Vocal Warm Ups: The 1-2-3-4 of warming up!

How do you start your warm up? And is there a correct order for warm up exercises? Here are our recommendations:

 1)      WARM UP YOUR VOCAL CORDS:  Begin by gentle warm ups - you may notice when you first wake up that your voice sounds sleepy. Humming and feeling the resonance in your chest is great for getting the voice gently moving.

• Hmmm
• Mmmm

2)      ENUNCIATION:  After your voice starts to feel a little less groggy, begin to focus on enunciation, or the art of speaking clearly. Pay attention to the different ways the mouth must move in order to create the following sounds:

• PTKT pronounced puh-tuh-kuh-tuh
• BDGD pronounced buh-duh-guh-duh
• Wewa pronounced wee-wah
• Trills created by rolling your tongue on the roof of your mouth while saying TR: trrrrr or R: rrrrrr
• Rapid fire succession ptkt-bdgd-ptkt-bdgd

3)      ARTICULATION:  Similar to enunciating, articulation relates to speaking distinctly. Let’s call the moving and non-moving parts of your face and mouth that help you articulate words (lips, teeth, tongue, roof of the mouth) the vocal creators. Articulation is a function of how these vocal creators work together to make sounds. After practicing the enunciation exercises ptkt, bdgd, wewa, try to pull everything together for articulation by saying these rhymes and tongue twisters:

• “What a todo to die today, at a minute or two ‘til two, a thing distinctly hard to say, but harder still to do; for they’ll beat a tattoo at a twenty ‘til two, a rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-too, and the dragon will come when he hears the drum, at a minute or two ‘til two today, at a minute or two ‘til two”
• “Unique New York, Unique New York”
• “Red leather, yellow leather, blue blood, black blood’
• “Brrrrr” made by blowing out with your lips closed to create a motorboat sound, sort of like a raspberry without sticking your tongue out (this can get a little spitty, so watch out)

4)      WORK YOUR RANGE:  And finally, you’ll want to work on your range (the high–to-low pitches that you can take your voice to). Here’s an exercise for expanding your range:

• Sirens (sort of like the sound of a fire truck): eeeeeeeee up and down in range, starting from low to high, and then high to low

Here's a VO Tip: Remember, Mimic the Actors in Commercials

(Exercises re-published with permission from VoiceOverVoiceActor.com)

Flip channels on your television or radio for 5 minutes to listen to commercials. Each time you find a commercial, try parroting the voice actor who is speaking. Try to repeat not only the words, but the musicality, the nuances, the tone, and the inflections.

Then turn off the radio or TV and pick up a random piece of text (it can be an advertisement in a magazine, a book, a piece of mail, etc). Try to use the same vocal patterns, tonality and style you were just mimicking as you read this new material.

Practicing this will begin to train your ear, attune you to what is currently "hot" in the advertising world, and get you reading and speaking aloud, which is important in and of itself.

Latest newsletter: Jumpin'July!

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Click Here To Read: Jumpin' July!  Newsletter July 2012

We just got back from San Diego Comic Con where we hosted a panel and gave out hundreds of Shelf Life comic books to a packed house full of fans! And now are in the midst of our campaign to raise funds for Shelf Life Season 4 (Our Shelf "LIVE" event went great and the campaign is jumpin')....

Jumpin' July!: Newsletter July 2012

Can you Step Out of Your Natural Voice? Stretch Yourself!

REMINDER:

Stepping outside of your natural voice can be a lot of fun! Once you understand what your natural vocal qualities and “sound” are, you can begin to play outside the box and expand the range of characters and qualities you can offer.

This exercise helps you play with a range of emotions. As you read the following phrases, you’ll notice that we have removed all punctuation, which can often be a clue to a phrase’s tone. But in order to expand your range, let’s play around with the many different ways the same phrase can be said. First, see what your natural inclination is when you read the phrase. Copy and paste this blog to a Word Doc, and after each one, write down the adjective that you feel most fits the phrase/sentence. For example, a sentence such as “stop,” might be angry. As you read the phrases, see how you naturally interpret the emotion associated with saying the words.

