Anime Station Network

Interview was done on May 4/05.

Take note that Tamtu Bui and the Anime Station have a very good relationship and that this interview was done over a chat system. We have known Tamtu Bui for a long time and in this interview you can see that we made it a friendlier environment and it tends to be more open.

Users:
Tam Tu = Tamtu Bui
Anime Station = Coldtiger76/Whitetiger76

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Anime Station: First we are going to start with the general questions. Who are you and what do you do?

Tam Tu: My name is TamTu Bui, and I'm one of the administrators at the Voice Acting Alliance, as well as the webmaster for its website. It's something I do besides college and my Graphic Design job.

Anime Station: Well that’s a summed up version. So you’re still in college?

Tam Tu: Yes. I'm currently in my final year of the Graphics Media Technology course in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Anime Station: So is your Graphics Design Job that you are currently doing is that what’s next after your finished college or do you plan to do something different?

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Tam Tu: Being a Graphic Designer is what I currently do as a part-time job. I might indeed work there fulltime after college, but it's more because I want to have a stable income. My other ambitions can't provide me such financial stability. At least, that's what I think.

Anime Station: Other ambitions? Such as voice acting?

Tam Tu: Yes. Seeing as I've sent out my demo to several places here in Holland already and not having heard anything yet just shows that it's pretty tough getting into it. Aside from voice acting, I'm thinking of doing a one-year course in Audio Engineering when I'm done with College, but not after a long break from education in general. I've been staring at blackboards for years on end since Kindergarten, ha-ha.

Anime Station: ha-ha how many years have you been in school?

Tam Tu: well, including kindergarten, 17 years.

Tam Tu: 17 years straight. rawr. that's Kindergarten, middle school, junior high, high school and college.

Tam Tu: Time flies. And it's scary. >D

Anime Station: Yeah I know. I'm still in school, just started University myself (aka College)

Anime Station: I have a few years to go myself lol

Tam Tu: hehe.

Tam Tu: well good luck to you :-)

Anime Station: So you want to take a break from school and start working on this voice acting career? Has being the administrator of the VAA boards (Voice Acting Alliance) helped you out at all?

Tam Tu: Not necessarily a break from school. Once I'm done with College, I don't want to see any blackboards anymore. I just don't want to start working right away. Being admin of the VAA only helped me develop some managing skills, see what's good and what's not. It's more the voice acting aspect of the community that helped me out. The members range from new people who are interested in the hobby, but also from people who have taken steps towards professional voice acting. Their experience certainly helped me prepare for what to do and what not to do when pursuing a professional career. It's hard, but very worth all the effort if you really like voice acting.

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Anime Station: Ok there are two things you just said there I want to ask you. First has anyone from the VAA boards become professional? Second “It helped me prepare for what to do and what not to do" You want to talk about that too?

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Tam Tu: Several members who happened to live in the right location have gone pro. One of our members is currently starting up at Bang Zoom Studios in Los Angeles, and another regularly auditions at ADV in Funimation. And last I heard, there was another member who went pro as well. It's very inspiring. To me at least, so I can imagine that other members might be motivated to do their best too.

Tam Tu: What to do and what not to do. Well, the internet has all sorts of information on audition processes or going pro. Some members have links to those information sources; others provide information from their own experience.

Anime Station: I thought you were going to list what not to do. lol

Tam Tu: It ranges from locations to do major VA work to making good demo reels

Tam Tu: lol

Anime Station: Don't yell at the directors :-P

Tam Tu: ha-ha.

Tam Tu: well, that's certainly true.

Anime Station: even when the word "casting" is in front of it

Anime Station: right :-P

Tam Tu: VAs are expendable. Directors aren't.

Anime Station: You think it's harder to be a director then a VA? I know you did a couple shows yourself on both ends.

Tam Tu: It doesn't matter if you're good or not, being stubborn or un-directable will make things tough or you.

Tam Tu: It depends for both.

Tam Tu: As a director, you'll have to make good casting decisions and do whatever you can to make the project as good as you can. Sometimes you'll have to work with people who can't follow directions, sometimes you'll have to work with people who "know it better" than you do. Those are things you have to deal with.

On the VA side of things, you might end up working with directors who are incredibly vague or can't direct you properly. You have good directors, and bad directors, as well as good VAs and bad VAs.

Tam Tu: some directors can be much unorganized and that's hard to work with as well

Tam Tu: and VAs who can't follow directions. And that's also hard to work with.

Tam Tu: that's kind of the problem of online voice acting. It's mostly a hobby, and not everyone will commit as much to a hobby as if it were a job. People have lives besides the AVAing.

Anime Station: True enough.

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Anime Station: So what was your greatest role? as a voice actor and are you currently working on any AVAing now?

Tam Tu: Well, mind you that I've only been doing online and non-paid voice acting work.

But the greatest role was probably Greg Wilson in my own production, Just Try And Say It. For other productions by other people, I've enjoyed many parts equally. I love this hobby, and any part I get is as good as it is to me.

Current projects are a few short fan dub clips I wanted to do, the sequel to "Just Try And Say It" (called Just Try And Say I Do"), and maybe pick up where I left off some old projects.

Anime Station: So you want to talk a little bit about your project "Just Try and Say it" give a little promotion while you have the time :-D

Anime Station: Have a url?

