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Select t-shirt size (if you’re buying option 2)

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Or if you prefer not to use Paypal: http://www.piehole.ie/pages/Piehole-Dublin-Meetup

Hilary Fennell has contributed a short story in a charity book called ‘Celebrating What Really Matters’ in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation. The book is  and is available nationwide in Easons and Supervalu for €9.99, as well as through www.powerswhiskey.com / www.thankyouproject.ie.

Hilary’s story is included along with the other 39 finalists from the Irish Times/ Powers competition earlier this year and would make a perfect stocking filler!

Check out Hilary’s Profile here

We’re extremely proud of David Cronin, Amy Stack and Toni Webb, the three Piehole voice overs who proudly represented us on TV3′s  ‘The Apprentice’ last Monday night.

Each of them made a quick appearance on the small screen and showed the Irish nation what being a professional VO is all about.

Our very own Ruler, PG, also makes a short but sweet appearance at 13mins 45 secs. Don’t even blink…………your ears.

Favourite quote of the episode relating to the merits of hiring a professional voice over:

Business Yuppy one: “I don’t think we need a voice over, I really don’t”

Business legend and future Bill Cullen: “It makes some difference. It makes it into a real professional ad to have a good voice over”

Business Yuppy: “I’ll do it”

Business Legend: “You’d want to be smoking 20 a day!” – Brilliant!

Check out the stars profiles here!

Toni Webb + David Cronin + Amy Stack

Pom’s little Trilogy of short films ‘Today’, ‘Hard Day’ & ‘Birthday’ are to be shown together, for the first time, at The Cork Film Festival on Sunday the 13th November at the Triskel. Pom would love to see you there. You can check out the details here at The Cork Film Festival website

Check out Pom’s VO Profile here!

What led you into the world of voice overs?

A hand in the back. I was pushed. I’d been presenting radio shows and making documentaries, yet was blithely unaware of all things VO. But then some quite clued-in people gave me a shunt to try voice work. One (short!) train ride later, here I am. 

Piehole VO Liam Geraghty’s podcast ‘The Comic Cast’  has won the Best Independent Podcaster at the Irish Web Awards 2011 which took place in the Mansion House Dublin yesterday (Sat 22nd). Alongside his co-host Craig O’Connor they were both delighted with the win. On the Comic Cast, Liam & Craig review comic books and interview artists.

Check out Liam’s profile here and congratulations from all the Piehole team!

Piehole VO Guy Harris has just become the voice of ALL of the characters in WORMS Ultimate Mayhem. A cult video game for over 20 years, they’ve now just released a new version.

Check out Guy’s Profile Here and the awesome VO job he’s done below

Hilary Cotter has just finished editing her new acting showreel.  It’s only 1min 17secs long, so go on, have a quick peek at it and listen to her voice reels on her profile here

1. You can become a dual income couple – pay your spouse through the business up to the limit of his / her 20% Income Tax limit moving income from 41% to 20%.
2. Look to earn tax-exempt income – rent-a-room ( €10,000 per year ), Patent income ( €250,000 per year )
3. Look to realise Capital Gains ( @ 25% ) rather than Income ( up to 46.5% including PRSI plus the new Income Levy of up to 6% on all income ). You can do this by, for example, selling off part of your business. Could you start an easily-separated section of your existing business with a plan to sell it in a few years to take advantage of Capitals Gains Tax.
4. Pay pension contributions through the business. Directors can pay any amount into a pension – employees are restricted to contributing a proportion of their income.
5. Pay your commuter train or bus ticket through the business, get your mobile phone invoiced and paid through the business, purchase your home office computer through the business. Pay some of your rent and utilities bills to yourself for your home office.

For 25 more tax tips for Irish residents, check out http://www.osullivanassociates.ie/tax_tips.htm.

Congratulations to our favourite Frenchy VO Dom, who will have a roll in the upcoming feature film “Long Time Coming“.

It was written and directed by Steve Nesbit, produced by Ben Foottit (Curio Films) and with executive producer Mark Foligno (The King’s Speech).

Check out the Movie Preview here and Dominique’s VO Profile here.

Brian sent us on a radio ad he recorded a while back so we thought we’d throw it up for you guys to have a listen. 

It mos-def caught me off guard but what do you think??

