This was my first 2024 speech for Toastmasters, I had begun working on it in November with a Christmas theme, but there were no speaker slots in December so reworked it as the first speech of 2024. This is for my Level Three “Engaging your Audience with Humor” speech.
I am a member of Toastmasters 4 Writer.
Have you ever considered the Internal Logic in the Christmas song “Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer”? I have, and it scared me.
What my speech and you’ll be asking … ?
MY VOICE ACTING GOALS – 2024
1 – Full Time Job
2 – Make myself known to Casting Directors
3 – More Regular Voice Over Auditions
4 – Book Voice Over Roles
5 – Start a regular Stream
6 – Be part of an Improv Group
7 – Play at least one Dungeons & Dragons game
8 – Be able to afford more VO training
9 – BLOG MORE
DETAILS OF MY GOALS
1 – Full Time Job
I am seeking a production position in television animation, but open to other positions in and out of the Entertainment Industry:
Production Coordinator.
Administrative Assistant
Executive Assistant
How can I support your company? Ask for a resume.
2 – Make myself known to Casting Directors
Get to personally know at last 10 Casting and Voice Directors at
Animation studios such as Disney, anime ADR directors, games, and commercials.
Who should I reach out to?
3 – More Regular Voice Over Auditions
A minimum of 500 Voice Over Auditions.
4 – Book Voice Over Roles
• Book a minimum of 10 animation/anime roles that I can talk about by the end of 2024.
• Book a minimum of 25 commercials I can talk about by the end of 2024.
5 – Start a regular Stream
Start with prerecorded posts on YouTube and then stream live either on Twitch or YouTube to discuss my experiences and what I’m pursuing.
If it works out, I might create a VTuber.
What should I Stream? Thoughts?
6 – Be part of an Improv Group
Before Covid I got to sit in on one Improv session, and took an Improv Class at Fullerton College. I’d like to attend at least 4 Improv Sessions in 2024.
7 – Play at least one Dungeons & Dragons game.
Have loved D&D for a long time, but have only played two games, both in my Improv Acting class.
8 – Be able to afford more VO training.
I want to take the “Singing for Animation” class with Voice Masters.
9 – BLOG MORE
I realize that I haven’t blog often, but I intend to do more this year. The blog may relate to what I Stream.
Been a while since I last posted, so here’s a brief run down of what I’ve ben up to.
I’ve continued to take Voice Acting classes through the year. As much of a struggle this past year has been, being able to take classes by Zoom has been a great blessing. If I had completed my original Voice Over class in the studio, I know I would have pursued this goal further but I don’t know if I would have ever have taken as many classes in person in such a short a mount of time. I have been very blessed.
I have more classes I want to take, but also wanting to have a professional demo reel produced, both of which are limited by my budget, so finding employment is a must.
Which brings me to what I’ve been doing for the last three months.
I’ve been working in animation. Yes! I’ve been working in animation. You don’t know how thrilled that makes me feel. Yes, I worked on another animation production a few years ago, but it didn’t go anywhere, but it was a good learning experience. This was much more than that.
Years ago I got to know Mike Young when his company was producing VOLTRON THE THIRD DIMENSION. We had been looking for a way to work together for some time. Now years later it looks like we might have a chance.
Mike now runs a company called SPLASH ENTERTAINMENT About three months ago I got a call that they had an opening on a production and was I interested. YES.
After an interview with the producer I started working as a Production Coordinator in July and for three months it was a fantastic experience.
Basically it was a lot of moving data around, tracking notes given by the director, editor, and producers as each new scene came in. I also got help compile lines of dialog in preparation of doing ADR retakes and schedule time with talent and the recording studios.
The job ended yesterday (Sept. 30th, 2021), but I am not disappointed. Even though it only lasted three months it was a very enjoyable and learning experience.
I can’t tell you what the movie is yet, but when it comes out next year be sure that I’ll be talking about it and promoting it.
Have already begun searching for the next job, but I now feel like I am standing on a solid foundation of not only experience but of the type of jobs I will be looking for from here on out.
Thank you all for the support.
Best,
Kevin
My wife has a bible verse that she always goes back to, and in these times it is a most important one to remember:
Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.
