#faffcon

[tomdheere]

Nothing better than a recording session with friends! #faffcon #voiceacting #voicetalent #voiceovertalent #elearning #voiceover #voiceacting (at JAMBOX Entertainment) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ipfe0HpKg/?igshid=14qzrsx306if5

[bradvenable]

Shinji Mikami: the godfather of horror games

With his new title, Evil Within, heading for release, we talk to the creator of the Resident Evil series about terror, technique and the problem with female characters. By Keith Stuart

This relates back to what I talked about at Faffcon. If you get into the creator's mind space, then you have a great blueprint for the kinds of voices they're looking for. And the game looks b'dass, too.

[courvo]

FaffCon Demystified

A few thoughts about Tucson’s unconference, and then I’ll move on. 

I know the tsunami of pictures, posted alongside laments that: “…it ended too soon!”…or: “…FaffCon changed my life!” grows old for people who did not or could not attend.  Bear with me one more time.

For the 100 souls in the Class of 2014 photo above, FaffCon7 will profoundly affect on their career.  A few bullet-points on my…

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[bradvenable]

Faffcon, je t'aime.

Faffcon. Faffcon is what brings us together today. 

Faffcon...that blessed arrangement, that dream within a dream....

Yeah, I totally went there, fans of must-see movies.

But for sooth, Faffcon is, indeed, what brought us together this past weekend.

When I got home, I was awash in so many emotional memories. So much so, it was difficult to recount what actually happened all weekend. To say it was a blur would be to do it a cliched disservice.

I finally was able to settle down enough to tell my wife about all the wonderful things that I witnessed and in which i participated.

I have never felt more loved than I did Sunday afternoon. I don't think I've cried as much as I did this weekend in a very long time.

(Yes, I'm a sap.)

I honestly went in with no agenda. I was seriously low on productive energy, mainly due to 'the situation' with my throat. For those that didn't actually hear about what happened, I developed a nodule on my left vocal cord. This led to me having a terrible mental state for the entirety of the summer.

Thank God for a doctor that understood, and a support group that put up with my worrying for four months. But long story short, I'm doing better. 

And I'm really doing better after Faffcon.

And it has to do with surprises.

I was so psychologically spent that just getting to Faffcon was enough as it was. Then getting to share oxygen and drinks with each of you just made me get better and better as the weekend flew by.

Normally, I sort of make a diary about my experiences, meticulously making notes and scribbles on any surface that holds ink. I think I took a half page of notes in Tom and Melissa's breakout session on using a paymaster to help convert nonunion work. That's all. 

I also remember that I wasn't taking as many pictures as I have in the past.

It was very out of character for me, and that's why when I sat down here to talk about Faff events, as is normal for me, I was almost at as much of a loss as I was in telling my wife about my adventures last night.

I think my new experience of talking as much as I could to Faffers new and returning became my MO for the trip.

I found myself more externally involved, instead of self-centered, and I don't mean in the negative connotation, either. I simply mean that I did my very best to share some experiences with others every opportunity I got.

And I think it worked.

I focused more on the moment, swore I would attend more things that I had fewer opinions and knowledge about, and just generally spend the weekend like a Voiceover Jedi, observing, responding, and soaking up as much of the big picture as I could.

I stuck to that game plan, and it served me well getting settled in on Friday, and again on Saturday, and then on Sunday, everything just went nuts.

I led a breakout session on characters for video games at eleven on Sunday, and it was like the stars aligned.

To describe the hour and twenty minutes (yeah, we went waaaaaaay over time) that we all shared in just one word, I think it would have to be...

...transcendent.

Yeah, that's the word. It was almost as if you could feel the rising tide minute by minute. The looks of realization and dots being connected on so many faces as we analyzed character descriptions was awesome.

When we discussed inferring place and setting of the game world from just a few lines of dialogue, and to see nods of understanding, that was even better.

Then when I demonstrated how to use ad-libbing (thanks, Mary Lynn!), really good microphone and vocal technique in order to put on a mental stage play for the listener, I could see the shifting in chairs and the need to really break down that process.

