but a great training experience to build up my voice to be able to record for longer sessions. More on that later.

Despite the ulcer-worthy amount of stress I've had to deal with this semester, I'm doing my best to maintain a positive attitude through it all and enjoying the numorous career opportunities in both voice over work and graphic design that have been presented to me to complete (I am this year's student graphic designer for the Fine Arts Department at my college and was recently asked to design the cover for the 2007 Mankato High's Lancer's Marching Band highlights). Of course, thanks are also in order to the patience of everyone in the completion of my work and to time machines....or just a complete lack of sleep...I'm too tired to remember which.

Enjoy Everything!
MorningStar Smiles

Today is a monumental day in my career as a voice actress. Why? Because for the first time in my life, that I own my own home studio! True, I still have a little construction to do (the compressed fiberglass is the big thing I'm waiting for) but I have all of the equipment I need now and was able to test it out for the first time tonight. Wow. Such a cool feeling! I love the Studio Projects C1 mic I finally decided to go with (though I will be saving up for either an RE20 or an M-Audio Sputnik next) and I very much love the VAC Dual 6" Pop Screen Gregory Houser suggested I buy. It's waaaay better then what I had been using in the studio and was worth the extra money.

For those who are wondering what I've been using for the past 1 1/2 years, I have been very blessed to have been recording in my college's (Bethany Lutheran College) sound studio. It was a wonderful opportunity to test out (and get a lot of experience in) voice acting in a semi-professional environment and find out if it was something I really wanted to (and could) do. It was difficult to find hours to record, being limited to the time the studio was open, not under renovation, not being used by other students, and I wasn't too busy with work or college full-time. Plus, I will be graduating college 10 months from now so I won't have access to it much longer. The head of the studio had already frowned slightly upon me using it for professional work (considering it's all supposed to be academic). BUT now that I have my own studio I will have a much more comfortable environment, 24/7 access, and can audition for professional work to my heart's content legally. How cool is that?

After a summer of working full-time and saving up over a grand for this studio, the happy dream has finally come true. I realize I sound like such a geek for saying that but it's the way I feel and I'm proud of it. May this feeling never end!

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

A whole NEW sound studio,
   
                                            a whole NEW sound.

                               Coming THIS August*
    
to speakers/monitors everywhere!


 



* ...provided all my equipment arrives on-time and I have no problems getting it all set up. :P

I finally finished all my Tiger's Quest lines! Whoo hoo! For those of you who are interested, here's a blooper reel I compiled from the two episodes I was in. Enjoy!

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

I've finally narrowed down everything I'm going to get for my sound studio except for the microphones. I had three that I can't make up my mind on just yet so I may order everything else first. I will be making my decision in the next few days though because I would really like to play around with everything before school starts up again.

Some very exciting new news is that I was just cast to play the character Windie in Everlasting Film's: Tiger's Quest: "The Tigers' Second Quest" and "After the Quest." This was the character I had really wanted to play the most from the auditions so I'm extra happy about that (though I would have loved to play any of the parts just to be a part of this project). I've worked with Everlasting Films before as the character Chiyo Suzuki in their Dr. Who Audio Drama "Project Alpha" and I'm looking forward to working with them again.

Other than that it's more Karin lines for the latest alterations in "The Poisoned Rain of Agharti" and Wan's final lines in Kung Fu Action Theatre's "Team Iron Angel" episode 9. Pyro and I were discussing doing a dub clip for fun too sometime here so I'm going to be quite busy in the next few weeks. As always, that's perfectly fine with me! I love voice acting!

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

So The Poisoned Rain of Agharti (I play Karin, Radio, and some background Walla (the walla was just axed from the final but that's fine)) by Althea Aseoche has just been rocking the Casbah left and right it seems. This is a message she just posted on my Facebook wall:

"I just finished a 2-day workshop with Iain McCaig (Worked on Starwars, Frankenstein, Dracula and a buncha other films) and Paul Topolos (Currently works at Pixar as a Matte Painter). I showed them my animatic (and a couple of people) they liked it. They said all the voice actors were amazing. My friend was in awe when the crying scene happened. (Oh, of course... I'm always about to cry when I see Karin cry too.) XD Then some people asked how old you were and I said 21 and they went "WHOOAAA" O__o; hehehe."

