Tom Antonellis - Dialect Coaching, VO Coaching, Branding / Messaging for VO Talent
Saturday, December 26, 2020 at 11:09PM
Click for dialects reel
Tom Antonellis, Creative Director of Thick Skin Creations offers training in the areas of:
• Dialect Coaching for actors & voiceover artists
• General VO Coaching
• Branding / Messaging Consulting for VO Talent
(Above link will take you off-site to Tom's main hub website's contact form.)
DIALECTS:
If the dialect you seek to learn or to improve is on Tom Antonellis's list, he'll definitely be able to contribute to your growth.
It is Tom's fervent belief is that the inclusion of a dialect (or accent) on an actor’s vocal resume should ONLY be done when the actor is FULLY confident in it – significant study (whether it’s through coaching or some other means) is required.
Take your time and enjoy the process toward confidence. Some will come easily; some will be harder-won. As an example, there is a single moneme (one tiny sound) which long prevented Tom from placing Australian on his own major “Active Performing” list -- despite being able to do an Australian dialect, having done it AND having booked with it! To this day, it’s not reeeeeeally a dialect which flows easily for him which is why you won’t see it below on his most exalted list: “Active Coaching”. (Note: the dialect is definitely on his “Active Performing” list because, with the help of a coach, he did finally conquer that moneme.) Point is: NO ONE does EVERY dialect.
If, like Tom, you, too, find it unprofessional to claim acting/performing skills that are not fully under control, he may indeed be the right dialect coach for you and he welcomes you to reach out.
Furthermore, great ACCURACY is a benchmark of Tom's standards for dialect use. WITHOUT that value, folks can too easily create “caricature dialects” which, depending on the context, can wind up being too-short-a-distance to a disrespectful portrayal. His own dialect performance (and what he brings to his clients) is based upon great study, self-imposed insistence on his own accuracy, and a deep love for every culture for which he can deliver a dialect/accent (particularly ones he cannot claim as part of his own heritage).
As a coach, he's excited to assist in the expansion of your dialect palette!
Joe vs. Carole IMDb
Stephen Welke – producer, "Joe vs. Carole" ● "'Joe vs Carole' was a limited series set primarily in Oklahoma and Florida in the United States but was filmed entirely in Queensland, Australia. Tom Antonellis came onboard during the post process to make sure we were executing the different accents and dialects between not only the two states but the entire southern region of the United States.
TOM'S (ever-expanding) DIALECT LIST
• General American (also referred to as GenAm)
• Bostonian (also referred to as Southie)
• New England (general - as heard in e.g. broader Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island)
• New York (general)
• American Southern (as heard in e.g. Kentucky, Tennessee)
• Deep South (as heard in e.g. Alabama, Mississippi)
• US Farm & Ranch Belt (as heard in e.g. Indiana, rural Illinois, Missouri, Kansas)
• Texan
• Mid-Western (as heard in e.g. North Dakota, Minnesota; also referred to as Minnesotan or Fargo-an)
• Chicagoan
• RP (Received Pronunciation, this is a British sound) [INTRODUCTORY TUTORIAL LINK]
• Cockney
• select other British dialects
• Scottish (general)
• Irish (general) [INTRODUCTORY TUTORIAL LINK]
• French accent
• Italian accent
• TransAtlantic / MidAtlantic (both terms are used)
In addition, Tom has booked for or performed (despite not being listed above): Australian, Hampshire (UK), Liverpool (also referred to as Liverpudlian or Scouse – UK), German accent, Russian accent. For these, Tom can and has served clients as a general advisor. The Indian and Jamaican dialects are in his verbal wheelhouse while remaining outside his ethnic alignment.
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GENERAL VO COACHING:
Laura A. – coaching client ● "Thanks again for your help, Tom! After submitting my audition earlier, my agent just wrote back: 'That is great Laura! Perfect tone for the spot.'"
Tom trains VO artists, actors and performers in a variety of areas including (in no particular order):
• Career goal-setting
• Development of characters
• Commercial conversational reads
• Audiobook reads
• Development of promo materials (including demos, demos refinement, demo consultation, demo direction, etc.)
• Audition coaching (both VO and on-camera)
• Script Analysis
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BUSINESS FOR ACTORS:
Tom trains, advises and consults with and for VO artists, actors, performers and clients (as well as folks outside the performance arts) in business topics such as:
• Sales
• Conflict resolution and communication
• Proofreading or giving notes on written materials
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BRANDING / MESSAGING GUIDANCE FOR VO TALENT:
Tom trains, advises and consults with and for VO artists in branding and messaging topics such as the areas of (in no particular order):
• A voiceover artist's own brand
• Social media promotional strategy
• Social media engagement standards
• General overall messaging has become more and more necessary in the present home-studio, very entrepreneurial chapter in the history of VO in which talent find themselves.
