Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling – Rule 20

Hey there!

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

Today, Rule 20…

Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How would you rearrange them into what you DO like?

Even the VO artists you don’t particularly relate to, care for, or are in the same brand category are useful.

Even if they illustrate what you don’t want to do with your career.

But I submit that everyone you listen, without exception, even if you don’t care for their work, has something to teach you.

And something you can use in your own work.

I used to really dislike a certain DJ in Cleveland, where I grew up and started my VO career. I didn’t like the “pukiness” of his voice – but I remember the way he would say the word “news” – like “nyooz,” instead of “nooz” – and that stuck with me.

And that little tidbit has been responsible for my booking at least a dozen ADR sessions for studio films and network television, including 3 VO jobs for How I Met Your Mother on CBS.

My friend, Kristine Oller, is fond of saying “You can’t predict where you’ll find a golden nugget.”

And that includes the people you think could use some work.

David

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Next rule?

Bring even more of you to the party.

I’ll share that with you next time.

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  1. Sorry, how exactly was observing how one DJ in Cleveland pronounced the word “news” been responsible for booking those ADR sessions?