Learning Curve

I was recently asked to do a voiceover read for a short story published by The Razor, a literary magazine run by the Gotham Writers Workshop. (The story was posted last week, and you can listen to/read it here.)

I was grateful for the opportunity to try something different, because most of my gigs and auditions have been for commercials and internal corporate videos.

As a performer, long-form fiction narration can be particularly fun and rewarding, because it offers room for interpretation and characterization. But that can also make it intimidating as well. I’m working on getting more comfortable pushing my range in different ways, and this story gave me the chance to do some experimenting.

Working on this project also allowed me to improve my skills as a director, producer, and editor. Learning how to perform these roles has been part of my voice acting education, along with becoming proficient in the use of audio hardware and recording software in my home studio.

I think most people would be surprised to learn that there’s much more to voice acting than just “having a good voice.” I’ve only scratched the surface on figuring out how to do it successfully, but I’m trying to get better at all aspects of it every day.

Also, sincere thanks to everyone who responded to or shared my post about Nadav Henefeld and the UConn Dream Season. It generated by far the most interest I’ve gotten for any edition of this newsletter, and I truly appreciate the love and support.

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The Best…

…Movie I Watched This Week

Tron (1982) — Directed by Stephen Lisberger
Streaming on Disney+

I have to admit, I’ve had a hard time engaging with much media lately other than sports. With all of the dispiriting things happening in the news, I haven’t really wanted to spend time with anything too emotional or dark.

I’ve even started and stopped watching some things, like Robert Altman’s 1974 film California Split — who knew that a movie about degenerate gamblers and their sex worker friends would bum me out?

But then I came across Tron, the 1982 Disney cult classic about a computer programmer (played by Jeff Bridges) who beams himself into the video game world to complete a dangerous mission.

Watching Tron more than 40 years after it was made was a delight. At the time of its release, the film was a marvel of computer generated visuals. I don’t think “CGI” was even a term yet. (Now the film looks so dated, it has a kind of retro-cool aesthetic.)

Anyone who grew up in the 1970s and ’80s and watches Tron will instantly be reminded of what the games of the era looked like. Although I remember playing the Tron arcade game as a kid at Milford Amusement Center — or as we called it, Milford Rec — I never saw the movie.

(Quick side note— you can actually buy a Tron arcade console for $699.99 at a variety of stores, including Walmart.)

The plot revolves around the amusingly undramatic question of which programmer should get credit for the creation of a handful of popular video games. There are deeper, 1984-type themes at play, but the story isn’t really the point of Tron — it’s the visuals, which clearly drew inspiration not only from the computer programs of the era but also Star Wars.

What’s also fun about watching Tron in 2023 is seeing all the ways the movie anticipated so much of our culture today, including multiplayer online role playing games, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and digital effects in movies. I don’t think there’s ever been another film quite like it.

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…Article I Read This Week

“Olympic Hopefuls Needed a Home. A Retirement Community Stepped Up.” The New York Times, November 2, 2023 — By Scott Cacciola

Todd Korol / The New York Times

I’ve watched more than my fair share of curling, both in person and on TV. Working on the Olympics for NBC Sports for many years, this came with the territory.

Curling has always been a pleasure to work on, because for the most part, everyone involved is so nice. Perhaps this isn’t surprising, considering the sport is a staple of Canadian culture, and all the athletes, no matter how famous they are in their home countries, maintain a “regular folks” sensibility.

So I always find dipping into the curling world to be refreshing and fun. That was certainly the case when I read this New York Times story (written by New Haven Register alum Scott Cacciola), about an elite team of curlers from New Zealand who traveled to Canada to improve their skills and found temporary housing in a Calgary retirement home.

I recommend the piece, even if you don’t know a bonspiel from a glockenspiel.

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…Documentary Series I Watched This Week

Beckham — Directed by Fisher Stevens
Streaming on Netflix

In the past several years, documentary projects about celebrities have become like “authorized” biographies, with the subjects often receiving executive producer credit. In other words, the athlete, musician or movie star only shares what they want the audience to see. Controversial subjects are only lightly touched (if at all), images are figuratively airbrushed, reputations and brands are burnished.

This is why I was initially wary of the recent Netflix series Beckham, because the retired soccer icon David Beckham is indeed an executive producer. So, knowing you’re not going to get everything you want from him and the series, the question becomes: is it entertaining enough?

After watching it, my answer is yes.

The story is still amazing. The boy from humble beginnings, plucked from obscurity by the UK’s most glamorous club, reaches the highest level of his sport only to become a national pariah, and then rises from the proverbial ashes to become a beloved global icon… oh, and also marries a Spice Girl at the height of her fame. It’s almost impossible to screw it up.

In the hands of director Fisher Stevens (you remember him as the unctuous PR flack Hugo on Succession), the series is undeniably entertaining, even when it gets a little too cozy for its own good. You never really forget that you’re watching a marketing tool, but at least it’s a well-made one.