Voice and The Actor

Task 1 - Family member - Mum's voice

Observations 

What kind of tone is the voice?  My mum's tone of voice is calm and reassuring.

How fast or slow do they speak?  The reason is that my mum's tempo changes through excitement and if you're sharing something that is happy, like a memorable moment that is either happy or funny. It changes with the emotions.

Do they pause a lot? She doesn't really pause a lot but, pauses when someone talks after she has said something.

Do they find it difficult to project? I feel like she does struggle to project clearly.

Do they articulate their words? Listening to her speak she does articulate really well because she has worked with older people with poor hearing and this has helped them to understand what she says.

What is the pitch like? Her pitch is a mid-range but, soft pitch.

Do they speak on one tone? No, her voice varies and changes tone when she shouts or if she speaks in a friendly tone.

Do they emphasise certain words? The only words she emphasises are commands like "no",  "dinner" , "bed" etc. This is because she's been ignored and she becomes cross then raises her voice.

Do I like this voice? I like her voice because it's a familiar voice that I grew up with. It's been a comfort and reassuring.

Is the voice loud / voluminous? The voice varies from times she shouts or calls to people but, most of the time voluminous.

Is the voice quiet? At times her voice can be quieter than her normal medium tone of voice.

Is the voice deep? The voice isn't deep at all.

Is it high or low? I'd say it's medium between the two.

Is it strong? Her voice is in-between weak and strong.

Is it weak? Two pick in-between the two, it was stronger than weak/

The other questions where asking about if it was distorted, shaky, crackly, nasal or even clipped but, there was nothing I could hear that pointed out to show these other ways to show the type of tone my mum has.

Task 2 - Famous person - David Tennant 

Observations 

What kind of tone is the voice? He's tone of voice is welcoming but, an excitable tone.

How fast or slow do they speak?  They speak fast, it's the normal pace.

Do they pause a lot? Sometimes, where we're left thinking about what he said.

Do they find it difficult to project? He projects really well, as I do understand him most of the time but, when he talks quickly I struggle to understand it at times.

Do they articulate their words? They do articulate their words quite well but, at times can't understand the way he spoke because of his accent.

What is the pitch like? It varies because of his excitement he brings to the character or the way he would portray a character.

Do they speak on one tone? No.

Do they emphasise certain words? Yes, only if they are trying to make a point.

Do I like this voice? I like his voice because when he speaks he's enthusiastic and

Is the voice loud / voluminous? He's voice is loud.

Is the voice quiet? If he tries to speak quietly it still clear and loud to hear.

Is the voice deep? For a man, he has a range where I don't think he's voice is that deep.

Is it high or low? About mid-range.

Is it strong? He has a strong voice but, with an accent. When he played The Doctor he used something that he was a habit of an accent he has and he's voice isn't weak but, confident when he speaks.

Is it weak? He's voice is defiantly not weak.

The other questions where asking about if it was distorted, shaky, crackly, nasal or even clipped but, I only think he mumbles at times after saying a lot but, he may sort of have a raspy voice too.

Personal Vocal Assessment 

A 5 would be strongly agree whilst a 1 would be strongly disagree on what I am assessing myself.

I would rate myself a 3 or 4 for a good, clear voice production because of my shaky voice and the amount of fillers I use when my nerves kick in. I struggle to remain focused. To sort out this problem is when I'm on stage I need to stop going through my lines and take deep breaths concentrating on the breath then speaking. I believe it works me up and leaves me to show that my performance would be better if I was more relaxed as an actor.

My articulation about a 2 because I need to practise tongue twisters and massage the areas that are most tense in my jawline. I still feel some tension when I am on stage which showed me I don't warm up properly and this also make me feel nervous. So, the cure would be to improve on vowel sounds A, E, I, O, U and the baa, caa, daa, faa, gaa, haa, jaa sort of march where it can help me articulate the sound. My warming outside of class with these exercises I can articulate better.