Hey, my name is Jay Lai! Originally, my major was in animation, and I focused more
on 3D and VFX. I feel old. My graduation year was in 2022, so almost four years ago.
When I was graduating high school, I was debating what I would actually embark upon:
finance, engineering, doctoring? Trust me, you don’t want me being your doctor. These
were the typical fields you’d hear my family asking what I would be in. None of those
really called out to me, though. I knew I wanted to do something I had an interest
in, something I had a passion for. At the time, it was actually 3D animation.
After watching shows like RWBY and movies like Kung Fu Panda, I wanted to explore
more of what went into making magic like that. The problem was the schooling, though.
I hadn’t really built up a portfolio to even stand a chance to get into the schools
dedicated to these fields. However, it was actually my aunt who saw the ad for Shocker
Studios and told me about it. She even was the one to encourage me to go for it and
just see what I wanted to do in life. To this day, I consider it one of my best decisions.
There are so many experiences, opportunities, and friendships that I’ve made and cherish
to this day because I went to Shocker Studios.
Despite graduating with an animation degree, I actually decided to take a step back
from it. I wanted to do something that was a little more comfortable for me, and throughout
the years, I’ve developed a love for acting—voice acting in particular. So, these
past years since graduation, I’ve been doing just that!
I had already been acting in general since I was in middle school, but I never really
took that deep dive until after graduation. Since then, I’ve been developing my craft,
practicing acting techniques, auditioning for projects, networking, and upgrading
my equipment. After three years, I’m pretty proud of where I’m at now, and that momentum’s
going to keep building upwards… as long as I keep at it, that is. This journey for
voice acting is one that kind of just carries on with you for the rest of your life.
If you keep at it, it’ll be right beside you. If you stop, it stops.
So… I can’t say exactly what it is because of NDA, but in a way, that’s a big accomplishment
in itself? The fact I get to say I’m working on projects now that require me to be
hush-hush. Next to that, though, my biggest accomplishments have honestly just been
all the projects I’ve gotten to work on so far. I have voiced for audiobooks, audio
dramas, animations, anime, and I have a lot of fun with each one and am grateful for
the directors who’ve had faith in me to carry out their projects. Never in my life
did I think I would actually get to be doing these kinds of things, but it’s been
a great ride so far, and I’m ready for whatever comes my way next.
I’m cheating here, but I’m going to say two. The first one is to be kind to yourself.
I think a lot of us have experienced imposter syndrome, comparing ourselves to others
in our fields. This causes us to be our own worst enemies. You look at so-and-so,
and you see how much they’ve progressed compared to you and belittle your own accomplishments.
Stop that. Everyone’s pace on this journey is going to be different, but that doesn’t
undermine your work and achievements. Ultimately, the number one supporter of what
you want to pursue is you, so be kind to yourself. It’s all going to work out! Second,
be kind to others as well. There are people who kind of get big egos in any industry,
really. If you’re one of them, I swear, stop that.
Community is important in voice-over and any field. Because honestly, being a voice
actor, I rarely talk to people for long periods of time. Literally, I’m pretty much
stuck in a booth all day just talking to myself, ha ha. If it weren’t for the friends
I’ve made in VO, I think I’d go crazy. It’s a nice thing, though. We can laugh and
talk about anything, really, but also be there for one another through the rough times.
You can’t have that, though, if you think things revolve around you. In conclusion…
be a kind person to everyone, including you.
