Blue Microphone's Kiwi on ABC's 'Nashville', but set up improperly?

Ok, you uber-mic nerds are going to appreciate this one.

Nashville has become one of my favorite guilty pleasures, chock full of nighttime soapy drama, and some great music tracks produced weekly. It's also just fun as a gear head seeing what fancy recording equipment these fictional musicians will be thrown in front of next.

Like this Blue Kiwi, one of my all time favorite studio mics. I like this mic so much, that even my wife caught it as the show zoomed in on actress Chaley Rose singing in front of one.

"Hey it's that green mic you like!" 

I look up from my laptop, enjoy a "hey cool" moment, and start to look back down until I double take back up to the screen. The mic's pins are still in...

You'd have to know your way around this particular mic, but when shipped, the Kiwi has three pins installed to protect the diaphragm during transport. We can zoom in a bit to see them a little better.

Yeah. They look cool, but those things are supposed to be removed before you use the mic. Out of the box there's even an angry little red tag that instructs you to remove those pins. Which means that setting up the shot, someone had to unpack the mic, set it up on a shockmount, look at the red tag, and remove it, all without pulling those guard pins.

It's a small gaffe, but if you actually work in recording, it's a funny distraction.

Crispin Freeman Announces 'Durarara!!' - A New Show on Adult Swim

Crispin Freeman is an incredible voice talent, and if you've watched an animated series, anime, or played a video game in the last ten years, then there's a really good chance you've heard some of his work.
In this video he has the honor of announcing a new show on Adult Swim, and I'm really looking forward to checking it out!
Enter 'DURARARA!!'



Also, Crispin is an impressively accomplished media scholar, and will be teaching a sci-fi and fantasy  mythology class at the Vidiots Annex  in Los Angeles starting June 22, 2011. For those of you who get into a little film study style analysis, it should be a fantastic course.

For more info on Crispin's class head over to the Vidiots Annex!
For more info on  'DURARARA!!', head over to the Durarara USA site!

Seeing Your Work on TV: Anti-Smoking Edition

We went multiple rounds casting these PSA's, and out of all the final versions, this one is my favorite.

Titled "Don't Stop Fighting", we watch someone struggle (with themselves) to quit smoking, and speaking as someone who hasn't lit a cig in over seven years, I know exactly where this spot is coming from...

Voiced by actor/writer extraordinaire Brian Bloom (A-Team, The Avengers Animated, Dragon Age II), he is genuinely one of my favorite people to direct.

You can watch the PSA on the official site here:
http://www.TobaccoFreeCA.com

Reverend Run Records an Audiobook.

WHO'S HOUSE???

RUN'S HOUSE!!!

Ok, we all know reality TV is anything but real, but I gotta say Run's House is becoming a guilty pleasure. It's WAY setup, and this clip is no exception, but I blog about VO and narration and junk, so it was just too hard to pass this one up.

Apparently Rev Run wrote a book about his family, and will be doing his own narration for the audiobook. I found this bit to be HIGH-sterical, as Run acts like he's NEVER been in front of a microphone before.

Of course nothing goes as planned [cue up sitcom music cue - WAAH WAAAAAAHHHH].



Hey, I think that's an Audio-Technica AT4040 he's on there. Neat, but what the crap is up with the engineer's FORTY track mixer there for ONE mic?

Anywho, I call shenanigans. Tomfoolery. Antics. Mischief. Hijinks. Malarkey.
During the "recording" session he seems really bored and stiff, very unnatural, almost like he's waiting for people to come in and interrupt him.

Like his kids.
Spontaneously.
Just at the same time he's reading passages in the book that are about them.

Right.

Also he's MUCH better at narration than this. How do I know? Well, see, he has this adorable candle lit, bath time, "Dougie Howser" style episode recap with his BlackBerry.

Which he narrates.

Really well.


audiobook voice over narration recording tv reality hip hop

AFTRA votes YES, what does this mean for Voice Over?

Yup.

By a margin of about 62%, AFTRA members have ratified a new 3 year prime time TV contract.
It'll be interesting to see how SAG responds to this, and what impact it will have on their current negotiations with the AMPTP.