That just makes my day. ^_^


Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

So The Poisoned Rain of Agharti (I play Karin, Radio, and some background Walla (the walla was just axed from the final but that's fine)) by Althea Aseoche has just been rocking the Casbah left and right it seems. This is a message she just posted on my Facebook wall:

"I just finished a 2-day workshop with Iain McCaig (Worked on Starwars, Frankenstein, Dracula and a buncha other films) and Paul Topolos (Currently works at Pixar as a Matte Painter). I showed them my animatic (and a couple of people) they liked it. They said all the voice actors were amazing. My friend was in awe when the crying scene happened. (Oh, of course... I'm always about to cry when I see Karin cry too.) XD Then some people asked how old you were and I said 21 and they went "WHOOAAA" O__o; hehehe."

That just makes my day. ^_^


Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

Eeee! I've been lazy about updating. Sorry about that! Actually, I'm still within my once-a-month posting time BUT I have huge news that I've negleted to post yet. I GOT THE ROLE OF KARIN!!!!! For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, Karin is the main 6-year-old girl in Althea Aseoche's 2-D Cell Animated Short film: The Poisoned Rain of Agharti. You can check out all the details and progress here. I'm absolutely estatic about this role because it is my first in an original 2-D animated role (no, I am not counting flash). It's awesome because it's something I can show to future clients as a demo/showcase of my animation voice overs. I was cast as several roles too so it shows a range as well! Also, although it's an ambitious project, it's being done in a very professional manner that I truly respect and I'm sure will also be a great demo for Al in her future career as an animator.

So yay ^_^

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

[Update] I finally started reorganizing my roles section. It still takes up too much space to me but I think it's important to see a picture of the character (if there is one available) before you listen to it. I'm sure I'll play around with it again later (possibly making the pictures half the current size) but for now I like how it's shaping up to not only look more organized but take up more space. And yes, I will finally be adding in sample clips for some of the characters so even if the project never gets finished (which happens quite often with amateur projects unfortunetly) you can still listen to a clip of it. So check it out! I'm adding/updating several times a month even if I don't make a formal post here. [/Update]

  The one thing I hate about summer is how much it cuts back on my voice acting time. I work from 6am-2pm and the studio closes at 4:30 every weekday. It closes at 2:30 actually on Fridays and isn't even open on the weekends. Terrible. So I'm really limiting my roles right now. Still, I bought a cd by Pat Fraley about character voice tricks and a book by Harlan Hogen to read/practice in my spare time. I also have been keeping up with studying/practicing my dialects as well. A friend told me about some opportunities with Arabian dialects for news documentaries so I'm practicing those first right now.

    For amateur stuff, I did find one cool project that is an 8-minute original animation by a college student and is inspired by Studio Ghibli's Grave of the Fireflies and Nausicca: Valley of the Wind (I love both of those films). I've already snagged the roles of "Radio" (one line) and "Citizen" (walla of people screaming for their lives as their city is being destroyed) but I am also one of the three remaining girls in the running for the lead 6-year-old girl: Karin. I really hope I get that role because the character is absolutely adorable and the audition lines for the first round were a lot of fun. Either way though, I'm happy because I'll finally be in something with Lucien Dodge (who I very much admire as a voice actor). I can't wait! This is also my first role in an original 2-D animated Cartoon which is very exciting even though it isn't paid work because it means I'm the first voice for these characters. I don't have to mimic anyone or just be a fan wanting to be the character. And that, is awesome.

