This was a fun project to work on. Raw and poetic. I spent the whole day recording various poets and performers. I really like how this commercial came out.
Showing posts with label commercial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commercial. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Nolan North - "Is Voice Acting in Games Different Than Other Projects"
Caught this over at The Resnick Interactive Group blog, and I'm happy they shared it. Nolan delivers a fantastic answer to this question, and having worked with him on commercial castings, I can tell you, he knows what he's talking about.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Fun ISDN Session at The Voicecaster (photo blog)
So even though most of my work comes from directing voice over casting and production sessions, I also do a bit of engineering on the side. ISDN sessions can be kind of dull, as once you've set everything up, you're pretty much just babysitting.
Well yesterday I had a really fun day of ISDN-ing. I got to work with a great bunch of actors for a series of radio spots.
First up I had the LEGENDARY Carlos Alazraqui (Reno 911, voice of the the Taco Bell dog and Rocko from 'Rocko's Modern Life). Not only is he a talented animation actor, but he crushed a dozen spots full of natural conversational announcer work. He's producing his own animated web series "Off the Curb" which looks like it'll be RIGHT up my alley.
Next up I had Larry Cedar, who happens to be a personal hero of mine. LONG before I was ever in this industry, I was a HUGE fan of Square One, which Larry was a part of. Most recently you might have seen him in the re-make of The Crazies. He's the one with the pitchfork...
And what session would be complete without a funny gal? Enter the lovely and witty Julie Wittner, who you can catch in the web show "Two Hot Girls in the Shower" starring opposite Kim Evey (producer of The Guild).
The session required her to eat cookies for sound effects. Thankfully she kept the mess of crumbs to a minimum...
Thanks for a great session guys!
Well yesterday I had a really fun day of ISDN-ing. I got to work with a great bunch of actors for a series of radio spots.
First up I had the LEGENDARY Carlos Alazraqui (Reno 911, voice of the the Taco Bell dog and Rocko from 'Rocko's Modern Life). Not only is he a talented animation actor, but he crushed a dozen spots full of natural conversational announcer work. He's producing his own animated web series "Off the Curb" which looks like it'll be RIGHT up my alley.
Next up I had Larry Cedar, who happens to be a personal hero of mine. LONG before I was ever in this industry, I was a HUGE fan of Square One, which Larry was a part of. Most recently you might have seen him in the re-make of The Crazies. He's the one with the pitchfork...
And what session would be complete without a funny gal? Enter the lovely and witty Julie Wittner, who you can catch in the web show "Two Hot Girls in the Shower" starring opposite Kim Evey (producer of The Guild).
The session required her to eat cookies for sound effects. Thankfully she kept the mess of crumbs to a minimum...
Thanks for a great session guys!
Friday, May 13, 2011
A Fun Evening At The Voice Over Work Out Lounge!
I was honored when Roy Samuelson invited me to be a guest speaker/director for his Voice Over Workout Lounge. The VOWOL mission is to provide actors a safe place to play and workout, with guest speakers, in a fantastic recording/production facility.
I had a blast!
I’ve often found Thursday night workout groups to be a little problematic (quick tangent: why do so many actor workout groups take place on Thursdays?), it’s so late in the week that people are often already set to check out for the weekend, and I completely understand. After working during the day, it’s sometimes a bit much to ask someone to further challenge themselves at night.
I’m really glad that the VOWOL folks were game. It makes the evening flow so much more smoothly. They were curious, asking questions, taking notes, ready to play, and ready to be directed.
They kept me on my toes too. I fielded questions on mic/recording technique, casting expectations, script analysis, and performance method.
Big thanks to Tony, Craig, Iris, Susan, Stephanie, Wendy, Dean, and of course Roy for a fun night, and major shout out to Soundelux in Hollywood for the use of their fantastic facility and providing Justin the Engineer who was great to work with!
Can’t wait to do it again!
I had a blast!
I’ve often found Thursday night workout groups to be a little problematic (quick tangent: why do so many actor workout groups take place on Thursdays?), it’s so late in the week that people are often already set to check out for the weekend, and I completely understand. After working during the day, it’s sometimes a bit much to ask someone to further challenge themselves at night.
I’m really glad that the VOWOL folks were game. It makes the evening flow so much more smoothly. They were curious, asking questions, taking notes, ready to play, and ready to be directed.
They kept me on my toes too. I fielded questions on mic/recording technique, casting expectations, script analysis, and performance method.
