The Voice Director Presents: Let’s Talk Voiceover Randall Ryan & Gillian Brashear

A native New Zealander who moved to London to pursue acting, Kirsty has become an in-demand video game director.  Her background in acting, sound design, and production , and her perspective as an international woman gives her a style and an empathy that's makes her one of the best in the business.

Although trained as an actor, Jeff has had a varied and storied career in voice acting on the other side of the glass.  Voice Director in comedy radio, promo & animation, a former Agent, and Production Executive; he is now an in-demand Dubbing Director, with shows on every major streaming network.  He is also one of the nicest human beings in the business as well as being a highly respected voice acting coach.  There's a lot to digest here, so settle in!

Haven't thought of play-by-play or live announcing of events as voice acting?.  Brian Lohnes possesses, cultivates, and draws from all of the same set of skills when he calls NHRA broadcasts for Fox Sports: musicality, breathing and vocal care, building drama and emotion, storytelling.  And, since there's rarely a script, he does it all on-the-fly.  Not only that, he runs a school to grow and teach the next generation of play-by-play announcers.  Possibly a new career angle? Sit back and listen!

A force of nature.  Inspirational.  Wickedly talented.  That's what colleagues say about Debra Wilson.  She's gone from improv comedy on the stage to sketch comedy on television to movies and one of the most sought-after voice actors in the industry.  Mad TV, The Weakest Link, Saints Row, Diablo, Destiny 2, Ratchet & Clank, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone...literally too many to list.  What stands out more than her credits is her passion and her love of the craft.   Get ready, because a conversation with Debra is a full-contact ride.
Debra Wilson:
... I've been with CESD almost two decades.
Randall Ryan:
Wow. Yeah. That's you and Dave Fennoy.
Debra Wilson:
My crush, by the way. One of my crushes.
Randall Ryan:
Yeah. I think there's a “get in line” on that one.
Debra Wilson:
Yeah. Yeah…mmm.
Randall Ryan:
(laughs) Debra-
Debra Wilson:
I'm going to put you on the spot, ‘cause you're in there too, Randall Ryan, and you know that.
Randall Ryan:
Go ahead, put me on the spot. What are you putting me on the spot for?
Debra Wilson:
I just told you. I said I'm going to put you on the spot because you're in there too.  And you know that already.
Randall Ryan:
Oh, that I have a crush on Dave?
Debra Wilson:
No, you idiot.
Gillian Brashear:
(laughs) Oh, that was priceless. Who? Me? Little ol’ me?  Little ol’ Randall? Stop it!
Debra Wilson:
Thank you, Gillian. Thank you Goddess, for getting it.
 
THEME MUSIC
Randall Ryan:
A couple of weeks ago, I was speaking with one of the best and most well-known voice actors in the industry, and Debra Wilson's name came up.  “She has to be the best in the industry. I'm not even sure who's second.”  That's what this person said. I got to tell you, there is no higher praise in when your colleagues speak privately about you in those terms.
Here's my story. The very first time I worked with Debra, she had a character who was supposed to speak an unintelligible language, and she was inventing this. The thing is that she hadn't even seen the script because it was under such tight NDA.  So, the first time she saw it was when she came into the studio. She not only did such a great job inventing this, and in a ridiculously short period of time, she set the bar for what everybody else was going to do with this particular race of people anytime that there was a character there.  And oh, by the way: she also voiced two other characters for the same game in the same session that had nothing to do with those.
Years as a cast member on Mad TV, Savathun and Destiny 2, HALO, Saints Road, Diablo, Cosmonious High…she has way too many credits to even attempt a synopsis. It's better if you just hear from the fascinating person that is Debra.
 
So, let's talk voiceover, Debra Wilson.
Debra Wilson:
Yes. Let's talk voiceover Randall Ryan. Let's talk voiceover, Gillian.
Gillian Brashear:
Let's do.
Debra Wilson:
You need your own island.
Gillian Brashear:
Okay, great. I'll take it.
Debra Wilson:
Yeah, Gillian's Island.
 