Exercise: Phrases

• Over here                                          
• I need that                                         
• Let go                                                   
• What are you talking about       
• Don’t do that                                    
• I don’t think that’s a good idea 
• Give me the new one                   
• No                                                         
• Try it again                                         
• Listen to me                                      
• Alright                                                 
• Stop right there                               
• Wow that’s huge                            

Now, review your phrase list and see how you naturally ‘heard’ the specific words. Perhaps your “no,” was “frustrated,” because you assumed that if you are telling someone “no,” it’s because you’re frustrated about something.

Becoming familiar with your instincts can be very helpful because it’ll allow you to make a choice outside of your natural inclination, which can yield very interesting results.

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“Breathing with your diaphragm” What does that mean?

From Wiki: Thoracic diaphragm: “In the anatomy of mammals, the thoracic diaphragm, or simply the diaphragm, (Ancient Greek: διάφραγμα  diáphragma "partition"), is a sheet of internal skeletal muscle that extends across the bottom of the rib cage. The diaphragm separates the thoracic cavity (heart, lungs & ribs) from the abdominal cavity and performs an important function in respiration.”

As a VO artist you need to know about and use your diaphragm!  It is our big breathing muscle, a dome-shaped muscle at the base of your lungs. This shelf of muscle is controlled by the nervous system; it contracts when we inhale, so that a vacuum is created in our  lungs and air rushes in to fill it. The opposite happens when we exhale; the diaphragm relaxes  and the air in the lungs rushes out.

Breath is the fuel of the voice, whether it is for singing or for voice over work. The stronger the diaphragmatic muscles, the better you can regulate the amount of breath that is pushed over your vocal cords, so improving the control you have over your voice in your sessions.  When the diaphragm is strong you can ensure a steady stream of air for your needs, you can speak longer without needing a breath, and you have more power for volume or attack in your speaking. And the stronger the diaphragm, the less effort all of this is for you!

Here is an exercise to help build the strength of your diaphragm, from our book, Voice Over Voice Actor: What It’s Like Behind the Mic!

1. Place your hand on your diaphragm.
2. Open your mouth and allow the tongue to relax and hang out of your mouth.
3. As quickly as possible, inhale and exhale, like you’re a dog panting.
(of course, if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, stop immediately)

We’ve been focusing on strengthening your diaphragm, but that won’t be the only thing you’ll be using. Your diaphragm will be working in conjunction with your mouth, tongue and mind so they must be ready to go as well. Articulation, or the ability to speak clearly, is a crucial element to a voice actor’s repertoire. Not every character you play will need good articulation (and sometimes you may even be told to articulate less), but it is always better to have it up your sleeve, so that if you’re slurring your speech, it’s a choice rather than an issue.

Simulate an audition; it's great voice over practice!

1. This exercise is to help simulate an audition experience for you. Remember to look for all the information on the page to give you clues to your performance.
2. Do a trial run with each of the specs and record yourself. Play it back and listen to hear if what you planned in your head was apparent in your recording.

Try out the following Commercial and Animation Audition Copy using the following specs. See how each unique spec changes your performance.

Commercial –

Specs:
1. young, cheerful, spunky 2. wants to be everyone’s friend
3. eternally optimistic 4.intelligent, honest, down-to-earth

1. In the summer heat, 2 bucks can go a long way.
Now, at The Burger Joint, grab a large drink, large fries
and your choice of hamburger or cheeseburger for only $1.99.
Come in and fill up for less than 2 bucks.

2. Why choose one of those other companies that might loose your package or handle it with less-than-optimal care?
Let BoxYouUp come by your office or home and package,
mail and deliver your important items at your convenience.
Visit BoxYouUp.com for pricing.

Animation –

Specs:
1. energetic, sporty, hot shot 2. is always having a good time
3. goofy, crazy, wild 4.nervous and easily excited

1. Hey little monkey, I don’t know what you are doing in there, but you need to come out right now. You hear me?I don’t wanna have to yell. C’mon now. Get out. Get. OUT. Monkeeeeeeeeee! OUT. Now see, that wasn’t so bad, now was it. Ha! Silly monkey.

2. You mean there is more out there than this? Robots even? Wicked!
Because I’ve been waiting my whole life for that.I just know I can take them on.
Let’s go.
What are you waiting for? Let’s do this thing.
Woah. Did you see that? I’m awesome.