For more info on the particulars of this contract head over to VoiceOverXtra, or you can read my interview with AFTRA Vice President Holter Graham.

Here we go...

Voice of KITT, William Daniels, Provides Voice Over for Mio GPS! NOW WITH VIDEO!!!

This is such a perfect idea, I'm AMAZED no one thought of it sooner.



William Daniels is providing the voice over for turn by turn directions on a specialty "Knight Rider" branded GPS unit by Mio.



Gizmodo is reporting that the unit will go for $299 when released.





If ANYthing could unseat my current TomTom unit with John Cleese's voice, it would be this.



KITT giving you turn by turn?!?! COME ON!!!



Oh-Oh WAIT!!!



Whattabout a KARR GPS voiced by Peter Cullen!?!?!?



OMG!



I've gotta go write the Media Relations people over at Mio RIGHT NOW!



***EDIT 6/23/08***

A Youtuber by the name of "knightrideronline" has posted a video demonstration!



It's KEEN!

PopSiren's Dr. Kiki explains how earbuds work

So, you should REALLY be watching PopSiren. I think it's one of Revision3's most ambitious shows yet (and Heather Frank is pretty bad ass). The show, hosted by Sarah Lane and Jessica Corbin, covers all manner of subjects from lifehacking to DIY, and Dr. Kiki covers a lot of "Mr. Wizard"- like topics (like making fire dance with sound waves).

In their most recent episode Dr. Kiki demonstrated how earbud headphones work. Being the A/V nerd that I am, how could I NOT be totally stoked. I've written about earbuds before, and was really happy to hear Dr. Kiki also warn her audience about the possible hearing damage associated with cheap earbuds.

Here's Episode 6 of PopSiren, but you should really subscribe to this show with something like Miro.
Enjoy!

someaudioguy some audio guy music voice over hearing headphones recording equipment voice acting demo production adr dubbing

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

Knight Rider ... kinda ... meh ...

So how do you ruin a show about an autonomous, artificially intelligent, swiss army knife, mega awesome, super car?



Easy.



Don't let your awesome car do anything.



Like, AT ALL!



I just spent the last two hours yelling at my TV. "DO SOMETHING!" was mostly what I was pleading. I can forgive stiff performances in a pilot (movie? LOL). I can forgive bad-ish writing. None of these things have been figured out yet. There's no synergy between actors, directors, producers, and writers yet. I'm not expecting gold, just not total crap.



There was no sense to Knight Rider tonight, AT ALL!

The original show was about action, and adventure, and a snarky talking car (woot, William Daniels!). Tonight's "movie" was two hours of dreary, badly lit, non-interesting character back story.

I don't really care that much about Michael's back story and problems. Just SHOW me he can be kick ass. This implausible explanation of him being a former Ranger AND a failed race car driver was just grating. Especially as he didn't get to exhibit skills from EITHER profession.

I don't care about Mike and Sarah, and I especially don't care enough to have them stop KITT in the middle of the night on a deserted desert road to get out (of awesome car) and TALK about how much I don't care about their relationship. I had never prayed so hard for a cheesy flashback...

Bruce Davison is awesome, but I don't care that much about his back story. Really any audience for this "movie" already knew there was a previous "Knight Rider".

I don't care about Mike's Mom, and it's almost funny that neither did Mike, as there was almost no tension or emotional distress over seeing her SHOT IN THE CHEST and die right before his eyes. That's NOT the actor's fault! Justin Bruening is a soap actor. It DON'T GET NO more emo than that.

It's even insulting that they add in Mike being the son of Michael Knight (as if his Mom's death wasn't insulting enough). There was no need. NONE! The Hoff still could've had the exact same scene at the end, and through no fault of the actors, it would've meant exactly the same thing (very little). It was a useless nod to the original, that served no purpose other than to take us away from KITT again, and have more people talk at us.



Here's a hint:

More people talking AT me = less awesome KITT DOING something.



So in the last half hour, men with guns show up, and since I've yet to care about anything else, I can't even care about that. What? They're "hacking" KITT? Well since you've given us NOTHING to go on with what KITT can do (other than shape shifting, and that he still runs on GAS hopefully premium), I care not at all for this contrived techno-plot laziness.



