On Thursday March 15th, I watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy. This episode dealt with the personal conflicts between many different characters, and while it was very engaging, it wasn't one of the best episodes. There were two guest stars, however, that I very much enjoyed because of their accents and vocal qualities; they both spoke with a proper British dialect.
The episode was particularly shout-heavy as most of the characters got into heated arguments throughout the episode. The volume escalated in key scenes to a point where the actors were shouting at a comfortable level. All of the actors matched each other, so there wasn't any one actor speaking at a different level. There was only one point where I could not understand what the actor was saying, and that was when the character George, quietly chuckled about his friend having possible feelings for him. I had to rewind that part twice in order to fully hear what he was saying as his character did mumble the words.
One guest actor stood out to me, and she played a patient with a British accent. Her voice was breathy and harsh, and very low pitched, sounding like a mix between Kathleen Turner and Carol Channing. She had a pleasant tone to her voice, never raising it nor whispering and she also spoke somewhat slowly as if she was out of breath.
This episode was very accurate in terms of vocal production in every day life. Even the shouting wasn't theatrical or too loud, it was exactly the level you would hear if you overheard a heated argument. Compared to radio production and the stage, this type of vocal production was very subtle and real.
