Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Frankel.
Hi Andrew, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
If I took anything away from my degree in Rhetoric, it’s that the world always is talking to you on a number of levels. Artists and strategists recognize this and are able to control the conversation—what you say, how you say it, and if they’re really good, how it affects the people receiving the message.
After that, college was mostly about sound for me but I couldn’t major in that.
In the most literal sense, voice acting is a sort of rhetoric of sound and as the voice behind a number of major brands and cartoon characters, I get to exercise the artistic and strategic parts of my brain every day.
I always liked being a ‘voice guy’ and made sure to mimic every movie, show, and song to the best of my ability–being a musician really helped. As a career, it didn’t seem possible until I was 19 and heard about ‘pay-to-play’ websites where anyone could set up a profile and start auditioning for jobs from home. From there, I booked some great jobs but wanted to dive into the industry once I graduated so I became an audio engineer for voice-over classes and eventually for animation where I got to study the greats, the beginners, and understand how to take control of that subliminal conversation.
Now I work from my home studio recording cartoons like ‘Jellystone’ on HBOmax, commercials for brands like Toyota, Jack Daniel’s, Indeed, etc., and in between auditions and jobs have become one of Instagram’s popular remote dialect coaches.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been smooth because of serious periods of stagnancy. The successes are cause for celebration, but the silence can lead to all kinds of doubt. I put a lot of thought and effort into my work, but I’m not always a producer’s choice.
The good news is my fear of rejection has shriveled up to the size of a booger that I flicked out of my nose a long time ago.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a big character guy—and a lot of people along the way told me not to be because ‘that’s not what the industry wants.’ Similarly, they ‘don’t want ‘anything announcer-y,’ or ‘put-on accents’ but I can tell you the bulk of my work is big, silly characters, over-the-top announcers, and have done sessions where clients literally needed five different accents in the session.
Other voice actors really act, which keeps things very internal. I am always thinking about how my voice is going to be perceived by the listener and consider it to be an affective art form.
Aside from that, my basic sound is different and I’ve got a four-octave range which I use to sing in character when a project calls for it.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
There’s a balance to strike between what I think is going to be perfect for a commercial or a character and what the client is envisioning. Sometimes I can tell which projects are going to give me a lot of freedom to play and which ones are dead set on an idea they have just by the wording of the script.
Besides that, hesitancy behind the microphone isn’t fun for anyone, so I don’t hesitate anymore.
Pricing:
- Voice Acting Lessons – $110
- Five Accents in Six Weeks Course – $600
- One-time Accent Coaching Session – $99
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.andrewfrankel.com & www.accentman.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/accentmancoaching & instagram.com/andrewfrankelvoice
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndrewFrankelWorld & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfLaZwq0rmqkXnSVPVjpDJw