No matter what we had planned at the beginning of 2020, the year certainly didn’t go the way we had planned.
For me, and you’ll see if you look on my New Years blog entry, I had a fantastic year set out before me. I called it my 2020 Vision, and that vision was focused on Voice Over Acting for Animation. I’ve been a comic book artist and an animation script writer, so why not add Voice Over to my portfolio of work.
I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and certainly not something I could jump into. I didn’t even think I could do ‘funny voices.’ But that didn’t matter, I have a passion for animation and a growing love for Voice Acting.
So I did the smartest thing I reached out to some of my Animation and Voice Over friends for a recommendation of where I should go to receive the best beginners training.
I had been putting money aside over the last year to be used in this new goal of mine, and in December of last year I signed up for a Voice Acting Workshop that would begin in March.
Then the Clock chimed in a new year, my family celebrated on the 1st as we all was did, and on the 2nd I went back to work.
I am called into the boss who informs me that for budgetary reason my position was being eliminated, and so at the end of January I was laid off from a part-time job I’ve had for 9 years.
Disappointed I was, but not giving up, I had already put the money down on my class and so I was going to see it through.
Over the next months I began to reach out to many of my friends in the animation industry, as well as employment recruiters I had gotten to know over the years. All promised they would keep an eye open for any opportunities that came along. Some of them even knew of openings with their companies and submitted my names with a recommendation letter. I also checked every company job board on a daily basis.
I wasn’t expecting a job to come right out of the blue…
Then March came along and my Voice Over Acting Workshop was about to begin. I was absolutely thrilled to be taking it. I had no idea if I’d be any good, but I was going to enjoy every moment as I learned what I could. At the absolute least I would gain knowledge of being an actor which I could use as an animation script writer.
You can write the lines, but it’s important to know how the actor is going to interpret them.
I showed up for the first class ready to get started. It was the introductory class letting us know how the instructor (a very well known animation voice actor, who had even worked on a show my wife had been on in production) told us how he would teach us to have fun.
On that first night each one of us had the opportunity to stand before the mic and read lines of dialog.
I had wondered if I was going to get scared that first time, get nervous, chicken out, or have a coughing fit I couldn’t control and would have to leave —
— Oh, I hadn’t mentioned, I had gotten a cold in early December, shook it off but it returned at the end of the year and into January. The cough always remains long after the cold is gone. But by February I thought it was gone and so I signed up for a local Improv Group. Small gathering of actors doing this on their own. The nightly payment wasn’t bad so I gave it a try. The first part of it went well, I contributed properly, but by about half way through the gathering my COUGH returned so badly that I couldn’t participate well and so ended up sitting off to the side watching the others do some fantastic work. I’ll be honest, the cough was partially an excuse because I had frozen up in one scene and had no idea what I was doing next. But the coughing was bad enough it wasn’t helping the story so I sat on the side. Leaving that night I wanted to return, but was also terrified to do it again —
So I had similar feelings (but luckily no cough) when I stepped up to the mic, and you know what?
I actually did pretty well.
I was able to read all my lines without stumbling over my tongue. Sure, I wasn’t perfect, but I wasn’t bad either. The teacher gave suggestion on how to improve, and he even told me what actor I sounded like.
I left that night absolutely thrilled and looking forward to the next and standing before that mic once more.
By the time the second week there were already concerns about people being sick and the virus spreading, but it was still a minor thing.
The instructor spent an hour telling us more about being an actor and how best to have fun playing as he gave us our lessons. Then it Mic time once more. New lines of dialog (this time having gotten to study and practice with them over the last few days) to read.
And… I surprised myself again. I understood what the instructor was wanting us to discover in the dialog and how to use it in being the character. I really did well a second time, and was thrilled by the outcome.
I was really looking forward to the next week, and even more so when a few days later I receives the story I’d be playing.
But then everything got turned upside down. The news broke of the growing number of cases of the Corona-Virus…
The instructor sent out an email saying that he planned to have the next class, we would find a way to provide ‘social distancing’ in the studio. (Which I knew would be very hard because of how many people were in the class and how small the studio was.) Then a second email came saying that after talking with the staff at the studio, and considering all the other people that came and went during a day there, it would be best not to have the class there for a while.