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

    Now this is more like it (1 post per month) :P I wish I had more good news to share but I have actually had to take a break because of looming finals (my final projects due this week before finals are already causing me to get little sleep). I'm mixing a demo for a good VA friend of mine this weekend but that's about it.
    I'm still always acting (or learning about acting) though, even if I'm not voice acting at the moment. I played the character Sophie Rauschmeyer in Neil Simon's "Star-Spangled Girl" for the directing class's final scenes. I love that play and the character so that was a blast. I was also played a mother in a student film for their project as well. I'm going to go watch it at the Student Film Festival on campus tonight.
    I have to finish lines for some flash roles but because of how long it takes to animate them, the directors haven't set any deadlines on those yet (thank goodness). Otherwise I've just been working on making connections and staying up to date on the VA biz. I bought a new book on acting the other day and when I get some time to actually read it, I want to buy Pat Fraley's book on character voices. That's about it for now!

[Edit] Oh! I almost forgot! The Project Alpha radioplay is now available for purchase at the DWAD website. I played the character Chiyo Suzuki. Here's my full blooper reel for that character as well. Give it a listen! It's pretty funny and shows a little of how hard voice acting can be.

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

Ok, I know I've been posting a lot more than I normally do without much news about new projects but Dr. Who: Project Alpha just finished! Those of us who were directly involved with the episode got to listen to it and overall I loved it. It's weird when you actually listen to a project this big because although altogether it is about 1 1/2 hours long it seems to go so quickly! It took countless hours to put it together so when something you spent a lot of work on goes by in 5 minutes, it's weird. I'm happy with most of my lines. As I expected, there are a few I wish I could to do over but it was better then I thought (I am my own worst critic) so I'm happy about that. I really hope others like my performance as well. I'm looking forward to when it's released and we can hopefully get some reviews.
    It was also nice to hear the whole project all put together as well because I can recognize more easily, as my voice is put with the other actors' lines in productions, what things I'm doing right to guess the reactions of the other actors that I'm interacting with (probably one of the hardest things about voice acting) and what things I need to work on. So it's educational too!
    I also just want to say that the actor who plays the Doctor (aka Dr. Who): James K. Flynn, is the best actor of all of us in the audio drama. I was really impressed with not only his acting but his vocal mannerisms that seemed fit the character of the Doctor so well. Some of the actors who played minor characters like Rhonda (Samantha Eve), Dr. Marlowe (Marc Cashman), and Colonel Crichten (Ian Dodds) were great too.
    On one hand, I was suprised there weren't a lot of sound effects but the script was so well written (haha I can't seem to stop saying that) that it was, for the most part, easy to picture and understand everything that was going on at all times. That's a hard thing to do in an audio drama. The score was great too. I was impressed with the quality. It's no wonder, considering these people have been working on these Dr. Who audio dramas for 25 years.

I'll post as soon as it becomes available for the public. ^_^

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

I finally finished my Chiyo Suzuki lines for Dr. Who: Project Alpha yesterday. It's so sad that's it's all over now. It was a wonderfully written script and I think that one reason it took me so long to record the lines was because the faster I worked, the sooner it would be over. The producer was very patient with me in getting my lines in (something I really appreciated) and said there will be lots of other upcoming projects and encouraged me to be on the lookout for them (if I do get cast to work with them again I'll definitely work a lot harder to make sure I get things in on time). Still, I think it's like playing Annie Sullivan in "The Miracle Worker" last year. It's that first big experience that means so much to you and is something you'll never forget. I really do hope I can work with these people again though and I can't wait to hear the finished product. I'll be sure to provide you all with a link when it's available. ^_^

I just found out that my character has her own theme song haha and it's so sad so it's making me sad. I wish I had known this was available sooner; would have been helpful to listen to while doing the crying lines :P Oh well. I have a hilarious blooper reel put together from this project as well but I'll wait to post it until the radio play is released because it contains a lot of spoilers.