Gillian Brashear:
(laughs)
 
Debra Wilson:
And that's how it begins, Gillian. That's how it begins.
Gillian Brashear:
I'll take it. (laughs) You can come, too! You can visit my island, both of you.
Debra Wilson:
Yay. You have internet?
Gillian Brashear:
I will. It's called a pigeon.
Debra Wilson:
Call me when you do.
Randall Ryan:
I never have asked you this.
 
Debra Wilson:
Uh huh.
 
Randall Ryan:
You, at least to my consciousness came up more as doing comedy and especially doing sketch stuff. You don't do any of that anymore.
Debra Wilson:
It's not that I don't do it, it's just that it hasn't really come up. And it hasn't been a venue that's come up where it's like, wow, here's this offer. Wow, I want to create this type of show. Or, wow, let's go up and do some standup. Or, wow, let's host this event and bring out comedians. So there just hasn't been the opportunity to do that kind of stuff live more than anything else. And of course, you have to include, in that equatio

Mark is one of the most well-known and credited video game directors in the world, casting and directing actors in titles such as Warhammer, Tropico, Wallace & Gromit, Need for Speed, and so many more.  He's been at the forefront of the creation of the industry. and he's still a bit of a mad scientist: creating, tweaking, and pushing the technology envelope.  He has his own definite style and a deep love of the craft of acting.  We got to have a rare in-person interview with him, where he put us in separate booths so we could experience "the lab" that is his London studio OMUK.  This is what came out!
Randall Ryan:
You want to do a sync clap? Just like one, two, three? It'll just make it easier for me to sync the three feeds.
Gillian Brashear:
All at the same time?
Mark Estdale:
Yeah. You're recording now. Do it now.
Randall Ryan:
Let's do it now.
Gillian Brashear:
Okay.
Mark Estdale:
Okay.
Randall Ryan:
All right, here we go. Three, two, one. Way to go, Mark. You didn't clap.
Mark Estdale:
Oh, you want me to clap as well?
Randall Ryan:
Yeah, all three of us.
Mark Estdale:
Okay.
Randall Ryan:
Three, two, one. Perfect. Close enough.
Mark Estdale:
Ish.
Gillian Brashear:
Nice.
Randall Ryan:
It's ish, it's ish, yeah.
Gillian Brashear:
Right. We're ready to roll here.
THEME MUSIC
Randall Ryan:
Mark Estdale is one of the more fascinating personalities in our industry. Over 25 years, he's directed more than 140 video game titles, including some very well-known franchises, Warhammer, Tropico, Need for Speed, Wallace & Gromit, The Witcher, and Tales of Monkey Island. He's an innovator who really pushes the technology envelope when it comes to casting and recording. Gillian and I had a rare in-person conversation with him at his London studio, OMUK, which he refers to as the Petri dish.
Gillian Brashear:
Mark Estdale, let's talk voiceover.
Mark Estdale:
Let's do that.
Gillian Brashear:
Yeah.
Mark Estdale:
And you're in the lab.
Randall Ryan:
We are in the lab.
Mark Estdale:
Yeah.
Gillian Brashear:
It's a bit of a mad lab.
Mark Estdale:
It is a mad lab.
Randall Ryan:
Mark, when did we first meet? Do you even remember?
Mark Estdale:
F**k knows. I have no idea. It's a few years ago anyhow, so.
Randall Ryan:
Interesting conversation that you and I were having just a minute ago about how you got into this because ... Mark, hey, look at the guitars. Are you a musician?
Mark Estdale:
No. I play for myself. It's a meditation. I ended up messing around with music, which, fundamentally, has to do with being with people and doing interesting creative stuff. I think musicians have, people have a degree of competence and can produce music. I doodle and from doodling sounds happen. Connecting those sounds is another art form. I doodled all my life. And I went to run a studio for a record company and I brought my doodle tapes. I would get my mates into the studio. We would just experiment with stuff. It was the beginning of digital. The only music I was working with was experimental industrial stuff in the '70s and early '80s. And you were going out recording foundries and factories and noises. And then making tape loops and running tape loops in the studio and experimenting with all that kind of stuff.
Mark Estdale:
So the art of replacing sounds with other sounds was about cutting tape and doing all that kind of stuff. So, my deal was the studio. They paid me fuck all. When I wasn't in session, I had free rein of the studio to do what I wanted. So I just record staff and have friends around and some of the musicians, we'd just experiment with things. So I basically transitioned to another studio with my tapes. The owner of the record company went, I want to give you a deal. And I went, great. And then, suddenly, it became work. And all the pleasure went out of it. And I went blind in the sense of there's no way I can mix my own stuff. I can't direct myself as an actor. So I'm on a journey as an actor right now. So I'm doing training righ