So the the instructor suggested we do it online. He already does personal coaching that way, so setting up a class via Skype or Zoom was a possibility. (I didn’t even know what Zoom was until that day, now everyone knows and uses it). So he offered the class to vote to see if we wanted to continue the class via Zoom or postpone till this was all over.
I, wanting to continue what I was so excited about doing, voted to Zoom it. Unfortunately most of the class wanted to postpone it.
I understood the reason, but my heart sunk.
The instructor hoped to get things started again in a few weeks, and would be in touch along the way. But over the following weeks I didn’t heard anything so reached out to the teacher. But it would be another week or more before I got a response.
He reached out to the class once more, and this time they agreed to continue to do the class via Zoom. (Maybe some of them were just bored and wanted to something to do.)
I was absolutely thrilled.
So this past Tuesday we were back at it, but from each of our homes, on mic and on camera.
I had been practicing my lines during the break period and had pretty well honed the character down to what I thought it should be.
So now my ‘time at the mic’ came up and I did pretty good, but the instructor could tell I had been rehearsing. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but I think it lacked some spontaneity. That’s when the real assignment began. Based on homework we turned in, he gave us different characters to play while reading the same lines.
I really amazed myself as I switched voices into a new character.
As i read my lines from the printed paper out of the corner of my eye I could see the teacher reacting. Though muted he seemed to be smiling and laughing.
When I was done he turned all the mics on and I got thrilling response from the instructor and all the other students. The crazy thing was that this hadn’t happened with any of the others. They were all good, but I had never heard them all response to a performance all at once.
It was a really great feeling.
One great performance doesn’t an actor make, but it was a fantastic experience.
I’m looking forward to what we do in the remaining three weeks of the class.
What happens after that I don’t know, but I’m ready to find out.
We may plan our days, but God establishes our steps.
I have a new VISION for 2020 and that is my VOICE.
As you know I am a professional animation scriptwriter, a comic book artist, novelist, and have worked in animation production.
I n this new year of 2020 VISION, I am looking toward a new horizon by taking ACTING CLASSES focusing on VOICE OVER for animation.
I’m no fool who thinks this will be easy. It will be hard work and may take a long time, but I am willing to give it my all.
Growing up, taking art and writing courses, I never once thought about acting. Now, looking back, I see how it would have been beneficial to both my artwork and script writing. Over the last few years, I have become more and more interested in VOICE ACTING and all the great actors who work on series I follow. I’ve begun to want to know more about that side of the industry I am already a part of.
As I begin this 2020 VISION QUEST of my future by making my voice heard I hope to chat, network, and learn from many of my Voice Over friends online and in person.
While taking classes in acting, trying my hand at, reading books and watching my fellow actors perform and get to know them, I will be documenting some of my experiences here (though some I won’t be allowed to write about.)
So, I would love to have you follow me on my journey, whether to laugh as I fall on my face, applaud when I succeed, or provided some much need guidance and support along the way.
This is going to be scary, challenging, exiting, and fun. I’m looking forward to every moment of it.
2020 beings today, and I have a lot to be looking out for.
Years ago, my wife and I had the opportunity to write several episodes of the Japanese animated series MIDNIGHT HORROR SCHOOL, created by Naomi Iwata
The show was a relative success in Japan and many other countries around the world, unfortunately they were able find a market to sell the show to here in the U.S.A. So we were never able see our episodes broadcast in English.
I would have really been nice to show them to people, especially to help promote our animation careers for other series.
Maybe it’s not too late.
Hikky and his school friends are objects that human students loose during the school day. Such as a pencil that falls off your desk. At night the school becomes magical and all these lost objects become alive and go to their own school. There they learn to do amazing things and to one day graduate and become one of the Wonders of The World.
It was a fun series to work on. It got me my first animation writing credit and membership into the Animation Writers Caucus of the Writers Guild of America West.
I found out about this a little late, but thought I’d do my own drawing and throw it in the mix. That’s me, or a bad clone.
Really got a thrill from all the people who liked my blog about Star Wars the other day, thanks a lot.