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

I just found out that "Wild Christmas," the machima film I was in that won the EA: Sims Short Film Competition (details) was estimated to be viewed by over 6 million people in theatres! And that number probably grew once it became available online. I'm completely shocked at this point (once again) and I feel so blessed! I'm ecstatic right now; this is so awesome! It's amazing to me when I scroll down to my first entry on this site about a year ago and see how much has changed; how much I've accomplished and learned over this first year as a professional voice actress. There are so many things to work on but I'm extremely happy with what I've accomplished. I'll work hard to make the next year even better!

Oh, for those who are wondering, Italy was awesome. I definitely feel inspired to create not only more but better artwork in the future. Gypsies have the creepiest voices I have ever heard. Makes my skin crawl but I'm going to try and use that voice pattern at the first opportunity available. :P

I finally started saying no to projects but I'm still pretty swamped. By mid-April things should ease up a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love this more than anything, I just hate being late on getting lines in.

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

I'm leaving for Italy tomorrow morning to study artwork over spring break through the art department at my school and will be gone March 1-12. I'm not sure if I'll stop by an internet cafe sometime or not but I'll definitely fill everyone in on how it went when I get back! ^_^

Nothing really new in the VA world beside a few more flash and dub roles. I'm still scrambling to catch up from when I was sick for a couple of weeks with  bad cold (almost lost my voice twice) so I'm not going to be auditioning for anything for a long time I think. On one hand it's nice that since I put out my new demo I've been getting a lot of requests for projects but the problem is that I tend to bite off more than I can chew then. I need to learn to say no... It's really hard to though because I really love all of them and don't want to pass them up. Oh well.

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

Wild Christmas (see the awards section) is now playing in 58 Vue Cinemas (on 175 screens) across the UK!!!! It started playing February 2nd and will continue for 4 weeks! I'm so excited that I'm going to be on the big screen (and at the same time, so appalled that I can't be there to see it because I live in the US). It's unfortunate that we're not allowed to leave Italy when I go for the art trip on March 1st because I would go see it in a heartbeat.

So speaking of Italy, I've got about a week and a half to finish lines for 7 projects now... I think I may be screwed. I'll try my best though. I'd rather have things late than less then my best.

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

Dr. Who: Project Alpha is coming along slowly but surely and is a lot of fun. I love playing Chiyo because she really has a depth to her and a wide range of emotions that most characters I've played up to this point haven't had. It's great practice and it makes the project just that much more fun to work on.

But, with a large mass of lines also comes a large mass of bloopers. So for your enjoyment, here's a blooper reel from the first half of my lines! I also tossed a few in from old projects so don't be weirded out if it sounds like Chiyo suddenly went through a voice change. :P

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles

Lots of good news this time!

1. I finished my new character demo. You can also listen to it in the Bio & Resume section. There are still some things to work on but I've definitely come a long way in a year of voice acting so I'm proud of it regardless. The next one will be even better!

2. Some of you may have already noticed in the awards section that a machinma film I was in won the UK Sims Short Films Competition. BUT some extra good news is that part of the prize is for the film to be played in 58 Vue Cinemas across the UK! Very cool.

3. Another paid gig! I was cast as Chiyo Suzuki in the upcoming audio drama "Doctor Who: Project Alpha." It's only one episode in a series but it's the largest female role they were casting at the time so I'm really happy and, no matter what size role, it's great opportunity. I read the script the other day and it's very good. I look forward to begin work on it. An added bonus for me personally is that my father's a big Dr. Who fan so I'm doing this for him even more than I'm doing it for myself. I think he will really like it! ^_^

Those are the biggest things right now. I'm also still working on multiple amateur roles as well. One of my New Years resolutions was to get at least five roles per month and increase my activity on the VAA and VAC forums and so far that has been going very well. I have SO much more free time then I did last semester and even some of the classes I'm taking this semester are specifically geared towards voice (Stage Dialects and Oral Interpretation). Both of the books for the classes are fantastic and I would recommend them to anyone interested in going into voice acting as a profession:
Stage Dialects by Jerry Blunt
The Use and Training of the Human Voice (Third Edition) by Arthur Lessac

Enjoy Everything!
-MorningStar Smiles