Tam Tu: ha-ha. www.voiceacting.co.uk/bvp/jtasi/

Tam Tu: "Just Try And Say It" is a romantic comedy. I was inspired by Liar Liar (directed by Tom Shadyac). I wanted to do a romantic short using the concept of wishes and a person being affected by said wish, but the script ended up being over 20 pages long. The project runs a small 30 minutes and it's certainly one of the best cast I've ever worked with. It was a mix of newer people with established members of the community. I often think of JTASI being a slight rip-off of Liar Liar/Bruce Almighty...but I think I made the concept my own good enough.

Anime Station: So you were more inspired by the Liar Liar film rather then calling it a "rip-off".

Tam Tu: well, yes. I took the concept of a wish, the wish affecting the main character, and put it In a whole different situation. I tried to focus on the romantic chase of the main character more than the wish though. The wish was just the part that kept everything moving in the story.

Anime Station: Sounds good to me.

Anime Station: So you’re currently working on the sequel.

Anime Station: And you designed the website?

Tam Tu: yep.

Tam Tu: although the idea for the mini-site was suggested by one of my friends, who felt the project big enough to have a mini-site.

Tam Tu: Which reminds me that I really should get my main productions site back up again ^^;

Anime Station: so you have many sites?

Tam Tu: at the moment, only two.

Tam Tu: one for Just Try And Say It, and Final Fantasy X-2: Endless Love, which is an

original fan-fiction of Final Fantasy X-2.

Tam Tu: the other projects will be featured on the main website.

Anime Station: oh wow. But don't you have a personal website as well?

Anime Station: aside from your projects you own other websites don't you?

Tam Tu: yes, I have two other domains aside from the shared domain at voiceacting.co.uk

Tam Tu: one domain is more of a collective with my friends, while the other is going to be focused on displaying things for professional purposes

Anime Station: So what’s your professional website?

Tam Tu: www.tamtubui.net

Tam Tu: it'll be a portal for my art portfolio, graphic design portfolio, and my voice acting portfolio

Anime Station: Nice, so you’re working on that project now?

Tam Tu: whenever I have time, yes.

Tam Tu: I keep getting distracted by anime and videogames *cough*

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Anime Station: Is there an anime industry in your area?

Tam Tu: girl. I'm from Holland. (NOTE: The interviewer is a female)

Tam Tu: XD

Tam Tu: Holland = huge lack of anime.

Anime Station: Hey you never know anything is possible

Anime Station: maybe that’s a market you could tap?

Anime Station: marketing anime in Holland?

Tam Tu: I’m no entrepreneur. Not my kind of ballgame ^^

Anime Station: nope but it was worth a shot to ask. So that’s why there is a lack of work for

VA in Holland or at least in animation?

Tam Tu: VA work in Holland is mainly focused on commercials and promotion. Animation is hard to get into since there are just a few studios that dub animation.

Anime Station: I see so do you see yourself moving in the future to a location where voice acting is more needed or are you a Holland homie? :-P

Tam Tu: I plan to move out of the country in the future. When or where, I don't know yet. But I certainly want to move out :3

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Anime Station: I have a couple quick last questions.

Tam Tu: of course.

Anime Station: So (TamTu) in your future you see Graphics design, and Voice acting?

Tam Tu: pretty much. I hope to be a character designer for videogames too. Art came before those two, and I'm still trying to improve while doing Graphic Design and voice acting.

Anime Station: You have many talents there TamTu! Since we are running out of time this is where I'll give you time to freely advertise anything you have. URLs, Projects, shout outs/etc. By the way send me a picture if you can of yourself I'll include it. (1 Head shot and maybe if you have any other photos VAing or some designs you have done I’ll include it in the interview. )

Tam Tu: well, I’d like to thank you for this interview. It was a pleasure ^^. I want to give a shout out to my fellow

admins, Azure and Danae who started the VAA in the first place, and the wonderful members at the board, who all helped the AVA community grow steadily. If any of you reading this are interested in voice acting and/or want to pursue a career in voice acting, do visit out community to see if voice acting is really your thing! join the board at www.voiceacting.co.uk/board

Tam Tu: and I go look for a good picture right now.

Tam Tu: lol

Anime Station: Sure by the way I just wanted to add in this is a great way to test out your skills in Voice Acting. Great Group of people on the VAA boards and some professionals are still around aren’t they?

Tam Tu: yep.

Anime Station: I think you’re a god among the VAA boards TamTu. Then again all the admins are aren’t they lol

Anime Station: If anyone can hit success it's probably you with all your hard work and effort.

Tam Tu: lol. Now you're exaggerating ^^:

Tam Tu: but I'm glad my efforts are noticed.

Anime Station: You work hard and anything can happen.

Anime Station: Thanks for your time TamTu.

Anime Station: When you find those images just send them over

Tam Tu: will do

Anime Station: thanks

Tam Tu: alright :-)

Anime Station: making them pretty?

Anime Station: lol

Tam Tu: ha-ha

Tam Tu: yeah ;-)

Tam Tu: oh. you might want to tell the fans I'm not single anymore. XD

Tam Tu: email sent with pictures

Anime Station: you’re not single anymore!

Anime Station: Sorry ladies, Tamtu is taken!

Anime Station: thanks for the interview TamTu! talk to you later

Tam Tu: talk to you later :-)

Anime Station: Sorry ladies, Tamtu is taken!

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