(3WC pt2) Production Notes

I had a lot of trouble with Akon’s voice. I kept reverting to Harry’s voice (which is close to my natural tone anyway), but that didn’t feel right. Akon has a hundred years of command experience behind him! He shouldn’t sound quite so much like a charmingly precocious wunderkind. I always base my voices on some character in fiction I feel they resemble, so I went with someone from command in TNG. I didn’t feel I could possibly pull off the stately manner and understated gravitas of Picard, but I figured I could do a pretty decent Riker. Unfortunately the character just didn’t line up.

From my observations, much of leadership is assuming a confident and commanding demeanor. Acting assured (and being assuring) even when you aren’t, and doing so convincingly. Akon, through his described actions, his choice of words and phrasing, and his internal monologue, just doesn’t convey that. Every time I got on a good “Riker taking over while Picard is away and issuing orders” roll, I’d be hit with some action or line that made it obvious that I was clearly way out of character for Akon! And the whole thing would fall apart.

As a result, I’m afraid you’ll find that my Akon voice varies a bit more than it should from scene to scene.

I finally came to the conclusion that Akon is simply a bad captain. He’s too open and honest about his insecurities. His openness is probably a major asset for a research and exploration vessel, but it’s not inspirational or guiding in a high-stress crisis. I wish I had realized this several weeks earlier than I did. I’m also a bit crestfallen to have come to this conclusion – I identify very strongly with Akon, and I was delighted to see someone like myself in a leadership position. The realization that he isn’t a great leader, and that it’s therefore very likely that I am not a good leader for similar reasons, was disappointing.

It’s interesting the things you learn when stretching your boundaries.