VAM 224 | Interview with Michael Csurics, Part 1
Welcome to episode 224 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!
As always, you can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes:
http://www.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast
In the previous episode, I explained how valuable it can be to think like a producer if you want to increase your chances of booking work. For this episode, I thought it would be useful to actually interview a producer so my listeners could hear from a professional perspective not only what types of challenges a producer routinely faces, but also what they’re looking for when they’re auditioning actors.
Therefore, allow me to introduce a very special guest, the head of the Los Angeles based recording studio Bright Skull Entertainment, Michael Csurics! Michael is a voice director, casting director, audio engineer, and studio designer! I’m honestly not sure what he can’t do! Michael and his team at Bright Skull focus primarily on recording actors for video games. They’ve worked on titles like Bugsnax, Just Cause 4, Infinity Nikki, Tacoma, Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, Masquerada: Songs and Shadows, and the current popular hit, Marvel Rivals. I’ve worked with Michael on a number of projects and it’s always a pleasure to speak with him.
We begin this interview with Michael sharing with me how he got started as a voice director. He was born in Woodstock, NY and did theater when he was young, but he was also interested in music: both performing it, and recording it. Eventually he found his way to New York City where he started working for a music label company while pursuing his own post-production recording projects from his home studio. Very quickly, he realized that neither the music industry, nor the film post-production process really suited him.
Fortunately, his girlfriend at the time, now his wife, gave him a book about recording audio for video games. This was in the early 2000’s when games were just getting large enough and sophisticated enough to employ actors. Michael fell in love with the culture and the community of recording game audio and embraced it wholeheartedly. He started attending events like GDC, the Game Developer’s Conference, and networking with other audio professionals who worked in games. With his focus and dedication, it didn’t take long before he was recording actors for games himself.
When Michael, and his wife Rachel, had their first child, they decided they wanted to move out of New York City. They were seriously considering a number of different places, but eventually the pull of the entertainment industry in California brought them to the Golden State, first to San Francisco, and eventually to Los Angeles. In addition to the voice production work he was doing for major studios, like 2K games, Michael was also recording game projects in a private studio he built in his own home. Eventually, he got so busy, that he had to purchase a dedicated studio space with three recording booths, and he may still need to expand further at present!
What is fascinating to me about Michael’s story is even though he did theater in school, an experience that the majority of my voice acting guests share, Michael did not decide to pursue an acting career. Instead, he chose to work on the production side of the process of making games as a voice director and audio engineer, an occupation that has fascinated him from the moment he discovered it. His journey towards his desired career path is a serendipitous one, with a lot of trial and error involved. It also required him to be truly honest with himself about what would bring him the most joy. I hope that all of my listeners can be as honest with themselves about which career pursuits truly bring them joy, whether it’s voice acting, or something else entirely. If your highest excitement is voice acting, then pay close attention to Michael’s enthusiasm for the art of recording for games. The more you understand what inspires him to pursue excellence in game audio, the more likely you’ll be able to match his passion for video game performances with your own acting abilities!
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