Fantastic. Hopefully getting the experience of listening to your performance has given you a deeper understanding of the variety of things you will want to consider when working on audition material or even going to an audition. Of course, this exercise can’t exactly duplicate an audition experience, but the more prepared you feel before you go into an audition situation, the more confident and relaxed you will be, and the higher your chances of you doing your best work, and with any luck, booking the job!

Hum while chewing - it's a great exercise!

We hear good feedback from folks about this exercise, and we find it very helpful.

Give it a try!

1. With your lips closed, start to hum.
2. Then make chewing movements, as if you were eating, and keep humming the  whole time.
3. Now use your hands to feel the vibration in the front of your face, your nose, your cheeks, and gently allow your hands to move to your neck and throat, and perhaps even onto your belly so that you can feel how your voice resonates in different areas of your body.

Using the chewing hum can warm up the different areas where your voice will resonate. Once again, when your voice resonates, it bounces around a certain area of your body, whether that’s up in your face, nose or head area, your throat, or your chest or belly.

Now to begin to identify where your voice is resonating, let’s concentrate on specific sounds that tend to resonate in different areas. Certain sounds we create generally vibrate more toward the head, while others, because we use different muscles to make them, may vibrate lower, toward the belly. If you can learn to control where you choose to place your voice, you can begin to use it in more powerful and interesting ways.

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Wonderful May and lots going on! Check out our May newsletter!

Check out our latest newsletter, below. There's a sign up button over on your right if you'd like to receive it! 

Click Here To Read: Wonderful May: Newsletter May 2012

 

Wonderful May: Newsletter May 2012 

Great VO Exercise: Raspberries, Sirens, and Lip Trills

1. Keeping your lips together, like you were making imaginary car (or motorboat, if you prefer) “brrrm, brrrrm” noises, and allow your lips to make a “raspberry” type sound (like a good old-fashioned Bronx cheer without sticking your tongue out), or lip trill. Begin at the bottom of your possible range and while continuing the lip trills gradually raise your pitch until you hit your highest note possible.

2. Now reverse direction. Start at the top of your range and move downward thru your natural pitch to your lowest note.

3. Continue your lip trills while going from low to high and back to low again. It’ll sound a little like a siren.

4. Repeat the sirens 3-5 times until you feel like your voice is beginning to get warmed up.

5. This can be hard to describe on paper. Feel free to visit this link ( ) to see an example.

Lip trills are a great way not only to warm up your face and resonators in your sinus cavities, but also helps keep your vocal cords and neck muscles from tensing up while you’re warming up your voice. Don’t worry if your voice cracks during the sirens. That’s just a natural part of expanding your range. We all have “head tones” (high) as well as “chest tones” (low) in our range, and in order to move back and forth continuously from one to the other, you have to move through your natural “break,” which is the sound that often people associate with a teen boy going through puberty. One of the reasons for this is that the vocal cords are actually growing and stretching and sounds that used to be easily within one range move to a different register, and the voice “cracks” as it pushes through unfamiliar territory. So in addition to warming up your voice, this exercise can also help you widen your vocal range.

Sirens w/out Lip Trill

1. Allow your mouth to hang slightly open, and begin an “ee” sound at the bottom of your range. As you exhale, slide your pitch higher and higher until you hit your highest note possible.

2. Now reverse direction. Start at the top of your range and slide your pitch downward until you hit your lowest note.

3. Make sure your face and jaw are relaxed and comfortably open while making the siren sound.

4. Repeat the sirens 3-5 times until you feel like your voice is warming up.
Practicing sirens can really begin to stretch your range and gently allow the musculature in your face and neck (as well as your vocal cords) to begin to become accustomed to the sounds you’ll be making while acting.

Whether you have a high or low-pitched voice you can also begin to think about the placement of the sound you’re making. This is separate from the pitch. Placement relates to the physical location in your body where your voice is resonating. For example, if you have a head cold and are all stuffed up, you might sound very frontal, or nasal, since your sinuses are blocked and thus blocking the sound from escaping completely, therefore creating a very frontal resonant sound. If you drop the sound way back to the back of your throat, then you would almost sound like you were swallowing the sounds, creating a very different quality altogether.

Begin to play around with extremely frontal, a mid-range placement as well as a back placed sound. This is something that you can bring into your work and begin to pick and choose where certain voices you create will be placed and where others will lie instead. [Should this be a new exercise to help develop awareness of where you’re placing your voice?]