Kilmer does a decent enough job with what he's given, but why did they HAVE to go out of their way to strip KITT of ALL personality.

This defies reason. The best and most memorable of robots/pets/sidekicks have PERSONALITY! It's why we care about them. William Daniel's original KITT was a snarky, condescending, know-it-all. LOVE IT! Data from Star Trek is a puppy-like blabber mouth. LOVE IT! HAL from 2001 is a ruthlessly simple authoritarian, programed to coldly accomplish his task at all costs. Freaked me out!

WE CARE ABOUT ROBOTS! EVEN THE SUICIDAL GM ROBOT FROM LAST YEAR'S SUPERBOWL! They're like our pets, but they also reflect ourselves, where we're from and how far we've come. I hate seeing robots done poorly...

Just as Lassie was about a boy and his dog, Free Willy a boy and his orca, and Star Wars a boy and his Wookie, this should've been a boy and his awesome car. Simple. Easy. HOW CAN YOU FAIL‽‽‽

[See what I did there. I used a GM commercial as an example of something that evoked a reaction, against what was essentially a two hour Ford commercial that evoked no reaction other than blatant frustration over how little I cared. That was for Will Arnett, voice of GMC!]



It's just really sad that the four Ford Focus commercials peppered throughout, were more fun (and better acted/directed), than the show surrounding them. Fun, right? Whatta concept...



This is exactly what NBC did to Bionic Woman. Let's take a fun action/adventure show that people have fond memories of, strip out most of the action, shoot it really dark and "edgy", mire it in dreary emotionless human drama and back story, and KILL any sense of fun. Way to go NBC! I'm sure using the EXACT same formula that failed with your "Dark Angel" clone (not really much of a success in its own right) will totally provide different (and more successful) results here...



*Sigh*



I'm going to bed.

700MHz Auction Starts Today!

Say "goodbye" to TV over the air, and hopefully "hello" to a faster, more competitive, easier to use data environment.
It all depends on who wins this auction, and the FCC will be posting info on their site.
With the USA falling farther and farther behind every other industrialized country in terms of broadband reach AND speed of our network (coupled with the fact that with no true competition in the ISP arena thanks to a collusive market, we pay more for less), it's getting more and more depressing to think that we invented the damn thing (the internet that is ... I know I know CERN and all that other mess... but come on).
This auction could be a watershed moment in the history of telecommunications. It could radically change how we consume data, how we pay for it. It could help spread fast cheap access to even the most disadvantaged or rural.

Or it could get gobbled up by some mega-corp and we'll continue to pay more for less, subsidizing these industries with tax dollars, paying for horrible service, and languishing behind the rest of the world.

I'll push it even farther. This could seal our irrelevance to the rest of the world. There, I said it.

Anywho, check out the auction at the FCC site, and if you really want to learn more about the players involved, and what impact this could have on us Amuricans, Gizmodo had a great write up that you should check out.

Letterman and WGA Reach Agreement!

He Shoots, HE SCORES!!!
(lol teh cheesie)






This is extremely exciting news! As reported by NYT, Worldwide Pants Inc, the company behind The Late Show with David Letterman, and The Late Late Show with Colin Ferguson has worked out a deal with the WGA.

Read the whole article HERE.

This is my favorite part of the article:
On Friday evening, the leaders of the two writers unions, Michael Winship of the East Coast guild and Patric M. Verrone of the West Coast guild, upped the ante in a letter sent to members. It said the unions would urge actors and politicians to appear on the Worldwide Pants shows and stay clear of the others, which would be subject to even more intense picketing.

Take THAT Carson Daly! SCAB!!!

How did I not catch this! Will Arnett the voice of K.I.T.T. ‽‽‽

Seriously people!
How can you all let me miss this stuff???
I had to go to a CAR BLOG to hear about this‽‽‽

Anywho, Jalopnik has the scoop on the new voice of KITT for the resurrected Knight Rider series planned. Of course, because it's a car blog, they're more focused on the fact that the new KITT is a Ford Mustang and not a GM car (the original KITT of course a Firebird). I feel this is missing the point . It's WILL FRIGGIN ARNETT!!!