LTVO has a new host! An actor and director with production chops, Gillian came from the stages of New York City to the big (Chekhov and Maria) and small screens (CSI: Cyber, Criminal Minds, Legends) in Los Angeles before delving into voice acting, and then directing.  She also narrated the Emmy-winning series Wonder Women.  Her vo credits include Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded, Lord of the Rings Online, Chivalry 2, Vacation Simulator, and World of Tanks.  Smart, curious, glib and with a wicked wit; she's the perfect person to sit in the virtual cocktail bar and converse with anyone in the industry.  So, welcome, and Let's Talk Voiceover, Gillian Brashear!
Gillian Brashear:
When I was in New York, there was, oh darn it, a show that it was all about the nudity, but I was seeing it probably 20 years past its prime.  So, I was this acting student…
 
Randall Ryan:
Like Emmanuel?
Gillian Brashear:
No, it wasn't that, I…OH! (laughs)  I see…is it Oh Calcutta?  But no, it's not that.
 
Randall Ryan:
No that was, wasn't it?
 
Gillian Brashear:
It is Oh Calcutta?
 
Randall Ryan:
Yes, as soon as you said it, it’s like yes
 
Gillian Brashear:
it was still going in New York.  It was…you know, when you go to the strip bars like we do and ther're tired gals, they've done it a lot, it was a bit like that.  Like yeah I'm naked, I'm on stage. Meh (laughs) It just was such a bizarre experience in New York going, okay,well uh, yep, that's a job, I… I guess that's acting.  I don't know!
 
THEME MUSIC
 
Randall Ryan
Let's talk so Let's Talk Voiceover, Gillian Brashear.
 
Gillian Brashear:
(laughs) Okay let's do it.
 
Randall Ryan
Welcome to this thing that we do called Let's Talk Voiceover, and thanks for doing this, and thanks for wanting to get in and do this. So, I'm curious because even though we talked about it and it's like, would you like to do this thing and you're like, I'd love to do this thing. We never talked about why. So why?
 
Gillian Brashear:
Why do I want to do it?  Well, ultimately I like to play and you're a great play partner.
 
Randall Ryan:
Yes!  you're already better than Brian!
 
Gillian Brashear:
And I love learning about people. I'm excited to hear people's stories. I am excited to hear what they know and what they want to share and what they want to talk about, and actually, honestly, there are questions that I have for people that I've done their work, worked on their work, shall I sa,y on their files and what not that we've recorded and I've worked on, and I have things I want to know and that I want to ask them.
 
Randall Ryan:
Right.  So you're talking like some of the people that you've worked with, the kind of things where you say, I don't know why she chose or he chose to do this, but that's really interesting?  Or are you talking more the techniques that they use to get a specific sound or specific delivery out?
 
Gillian Brashear:
I think both.  You know, when I'm working on somebody's recording, I get into the world that they've created and I become very curious.  Sometimes it's I'm curious how did you come up with that as your portrayal? Sometimes it is literally, how do you make that sound with your voice?  ‘Cause I don't even understand how that comes out of anybody's human body. Yeah. And then sometimes I notice people have incredible technique and I'd like to know about that.  A lot of things.  Sometimes they just sound like they're really fun and I want to hang out with them for a while.  So this might be as close as I ever get.
 
Randall Ryan:
You never know.  And the thing that's really interesting to me listening to the comments that you've said back to me about stuff, because again, you come at this from being an actor, and this may not be accurate, but in my head, you really come at it first from being stage actor and everything else kind of came 2nd 3rd, or is that accurate? Is that not accurate?
 
Gillian Brashear:
Yep.  When I decided that I wan