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Great Voice Over Exercise: "The Phrasinator"

People tell us this exercise from our book, "Voice Over Voice Actor: What It's Like Behind the Mic"  really helps them, so we thought we'd blog it again:

Try each of these phrases in the emotions suggested at the right. It will really work your ability to quickly change the feel and tone of your expression.

Exercise: The Phrasinator

• Over here......................................... Excited
• I need that........................................ Overjoyed
• Let go...............................................Secretive
• What are you talking about..................Frustrated
• Don’t do that......................................Uncomfortable
• I don’t think that’s a good idea..............Annoyed
• Give me the new one..........................Angry
• No....................................................Scared
• Try it again........................................Sleepy
• Listen to me......................................Happy
• Alright..............................................In awe
• Stop right there.................................Uncomfortable
• Wow that’s huge................................Frightened

Then if you want continue playing with the phrases by trying each of the different descriptions with each of the sentences. To take it one step further, try adding punctuation (? . !) and see how that might change the way you say the lines.

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What is the History of Voice Over?

It is commonly believed that the first voiceover was from Walt Disney, as Mickey Mouse in "Steamboat Willie." And although this was a long time ago, in 1928, in actual fact the first voice over was in 1900!  This historical achievement belongs to Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian inventor. He was thrilled with Alexander Graham Bell’s new device, the telephone, and set out to create a way to remotely communicate without wires. The beginning of “Wireless!” In 1900, working for the United States Weather Bureau, Fessenden recorded the very first voice over: a test he made reporting the weather.

He was also the first voice of radio. In Boston, in 1906, during the Christmas season, he recorded an entire program of music, Bible texts, and Christmas messages to ships out at sea.

As voice over became more routine in radio, cartoon, etc., the actors behind those voices were rarely known by the public. Exceptions are Walt Disney, of course, and perhaps Mel Blanc, a radio personality and comedian. He became known as “The Man of 1000 Voices” for his versatility, and is the voice on many cartoons distributed by Warner Brothers. One of the most influential and prolific voice over actors of all time is certainly not commonly known by the public, but very well known in the industry. This is Don LaFontaine, who began in voice over in 1962, recording VO for a movie trailer. He became the vice of movie trailers, setting the standard for how they were written and voiced.

As voice over acting grew into a formidable business, it still, however, was very “behind-the-scenes.” Literally and figuratively! Actors filled their spare time with voice over work – it was what they did “between jobs.” But voice over really came out into the light, and became more than respectable, with the onset of digitally animated films of recent years. Celebrities began providing the voices for characters in huge box-office successes such as The Lion King, with Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons and James Earl Jones, Shrek with Eddie Murphy, The Narnia series with Liam Neeson, and there are hundreds of other examples! (Click here for a list of great voiceover performances.)   The public is now used to big actor names in animated films – it is a powerful marketing strategy for the production companies of these films.

And well-known actors love it! Nancy Griffin said it well in her NY Times article from 2003 , “Film/Television; When A-List Actors Are Happy to Hide Their Faces.” She wrote, “No hair and make-up necessary, not a personal trainer in sight and a four-hour work day: these are just a few of the enticements luring A-list actors, including Jim Carrey, Will Smith and Robin Williams, to headline animated features.”

These celebrities have really brought voice over into its heyday. It is regarded with great interest by aspiring actors, and it seems millions of young people want to find their way into the field. It provides rewarding and challenging careers to actors of all sizes, shapes, personalities, and skills. And it is enormous fun!

We had a fun interview with 411mania - here is a bit of it, but click on the link to read more!

411mania interview: Tara Platt and Yuri Lowenthal

Thanks to Jeffrey Harris

411mania.com speaks with the husband and wife team of Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt to talk about their work on Ben 10, their new live web series Shelf Life, their co-authored book, and much more.