Seek Tom Antonellis to consult in any or all of these areas.
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CLIENT SUCCESS STORIES and TESTIMONIALS for TOM ANTONELLIS
These booking stories are merely a sample:
Click to contact Tom Antonellis
Stephen Edwards, Director ● “Tom auditioned and won a role as one of our Jewish Italian survivors in my WW2 documentary Syndrome K – he voiced the character very well, walked in prepared and professional, and even impressed another actor who was native Italian with the authentic quality of his accent. Highly recommended.”
Tina Morasco, Casting Director – Sound + Fury ● “As a casting director, what I listen for in every audition is authenticity, and you will never find a more authentic soul than Tom Antonellis. His unbridled imagination, generosity of spirit, and depth of connection shine through in every read. He takes direction with enthusiasm and proficiency, and his dedication to his craft is unmatched. On top of all that, he’s just loads of FUN! I leave every session I have with him grinning from ear to ear.”
Camilla K. – coaching client ● "My son needed to do an audition with a Mid-Atlantic accent. Tom helped him learn the ins and outs of the accent. He ended up booking the job with a major animation studio and can now go into his first recording with confidence. Thanks, Tom, for helping my son build his dialect skills!"
Jennifer S. – coaching client ● "Tom Antonellis makes me feel like any dialect is learnable, as long as I am willing to put in the work. Tom's approach forces me to bring my A-game every day while still managing to be uplifting and full of fun. That's, Tom, for reminding me how fun it can be to learn!"
Colleen D. – coaching client ● “I’m still processing it all. Incredible coaching! It’s voice ACTING, but Tom Antonellis is fearlessly authentic and absolutely on-brand as sensible, both fierce and sensitive, and beyond capable. Not only is he straight to the point, he makes it a point to both create and draw out magic as he teaches and supports. My eyes watered from unrestrained laughter and from a full heart. So genuine. So detailed. So good.”
Sarah B. – coaching client ● “I’ve been using Tom's teachings and process in recent major auditions and they've not only given me more confidence, but more importantly, they've allowed me to focus more on my intentions and character choices, instead of the accent. So often in lessons, you leave the session feeling great, only to try to repeat your success a couple of weeks later and realize you don't remember half of what you thought you'd absorbed. With Tom's teaching, the process IS the gem. Definitely some of the most practical and user-friendly tools I've every received from a coach.”
Jonathan Levit – Jonathan Levit Consulting ● “Tom’s attention to detail is astounding, and, for a producer, comforting. I never felt concerned and knew that the end result would be pitch perfect [with his Australian dialect]. Thanks for elevating the final result for me.”
Samuel Crocker – Senior Manager, Digital Content Creation – The Boston Celtics ● “We appreciate all your help on our Emmy-nominated Boston Celtics/Jack's Abby Craft Lagers spot. I'm glad our paths aligned with this piece and I hope they do again down the road.” [This ad featured a Bostonian dialect]
Calebe Motta – Narrative Designer – ‘Back Then’ game from Outriders ● “When casting the role that ultimately went to Tom Antonellis, we were looking for an actor who could play “Benjamin”, a character filled with powerful remorse, shame and regret. Tom filled the role greatly, and we highly recommend him for character work in videogames!”
Luca M. – coaching client ● "Tom Antonellis is a rare find in the business. I’ve had several coaches in the past. I don’t think you can beat Tom as concerns quality, affordability, passion and preparation."
Jeff Lincoln – Typhon Media Prod. (‘Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Resurgence’) ● "[Tom's] insight into character and the world of voice has opened my eyes to a world of opportunity and excitement! For anyone seeking a guide for their dialect, a voicematch artist, or an actor, Tom is your go-to guy. He is always punctual with his lines, he has much in the way of input that can be valued, and his friendship is one I find honored to have!"
Mathieu Blondin, Head Post-Producer, Darker Projects ('Star Trek: Lost Frontier’) ● "Tom, you are one of the best. I’m telling you, it’s always a joy to mix your audio."
Gary Zeiger, Author/Publisher/Owner – Tholian Web Productions ● "I was looking for someone to narrate my audiobook Stingray: You Can’t Hide Forever and I stumbled across Tom Antonellis. As it turned out, Tom didn’t narrate my book -- he PERFORMED it with 60 different character voices [many in dialect]! He was spot on with what I envisioned my characters would talk and act like. The breadth of his ability is outstanding. I look forward to working with him again on my next novel: Stingray: Prophecy."
