About
Vanessa is a Voice Artist and Dialect Coach with many years experience and a great passion for this work. Trained at Elmhurst and The London Studio Centre she went on to perform in numerous productions globally. As a Voice Artist, she is regularly in studio recording for radio and television commercials. She is equally competent with all styles of delivery and has an extensive repertoire of accents including UK- RP, Northern, Cockney, West Country, Estuary, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Standard American, Southern, New York, Australian, French, Italian, German, Russian and many others on request.
Audiobooks are another facet of her voice work with children’s books and character voices being a keen favourite.
A professional singer, she also records jingles and is an avid songwriter.
She has a home recording booth which enables her to provide a fast turnaround for clients.
For Film and TV shows she has been the resident Dialect Coach for Outlander Season 3, Black Sails Season 4, Origins-Journey of Humankind, 24 Hours to Live, Labyrinth and Young Leonardo as well as for numerous commercials.
She coaches actors privately as well as providing voice training for corporate companies.
Dialect Coaching for Film & TV
Vanessa regularly works as the resident Dialogue Coach for Film and TV productions involving private pre-production sessions with actors to ensure they are prepared with the dialect of the character they are playing. This is achieved by analysing and working on :
• The history of how the dialect developed in a particular region
• The physical aspect, focussing on placement and formation of sounds.
• The vowel, consonant, monophthong, and diphthong changes. The general rules of a particular accent bearing in mind these are not always fixed and dependent on context.
• The musicality and rhythm – the melody of the dialect
• The many aspects that determine the finer tuning of the flavour of the dialect -period, age of the character, culture, life experience, and level of confidence, pace of life, socioeconomic factors.
Learning a dialect is not a one-dimensional approach and can’t be restricted to the text on the page. A person’s accent refers to the difference in pronunciation of words whereas the dialect encompasses the grammatical and vocabulary differences as well. Only when an actor can confidently improvise in any given dialect can they feel they have mastered its nuances.
Once prepared, Vanessa is present on set for all dialogue scenes to monitor accents and note the best takes of dialogue for the editor. Should ADR be necessary she works with the actor in studio when possible to ensure the best vocal performance. She also checks that all script revisions are grammatically and historically correct and accurate in terms of the regional dialect and she works alongside the script supervisor to ensure correct delivery of scripted dialogue.
Film & TV Credits
Outlander Season 3
Produced by Starz/Left Bank, facilitated by Film Afrika and Directed by David Moore, Charlotte Brandstrom, and Matt Roberts.
Vanessa was the resident Dialect Coach working with actors on various accents including Scottish, Irish, Italian, Swedish, Portuguese, and various regional British such as Estuary, Yorkshire, and RP.
Origins: The Journey of Humankind
Produced by Asylum for National Geographic, facilitated by Film Afrika and Directed by Simon George, Celso Garcia, and Niall McCormack.
With each of the 8 episodes covering 4 different periods of history globally Vanessa liaised with expert specialised linguists worldwide and was the resident Dialect and Language Coach for the entire production working with over 50 actors on a multitude of languages and accents including Latin, Persian, Mongolian, Greek, Arabic, French, Middle Dutch, Gaulish, and early human developed languages as well as regional British and American accents.
Black Sails Season 4
Produced by Starz, facilitated by Film Afrika and Directed by Alik Sakoarov,Steve Boyum,Uta Breisewitz,Marc Jobst,Roel Reine and Lukas Ettelin.
Vanessa was the resident Dialect Coach for the production coaching various British accents including RP,Estuary, Cockney,Yorkshire, and Irish
Revelation Road
Produced by Pinnacle Peak Pictures, facilitated by Advantage Films and Directed by Gabriel Sabloff
Vanessa was the resident Dialect Coach for the production coaching Standard American, Southern American, Appalachian, Cockney, Australian, German, French and Israeli accents
African Queens
Produced by Westbrook/Nutopia for Netflix, facilitated by Film Africa and directed by Ethosheia Hylton
Vanessa was the resident Dialect Coach on the production coaching British RP- Period and Contemporary
The Carpenter
Produced by Three Coin Productions, facilitated by Boomtown Films and directed by Garrett Batty
Vanessa was the resident Dialect Coach on the production coaching Aramaic and British RP accents
American Monster Season 7
Produced by Arrow Media, facilitated by Trilogy Creative Studios and directed by Bill Thomas
Vanessa coached various Southern American accents to for actors in episodes 1,3,5 and 7
Labyrinth TV mini-series
Produced by Tandem Communications/Scott Free Productions, facilitated by Film Africa and directed by Christopher Smith
Vanessa was the resident Dialect Coach on the production coaching various regional British accents and English Language to non-native actors.