Big thanks to Tony, Craig, Iris, Susan, Stephanie, Wendy, Dean, and of course Roy for a fun night, and major shout out to Soundelux in Hollywood for the use of their fantastic facility and providing Justin the Engineer who was great to work with!
Can’t wait to do it again!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Getting to see your work on TV - Dodge Edition
Well I guess in this case it's "getting to see your work on Youtube", but same deal...
This was an interesting project to cast. Robot voices can always be tricky to nail down the right vibe (is it HAL? Robbie? C3PO? Star Trek? Funny? Serious? Butler-ly? Evil?), and in the current culture of commercial casting, we're often flying blind as to what the tone of the spot will be. In this case we got JUST the robot lines, and a couple adjectives for direction...
I think our casting fits in nicely with the spot as a whole (and I'm really digging Michael C Hall on this campaign), but I TOTALLY understand why this commercial isn't seeing a lot play...
This was an interesting project to cast. Robot voices can always be tricky to nail down the right vibe (is it HAL? Robbie? C3PO? Star Trek? Funny? Serious? Butler-ly? Evil?), and in the current culture of commercial casting, we're often flying blind as to what the tone of the spot will be. In this case we got JUST the robot lines, and a couple adjectives for direction...
I think our casting fits in nicely with the spot as a whole (and I'm really digging Michael C Hall on this campaign), but I TOTALLY understand why this commercial isn't seeing a lot play...
Friday, January 9, 2009
CONTEST! Melissa Disney and Jeff Bartsch Want You To "Vote For The Cat", Go To The Superbowl!
Jeff Bartsch is a producer you might not be as aware of yet, but you've certainly heard his voice on shows like Super Nanny. His award winning production company Resolve (13 Months of Sunshine , Stained ) has produced a commercial for the Doritos Superbowl Challenge, featuring the prolific voice actress Melissa Disney, and they are one of the finalists!
They NEED your help!
At the time of this posting there are 16 days left in the contest for people to go and vote on which commercials they like the best (you like "The Chase" the best BTW). The winner will be featured during the Superbowl!You can vote multiple times, and every time you vote you will be entered into a contest to win two tickets to go to the Superbowl!
Jeff has all the details posted over at a site he's set up for the contest VoteForTheCat.com, and you can watch the spot (called "The Chase") over at Crash The Superbowl.
Here's the spot:
Go help them get to the Superbowl, and maybe YOU can go too!
Pics courtesy of voteforthecat.com.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
VOICE ACTORS! Struggling with Longer Copy? EXHALE FIRST!
Had the pleasure of directing auditions on a wall-to-wall :60 second radio spot a couple days ago. Standard spec: sincere, non-announcery, authority but friendly.
The spot was a tad over written, not horribly so, but came in comfy around :70 seconds.
No prepping or warning on my part helped any of the actors auditioning.
"Take your time."
"It's a touch over written."
"I DON'T CARE if it's under 60."
"Leave yourself room for air."
Most of the actors looked at me like I was trying to explain how water was wet. OF COURSE they'd breathe, DUH...
Like clockwork, around 35-40 seconds, trainwreck.
The two or three actors that did make it through without error sounded so rushed I couldn't have sent the audition off anyway.
Now these are voice over pros, but even they seem to run into a fairly common problem. I just now clued in that the problem isn't "running out of air" it's having TOO MUCH USED AIR.
Throughout longer copy, you start taking really shallow breaths to replenish. After about 30 seconds of this you're pretty much full, but since you've been speaking at a consistent rate, with no room to exhale, you're pretty much full of CO2. The body starts to send distress signals, you surge to try and finish the copy, in surging you start stumbling, this adds more stress, and the end of the audition is tanked.
I started making my actors do breathing prep, a trick I learned in musical theater to calm stage nerves (singing on stage terrified me).
"I'm going to push record. I want you to inhale for five seconds and exhale for ten seconds before you start speaking."
Now, don't even get me started on the number of actors that said "yeah cool ok" then went right into the copy IGNORING what I had just asked them to do, but forcing them to do this trick resulted in something just a little fantastic.
I got calm, engaged, personal reads. Almost everybody was able to come in under 70 seconds. Almost no stumbles were made.
People who read legal copy often tell me that the fastest legal is usually the most relaxed legal, and I totally buy it.
Those same techniques are working like gang-busters on my commercial recording sessions.
What do you do to prep longer copy?
The spot was a tad over written, not horribly so, but came in comfy around :70 seconds.
No prepping or warning on my part helped any of the actors auditioning.
"Take your time."
