- JVTA Los Angeles >Crispin Freeman's Courses
JVTA offers a variety of special courses designed and presented by Crispin Freeman, prolific American voice actor, director, script adapter, and anime scholar.
Crispin Freeman has been portraying characters in animation, anime and video games for over 12 years. He got his start in anime playing Zelgadis Graywords in “The Slayers”. Since then he’s played such famous roles as: Alucard in “Hellsing” and “Hellsing Ultimate”, Itachi in “Naruto”, Rude in “Final Fantasy: Advent Children”, Prince Turnip in “Howl’s Moving Castle”, Tsume in “Wolf’s Rain”, Kyon in “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”, Alan Gabriel in “The Big O”, Duskmon/Koichi in “Digimon”, Holland in “Eureka 7”, Haji and Van Argeno in “Blood+”, Amon in “Witch Hunter Robin”, Alex Rowe in “Last Exile”, Togusa in “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”, “Innocence” and “Solid State Society”
He’s directed the English dubs of Space Travelers, Strawberry Eggs and Scrapped Princess. In addition to adapting the scripts for the shows he’s directed, he’s also adapted scripts for Pokemon, Witch Hunter Robin, Shamanic Princess, Night on the Galactic Railroad, Assemble Insert, Weather Report Girl and Boogie Pop Phantom.
He originally hails from Chicago, Illinois and Livingston, Montana. He got his undergraduate degree from Williams College where he majored in Theater and minored in Computer Science. Afterwards he went to Columbia University’s Graduate Theater School where he got his Masters of Fine Arts in Acting. He’s watched anime since he was a child, growing up on Speed Racer, Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets and Robotech and is so happy to be working on animation as an adult. You can find out more about him on his website: http://www.crispinfreeman.com
Between a translated script, and a final recorded dub lies the script adaptor. The Adaptor's first priority is to rewrite the script for a show in order to make it match the lip flap of the characters on the screen. But that's just the beginning! An adaptor also helps translate any Japanese cultural references and must give each character their individual “voice”. Often, a good script adaptation can mean the difference between a wonderful dub, and something that's truly painful to listen to. Learn how to adapt scripts on a professional level and discover what it takes to work in the anime industry as a writer!
TBA
Class will meet once every week for 2 hours each time.
Total number of classes is 4.
$365.00
Students will receive a new show to adapt every week.They will be sent a link where they can download a Quicktime formatted video file and a script. Therefore, students will need a high speed internet connection (DSL or Cable) to download the large video file (average size for each video file is 100MB) and a computer capable of playing Quicktime Video files. The Quicktime player is a free download from Apple. The video file will be 320x240 pixels (half standard TV resolution) and will be in MP4 format (the same format used by iTunes). Most any full-fledged computer (desktop or laptop) should be able to play this file no problem. However, most Netbooks are not powerful enough to play back the video file effectively.
10 students
| 【1st Class】 | Orientation Topics: *Bridging the Gap Between the Original Artwork and Your Local Audience *Current Trends in Adaptations and Localizations *Mechanics of Adaptation *Workflow & Process of Adaptation *Dialogue: How to Make It Sound Natural and Not “Dubbed” *Matching Lip Flap *Non-Dialogue Notation *Translating Cultural References *East and West Coast Adapting Styles |
|---|---|
| 【2nd-3rdth Classes】 | Script Review: *Each student will bring in their adapted script into class for review *Students will dub each other's scripts to picture *The teacher will provide feedback from both from an actor's perspective as well as from the director's/producer's perspective *In a spirit of mutual collaboration, the students will receive feedback from both the teacher as well as your fellow classmates |
| 【Final Class】 | Industry Primer: *Current state of the industry *Approaching Production Houses *Video Game Localization Issues |
Beginner Anime & Video Game Voice Acting Workshops
This is a 4 hour intensive workshop designed for those who have little or no background in voice acting. We'll start with the basic concepts behind voice acting including an improv workout. After that, we'll dive into the specific challenges of voice acting to picture or "dubbing" for animation and video games. I'll share with you the techniques and tricks that I've developed over a decade in voice acting to sound believable when matching the lip flap of a character on the screen. We keep the class small, so everyone will get time on the microphone to practice dubbing to picture. There is no pre-requisite for the class. Anyone who is willing to learn and apply themselves is welcome.
