Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling – Rule 19

Hey there!

I love to talk about it when some asks me about storytelling, 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 19…

Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

Don’t cheat. Don’t give the casting director something they have heard a thousand times in your VO auditions.

Give them something amazing. Unexpected.

Give yourself the permission to be spectacular. Surprise and delight the both of you.

The archetypes we create for the characters we design when we voice something, shouldn’t be a coincidence. It shouldn’t be cookie cutter. It shouldn’t sound like all the others.

Because you’ll then be tossed aside like all the others.

You didn’t get the gig? What a coincidence.

Neither did all the other VO artists who just relied on the same old same old.

Be you – and show the casting entity that you are amazing.

David

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Next rule?

Find uses for what you don’t like.

I’ll share that with you next time.