Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling – Rule 15

Hey there!

I can’t stress storytelling enough, and how important it is to your VO career to develop and hone your storytelling skills.

It’s essential.

So, every so often, I like to roll out items from this list from Emma Coats, who used to work at Pixar as a story artist, and who serially tweeted Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling.

I’m sharing with you one of these rules every so often, along with how you can apply each rule to your VO artistry.

Today, Rule 15…

If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

There is no difference between the acting skills we call on when we create a character for on-camera work, or for VO work.

Acting “as if,” as if you were that character, as if you were in that character’s situation, as if you had that character’s social, political, business, moral, ethical points of view, leads to just as much success on mic as on camera.

And that begins with being completely immersed in what your character’s doing. Who you’re talking to, what your objective is, what your role is in the story – the more honest and precise you are about reflecting the aspects of the character (and ignoring trying to be a great voice), the more likely you are to nail the audition and book the work, then get called back for more.

Don’t let anything lead you astray from that goal.

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Next rule?

Raise the stakes.

I’ll share that with you next time.