During the 2012 WonderCon, I got to catch up with actors Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt. Recently the husband and wife team had their own co-authored book published, Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It's Like Behind The Mic. Yuri is most known for his work on the hit Ben 10 franchise as the older, teenaged voice of hero, Ben Tennyson in the Ultimate Alien and Alien Force renditions of the show and the soon to be premiering series, Ben 10: Omniverse. Yuri has also done work on the hit Prince of Persia videogame series as the titular Prince, the Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden anime shows as everyone's favorite dark antihero Sasuke Uchiha, Iceman in Wolverine and The X-Men, Superman in Legion of Super Heroes, and Shinra Kishitani in the awesome Durarara!! Tara Platt has also worked on the Naruto franchise as the Sand ninja and sister of Gaara, Temari, rogue Shinigami Lisa Yadomaru in the Bleach series, Tokiko Tsumura in a personal favorite series of mine Buso Renkin ("I'll splatter your guts!"), and also as Jennifer Nocturne in the Ben 10 series. Now the two are currently working on their own live web series, Shelf Life, of which they came to the convention dressed as their characters from the show, Bug Boy and Hero Lass respectively.

Jeffrey Harris: So what are you guys excited about at WonderCon right now?

Yuri Lowenthal: I just love walking the floor and running into the people, technically I work with, but never get to see.

Tara Platt: I also just love seeing artist alley too. There's something so exciting about what's the new stuff being created and generated. That always excites me.

Jeffrey Harris: The Shelf Life series is outrageous and you work with some other great talent like Travis Willingham and Dee Bradley Baker. What was the conception of this idea?

Yuri Lowenthal: Strangely enough, even though I'm the resident nerd of the family, it was Tara's idea.

Tara Platt: I know.

Yuri Lowenthal: She saw the action figures up in my office and spawned the idea and then ran with it. And luckily we surrounded ourselves with really talented, trustworthy people from working in this business for so many years. And they were on the boat too. They were like, "Oh it sounds great! Let's do it!"

READ MORE

Here's a great exercise - use current TV commercials!

Really listen to the commercials on your TV or radio. When you find a good commercial you like, try to parrot the VO actor who is speaking the lines.  You'll be repeating the words, of course, but also try to copy, as exactly as you can, the nuances, the tone, the inflections he or she uses, and the musicality.

Then mute or turn off the TV or radio and grab any random bit of text, such as an ad in a piece of mail or magazine. Try to bring the new tone and vocal patterns you've been copying to these new words. You will be using the style you've been mimicking with this new material.

This will really start to train your ear and attune you to what is currently “hot” in the advertising world. And it gets you practicing, reading aloud, and using your voice in new ways.

And it's fun! Enjoy!

Voice Over Actors: Taking Care of Business!

It is true that as actors we can often be more focused on the craft of acting and forget to put energy into the business side of our voice-over acting. This part, while essential, may not be as much "fun..."  But it is just as important as tuning your vocal instrument.

You must find out who might hire you to use your voice and where they are located. It's a pro-active way of forwarding your career in voice-over. So for a moment look at VO as a military objective. Select a few targets and do a little recon, or research. And you won't even need to get your hands dirty.

Start with what you like. For example, if you really like the show Naruto, you might search and find out that in the United States, Naruto is licensed by a company called Viz. A little more looking (with your friend Google) might turn up that the English dub for Naruto is recorded at Studiopolis. Voila! You now have a production company to add to your hit list when you have a demo to mail out! With commercials, you might have to be a little more investigative, but there are resources (such as adforum.com) out there that can help you find the ad agency who produced the commercial and who's associated with the promotion of that product.

So, for this exercise, pick an area to start with: animation, video games, or commercials. Now choose three of your favorite shows/movies, video games or commercials. Begin to do a little Internet legwork. Find out who the production company is, and in the case of commercials, the ad agency who commissioned the spot. Try and discover if the company/agency casts their projects in-house, or if they have a relationship with a separate casting company. In some cases, you may even find that the same studio/ad agency produced more than one of your selections, then you know they're definitely somebody you want to target.

There is plenty of information available on the Web, and a little digging could turn up e-mail addresses or maybe phone numbers that you could use to contact the company and find out who might be best to send your reel to. Start a file and keep the info you find for future reference.

Good hunting and good luck - make it fun!

Good VO Exercise: Speak with a Pencil in your Teeth!

Tongue Twister Practice

(Exercises republished from VoiceOverVoiceActor.com/Take-Action)

To help improve your diction, lightly grip a pencil (horizontally) between your teeth, so that you are forced to really work your tongue to create the sounds.