Seriously, this is really cool. Arnett is a very good voice over performer, and has done a ton of commercial work, not to mention credits in Ratatouille and Ice Age: The Meltdown.

That actually brings up an interesting issue. As Arnett is currently the voice of GMC... ...will there be any fallout over him voicing an autonomous, artificially intelligent, crime fighting Ford?


Read Jalopnik's Post and see pics of the new KITT.

News Sound Bites - Music Software, MP3 Player busts Cop, Morgan Webb, OpenHulu

Some cool stories to check out around the web.

ExtremeTech has started a series on digital music creation. What's interesting about the read is it's from a gadget blog writer, not a pro-sumer musician, so the advice is a bit more consumer-friendly. [Part1, Part2, via ExtremeTech]

NYTimes has a story up about a kid busting a cop with his MP3 player. Apparently he wasn't read his Miranda, and caught the whole thing on an MP3 player in his pocket. The iPod doesn't have built in recording, hmmmm... [NYT via Gizmodo]

MTV Multiplayer is trying to boost its readership, and it picked a perfect interview to do it. Morgan Webb discusses the challenges and frustrations of being a girl gamer (a little skewed by the fact that she's probably the most recognized girl gamer on the planet right now). I just think it's funny when she says she avoids forums because some jerk always ruins the discussion, and of course the comments on the interview are mostly jerky comments. [MTV Multiplayer]

And lastly, are you bummed that you haven't been invited into Hulu's private beta? Are you dreaming of all that free (ad supported) TV, just waiting to be streamed to your computer monitor (which if you're like me is nicer than your TV anyway)? Well, you can stop bumming out! A kindly web citizen has taken it upon himself to link as much Hulu content as he can to OpenHulu.com. I'm watching TinMan right now. While I type this. I know! [OpenHulu]

Well Said! Clear simple viewpoint on WGA Strike - "Why We Fight"

It's amazing what four cents can do...

"Why We Fight"

Thor Versus Hulk!

Quick follow up to my very last post.
How could I have forgotten about this!
Hulk and Thor HAVE ALREADY BATTLED!!!

Check it out:

The Actors of SpongeBob Square Pants

I love stuff like this. Watching voice actors work is high-sterical. Crazy expressions, physicality, yelling their guts out, it just looks like so much fun (though it looks like really hard work).

That and it's SpongeBob man!

Television Studios Embrace BitTorrent

I've been saying for a while, file sharing is not evil. File sharing is JUST a delivery method. It only matters what files are being shared.
P2P, Youtube, etc, there may be copyright violations, but I still can't believe that they don't actually serve to drive more awareness and higher sales. Album sales were never higher than the peak of Napster, and didn't start to dry up until fans were sued.

It's nice to see a few savvy execs realize that these aren't thieves, they're fans "spreading the word". It's free advertising...

"From loathing and resisting BitTorrent and the illegal distribution of their shows to encouraging downloading and leaking pilots, TV studios have a come a long way. The creator of ‘Weeds’ is stoked that someone pirated her show."

read more | digg story

NBC to begin Streaming Episodes of "Conan O'Brien"

Again, not really audio related, but good to know. NBC will start streaming shows August 27, with daily episodes available the next day at 5 a.m. PDT. Now if only The Daily Show hadn't already worked out that deal with iTunes...

read more | digg story

AMPTP wants "Wait and See" for New Media/Distribution

To steal a line from Sexy Beast "NO NONONONONO NO! NONONONONONONO! NO!"

From Broadcast Newsroom:

"All three contracts expire within the next year. But the profit picture for new platforms -- including Internet Streaming, ipod content purchases and video-on-demand -- will be clearer in 24-36 months, they argued.

...

Producers suggested that unions allow for a three-year study of the impact of Internet viewing before new contracts are crafted. Right now the digital landscape is so unpredictable that deals for broadband productions are rarely more than one year, he said."

COME ON! Cable, Home Video, DVD, Video Games, HOW MANY TIMES IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN?!?! If AFTRA, SAG, WGA, and the DGA dont play this round smart I really see disastrous consequences (and strikes) for 2008.

Alternative Distribution Methods Affecting Union Talks

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...