So I pulled an audition script from last week, grabbed the submission file, and I talked my way through the scene, describing how when I gave two takes to the CD, I varied the theatre involved in placing the character into a world that the player can believe in.

I revealed the way that I painted the scene with my performance in take one, and then I played the first take of my audition. There were audible gasps of recognition. I immediately got chills, because it had just dawned on me that I had just witnessed moments of true discovery, and it was like no feeling I had ever experienced before.

I then talked about from one take to the next, that in order to make your reads stand out even more, not only the theatre of the reads needed to be varied, but also the pitch and placement. I then asked the room to listen for variation in the second read of my audition, and then played it as well. More audible sounds of realization and one 'Wow.'

It brought a huge level of confidence that I was, in leading that session, where I needed to be. I also felt the need to share some personal details of my journey to the room, and as I talked, I felt better and better, even though I was recounting events from my past that can only be described as bad memories.

Somewhere in the middle of all the flood from Pandora's Box, a weight felt like it was lifting. As if this moment was a bellwether for a new era in my life and my career: the era of full disclosure and unwavering trust in my Faffily.

And I felt a heady surge of confidence as we finished and people gathered around me to continue the discussion. In this moment, I knew that, for some, it was a transcendent moment.

My own moment came later that day, at closing circle, when it was time to give out Un-Awards. There is always a rush to line up and show appreciation to other Faffers, but the display of raw emotions and gratitude were just amazing. 

I was floored to watch as three people said my name, and witness a surge of love, respect, and gratitude at a level that I had never felt before.

The rest of the day was just a mass of flowing and dripping tears, a haze of euphoria, and the feeling that, for the first actual time in my career, security and safety. (I told you I was a sap).

The euphoria has not abated. I know it probably will, but I know that, in writing this, I will always be able to tap into the emotional memory of that sunny day in the desert when I finally learned to trust a group of people who I know will always have my back.

I love you all, and I promise that I won't let you down.

[courvo]

Tired & Inspired

By now, you’re familiar with the thrum of swelling accolades following the most recent FaffCon.  Perhaps you’ve contributed to the enthusiastic thread of pictures and superlatives yourself in recent years.

Forgive us attendees.

It’s just not possible to remain silent about the inspiring moments spent in the company of gifted and giving pros.

‘Having driven 6 hours between Tucson and Las…

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[courvo]

Why You Should Avoid FaffCon

Why You Should Avoid FaffCon

Where do I start? 

How much time do you have?

The DEPTH of my dissatisfaction is unplumbed!

OK, probably the best way to handle this is with a list, so here goes:

FafffCon events are always held in terrible locations

The attendees are insufferable bores

There are no activities

The whole thing is organizational chaos

No one gets along

The energy is just….wrong

After-hour events are dull

All the…

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[courvo]

This One Time...at Band Camp...

This One Time…at Band Camp…

… only it wasn’t Band Camp. It was FaffCamp.

I’ve attended 4 of 6 FaffCon Unconferences, but somehow the inaugural FaffCamp slipped through my fingers. I’ve always regretted it.

Gone are the early falsehoods about The “Camp” version of FaffCon. The misleading rumors that it wasn’t for “real pros”.  No.  Faffers may come in all shapes and sizes and year of experience, but they all share the FAFF…

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[bradvenable]

A Grown Man Goes to Camp...and You Won't Believe What Happens Next!

Yeah, yeah...clickbait. So shoot me.

So you might have heard the rumblings about this event called Faff Camp. Words that have been used include "amazing," "wonderful," "awesome," and a bevy (why don't we use this word anymore?) of superlatives about a group of people from all walks of the VO industry getting together and sharing knowledge in all directions.

Now, you may be confused about the concept of Faff Camp, especially when many industry pros wait with bated breath each spring for the announcement of FaffCON, a similar event with a completely different dynamic. I felt it prudent to sit and write a spell (as they say on the farm) about what Faff Camp means to me, and some cardinal differences in the Camp and the Con.

So what's the difference? I have gotten that question close to a dozen times in the last week, and honestly, it's a fair one. Let's start with a softball.

Name and Event Dynamic

Faffcon is a development event for professionals, complete with vetting process.

