Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Creative Connections – Voice Actor George Hoctor



One thing that’s always been important to me in life is to connect with people and help others connect. Knowing the right artist, accountant, masseuse, doctor, chef, caterer, stylist/barber, mechanic, and any trade can make a huge difference and if you know someone who can help someone else, then why not connect them?

That’s the main purpose of Creative Connections. To interview creatives and all types of professionals that offer services that might help you.

First up is George Hoctor, a voice actor I met at the Puerto Rico Comic Con who is based in Tennessee and ready to lend his voice to bring your stories to life. As an added bonus, I’m including the audio for his interview so you can also hear what he has to say, in case you’re not in the mood to read :) if you'd prefer this, go to the end of this interview.

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1. Hey there, George. So nice to have you here. What can you tell us about your voice work and your experience so far as a voice actor?

What I feel I could bring to a group voice-over project or even a solo voice-over project is a sort of energy that I make sure to put into each of my recordings. Even if it's something as simple as me going "The Call of the Flame" or "This and that and this and that." It's an energy that I make sure to get out through the microphone and sort of make sure it gets embedded into that recording because that energy is what's going to cause audiences to sort of perk their ears up and really pay attention to what's going on.

2. Without too much tooting of thine own horn, what do you think you can bring to a project as either a solo VO or part of an ensemble? 


Well of course there must be a little horn tooting, I mean if you do work, you do it with pride! If it's something you enjoy, what you love, then you do it and you toot your horn as much as possible, as long as it doesn't make the other people sick.

3. What are some projects people should check out?

Well as I said before I have a fantastic podcast project that I've worked on called "The Call of the Flame" and we're currently working on the next chapter for that but I believe we're up to 9 or 10 chapters so there's plenty of lead in for you to be able to enjoy of the narration done and even then just all of those people are so fantastically talented and of course I am most proud of my work with PShattuck Productions on YouTube. You can find me as such voices for fan comics as Pennywise the Dancing Clown (It movie 1990) or Sans the Skeleton (Undertale videogame) from Undertale, I've done Cuphead (Cuphead videogame) for the Cuphead series and so I'm really most proud of those because they are comics that have been done with such love and care by other artists that we wanted to bring life to them with our unique voices and I must admit I do have so much fun working with those nut jobs; they really are the best people I could ever hope to work for.

4. If you had a top 5 projects you’d like to work on, which would they be?

If I had a Top Five Projects I'd like to work on? Well definitely audiobooks, audiobooks are fantastic because it gives people who may not have the advantages of other people, whether it be a type of dyslexia or some other disability that makes it so they can't really enjoy books like other people do, it gives them a sort of bridge to help them get across that small boundary they may have, whether it be mental or personal, it lets them enjoy the book, it lets them really get into it. I suppose another project I would love to get into would be video games, though I've been told those are abit challenging and quite demanding as well. Honestly, if I can get the chance just to go "Double Kill, Triple Kill, Overkill" just a few times in one videogame I believe I would be quite happy. And animation as well. cartoons have been a profound part of my life. it's been a big part of every voice actor's life in some way or another and in cartoons anything is possible. I would love to be able to have the chance to pull a mallet from a giant burlap sack or just place down a whoopie cushion underneath the villain (or hero's seat) just to sort of have the last laugh.

5. Have you ever done VO work for animations or video games?

I've not done work in animation or videogames as of yet but I feel like I could definitely try, try and succeed, and even if I don't succeed the first time that doesn't mean I'm going to give up! I'm going to keep on doing take after take until we have what is needed.

6. What tips can you give up and coming people would like to do voice-over work?

What tips would I give a younger voice actor who's just now starting? Keep yourself in the best shape possible, of course the weight and diet and exercise and good foods, those are all very important. but also keeping yourself internally good, keeping yourself mentally aware and happy because in the end if you're going to do this job you need to make sure you love it. You need to make sure that you have this small tingle going down the back of your spine when you step up to a microphone with your script in hand, thinking "My God, I get the honor of doing this!", even if it's something as simple as just laughing out loud like an insane clown.

7. Do you have equipment ready to go in case of quick project?

I actually have two kits, ready and raring to go, and one is a USB Studio Kit with an Audio Technica 2020USB+ microphone and cables and wires and a nice studio headset and another kit which is not full because it actually would house my studio equipment that I am currently using. Right now I am using a Focusrite Scarlett Solo XLR Interface with an Audio Technica 2020 XLR Cardioid microphone and I could be able to pack all that up, have that ready and if scheduling permits, which most of the time it's pretty permitting (I have open weeks) I could get down to Atlanta, or wherever needed, as fast as possible.

8. Where can people get in contact with you if they want your talents for their project?

People may get in contact with me through my professional voice acting email, gmhoctorvo@gmail.com. They may get in contact with me through my twitter, @georgehoctor404.


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It was great to meet George at the Puerto Rico Comic Con and it was so random he'd fly down for that, but just goes to show how solid a show it is :D Anyways, for your audio enjoyment, here's the interview in audioform and for his reel, click here

Cheers

JD




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