MEMJ0123

Yusssssss plsssssssss

It will be a beautiful day when I hear my own voice and think 'hey, that sounds ok!'

I can't really think of guilty pleasure movies or TV shows, actually. I thought Star Wars Revenge of the Sith was okay, the best out of the prequels at least, is that guilty enough? Ehh, probably not. I think I'd be confused more than anything.

I like his videos! I haven't watch a lot of him, but I do enjoy his content!

I like to lounge around in my PJs, sing without any effort to whatever is in my iTunes library, and munch on snacks. Showers! Although the occasional bubble bath is nice. I am female, soooo panties? (TMI?) I must play with whatever is in arms reach. I fiddle with something new every day. One day it's a receipt, next an empty candy wrapper, rulers, pens/pencils, scissors, spoons, elastics, my glasses, keychains. I am always restless. I will never get tired of mashed potatoes with butter. I'm not an animator, but I'm always embarassed by old stuff. I'm just never happy whenever I hear my voice lol.

I've always been into music, so animated musicals (like Disney) always appealed to me. Music always added so much more to the story in my mind, they really engaged my interests.

I've been doing both since I was a little kid, but I was a singer before I was an actor. I really identify as both equally now, though! I love them both, I've developed both skills in similar ways, so when I engage in one it feels like I'm engaging in the other, too.

My favourite is Pumpkin Pie!

Thank you! Also I'm learning to draw myself, and honestly, I would just start with paper and pencil, and then later on move onto the programs Travis and Zed recommended. Do gesture sketches, practice shapes, think of items in terms of their shapes, sketch things every day. That's what's helped me the most.

Absolutely, vocal work is has been my passion all my life, I don't think I could ever imagine myself giving up on acting and singing and creating content. We make a great team and I do not intend to stop doing stuff for SFS. My days never have a routine, I hardly know what I'm going to be doing one day to the next.

Sometimes you just need to be disciplined with yourself. Sit down and start doing. Brainstorm, jot out directions you want the idea to take. Look at the things that inspire you. Work on a little bit at a time, go over and revise old stuff, keep improving what you have. Keep writing utensils and paper on you at all times, just in case inspiration strikes. I think I'm biased, I just love doing the Celestia impression. I think Celestia is pretty great though. Also there's so much! I take too long answering questions and there's like 50 more questions when I refresh! Ahhh! I did! I thought it was hilarious, loved it! I know I was pretty shocked, and thrilled. I felt so grateful for both the community and for my friends with SFS, both have brought so much joy to my life. Thanks for the questions!! I have no preference, both are fine. I really am terrible with favourites T.T I've enjoyed all the projects we worked on! PC, dogs, Earth pony, Ponyville Being in SFS has really given me the opportunity to develop my skills, and the confidence to carry those skills to whatever I audition for. I've never felt so close to a group of people before SFS, we're pretty tight-knit, it's nice to have people you can talk to who understand the trials you go through career-wise and have similar interests/passions as you do.

I was just getting into the fandom, after finishing the first season of MLP. I had let my voice go for a year, but was kinda inspired by the creativity in the fandom to get back to doing what I love- which is singing and acting. I'd made my MEMJ0123 youtube account when I was 13, in 2007, and I just dug it up to upload my pony videos on. So I was mainly just auditioning for pony fan projects, which was incidentally how I got involved with SFS. IRL I was in my first year at University, not knowing what the heck I was doing with my life! Well, they all had their own challenges. I can't really say which was the most challenging. Some characters were difficult to voice pitch-wise, some were difficult acting-wise. For Voiceover, start out simple. Audacity is a great free audio-editing program. XLR mics will produce better quality sound, but they are more expensive, so I recommend starting with a USB mic. I started with a Samson C01U, it was great. Get a pop-filter, too. Also making sure you have a good recording environment will increase the quality of your sound immensely. If your space has a lot of echo, you can prop up a blanket around your recording station. Try to be aware of the background noises around you, like cars going by, people walking around, other noises, that kinda thing. Beyond technical stuff, all sorts of different funny voices are great, but you really want to focus on the acting part. Those funny voices won't mean anything if you can't actually act with them. Take improv classes, theatre, even singing lessons help (especially with tone and range of pitch). Have fun with your voice before you try to make a demo reel. A demo reel won't be useful to you until you have an established vocal strength (like, do you do deep voices best? High voices? Mom characters? Cheerful characters?), as the reel will only contain the voices you do best. Fandom stuff is a great way to learn things about your voice. Get involved in group projects, get to know people, make friends! Connections will go a long way, so make sure you are always professional. Stay away from drama if you can help it. The internet can be a dramatic place I think that's about it for now! Hope that helps a bit! Good luck!