Fannie Brett-Rabault – Dub Producer & Director, 7 Holdings Media ● "F**king genius...You rocked it, Tom, during our remote dubbing production. Especially your vocal transformation! You can sound 75!!! When you're what? 45? Very credible."
James Heaney, Executive Producer – ('Starship Excelsior') ● “For…Starship Excelsior, we had characters who needed a heavy alien accent -- thick enough to conceal a mistaken-identity plot twist -- but still light enough to be understood in our audio format, where subtitles and non-verbal cues are not available. It had to be alien, yet had to be human enough to be relatable... Oh: and these are characters with major emotional arcs, so it wasn’t enough to get somebody who could do an accent -- we also needed somebody who could ACT. We knew this would be a toughie, so we invited Tom Antonellis to take up the more important of the roles...From there, Tom worked up an accent [borrowing from Jamaican flavors], with its own somewhat-human/somewhat-alien rules, all by himself. [Further,] Tom sent us the text files he'd written describing the precise rules for the accent, and we spent the next three solid weeks auditioning…We went through many actors before we finally found a guy who could do a passable job following Tom's rules and sounding good doing it. We’ve never gone through that many actors before, but we had to keep up with the high bar Tom had set. Bottom line is, Tom did a ludicrous amount of work on extremely short timetables, went way above and beyond the call of duty.”
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RATES AND SERVICES:
• ONE HOUR – These sessions are conducted via Zoom. Portions of sessions (upon request) can be recorded and video is provided via DropBox after the session. Written notes on the dialect are also provided.
Session rate is $65 by PayPal or Venmo. See below for handy scan codes.
• LEND-AN-EAR SERVICE (3 Types) – These are quick check-ins for feedback on the accuracy of your dialect in, for example, an audition.
For Traditional Lend-An-Ear Service for Dialect, the client records an MP3 and sends it in for peace-of-mind feedback.
Visit their site here
Traditional Lend-An-Ear Service for Dialect is no longer offered directly through Thick Skin Creations. You can obtain this service from Tom Antonellis through the VO Sounding Board of which Tom is the Dialects Expert Board Member. (Zoom is not used, feedback is emailed back. Tom is on-call for the VO Sounding Board which offers a 12-hour turnaround window within the business hours of 8am-8pmPT with an add-on option for faster 4-hour turnaround. Fee structure available on their website.)
Performance Content Lend-An-Ear Service directly from Tom Antonellis is available by request -- contact Tom here for an initial discussion. Thick Skin Creations also recommends the feedback of Kristin Paiva and Brock Powell of the VO Sounding Board. (Zoom is not used. Tom cannot always guarantee his availability for Performance Content Track Lend-An-Ear Service.)
Finally, Reference Track Lend-An-Ear Service - this service will have Tom recording a reference track that is then emailed for guidance on dialect pronunciation on a piece of copy. There is a 3 page limit to this sort of Lend-An-Ear. (Zoom is not used. Tom cannot always guarantee his availability for Reference Track Lend-An-Ear Service.)
• BOOTCAMP – For working actors only. Book Tom for 4 hours in one day and get the fifth hour on the house. This deep dive into a dialect is perfect if you have an audition coming up that requires more accuracy or if you simply want to jumpstart a dialect. Best part: you can SHARE a bootcamp! Team up with a like-minded actor and share the cost (requirements for sharing your bootcamp: compatible schedules with any potential partner, similar interest, similar experience level - or lack thereof - in the dialect).
Fine print: Bootcamps are for working actors only, must be paid in advance, cannot be split across two appointments and have a strict 24-hour cancellation policy: if you cancel less than 24 hours in advance, you will forfeit the fee for the camp. Tom retains the prerogative to reschedule but, if that were ever to happen, you would, of course, suffer no forfeiture.
Bootcamp rate is $260 (for five hours with a 30-minute break approx. half-way through)
PAYMENT OPTIONS
• PayPal (QR scan code below) Email is info@thickskincreations.com
• Venmo (QR scan code below) Handle is @Tom-Antonellis
• Zelle (QR scan code below) Email is thetomantonellis@gmail.com (not for correspondence)
If any payment option prompts you for the last four digits of my phone number, they are 8756.
Contact Tom using the offsite (hub site) Contact page or on Instagram messenger at @tomantonellis