Young Leonardo Series 2
Produced by Kindle Entertainment for CBBC, facilitated by Out of Africa and Directed by Rob Evans and Steve Hughes.
Vanessa was the Dialect coach for the production working with actors on various regional British accents including RP, Mancunion, Cockney, and Welsh.
24 Hours to Live -Feature Film
Produced by Thunder Road Pictures/ Fundamental Films, facilitated by Out of Africa and directed by Brian Smerz
Vanessa was the resident English language and Acting coach on the production.
Deep State Series 2
Produced by Endor productions
Vanessa was an associate Dialect Coach on set, coaching southern American accents.
TV Commercials
Vanessa has also been the Dialect coach for many commercials including : McDonald’s, Playstation. Landrover, LG, Philips, Gaviscon, Trivento, Oreos, Ion Video Game and Mountain Dew
Private Accent Coaching For Actors
Vanessa coaches privately from home or online. Whether you need to prepare for an audition or role or want to develop your repertoire of accents, sessions are offered on an adhoc or regular basis. Learning an accent is not simply about the correct pronunciation of words and implementing the change in vowel sounds but involves working on the various layers that define it as well as the dialect of the particular region. The voice and dialect given to a character are paramount to a truthful portrayal. This is achieved by analysing and working on the many facets that dictate why a character speaks as they do, taking into account-period, age, culture, education, level of confidence, socioeconomic factors, and many other aspects that determine its unique flavour.
Learning an accent is not a one-dimensional approach and can’t be restricted to the text on the page. Actors should constantly hone their skills in order to deliver authentic accents for characters. If these are inconsistent the audience disconnect from the character and storyline. Invest in your craft and spend time on really getting to grips with a dialect until you are able to improvise confidently, not just deliver the lines scripted. Repetition is key in learning any new accent in order for muscle memory to kick in. Actors are encouraged to speak with the accent as much as possible when preparing for a role and audio and video files are given as reference.
Skype/Zoom Accent Coaching
Vanessa also coaches via Skype and Zoom. Contact her with your requirements and you’ll receive a quote and availability options. Short notice sessions for audition and voice over preparation catered for wherever possible. Assistance with self-tapes can also be arranged.
Corporate Voice Coaching
This is for individuals or groups in the workplace- Corporate executives, team leaders, lawyers, lecturers, and anyone who is required to speak publicly. If you need assistance with writing a speech or just need help with how to deliver it so as to ensure the undivided attention of your audience, working on communication skills and how to present yourself confidently makes a huge difference in the quality of your presentation. Correct microphone technique, clarity, pitch, projection, breath control, speed of delivery, and many other factors determine the level of interest you receive from your audience.
As a company executive, you can empower your employees by having them trained in telephone techniques,and enable them to understand the role their voice plays in motivating and captivating. For non -native English language speakers, accent reduction and pronunciation improvement can be achieved in order to be better understood.
Interview Coaching
The way you speak and how confidently you present yourself can be the difference between clinching the job or not.Take away the stress of the interview process by practicing the potential conversations and what you wish to convey through a roleplay scenario.Working on the use of eye contact,good posture and vocal dynamics will make a big difference in your level of confidence at the interview.Often It’s not what you say but the way in which you say it so give yourself a dress rehearsal before the big day and practice delivery that will be direct and to the point,calm yet assertive, in order to assure your interviewer of your competence for the position.
Accent reduction
This is for non-native English speakers who want to focus on improving pronunciation and grammar in order to be intelligible or for those with strong regional accents who want to work on softening them for professional purposes. Employers who need their teams to have the communication skills needed for the efficient running of their businesses.If you find that colleagues or clients strain to understand you, learn how to modify your voice to communicate effectively. Accent elimination is not the intention and accents are celebrated more than ever in a multinational workplace. However, a non-native speaker may use the same stress and rhythm patterns as in their own language, and often there are sounds that don’t exist in a particular language which results in them being omitted or replaced with ones that are familiar. This can become problematic when it affects communication on a professional level. Through technical exercises you will improve your pronunciation thus optimising your communication skills. Vanessa has worked with many nationalities including coaching German, Italian, Chinese, French, and Spanish actors for English speaking roles for film.