One of the great things about being a professional voiceover is working with extremely talented individuals like Mark Davies of Mark Davies Creations…

…and this project was no exception.

Just a short comedy animation, but great fun to record and the end result kind of puts life into perspective!  As it’s entitled, U.F.OH!

See what you think…

Well, as a session musician of sorts, after years of using the same old keyboard equipment I finally decided to upgrade earlier this year.

After loads of research I bought the amazing Kurzweil PC361 and even managed to find a reasonably priced model on eBay (although it did mean driving to Shepherd’s Bush, London, with a pocket full of cash and going to the 11th floor of what, to me, seemed like a very dodgy tower block that smelled of wee(d)!).

The Awesome Kurzweil PC361

Anyway, I was absolutely delighted with the Kurzweil – the piano samples were amazing and as for the Hammond organ sounds …wow! But that’s probably for another Blog post.

I was even more delighted to be asked to play a solo session on some studio demos for a young up-and-coming singer/songwriter called Corrina. So a little while ago we headed off to Kite Recording Studios in Cambridge and, under the watchful eye of excellent engineer Roger Chatterton, recorded a couple of Corrina’s tracks as live demos.

These are a little “rough around the edges” (my piano playing not Corrina’s voice!) – but bear in mind we only had limited studio / rehearsal time.

See what you think…

Well it’s not every day you get asked to voice the introductory video for a global network marketing business, but my Agent from Denmark told me that Amway had heard my voice and wanted me!

Amway was started in the 1950’s by Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos selling NUTRILITE™ Dietary Supplements door-to-door and in the 1960’s their famous business model was born.

Today, Amway is a thriving international multi-billion dollar business with over 3 million independent Amway Business Owners worldwide!

The video was created by the excellent and talented Rikke Bjerre from Rixi Animation.

See what you think…

Well, this time Bristol Zoo were unveiling their new Dinosaur Exhibit at Bristol Zoo Gardens and asked my colleague, Nick Ralph at Bristol Film Studios to source a Don LaFontaine film trailer style voice over: “…in a world where dinosaurs roamed…” etc. You get the picture.

Luckily, I’ve been doing this type of impression a long time so was happy to have a go, as a tribute to Don of course. The recording called for a very close mic’d technique and swallowing lots of sandpaper beforehand (not really!), but I think we did a really good job.

Dr Bryan Carroll director of Bristol Zoo, said: “It’s fantastic that the dinosaurs are finally here, it is amazing to see them close-up in all their glory – they are quite a spectacle. We are sure that DinoZoo will be a fantastically popular new attraction that will take our guests on a journey that started over 200 million years ago.”

See what you think…

Here’s the follow-up…

And, just for fun, here are the dinosaurs arriving at Bristol Zoo…

Yes, yes, yes – the team at MadBid.com hired me yet again to voice  a series of four short tutorial videos for their website. This time, I worked with the most excellent Michael Vischer of Alpha Omega Media who produced the animation – first class, I think you’ll agree!

See what you think…

…and finally…

Hope you liked them!

A smooth, conversational, close mic’d voice was what I was asked for by OPL Productions for this interesting new app being launched by Blue Butterfly Digital later this month.

The app itself is: “… a revolutionary new means of providing your customers with a safe, convenient and easy way to connect to your wi-fi – and it helps your online business profile too …”

See what you think of the voice over!

Good technology! 

OK – this time “sophistication” was required by the MadBid Team for a matching pair of TV adverts – one for the Guys and one for the Girls!  They wanted a little less of the past frenetic shouty-type ads and a bit more cool.

Honestly, I’ve never been called “cool” in my life but you have to give it a go, don’t you.

It was a bit of a squeeze, getting all the dialogue into the 29 second TV time slots and you can probably hear this in the severe radio edit ie. all possible breaths and even spaces in-between words have been edited out.

As usual, it’s always fun working with the MadBid Team, Media Music Now and, new partner, 360Red Productions (who I actually worked with in 2007 on the famous Easyfood TV commercial!).

See what you think – it’s a long way from the original MadBid Man commercials, but I like it!

One for the fellas…

…and one for the laydeeeeez!

Enjoy! 

I’m writing this month’s Blog from sunny California – San Diego to be exact, where I’ve just run around six miles along Pacific Beach.

Why run, I hear you ask, when a car is much quicker?

Hmmm …good point and one I would have certainly raised myself a few years ago. But ever so slowly, I have actually become quite a keen runner and over the last few years have completed three triathlons, two half marathons and, just few weeks ago, the Men’s Health Survival of the Fittest challenge, in and around Battersea Power Station, London.

Anthony Richardson …Born Survivor!

So why am I telling you all this? Well, strangely, as a by-product of all this fanatical fitness stuff my ability to read a passage of text without taking a breath has improved exponentially.

What does that mean then?

It means that a good proportion of a voice over’s life is usually spent editing-out breaths from their recordings. This is generally referred to as producing a “radio edit” as advertisers tend to try and cram as many words into a 30 second slot as possible – and there is just no time for breathing. Time is money!

So…  I used to spend ages deleting breaths from my recordings and shortening the gaps slightly, where the breaths used to be, to keep the flow sounding natural, but allowing many more words into an allotted timeslot. But now, being much fitter than I was a few years ago, I take far fewer breaths and so the recording and editing process is MUCH quicker and the flow of the text I am reading sounds much more natural.

Cool huh?

Happy client, happy voice over!

So, why not invest in yourself?  Put out that ciggy, get your trainers on and get a little out of breath.  It actually pays …ca$h!

(Oh, and you’ll probably feel better for it too – one thing I forgot to mention is that getting fit generally allows you to eat what you want, when you want.  Mmmm… doughnuts!).

Let me know what you think.

Well, what can I say about that?  What a fantastic product and I can’t wait to get my hands on one (hopefully I’ll be able to keep the kids from stealing it!).

When you get a script for such a fun project, it’s hard not to have fun with the voice over, so me and my friends from Lambda Films decided to go with the crazy “MadBid Man” voice stylee (did I say “stylee?” Apologies, I thought I was back in the 90’s for a minute).

Why not try a Popitball yourself?  They’re on sale at Harrods but you can also get one direct from the official Popitball website at: www.popitball.co.uk.

You might even have a go at beating Jeremy Lynch’s Popitball Guinness World Record …you never know!

See what you think…

Aaaaaw – one of my all time favourite jobs is voicing animations and now everyone can make their own with: www.Learn2Animate.com.

I recorded a few different versions of this script ranging from a straight read to a crazy ‘game show’ style. In the end the enthusiastic version won-out and it was definitely the right choice.

Why not have a go yourself – you could win your own version of Stop Motion Pro.

Anyway, see what you think and maybe I can add a voice to your finished results?  Hmmm? …maybe? …yes? …huh?