Last week I started a 6-week commitment to be stronger, healthier, fitter and hopefully better equipped to outrun coyotes, if the situation arises again. It’s mostly weight lifting in order to build muscle, cardio happens on my own time outside of the fitness center. My third session in this plan was a max lifting day… however much the trainer felt I should lift and could lift 10-12 times, and he motivated me to hit 15 reps on all these heavier weights. These are sloooooow reps, taking about 15 seconds to do one. By rep 12, it burns oh man does it burn, but I’m very goal-oriented and when the trainer is telling me that I’m then on 13, I have to keep going. 14, and there’s no turning back, I have to do 15 because that’s the absolute best anyone can possibly do (not allowed to lift more, they’re not actually trying to kill me.) At the end of my workout, I was beaten, but very happy and proud of my work. I felt like since I’m paying to go through these workouts and there is an attainable goal in mind in this 6-week plan, that I’m doing a disservice to myself if I don’t push as hard as I can or get a bit uncomfortable on my last few reps. When it comes down to it, after 15, I’m done, and I won’t have a chance to do any more for a few days, there’s no redos once I move on to the next weights or machine.

So I guess you saw where this was going in terms of voiceovers. Granted, I don’t plan on bringing every blog update back around to be some lesson learned about VO work, but this one kinda relates. I had a VO session this week with a repeat client. It features 3 characters: the cool straight-shooter guy, the partying girl-crazy friend, and the chick that hangs out with the guys. So, in general, this role is a great fit for me. But it’s the recording sessions that test me to dig a little deeper. The 3 of us have a great time in the booth, and the client/agency LOVES that we adlib, we entertain them between takes, and basically stay in character even when not rolling. It’s a lot of fun for everyone involved. So where am I pushing myself beyond what’s regularly comfortable to bring 110% and get the client their money’s worth? I never stopped trying something different. On every take, I tried a different approach to part of my script. One line in particular could have been a throwaway, but I used it to give my character a little more depth and separate her from the guys, that she had other motivations and maybe was too cool to hang out with them after all. Immediately the guys adlibbed in a dismissive “whatever” and kept rolling with the script, so we had a lovely change of pace, some extra depth and humor and still made it for time on the spot. I wouldn’t assume that my character is any more important than someone else’s or mine should be more complex than someone else’s, but another option isn’t a bad scenario. What it comes down to is that it wouldn’t do me or them any good to suggest it once we’ve already wrapped. So I keep reinterpretting the script, the relationships, the motivations and the feelings (of course, within the context of the actual purpose of the spot!) and see what I can get. Even when I’m pushing and my idea could fail, I’m giving all that I’ve got while I’m there.