"It's a touch over written."
"I DON'T CARE if it's under 60."
"Leave yourself room for air."
Most of the actors looked at me like I was trying to explain how water was wet. OF COURSE they'd breathe, DUH...
Like clockwork, around 35-40 seconds, trainwreck.
The two or three actors that did make it through without error sounded so rushed I couldn't have sent the audition off anyway.
Now these are voice over pros, but even they seem to run into a fairly common problem. I just now clued in that the problem isn't "running out of air" it's having TOO MUCH USED AIR.
Throughout longer copy, you start taking really shallow breaths to replenish. After about 30 seconds of this you're pretty much full, but since you've been speaking at a consistent rate, with no room to exhale, you're pretty much full of CO2. The body starts to send distress signals, you surge to try and finish the copy, in surging you start stumbling, this adds more stress, and the end of the audition is tanked.
I started making my actors do breathing prep, a trick I learned in musical theater to calm stage nerves (singing on stage terrified me).
"I'm going to push record. I want you to inhale for five seconds and exhale for ten seconds before you start speaking."
Now, don't even get me started on the number of actors that said "yeah cool ok" then went right into the copy IGNORING what I had just asked them to do, but forcing them to do this trick resulted in something just a little fantastic.
I got calm, engaged, personal reads. Almost everybody was able to come in under 70 seconds. Almost no stumbles were made.
People who read legal copy often tell me that the fastest legal is usually the most relaxed legal, and I totally buy it.
Those same techniques are working like gang-busters on my commercial recording sessions.
What do you do to prep longer copy?
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
John Corbett the new voice of Applebees?
So I'm watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles last night (it was just ok), and an Applebees commercial comes on.I was a little surprised.
Had the folks at McCann Erickson finally come to their senses?
Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Wanda Sykes fan, but her voice doesn't necessarily scream "appetizing" to me.
John Corbett on the other hand...
He's so dreamy...
read more | digg story
someaudioguy some audio guy commercials voice over voice acting narration voice of applebees john corbett mccann erickson campaign career business
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Sony to license Beatles for use in music, commercials, films
Not sure how I feel about this.
It’s perfectly legal, but it will still seem to some listeners like the sound of someone making off with England’s crown jewels.
Forty years and more after the Beatles changed rock music forever, their songs have truly arrived in the 21st century as part of the rap/hip-hop art form — with the express permission of their publishers. Although there are hundreds of covers of ”Yesterday,” “Something” and the rest, this approach of ”interpolation” — essentially rerecording a portion of a song — of the Beatles’ compositions represents new access to the most famous catalogue in the world. These developments may ultimately signal a fresh attitude toward Beatles masters appearing in everything from commercials to movies.
That's not true. I don't like this idea.
read more | digg story
MSN via AP, Thanks Mrs. Audio Guy!!!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Angry DeNiro!
Not really audio per se, but it's right up there with the William Shatner post I did a while back.
From the AOL video blog "The Videologist":
And, while he seems to be unreasonable, I'm kinda with him, lil bit, a lil bit.
If you wanted cheesey big selly energy, why would you go with Bobby Deniro?
From the AOL video blog "The Videologist":
And, while he seems to be unreasonable, I'm kinda with him, lil bit, a lil bit.
If you wanted cheesey big selly energy, why would you go with Bobby Deniro?
Monday, June 4, 2007
I'm Tired of How Loud Commercials Are! And So is The ASA!
The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK has a great write up on the perceived volume of modern TV commercials.
It's so frustrating. There you are watching your favorite crime drama about hot young sexy NCIS/FBI/CIA/FDNY/LAPD/CSI/NSA/NSF/NYPD Agents investigating something. There's drama. There's intensity. There's always one old sage character that mumbles all his dialog (I'M LOOKING AT YOU CARUSO!!!) forcing you to continuously boost the volume on your TV. There's a "gasp" moment and then the picture fades.
Then a friggin soap commercial comes blaring in and almost ruptures the crappy speakers built into your crappy 27" CRT TV. The wife is getting all upset because it might bother the neighbors (who smoke so much pot I'm surprised they can hear anything), and the dog starts freaking out, and then I get all fed up and just turn the TV off and play Command and Conquer on my computer!
So why are these commercials SO FRAKKING LOUD?
In reality, they aren't, or, you could say, they don't peak louder than the show you were watching. They're compressed. Not like MP3's are compressed, in audio compressed means that the quietest parts of a piece of audio are boosted to almost match the loudest bits.
