Adventures in Voice Acting is a DVD composed of five episodes, each covering a specific topic. From there, each episode is then split into even smaller parts dealing with more specific nuts and bolts of voice acting. Unlike many documentaries that are peppered with snippits of interviews, this is made up entirely of interviews–not just one or two, but dozens of interviews with various voice actors, producers, casting directors and more.

Never fear, though, it’s not simply light and fun interviews with voice actors, nor simply suggestions of what to do. No, the voice actors interviewed discuss the process itself, touching upon some of the technical and not-so-technical aspects of the job. Discussion ranges from the experience of being in the booth–having to glance from the script to the screen to the time stamp at the top of the screen, for example, or using green apples to remove ambient mouth noises–to the differences between doing anime dubs and original animation voice tracks. It’s really a fascinating DVD, even if you’re not thinking of trying to get into the business. Hearing actors share their stories of abject rejection, difficult personal lives, familial estrangement, and even what sounded suspiciously like a confession of suicidal thoughts, makes for some interesting viewing material.

The DVD also manages the trick of being discouraging and encouraging at the same time. Through the various tales of rejection and financial hardships it manages to demystify and perhaps even dash the various dreams of voice acting as glamourous and fun. The fact that several of the people had to maintain second jobs for years, in some cases decades, before being able to support themselves seems sure to scare away some who dreams of being a big name anime voice actor. Still, throughout this, the interviewees never quite cease to encourage the viewers to pursue their dreams, maintaining that persistence will pay off eventually. (It might just take ten or twenty years.) It certainly feels like a grounding experience for aspiring future voice actors, that’s for sure.

In addition to the five main episodes there are several bonus features which include vocal exercises and warm up-routines, to deleted scenes that discuss the voice actors’ own history with anime, and a lengthy text section with even more advice, hints and tips from the various people interviewed on the DVD.

If you’re interested in the business or thinking of entering it, this seems like a fantastic DVD to have. Even if you’re just curious as to what goes into making dubs, it’s probably worth a look.

Volume one of Adventures in Voice Acting is available now through the Bang Zoom! Entertainment website.