Raising Voices: Pirate Sound Is Teaching the Craft of Voice Acting

For years, Pirate Sound (one of Canada’s most-awarded sound shops) has positioned itself as a leader in voice acting. Pirate Sound owner/sound director Vanya Drakul, believes that “80% of your brand’s voice comes from proper casting”. So, the person in the recording studio has the power to make a huge impact in how a brand is perceived. 

It’s no surprise, then, that Pirate Sound is opening its doors to prospective voice acting talent on October 16th. Aimed at voice acting novices (“simply anyone who’s ever been told they’d be ‘good at voiceovers’”, in Vanya’s words), the in-person workshop will draw on the talents of Katie Griffin – the voice behind iconic characters like Sailor Mars in ‘Sailor Moon’. Katie will lend advice and feedback to workshop participants and, most crucially of all, give them the real-world experience of being in the recording booth with all of the idiosyncrasies that entails. 

In a moment where the creative world is grappling with the impact of artificial intelligence on every potential craft, it’s an experience that feels fundamentally human. And this is at the heart of why Pirate Sound has always placed such an emphasis on developing voice acting talent and helping them to learn; because voice acting is fundamentally human. 

“I have to say I’m not worried about AI at all, at least not in terms of taking work away from human voice talent”, notes Vanya. “One of the most important things that a voice actor can be is original. When we do these workshops, we’re not looking for people to mimic or be an impression of other - more experienced - performers. Your talent needs to be authentic to yourself, or in other words something that only you can do. AI can’t provide that”. 

It’s a dynamic that Katie herself has seen play out many times. “If you’re setting out to be a voice actor because you think you can mimic a voice you’ve already heard on the TV or radio, the unfortunate reality is that you’re going to be setting yourself up against that actor who is already getting those types of jobs”, she tells LBB. “The best thing you can do is actually to carve out your own niche, and of course to do that you need to quite literally find your voice. That’s going to be another crucial aspect of this workshop”. 

The Top of Your Voice

One of the most important parts of Pirate Sound’ workshop is, according to both Vanya and Katie, the fact that it is in-person. “So many workshops – and even voice acting auditions – have been held remotely since the pandemic”, notes Vanya. “Of course, there are good reasons for doing that. But the problem with it is that you’re not in the proper environment to do what you need to do”. 

Missing out on the moment-to-moment experience of being physically present in a recording studio is, Vanya and Katie believe, doing a disservice to anyone who wants a real taste of what being a voice actor is like. 

“Not to be too Canadian about it – but if you’re learning to play hockey, it’s one thing to teach someone what the rules are and something totally different to actually put them out on the ice!”, explains Katie. “In our workshop you’re in the booth - behind the mic looking at people through the studio window, hearing the sound of your own voice in the headphones, and having a voice director give you guidance. That’s why we call it a ‘fully-immersive’ workshop - it’s the full experience of being a voice actor”. 

That moment of being in a recording studio for the first time can be a discombobulating one, but it’s another reason why the craft itself is so human – something that an AI alternative can’t match. Being a voice actor, Katie goes on to explain, is a uniquely rewarding career chiefly because of how it makes powerful connections between people. 

“A really good example is my time on ‘Sailor Moon’ – a show I helped dub 30 years ago and yet I’m still invited to Comic Con, meeting fans for whom the magic of the show hasn’t gone away”, she says. “That’s such a cool and valuable thing – those human moments and connections keep the show relevant and keep audiences feeling good about it. Only human beings are capable of that. I don’t think people would be very hyped about the opportunity to meet their favourite AI voice actor…” 

So despite the noise about artificial intelligence and its impact on voice acting as a profession, there’s still a richly rewarding career up for grabs. And Pirate Sound’s workshop aims to act as the ideal springboard for aspiring talent. 

Reflecting on her own journey in the industry, Katie picks out one crucial piece of advice. “The most successful voice actors are those who take chances”, she says. “That’s how you carve out your niche and make yourself the go-to person for a certain type of work”. 

For Vanya, there’s one final ingredient that’s necessary for any successful voice actor. “The most frequently-overlooked skill is listening”, he says. “It’s about how you listen to direction and make sure you’re responding to feedback.

“It’s another reason why AI is never going to replace human voice actors. It would take about ten times as long for me to keep prompting an AI to produce the exact thing I’m looking for. But with a human who can listen, they pick it up instinctively. That’s the difference”. 

To book a place on Pirate Sound’s ‘Introduction to Commercial Voiceover’ on October 16th, reach out to katieg@piratesound.com