So, that show you're watching might use "quiet" for dramatic effect, but can get quite loud during say a shoot out or car chase, a commercial's quiet parts are going to be almost the same as the loud parts.
At their loudest the show and the commercial will be about the same, but at their quietest, the show will be FAR quieter than the commercial. As most shows cut to commercial at dramatic moments that means the commercial will be coming in FAR louder than the show left.
Fun right?
Well apparently this pisses more people off than just me, so the ASA is looking into how the standards for advertising volume are measured. For a more complete explanation of the problem, and their current plan for a solution, check out the article here.
If only we had something like this Stateside...
It's so frustrating. There you are watching your favorite crime drama about hot young sexy NCIS/FBI/CIA/FDNY/LAPD/CSI/NSA/NSF/NYPD Agents investigating something. There's drama. There's intensity. There's always one old sage character that mumbles all his dialog (I'M LOOKING AT YOU CARUSO!!!) forcing you to continuously boost the volume on your TV. There's a "gasp" moment and then the picture fades.
Then a friggin soap commercial comes blaring in and almost ruptures the crappy speakers built into your crappy 27" CRT TV. The wife is getting all upset because it might bother the neighbors (who smoke so much pot I'm surprised they can hear anything), and the dog starts freaking out, and then I get all fed up and just turn the TV off and play Command and Conquer on my computer!
So why are these commercials SO FRAKKING LOUD?
In reality, they aren't, or, you could say, they don't peak louder than the show you were watching. They're compressed. Not like MP3's are compressed, in audio compressed means that the quietest parts of a piece of audio are boosted to almost match the loudest bits.
So, that show you're watching might use "quiet" for dramatic effect, but can get quite loud during say a shoot out or car chase, a commercial's quiet parts are going to be almost the same as the loud parts.
At their loudest the show and the commercial will be about the same, but at their quietest, the show will be FAR quieter than the commercial. As most shows cut to commercial at dramatic moments that means the commercial will be coming in FAR louder than the show left.
Fun right?
Well apparently this pisses more people off than just me, so the ASA is looking into how the standards for advertising volume are measured. For a more complete explanation of the problem, and their current plan for a solution, check out the article here.
If only we had something like this Stateside...
Saturday, March 31, 2007
The Beginnings of my Horrible Awful Demo
Ok, it's not that bad. These are some of the first recordings I've made for my next demo. I don't spend a lot of time on myself, and little bit by little bit I'm going to make this a production worthy demo.
I've done it for others (because I get paid to), so now it's time to take care of myself (and maybe I'll even pay myself to do it, who knows).
Let me know how much it sucks!
Some Audio Guy's Initial Recordings for His Next Demo! WOOT!
Bigg's thinks it's tasty!
*** EDIT ***
Here's a streaming version, so you don't even need to navigate away from this page to have a chuckle over my VO skills! Enjoy!
voice over, some audio guy, voice acting, commercial, demo, acting, LA, work, business, tv, radio, aftra, sag
I've done it for others (because I get paid to), so now it's time to take care of myself (and maybe I'll even pay myself to do it, who knows).
Let me know how much it sucks!
Some Audio Guy's Initial Recordings for His Next Demo! WOOT!
Bigg's thinks it's tasty!
*** EDIT ***
Here's a streaming version, so you don't even need to navigate away from this page to have a chuckle over my VO skills! Enjoy!
|
voice over, some audio guy, voice acting, commercial, demo, acting, LA, work, business, tv, radio, aftra, sag
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Much Love and Respect for LaFontaine!
Gotta love "The Voice"!
To go along with my recent post on Voice Over artists being recognized on the Today Show...
Here's a great AP story on Don LaFontaine. He's easily become the most recognizable voice (and now face) in VO.
Read the rest of the article here!
some audio guy someaudioguy voice over announcers movie trailers don lafontaine voice acting
Is She the BEST Female Voice?
Voices.com held a contest to find the best Female voice.
Rachel Robinson won.
I actually really liked her work on the recent Coca-Cola campaign she voiced (even though we auditioned that one).
Best Female Voice Award winner Rachel Robinson, a national voice talent, has had several forward steps and 'breaks' throughout her career, including a fortuitous opportunity to work with Paul Reiser on his film "The Thing About My Folks". Rachel has also performed voice over work for the infamous television program "Celebrity Death Match" and most recently, voiced six commercial spots for The Coca-Cola Company's "Make Every Drop Count" campaign.
Read the rest of the article. It's a great write up on a woman who is very passionate about her VO!
someaudioguy some audio guy voice over voices.com talent auditioning commercials voice acting animation
Rachel Robinson won.
