![]() I try to be authentic in reproduction of animals. ![]() Some folks refer to this as a special talent to me it was a fortunate aberration that has been a great tool in this biz. I listened to sparrows outside my bedroom window and then could talk to them and other birds, and squirrels, horses, cows and an occasional human. At a very young age I found I could irritate people with this born ability to mimic just about anything I hear. Did you find yourself with a natural talent for those roles from something you developed growing up or did you work at that aspect of voice acting specifically to make yourself more versatile? Welker: Yes, yes, and yes. Stripe the evil Gremlin used to test my tonsils but again all things in moderation is the rule, right?You're well known for voicing Megatron in Transformers, as well as Fred Jones and Scooby-Doo, but you've got a huge number of animal/creature roles to your credit. Which voice from your career has given you the most difficulty and/or is the most physically damaging to perform? Welker: Probably Megatron or Soundwave.but when I do these voices in short bursts they're not a problem. A typical day, "Garfield the Cat" 10 to 2:00.drive and then 2:30 to 4:30 looping for a film at a studio across town.notice no time for lunch.I call this the "Voice Over Diet!" I have been doing this schedule for a few years now and it helps my throat recovery rate (when I do monsters etc.) and most of the studios have been very understanding and accommodating.oh, and I have managed to lose 10 pounds and keep it off!!! Over your career, fans have surely asked you to do a number of voices for them. Of those three working days I keep pretty busy doing the shows that I am obligated to.in addition to commercials, film work, games and other assorted projects. I do other things that interest me on the off days. I love them both but cannot believe the superb quality we get now with CGI.How much time do you spend in the recording studio in a given week? Welker: I have restricted my schedule to three days a week. A perfect example of limited step is G1 "Transformers" and "Transformers Prime" is an example of the new CGI. I was a little slow in getting behind each one of these (that's called being out of touch) but with time I have managed to embrace them all. Now we have CGI (computer generated images) and other processes that once again have changed the way studios do the shows. Bill and Joe were able to change the industry with their limited step process.thus many more shows and features in far less time. Disney of course had those beautiful full step movies but they were very expensive and took a very long time to complete. For the younger readers, that is the animation you commonly see when you watch television's animated shows the animation is not continuous or to put in another way they use less cells or drawings. Limited animation was big when I first worked at Hanna/Barbera and it was relatively new even then. I guess I would have to say the biggest changes would be in technology. It's hard to believe that I have been in the business that nsidering I am only 30 years old -) but I will take your word for it. ![]() Could you talk a little bit about how the industry has changed from the first time you walked into a recording booth up to your most recent role? Frank Welker: First, let me thank you for your interest in me. Collider: Your career currently spans some 45 years and has nearly 700 titles according to IMDb (not to mention multiple roles within most of those titles). Welker also reflects on his long-time working relationship with Peter Cullen, the on-going voice of Optimus Prime.  He also commented on the recent remarks by Hugo Weaving, who voiced Megatron in Michael Bay's Transformers movies.  Welker is still going strong, voicing multiple characters in Transformers Prime, the title role in The Garfield Show, plus video games, movie work and more.In this recent interview with Welker, he talked about the changing landscape of the voice acting world over the years, how much time he spends in the studio, which voices give him the most trouble and which roles he'd like to see revisited.  In his continuing 45-year acting/voice-acting career, Welker's voice has brought Scooby-Doo's Fred Jones, Transformer's Megatron and countless other characters to life.  While you may not know his name, you should know his voice. I recently had the privilege to pose a number of questions to the inimitable Frank Welker.
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