Faff Camp is a development event for professionals, even those that are peripherally related to the industry, as well as folks just getting started. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Schedule

Faffcon is dynamically scheduled. This is the idea of an 'unconference.' The fact is, some attendees have topics that they could pull out and talk about extemporaneously (another great word), but with the exception of a few select times, most of the event is scheduled right after opening circle.

Faff Camp is more structured. The schedule of events is more like a traditional conference. This way, more people can come. There are also some other cool things that only happen at Faff Camp, like Topic Tables and Lightning Talks. At Camp, there's also two 'tracks' so that the attendees can be sure they will be where they need to be. (See what I did there? Faffers get it.)

Attendance Limitation

Faffcon never has more than one hundred attendees, much like there are never more than two Sith at any given time. Why? Well, it's a solid number, and 42 was already taken.

Faff Camp helps alleviate the extremely long waiting list that invariably follows the closing of Faffcon registration. How does it do that? Well...there's no limit to the number of attendees at Faff Camp. This year's waiting list was apparently as long as...well, let's just say it was long. 

Similarities

I mentioned earlier about writing what Faff Camp means to me. I felt like I could give you a bevy (ah...ahhhh!) of those things here. These are some things that you'll get from both events:

The guy or gal that is leading a discussion in one session will be asking questions in the next one.

Getting to know people that you only knew by way of their online avatar and witty banter.

Making lifelong friendships.

Playing the official game of Faff events, Cards Against Humanity.

Seeing the different shades of red people turn while playing said game.

Bob Souer.

Peter O'Connell

Amy Snively.

Learning about parts of the industry in which you didn't think you belonged.

Learning what the hell 'faffing' even is, and no, it's not the same as 'fapping.'

That the sharing of knowledge is the only thing that makes it truly knowledge.

That some people can really hold their alcohol.

That despite the shysters, has-beens, and never was-es that exist on the internet, this industry is full of giving, wonderful people. A great many of them come to Faff events.

And, of course, a rising tide lifts all boats.

What Faff Camp means to me

I mentioned just a smattering (there's another one) of the things above that mean so much to me. The other part about Faff Camp that was so incredible, was the fact that it was kind of my return to visibility at VO events. I had firmly entrenched myself in Dallas, plugging away at what we all do day-to-day, when I started to really feel left out. I needed to share oxygen with my peers. There's simply no substitute for being in the same room, hell, the same corner of a room, with others.

So I called Amy. I had just booked a big video game gig, and I was seeing some patterns emerge in the way I was coming about this work, and I asked to lead a session at Faff Camp. She was extremely excited about me coming back to a Faff event, as it had been fifteen months since I had been to my last one.

So Amy talked about teaming up to present with someone I had never met before, kind of a he said/she said approach to the session. It sounded great. I made the arrangements, and next thing I know, I was back in the thick of things.

I met several Faffers that were attending their first event, and some that had attended others but I hadn't had the pleasure, and it was wonderful to meet them and talk about things that were related (and not related) to the industry. Among those people and conversations were Jane Ingalls, and our talk about opera, Martha Mellinger, Linda Joy, Bob and Amie Breedlove, Jay Rickerts (who was formerly a news anchor back in Oklahoma..small world), Jordan Reynolds (manhugs), Jeff Devitt, Bob Merkel, Dustin Ebaugh, Kirissa Shipp, Denny Brownlee, and of course, my session co-leader, Wendy Zier.

It was as if I'd come home. Now I think I understood what the prodigal son must've felt. It's like I went away of my own choice, and I finally made it back.

Sharing air, stories, wisdom, and laughs with people that a great many things in common with me. It was glorious.

Those laughs, stories, and good times will never be lost to me, and it's all because I wanted to go. I didn't want to be left out.

I mentioned in a Facebook post about how this is the kind of event that opens your eyes to the countless facets to the diamond that is a career as a disembodied voice. I must have been channeling my inner T.S. Eliot, because it was oddly poetic and true. So was my time at camp.

After that weekend, I swore I would never miss another Faff event. I have not, and God willing, I won't.

This experience can be yours, as well. Don't wait. Come to Faff Camp.

See you there.

BV

P.S. $25 off the registration price can be saved with the use of code VT8987775