Practice speaking out loud the following 3 tongue twisters, clearly enunciating each word:

A thin little boy picked six thick thistle sticks. Sidney Shelly flies through thick fog. This thatched roof is thick.

After saying them each several times, remove the pencil and try saying them again. Listen to how much the clarity of your speech has improved.

Can you believe it is 2012 already? Check out our January newsletter

Check out our latest newsletter, below. There's a sign up button over on your right if you'd like to receive it!

 

In This Issue Back to Work, Back to Play Clockwork Angel Review Contest Winner All is Well in 20-12!

Hello! Can you believe it's 2012 already!? I certainly can't. Last year was a whirlwind and I expect this year to be just as exciting. We have plans for films, more episodes of Shelf Life and look forward to working on more fun projects. I was so excited when Yuri surprised me with a weekend getaway to Paris for our anniversary! Bon Voyage, indeed! :) And then so relaxing to spend the holidays in Idyllwild and Desert Hot Springs for a little R&R. Here's to thrilling and fantastic surprises for your year as well, and to surpassing your goals with your own New Year's Resolutions. My focus this year is on visibility (for our projects, for my work and for our company). Bigger and Better in 2012! Tara :) (&Yuri)   Yuri Lowenthal & Tara Platt: Raise Your Voice (Acting)!

 Read more:

Newsletter Jan 2012

Remember, Caffeine May Not be a Good Thing for Your VO Session!

REMINDER: Sure, who doesn't like a stimulus and pick-me-up delivered in a tasty beverage like coffee, tea or a soft drink. But when you're getting ready for a VO session, that caffeine can have the unwanted side effect of drying out your vocal chords. So be aware of the effects before hitting the booth. An herbal tea can be a wonderful substitute and still maintain the lubrication necessary to keep your vocal chords moist and healthy.

Do You Have What it Takes for a Career as a Voice Over Actor?

OK, so lots of people, your friends and family, have always told you what a great voice you have. And the thoughts of working from home, for yourself, recording a bit and then playing the rest of the day – these ideas appeal to you?  Well, you are not alone. Voice-over work is a hot industry, and every day tons of people dive into the maelstrom, trying to figure out how to be a success in this arena. It is a grand gig. You can record from home with your own little studio, since technology has advanced to make this a possibility. And you don’t have to have a “look,” a necessity that some people feel hinders the chance of becoming an on-camera actor for many folks.

But the competition is fierce, and just having a good speaking voice and good articulation is not enough. You have to learn to read (perform) and make it sound natural – like you are speaking new thoughts to someone particular. It takes acting skills, and speed of making choices. You have less time in a recording booth in a VO session than in many other forms of acting. You often have never seen the copy until the moment before you are asked to perform.

Another necessary skill is to be able to find the line between enunciation and sounding affected. You can work on this by recording yourself reading copy, and ask friends to give you their honest opinion – does it sound natural, clear, easy to listen to, believable, appealing? It has to sound real.

If you are serious about joining the Voice-Over world, take classes, get coaching, make a great demo, get equipment to record yourself at home, make a website, read all you can about it, listen to people who know, read our many tips here on our website, and consider getting our book, Voice Over Voice Actor.

Most important of all, Practice Practice Practice! And stay passionate about it.

Good luck and have fun.

Green Apples

REMINDER: One of the most useful things that I use to keep clicks down when I'm vocally smacky in the booth is to bite into a green apple (Granny Smith not Golden Delicious). I think the pH balance in the apple does something to the saliva to keep your mouth moist without being wet sounding.

So remember A GREEN APPLE A DAY, KEEPS THE SMACK AWAY!

We Have a Winner of our Voice Over Trivia Contest!

We have a winner of our Voice Over Trivia Contest! Congratulations to Raymond from San Diego, who wins a copy of our book, "Voice-Over Voice Actor" and the companion CD.

The correct answers are:

1) Of their almost 100 credited titles together, what animated spin on a classic fairytale featured VO big-hitters Mel Blanc and June Foray in the 50's?" Red Riding Hoodwinked

2) Which two actors have most often voiced the Star Wars character of Yoda? Frank Oz and Tom Kane

3) Which Hollywood A-lister has done commercial VO for Budweiser and worked opposite Meryl Streep in an Oscar Nominated Animated feature?" George Clooney

Thanks to everyone who participated!