I actually really liked her work on the recent Coca-Cola campaign she voiced (even though we auditioned that one).
Best Female Voice Award winner Rachel Robinson, a national voice talent, has had several forward steps and 'breaks' throughout her career, including a fortuitous opportunity to work with Paul Reiser on his film "The Thing About My Folks". Rachel has also performed voice over work for the infamous television program "Celebrity Death Match" and most recently, voiced six commercial spots for The Coca-Cola Company's "Make Every Drop Count" campaign.
Read the rest of the article. It's a great write up on a woman who is very passionate about her VO!
someaudioguy some audio guy voice over voices.com talent auditioning commercials voice acting animation
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Gotta love the Shat! Voice Over Edition!
William SHATner that is!From the Howard Stern show, here's a clip of a commercial or narration session with Capt. Kirk himself.
HIGH-Larious!
At first I thought this was going to be like the Orson Welles recordings (with plenty of pompASSity), but by the end of the session I was rooting for Bill (also think it would be kinda fun to work with him).
If you've ever been in a difficult recording session (or directed one), you'll love this clip!
|
Thanks to Artt for the better version!
voice over, narration, celebrity, out take, blow up, booth director, narration, film, tv, radio, william shatner, funny
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Client blurb - DC Douglas
I think I might have to start posting more of these. They're kinda fun, and it feels a little like putting a good grade on the fridge... Saturday, March 03, 2007 Voice Over Guy Made Popular by GEICO Voice Over Talent D.C. Douglas receives much attention for his work on the current GEICO campaign Hollywood, CA (PRWeb) March 5, 2007 -- Professional voice over artist, D.C. Douglas, has been permanently etched onto the American cultural landscape as the announcer for the current national GEICO campaign. Playing for the past several months, the ads begin with Douglas introducing "real people" alongside celebrities such as Little Richard, Burt Bacharach, Verne Troyer (Mini Me), Peter Graves and Charo.The commercials have become such cult hits that they're downloaded off YouTube daily. They can also be heard at http://www.MyVoiceOverGuy.com. As an on-camera actor in Los Angeles, Douglas is familiar with moments of pop-culture identity. Over the years, guest star spots on several hit shows from "Beverly Hills: 90210" to "Charmed" to "24" have brought him the kind of attention that only fervent fans of pop culture can deliver. Though his film and television credits are extensive and span almost twenty years, it's the simple voice over jobs that seem to get the most notice. Work such as voicing The Master character on the "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" video game and his promo work for CBS Daytime Television continue to elicit inquiries years later. "However, nothing compares to the emails and job requests that came in once the GEICO spots started airing," says Douglas."It's incredible, unexpected, and just wonderful. And funny!I mean, I never imagined I'd be doing the voice over for a spot that featured the voice over GOD, Don LaFontaine!" The GEICO spots may be going on hiatus soon, but Douglas is already in the booth voicing another campaign for a national company and will be seen in four films coming out this year, including "Deadwater," in which he plays Lance Henriksen's nemesis. About D.C. DouglasD.C. Douglas is a voice over artist and on-camera actor in Los Angeles.His voice over work can be heard at http://www.MyVoiceOverGuy.com and his film and TV work can be seen at http://www.DCDouglas.net.See http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235006/ for his list of extensive film & TV credits.
LINK TO ORIGINAL BLURB, BUT IT'S REALLY JUST THE SAME THING AS YOU JUST READ ABOVE, SO REALLY THERE'S NO POINT IN CLICKING ON IT, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THE RIGHT THING TO DO
someaudioguy some audio guy voice over announcer performer voice acting commercials
LINK TO ORIGINAL BLURB, BUT IT'S REALLY JUST THE SAME THING AS YOU JUST READ ABOVE, SO REALLY THERE'S NO POINT IN CLICKING ON IT, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THE RIGHT THING TO DO
someaudioguy some audio guy voice over announcer performer voice acting commercials
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
TV's all screwed up...
So, after watching 'The Black Donnelly's' last night AT THE EXPENSE of 'Studio 60', and tonight realizing that 'Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader' will probably trounce 'Veronica Mars', I have to wonder just what the hell is going on. Why is it SO hard to keep a well written, well produced, ensemble comedy/drama on the air? There are audiences for these shows! Really, what IS the deal?
some audio guy someaudioguy kristin bell veronica mars tv rant
some audio guy someaudioguy kristin bell veronica mars tv rant
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