Tonight’s random thought is about He-Man and The Masters of the Universe.
I haven’t been following the current comic book version of THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE so I don’t know if they’ve cover this in their story, but I had a thought while driving tonight. (Yes, animation from the 1980s fills my mind from time to time).
There could be some really interesting stories told about Prince Adam’s mother. She could be a female Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers.
In the original animated series, we learn that Queen Marlena is actually from Earth. That she was an astronaut on an experimental trip to Europa but was knocked off course and crashed on to Eternia. As the story is told, King Randor finds her and eventually marries her.
That’s nice and romantic, but there is so much more that could be told. An Earth Astronaut (probably with military background) lands on a very alien world would want to know her new home and explore it. There would be many adventures she could have before finally marrying the King. Eventually having children who would become He-Man and She-Ra. She might even oppose the king until she finally falls for him (or he for her.)
As I said, Marlena Glenn (her last name obviously not a random choice for an astronaut) should be a female adventure hero like Flash Gordon on the planet Mongo, or Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.
I write New Pulp, stories in the fashion of the old Pulp novels and about adventure heroes of the past, Marlena of Eternia would make a great heroine all on her own right standing up there with some of the greats.
There might also be a romantic triangle between her, King Randor, and the man who would become Skeletor (in some stories he’s Randor’s brother, so this would really work).
As a writer “I have the Power” to create adventure stories like this. I may have let that power go to my head.
Kevin Paul Shaw Broden
Four Names of Professional Creativity
As I write this thousands of people are arriving into San Diego for Comic Con International and many are attending “Preview Night”. I’ve never been there on Wednesday nights. It originally was a special “Preview” for professionals and retailers, but now it has grown to be nearly as busy as every other day at Con.
Shannon Muir and I will attend the convention Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We are riding Amtrak trains to and from San Diego each day, but it is much more inexpensive and relaxing than trying for a hotel room.
We attend Con to meet up with many of our professional friends and network with many of the companies in attendance.
This year I am bringing #MISSION818 with me.
If you’ve been around my blog long enough, or a regular visitor and follower of my facebook or twitter feed you’ll know what #MISSION818 is. For those that don’t here is a brief description.
Shannon and I are engaged to be married, and I plan to move to be with her in the Glendale/Burbank area, and so my Mission is find employment in or around the 818 area code before our wedding.
I would prefer to find employment with an animation production company or comic book publisher, but am open to other positions and companies in that region.
I am a scriptwriter, having written professional in television animation, and been hired to develop series for independent producers. I am also a comic book illustrator, novelist, and book cover artist.
If I could have the exact job I’m after it would Senior Vice President of TV Animation Series Development, but that’s not going to happen right away. In the mean time I’ll be quite happy to assist the guy in the position now. I’ll even bring my own broom.
For my professional friends on facebook and twitter, you know that as I further my career I tag them with #MISSION818. So, this year I will be wearing a #MISSION818 T-Shirt and you all can find me in the Comic Con crowd. See the photo to know what you’re looking for:
Feel free to stop me and say hi, and like my facebook post. More importantly, lets talk about what I can do for you.
Hope to write a Post-Con Blog next week, or maybe some on spot posts to my facebook page while I’m there and let you all know how #MISSION818 worked out.
Thank you all for the support.
Kevin Paul Shaw Broden
Four Names of Professional Creativity
BLOG – Animation Pitch
As promised, here are my first thoughts after having the opportunity to pitch an animated series.
This is not the first time I’ve pitched to television. The first time was a live action sitcom that I pitched to two of the cable networks. There was some interest but no bite, then an animated series to one of the educational networks. No bite or response there.
I can’t tell you a whole lot about the current pitch itself because I expect to hear back from the producer with in the week.
Probably the most frustrating thing of the day was that I was late. Late by only a few minutes, but late all the same. The producer wasn’t bothered by this, but it really shouldn’t have happen. I’m prone to showing up places early, so this was really bothering me as I was stuck in snail crawling traffic. But I can’t let that frustration get to me, admit it, apologize and move on. No excuses.