Intermediate Anime & Video Game Voice Acting Workshops
Take your voice acting to the next level! Designed for those who have taken my Beginner Workshop, the Intermediate class throws you right into the thick of things. This 4 hour intensive workshop assumes you understand how to voice act, that you have learned the basics of dubbing to picture and are now ready to apply what you've learned at a real world pace. Each participant will get extensive time on the microphone with one-on-one coaching from me as we discover your strengths and weaknesses in voice acting. We'll be focusing not only on helping you get more practice and experience on the microphone, but how to put your best foot forward in order to break into the industry.
Requirements: You must have taken my Beginner Anime & Video Game Voice Acting Workshops in order to enroll in my Intermediate Workshop. In the Beginner Workshop, I lay out the entire conceptual framework for voice acting in anime which you will need in order to keep up with the pace of work in the Intermediate Workshop.
July 17th, 2010
Beginners Course will not be held this time.
Intermediate Course is from 3:00pm to 7:00pm
$185.00 for each seminar
8 students
This class is for you if you want to get a competitive edge and learn which characters you are best at portraying! One of the ideas I stress in my Beginner Workshop is that an actor must know what types of characters they can believably and competitively play. Producers and directors will hire you to play those characters that you can play better than anyone else. This workshop is designed to help you discover which types of characters suit you best! As my student, I’ll be working with you to help develop your strengths as a voice actor so you can get your foot in the door at studios and get paid to voice act! Each actor will be getting very in depth and personal attention in this class. There is no acting to picture in this workshop. Instead, we’ll be doing classic scene study on animation and video game scripts in order to help you make your acting deeper, more authentic, more believable and more marketable! There are no pre-requisites for the class. Anyone is welcome!
July 17th, 2010
10:00am to 2:00pm
$185.00 for each seminar
10 students
*Class will begin with Improv and Theater Games to warm up the students.
*Next, we will move on to storytelling exercises in order to reveal your own innate character and explore your own personal stories from an acting perspective.
*Students will practice auditioning at a microphone using actual animation and video game scripts. They will get multiple chances to record at the microphone to help them focus in on which characters suit them best.
*All Students will receive mp3 copies of all their recordings during class in order to study at home.
June 13th, 2010
from 4:00pm to 6:00pm
The title of this seminar is "Mystics, Priestesses and Warrior Women"
$25 (All class material will be provided for students)
16 students
1 - Giant Robots and Superheroes
The superhero is a uniquely American archetype. Similarly, the heroic giant robot is distinctly Japanese in origin. These two types of heroes are radically different from each other and yet they seem almost inextricably linked with their respective cultures. How did this come about? What does it mean? Join voice actor Crispin Freeman as he gives a detailed slide and video presentation about the cultural and mythological differences between Japanese and American animated storytelling. Explore the mythological origins of superheroes and giant robots and discover how the religious traditions of America and Japan have shaped not only the types of heroes they create, but the journey those heroes go on as well. Delve into the meaning behind some of your favorite characters and discover why these heroes are so appealing to us.
2 - Knights and Dragons
The Knights and Dragons seminar looks at the differences between Asian and European Dragons and how the Knight's journey changes because of those differences. Join voice actor, mythology scholar and anime expert, Crispin Freeman, as he explores the psychological implications of Dragon and Knight imagery and how this seemingly external battle is actually occurring inside each one of us. The end of the seminar focuses on how these different archetypes are used and subverted in the anime, “The Vision of Escaflowne”.
3 - Mystics, Priestesses and Warrior Women
Join voice actor, mythology scholar and anime expert, Crispin Freeman, for a look at the female hero journey as it manifests in animated storytelling in America and Japan. Learn how the different mystical religious traditions of each country have shaped the possibilities for the female hero journey and discover the archetypes that are available for women in anime that are unavailable to a heroine in American animation. This seminar will explore the mythological differences between princess and magical girl archetypes and will end with an in depth look at metaphors used in the movie version of “Revolutionary Girl Utena”.
4 - Sentai Teams: “We Five Are One.”
This presentation explores the differences between superhero teams as they manifest in American and in Japan, where they are known as “Sentai” Teams. Join voice actor, mythology scholar and anime expert, Crispin Freeman, for a look at how American and Japanese superhero teams have their roots in the different elemental systems of each culture. Through exploring the notion of the elements, and applying concepts from alchemy, the seminar will explain what makes a combining robot so powerful. The presentation concludes with a look at one of the most mythologically sophisticated Sentai anime shows of all time, "Wolf's Rain".
If you have any questions about the content of the workshop,
please e-mail: classes@crispinfreeman.com
For registration, please contact JVTA-LA.
