SMASH! 2012
Jul. 16th, 2012 12:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustSo I wasn't planning to go to SMASH! this year, after feeling a bit too dinosaur last time, and deterred by the rising ticket prices (now $29 prepaid or $35 at the door). But. Shin-ichiro Miki. Who has played a billion roles in anime, including Allen Schezar from The Vision of Escaflowne.
All right. Maybe one more time.
The universe works in mysterious ways. On the way to the convention, I ran into![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mitsuoka, who I hadn't even known was back in town. And then, waiting in the line, we both ran into L, so it became a mini-reunion.
I had a pleasant wander of the vendors hall, still impressed by the variety and quality of artwork and cosplay that people had on show. Then it was time to head into the auditorium for the guest talk I was waiting for.
I caught the tag end of the voice acting workshop by Yuko Miyamura, where a couple of audience members were playing the roles from a scene from Eva, and she was coaching and advising them their on their performances. Interesting idea. And apparently in October, she'll be teaching a voice acting course in Melbourne.
Then it was time for Shin-ichiro Miki's interview. The interviewer welcomed him and opened with questions submitted by audience members. For some totally bizarre reason, for the first question, the interviewer decided, "I'll read it in her voice!" And he proceeded to do so, in a faux feminine voice. I was cringing in my seat. Fortunately, he seemed to realise what an idiot he was being, and it got better from there, although I was still on tenterhooks for most of it, praying for the interviewer not to say anything awkward next. (I should note that the translator, however, did a good job.)
There were a couple of live dubbing segments, where they played a scene from an anime, and asked Miki to perform his lines live on stage.
The first was a comedic action scene with Urahara and Ichigo from Bleach, and Miki played it with a light touch.
The second was a spoileriffic emotional scene with Mustang and Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, where it's raining, but it's not, and Miki practically cried on cue.
The third was a rather intense and intimate scene with Lyle and Anew from Mobile Suit Gundam 00. "Are you sure you want me to do this?" Miki said. "If you want me to, I will do it, because I'm a professional." And he did it, and it was excellent.
But it did make me think about how voice acting would normally be conducted in a studio with just a few people, which is quite different from this kind of stage performance, in a theatre filled with hundreds of people. It's putting yourself out there, emotionally, with no hiding behind the curtain.
Other highlights from Miki:
* He has visited Australia before, for New Year's Eve.
* One of his hobbies is motorsports. He owns an 86 that he tinkers with. He doesn't drift like Takumi from Initial D, but he sometimes does go kart racing.
* When he takes on a role, he lets the character flow through him. It's a fictional world, but the characters in that fictional world are real to him. He needs to understand their environment, their situation, what they want to say, and how they want to say it.
* One question was that he's been a voice actor since 1989, and when did he have the moment when he was glad he became a voice actor? When someone is feeling down, and they watch an anime or play a game, and it lifts their mood and makes them happy. He's had letters from fans telling him this, and that's what makes him glad he became a voice actor.
* One question was about voicing BL roles, and how he feels about it. (The audience cheered, and he said, "So many BL fans, and it's not under the shadows.") It depends on the content. Whether it's men with men or men with women, as long as there's good drama and good story leading up to that, he doesn't mind at all. ("As long as it's not a story where it's just men on top of each other.")
* Advice for aspiring voice actors. Some people go to voice acting schools, but the important thing is just to experience a lot. For example, if you're in a kitchen cooking rice for one instead of four, or you hit your finger on something when you're at home alone and feel embarrassment and pain anyway. When you take on a role, you draw on similar feelings you've had, so piling up experiences like that will help you. For example, no one has ever been to space and piloted a robot, but a good voice actor needs to experience a lot of things and convey that feeling to the audience.
Photos
I already own an onigiri cushion from Sugart. I was sorely tempted to add a pudding cushion to my couch too - or watermelon, or cheese, or sushi...
All right. Maybe one more time.
The universe works in mysterious ways. On the way to the convention, I ran into
mitsuoka, who I hadn't even known was back in town. And then, waiting in the line, we both ran into L, so it became a mini-reunion.I had a pleasant wander of the vendors hall, still impressed by the variety and quality of artwork and cosplay that people had on show. Then it was time to head into the auditorium for the guest talk I was waiting for.
I caught the tag end of the voice acting workshop by Yuko Miyamura, where a couple of audience members were playing the roles from a scene from Eva, and she was coaching and advising them their on their performances. Interesting idea. And apparently in October, she'll be teaching a voice acting course in Melbourne.
Then it was time for Shin-ichiro Miki's interview. The interviewer welcomed him and opened with questions submitted by audience members. For some totally bizarre reason, for the first question, the interviewer decided, "I'll read it in her voice!" And he proceeded to do so, in a faux feminine voice. I was cringing in my seat. Fortunately, he seemed to realise what an idiot he was being, and it got better from there, although I was still on tenterhooks for most of it, praying for the interviewer not to say anything awkward next. (I should note that the translator, however, did a good job.)
There were a couple of live dubbing segments, where they played a scene from an anime, and asked Miki to perform his lines live on stage.
The first was a comedic action scene with Urahara and Ichigo from Bleach, and Miki played it with a light touch.
The second was a spoileriffic emotional scene with Mustang and Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, where it's raining, but it's not, and Miki practically cried on cue.
The third was a rather intense and intimate scene with Lyle and Anew from Mobile Suit Gundam 00. "Are you sure you want me to do this?" Miki said. "If you want me to, I will do it, because I'm a professional." And he did it, and it was excellent.
But it did make me think about how voice acting would normally be conducted in a studio with just a few people, which is quite different from this kind of stage performance, in a theatre filled with hundreds of people. It's putting yourself out there, emotionally, with no hiding behind the curtain.
Other highlights from Miki:
* He has visited Australia before, for New Year's Eve.
* One of his hobbies is motorsports. He owns an 86 that he tinkers with. He doesn't drift like Takumi from Initial D, but he sometimes does go kart racing.
* When he takes on a role, he lets the character flow through him. It's a fictional world, but the characters in that fictional world are real to him. He needs to understand their environment, their situation, what they want to say, and how they want to say it.
* One question was that he's been a voice actor since 1989, and when did he have the moment when he was glad he became a voice actor? When someone is feeling down, and they watch an anime or play a game, and it lifts their mood and makes them happy. He's had letters from fans telling him this, and that's what makes him glad he became a voice actor.
* One question was about voicing BL roles, and how he feels about it. (The audience cheered, and he said, "So many BL fans, and it's not under the shadows.") It depends on the content. Whether it's men with men or men with women, as long as there's good drama and good story leading up to that, he doesn't mind at all. ("As long as it's not a story where it's just men on top of each other.")
* Advice for aspiring voice actors. Some people go to voice acting schools, but the important thing is just to experience a lot. For example, if you're in a kitchen cooking rice for one instead of four, or you hit your finger on something when you're at home alone and feel embarrassment and pain anyway. When you take on a role, you draw on similar feelings you've had, so piling up experiences like that will help you. For example, no one has ever been to space and piloted a robot, but a good voice actor needs to experience a lot of things and convey that feeling to the audience.
Photos
I already own an onigiri cushion from Sugart. I was sorely tempted to add a pudding cushion to my couch too - or watermelon, or cheese, or sushi...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-07-15 11:54 pm (UTC)i wish i can buy onigiri cushions for Euphie :(
no subject
Date: 2012-07-17 02:50 pm (UTC)I'm sure the onigiri cushions will be back at other conventions. XD