Acting with impediments

[OwenWelsh]

Bare with me as I have just stumbled up on this idea. Has anyone ever noticed how most acting is always so... staged and scripted. I would say this is mostly true in animation as well. What I mean is this: Whenever two characters are talking they rarely talk over each other... this is no overlap. One character speaks then stops. Then the next character begins to speak.

Another thing; characters seldom dote on a word or stumble, or repeat a word. Everything is spoken clearly, in complete sentences. I think sometimes what makes dialog seem more convincing is that there are speech impediments. This could also add to character. Perhaps these impediments could serve as texture within the animation. I've seen a few examples of this where it works well but I wonder why it is not used more often.

[jeremyhopkins]

You and Orson Welles would get along great! I remember reading an interview where he talked about similar things in live action. Guess his answer to those problems was Citizen Kane. Maybe radio plays have become too cliche or have a bad name because of the tv illustrated radio effect but some of the older ones, like Suspense, are really valuable. Some of the voice acting and editing are amazing!

As for the second question, I have no idea. It's a really good point but maybe someone, somewhere is worried about offending people with speech problems or concerned they might loose the audience if the dialogue is unclear. Though I think the world needs a few more Porkys or Sylvesters with unique dialogue performances.

[OwenWelsh]

You and Orson Welles would get along great! I remember reading an interview where he talked about similar things in live action. Guess his answer to those problems was Citizen Kane. Maybe radio plays have become too cliche or have a bad name because of the tv illustrated radio effect but some of the older ones, like Suspense, are really valuable. Some of the voice acting and editing are amazing!

As for the second question, I have no idea. It's a really good point but maybe someone, somewhere is worried about offending people with speech problems or concerned they might loose the audience if the dialogue is unclear. Though I think the world needs a few more Porkys or Sylvesters with unique dialogue performances.

I would love to hear some of these radio plays. Can you direct us to any of the good ones?

Jeremy you are right to caution about clarity. That is probably one of the biggest concerns. Maybe its why this is avoided so often. But if it is used well I think it can have a very memorable effect.

In Alice in Wonderland, Alice stumbles upon the caterpillar. She stumbles a few times trying to explain her problem which I think adds to her confused and frustrated character. I wish they had used it more often in her scenes as it was very memorable and to me it made her more likable.

0:52 Alice stutters "I... I... I.. hardly know sir"
3:57 Alice repeats "Exactically...."


<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QgbntWU7pG8&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QgbntWU7pG8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[jtq3]

Are you asking specifically about acting or dialogue in animated cartoons?

See Howard Hawks films: Bringing Up Baby, The Big Sleep, His Girl Friday for lots of overlapping dialogue.

[jtq3]

I love old time radio for character design excercizes. It's fun to listen to an old cowboy or sci-fi broadcast and design characters in response to the dialogue.

The iTunes store has hundreds of radio broadcasts available to download free in the podcast section. I have a ton on my iPod.

[jeremyhopkins]

Yep, the internet archive has some Suspense radio dramas to choose from:
http://www.archive.org/details/SUSPENSE

My favorites are:
Sorry Wrong Number (http://www.archive.org/download/SUSPENSE/43-05-25_Sorry_Wrong_Number_East_Coast.mp3)
The Lunch Kit (http://www.obscurehorror.com/Suspense__Lunch-Kit-The__June-9-1949.mp3)
Fugue in C Minor (http://www.obscurehorror.com/suspense_440601_fugue_in_c_minor.mp3)

There's more but those are the ones I can think of right now.
More highlights here (http://www.obscurehorror.com/suspense.html)

[OwenWelsh]

Thanks Jeremy these are awesome.