The next thing that came, as it should, was the casual chitchat. The producer was quite happy to show off how his office was starting to look better since they moved in. They even had their sign up since the last time I was there. We then ended up talking about the fly over of the Space Shuttle Endevour earlier in the day. One of those things that everyone was chatting about that day. (I got to see it while it flew over Disneyland.) He also asked about how things had been with me since the last meeting. I told him about my part time job at the college’s foundation and the scholarships they give out.
Let the producer guide the chat, it’s his time and office, so when the moment is right he’ll ask to know what you brought.
Based on what we had discussed during our first meeting I put together what I hoped would interest the producer. The first was a pitch for a complete animated comedy adventure series. That was followed up with two ‘short subjects’.
I’ll admit right here that I stumbled a bit in my transition between one pitch and another. But once I got past that things went smoothly.
When I was done with my three pitches the producer did mention that he had seen something similar to one of them before. Actually, he had seen it a lot, and he explained when he meant. I’m never one to ride the wave of what’s currently ‘hot’. Know that I won’t be pitching any ‘sparkly’ vampires. The concept of my pitch, however, from what the producer had seen, had been on several people’s minds. Sometimes that happens.
This wasn’t a rejection, and he went on to say that after he read more of my pitch packet, if it had a unique enough hook there was still a change.
Sure I might be disappointed, but I did understand what he meant. I look forward to his thoughts.
He did react and know exactly what I was going after with one of the other pitches. So that was good.
The meeting was short, nice, and very friendly. Even if nothing further comes out of these pitches, it was a great learning experience. I now can put more notches into my animation development belt and work on the next one based on what I’ve learned here.
What comes next? More writing, more developing, and more meetings.
That last part for me is the hardest, the networking and getting to know more people to arrange such meetings, but over the last while I am improving with that as well.
This is all part of #Mission818 and things are going along very nicely.
Right now I’m contemplating if there is a way for me to pitch my novel “Revenge of the Masked Ghost” as a live action series. Now to find the right producers that would be interested in talking with me about it.
Thanks all for your support. Hope to tell you more when I hear back from the producer.
Kevin Paul Shaw Broden
Four Names of Professional Creativity
That’s how I’m looking at it.
Even with a killer headache on the First of the Year (wasn’t able to enjoy the party), and a knee that was in extreme pain for a couple of days after that (have no idea what caused it, and it’s not connected to the headache), this year has started off really well.
This first real week of the year saw me talking with many new professional contacts across the internet. A meeting with a young producer from back east, and a job interview that included a story board test for a Revisionist position at an animation company.
Looking forward to what God and the next week brings.
I’ve been home now nearly a week since the San Diego Comic-Con, boy does time fly. Other people have already posted their thoughts on the Con, and I probably don’t have a lot to add, but here is a small ramble if nothing else.I’ve been attending the con for many many years now, since it was at the downtown convention hall and watched it grow every year since then. The first year I was there the total number was 5000, today we reach over 120,000 people and can’t really get much hire then that.
Even though it was crowded, I wasn’t really bothered by the crowds, I was a crowd to them after all. I won’t even blame the greater influx of Hollywood. Someone the other night said that it was Hollywood was taking too much of the con. But I see all this as part of the same. Sure there is a love of comics that have been pushed into a corner, but truthfully we are all part of the same world of visual story telling. Over sixty years ago there were comics based on movies and comedians like Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope. I think that the important thing in all this is that the world, if for only those four days a year, sees comic books, animation, gaming, television, and movies as equals and all have time to shine all interconnected.
I guess I can say that because I have great dreams to be working in all those areas and see them all the same. Sure writing for a comic is different then for movie, but it is still story telling and that’s what I dream to do. There are those who get into animation as a step towards live action writing, but there are also live action television and movie writers who are now writing for comics because they love.
I haven’t always been the best at networking with people at the con, and the crowd makes it all the more fun at trying it. But I came away from this con feeling much better about things, and making greater contacts along the way.
Didn’t expect my ramble to go in the direction it did, but that’s where it is. I have a passion for story telling, visual story telling, “narrative illustration” as my professor and I called. So I’m going be working in this world right along side the best comic, animation, gaming, and movie giants.
Hope you all had a good time and enjoying your summer.
Hi all,
Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén