There were many highlights during VOICE 2007, but one I’ll not quickly forget was the presentation by my friend Connie Terwilliger on Self-Evaluation. Connie is now making that presentation available as a 2-CD set on her web site.
People
Ellen McLain talks about game voiceovers
Ellen McLain is interviewed by IGN.com about her work in the game Portal.
Behind the scenes at a game show
My friend and mentor Philip Banks has posted a delightful story on the VO-BB about a day spent working as the voiceover for a game show taping. Wonderful insights about both the fun and the other bits involved in such an enterprise.
Podcasting for voice actors
My friend Frank Frederick has written an excellent article on podcasting over at Voice Over Xtra. Lots of good ideas here. Thank you Frank, and thank you John Florian for your excellent site. If you haven’t signed up for Voice Over Xtra, why not do it today?
You have a nice voice
Ever hear that? Are you wondering if that means you should try to pursue some voiceover work? Check out the blog post from my friend Bryan Cox for some insights into the answer to that question. And while you’re there, be sure you read the comments from J. S. Gilbert. After you’ve been there, I’d be interested to read what you think.
Dave Houston featured in a new podcast
My friend Dave Houston is featured in episode 12 of the Voice Overs On Demand podcast, the current episode as I write this. Thanks for posting the link on the VO-BB, Dave.
Pat Fraley has really done it this time
My friend Pat Fraley, one of the finest voiceover talents extant, is not only brilliant at doing voiceovers; he’s brilliant at teaching voiceover as well. Normally it costs a pretty hefty chunk of change to study with Pat, but he emails today to say “check out this page on my website.” So, I do. And what’s there? A series of free voiceover lessons. Yes, free.
Were I you, I’d visit soon. One of these days Pat may come to his senses and take the page down.
A true delight
A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Dave Hoffmann at one of the International Radio Creative and Production Summit meetings that Dan O’Day hosts in Los Angeles. A few times since then Dave has hired me through his production company, Audio Architects. Today I got a chance to work with Dave again, which reminded me what a terrifically nice guy he is. Whether you hire him to voice or produce, if you work with Dave Hoffmann and Audio Architects, I’m quite sure you’ll have a great experience, too.
A look into Kara’s diary
My friend Kara Edwards is one of a number of working women featured in a new book titled Water Cooler Diaries: Women Across America Share Their Day at Work
The Don on Free Radio
My friend Anna Vocino is one of the stars of a new television series on VH1 called Free Radio. A guest on the program for one episode is Don LaFontaine. Anna emails me to say you can find the list of the showtimes on the VH1 website. And while you’re there, check out the bonus content from the episode that you won’t see on the air.
11 months isn’t a long time
Eleven months ago, on the 13th of March 2007 to be exact, my friend Jeffrey Kafer made his first post to his voiceover blog. In that first post he made a confession…
I’ve never gotten a paid VO gig.
Eleven months and 8 days later, on the 21st of February 2008 to be exact, Jeffrey added a post to his voiceover blog that represented quite an accomplishment. He was given the 2008 Voicey Award for Best New Voice.
Mighty fine work, Jeffrey. You’ve come a long way in a short time. I’m sure there are many more heights for you to scale. I know I’m going to enjoy the show.
Slow progress is better than none
My friend Dave Courvoisier has been wrestling with Pro Tools for several days now, a battle he has detailed on his voiceover blog. Recently there’s been some good progress. My heart really goes out to Dave because I’ve fought a few of these software/hardware/driver battles myself over the years. I’m glad to see that things are starting to come clear, Dave. I hope you’re able to run all of these glitches to the ground and soon.
More thoughts on the sound of your room
In case you don’t see it in the comments to my post of a couple of days ago, Some Audio Guy has written some brilliant observations about room treatment, adding a booth (or not) to your voiceover studio at home and has provided some excellent links to further reading on the subject, over on his blog.
The lost is found and all that jazz
My friend Rowell Gormon remains one of the most talented people I know. Recently, as we were talking together about his blog, in the background I was digging through some of the cached archives of his old blog and stumbled on the text of the one blog post he hadn’t been able to reconstruct. Sadly with the demise of that old blog, the multiple comments left there seem to be lost to the ages. But, you can once again enjoy Rowell’s fabulous wit and brilliant insights into jazz music and voiceover work, now that he’s posted the text on his new blog.
Bobbin Beam’s blogiversary
A few days ago my friend Bobbin Beam celebrated her first blogiversary. Congratulations and thanks for a superb first year of blogging about voiceover, Bobbin.
Congratulations to Scott Brick on his Audie nominations
As I was reading Scott Brick’s blog today I found this wonderful post that includes the note that he’s been nominated for two Audie Awards this year. Good for you, Scott. By the way, if you too are a fan of Scott’s reading, there’s an audio version of each of his blog posts linked at the top of the page.
Cipriano at home and on the road
Joe Cipriano’s microphone of choice is the Neumann U87ai, according to this article at the ProSoundWeb site.
A couple of things stand out to me in this article. One being that Joe brings his Neumann with him on the road. I do the same. I always want to provide my clients with the best possible sound, even if I happen to be traveling.
The other being what Joe does to get good voiceover audio in his hotel room.
I always set up on a desk, and put a towel down on it. I’ll usually pull the curtains closed and put my back to them. I’ll take pillows from the bed or the sofa and put them angled in a V behind the microphone, so I’m talking into the microphone with pillows behind it and drapery behind me. It works out well and sounds pretty good.
I’ve been doing this for the last few years, too. While I know that several folks have had great experiences traveling with a portable booth made from a small, collapsible crate stuffed with acoustic foam; I travel often enough that I want to have as little to take with me on the road as I possibly can. Using the drapes and pillows as Joe’s described here works very well most of the time. A few times, under the worst of circumstances, I’ve pulled a heavy blanket from the bed and thrown that over my head, the microphone and my laptop as a kind of make-shift booth.
By the way, my thanks to Tim McLaughlin for the link to the article on his voiceover blog.
Bob Fraser video
Judy Kerr interviews Bob Fraser in a video that’s posted on her MySpace site. Excellent insights into acting, with much of value to those of us who primarily focus on voice acting.
Dealing with mouth noise and other challenges
My friend Kitzie Stern writes about some of ways she’s learned to deal with mouth noise and similar challenges when in the voiceover booth. From soft clothing to Breathe Right strips there are several valuable suggestions. By the way, be sure you read the comments, when you’ll find an interesting recipe from Stephanie Ciccarelli, not to mention quite the word picture from Kitzie.
The voices of the non-human
My friend Lou Zucaro has started a voiceover blog and as I was reading through it I noticed this wonderful post about some of the unseen voice talent who have given voice to computers and other non-human entities in various films and television series. Good stuff, Lou. Thanks for digging all this interesting material out of the dusty corners of the Internet.