Oh gosh, you're making me think! I've met a lot of great people who enjoy my/our content, and I'm not a person who likes to pick favourites! I really just love it when people approach me and tell me they like the stuff I do, that makes me feel great.

From a VA's perspective, sometimes you get tired of the script or the character. Either your voice gives out or you're experiencing fatigue from the project. I find it's important to keep the end goal in mind, remember what made you excited about the project, and what about the character that interests you. Sometimes it's just a matter of discipline, you gotta do the work no matter what, in the end.

How did each of you get involved in Silly Filly Studios and what do you do? I'm Jen, voice actor/voice director for SFS. I auditioned and was brought onto the team over 3 years ago specifically for my impression of Princess Celestia. I have since voiced other characters, such as Cumulo Nimbus in Snowdrop, Merry Sew and Hasbreau Agent in Donut Steel, and Magikarp in Pokemon Shaming. I tend to do the deeper-voiced female characters haha! Ummm, it was at the end of my senior year or high school (I just graduated University this past summer, so that should tell you how long ago that was lol!) There was some drama going on and I basically lost all my best friends. I was all alone and looking for something happy to keep me preoccupied, I already knew about MLP/bronies, so I decided to check the show out, out of curiosity. And I got into it pretty quickly. I'm not much of an anime watcher lol, but I have a few shows I enjoy! I like Madoka Magica, Kill la Kill, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I think there's more but I can't recall them right now!

I just turned 20 yesterday... Guh, still very strange to think about. I'm not a teenager anymore, I have to actually do something with my life now!

*raises hand* Comic dubber here! I don't think there are any 'off-limit' comics, if you enjoy it and want to dub it, go for it! People dub the comics posted on EQD all the time, so there's a good resource right there. Browse around on DA, too! Look up your favourite artists and see if they make comics. Comic-dubbing isn't as easy as it looks, though. I would recommend to start small. A well-made, but short and simple comic-dub is much better than a long and complex, but sloppily made comic-dub. Depending on the comic, you might also need sound effects. I get a lot of my sound effects from http://www.freesound.org/ you'll need to make an account to download sounds, but it's free to join. Background music is also highly recommended. I personally tend to use royalty-free production music. Here's a good website for background music here http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=014&Search=Search and just check the boxes for the type of 'feel' you want. Also, voices. I'm sure you already know that voice acting is much, much more than just reading and speaking into a microphone. It takes lots and lots of practice to get a good grasp of it. I know my first attempts at voice-acting were pretty sub-par ^^;. It helps to memorize the text, that way you don't sound like you're 'reading'. Also, take a few minutes to get into the character. Think of yourself as the character. Voice acting is less about the impression, and more about the acting. That's all I have to say about it, good luck, and have fun!!

A simple way to explain proper breathing while singing, is to think about how you breathe when lying down. When you breathe in, you push your stomach out, and when you exhale, your stomach deflates. That's how you want to breathe while singing. Basically, imagine when you breathe in, that you're blowing up a balloon, filling it with air. And when you exhale, you are pushing that air out with your stomach (it's really your diaphragm, but it feels like your stomach). It's going to feel strange at first, but with practice, you'll be able to get a fuller breath in a shorter amount of time. Proper posture helps with breathing too. Make sure you're not slouching, relax your shoulders, legs stanced in line with your hips. Make sure your chest and shoulders are not making any movement while you're breathing. Practice by putting one hand on your stomach, and one hand on your chest. One hand should move as your stomach expands/contracts, but the hand on your chest should not be moving at all. Point is to focus the airflow through your diaphragm, that's where you're going to get your "power" in singing. Aside from breathing: You should always, ALWAYS warm-up before singing. Get a hold of a singing exercise book, CD, or look it up online. Practicing those exercises will help prevent strain on your voice.

*ahem* I admit, your title for this thread immediately caught my attention. My mind drove straight into the gutter. Well played. From one newbie to another, welcome!!