Brian’s Radio Ad

Check out Brian Walsh’s profile here

What led you to get into the world of voiceovers?
My background is steeped in the arts, in my youth I was a professional child actor, I’m also a classically trained pianist, singer/songwriter/ producer & attended art college where I graduated with a diploma in graphic design.
I have worked in sales for many years predominantly within the telecommunications industry but it was when I started selling airtime for a newly launched radio station in Ireland that I caught the VO bug.

Keen to grab the mic & return to my acting roots, I often provided voiceovers & wrote copy for many of my clients. Over time I had enough varied commercials & promos under my belt to put together my first commercial demo. I was nominated for an industry “Green Horn Copyrighting Award” & I also attracting some outside work opportunities through advertising agencies & independent production houses.
This is when I decided to take the plunge & establish Soundbite Production in late October 2008. I’ve never looked back since… Everyday is exciting & different; I’m forging great working relationships with people right across the globe.

What’s the most interesting job you’ve had to date and why?
Did you know that I’m a professional cougher? Yes you read that right… One job required me to just provide as many different coughs as possible, I know my face did that too when I read the brief. Need a cough? I’m your man.

What style of reading would you say is your strongest?
Commercial reads would be my forte I suppose but I’m getting booked for more narration work these days.
My voice is being used for training DVDs, product demonstrations; corporate presentations, E-learning applications, online content & I’ve just had interest from a US publisher about an audio book opportunity.

What single piece of advice would you give to aspiring voice over actors?
There is no secret to voiceover success, It’s hard work, don’t expect a pat on the back for your efforts & if you can’t take rejection well then I’d advise you to back away now.

It’s imperative to get some formal training; the best pro-active & necessary step is to attend an acting class or voiceover workshop. Not only will this provide you with a real gauge of your raw ability but you will also quickly learn that there is much more to voiceover work than merely reading copy.

That said though you must practice reading out loud – Listening is the Key, Turn on the radio or TV & listen to the different styles of reads that are out there. You need direction in the beginning to help you become aware of where your technique is weak or failing. But by all means, read books, too! They will give you great insight into the mechanics. But, it all comes down to those sound vibrations and how they land on the listener’s ear.

Most people want to skip this whole part and get right to the money making part. Believe me, if you skip this part, no one will want to pay you for what you’ll be offering. Ego and confidence are not a substitute for talent and technique. I’ll repeat myself again here… It’s a tough career path (but what isn’t these days) if you have a genuine love for this game go for it, put every ounce of energy into it & never give up.

Do you prefer recording from your home studio or are you happier to take direction from copywriters and sound engineers?
I’m flexible – It’s whatever the client prefers really. 99% of the time I’m churning out recordings from my home studio but I have been known to venture out & visit other studios. I’m happiest behind the mic; geography isn’t an issue these days as I can take direction via ISDN, phone patch or even Skype.

Anything else you would like to let us know?
My website has recently had a makeover; it’s all my own work, only taking me the bones of 2+ years to build (not bad for a complete novice) nip over & have a nosey at www.soundbite.ie

Check out Marc’s Profile here

YAY! We would like to offer congratulations to all the VO’s that took part in Piehole’s ‘PASS THE PIEHOLE’ project last month. We finished second in the Interactive Media category losing out to none other than Vodafone.

Considering this was an experimental project and never before done in this format (as far as we know), it really turned out to be a big success. Thanks a million again to the VO’s who participated for the time and effort. We hope you had fun doing it cuz we did!

Thanks to Brian Walsh, Nicola Lindsay, Doug Turkel, Cathal Joyce, Peter Halpin, Tim O’Donovan, Declan Brennan,  Faye Caruthers, Juliet Prew

Number 1 – it doesn’t look good dropping your rates so dramatically, as it discredits your original quote.

Number 2 – you can’t work for €22.50, you’ll be out of business in no time.  Here’s an article that proves the maths.  At those rates you’re better off working at McD’s as they pay €8 per hour, but at least they give you 8 hours a day, every day.

Number 3 – remember that radio stations get paid to sell ad space, and not to produce radio ads.  They make their money by selling ad space to companies, so to sweeten the deal, they often throw in the production for free. As such, they are normally on a very tight production budget since they are not getting paid to produce work (the production in this case is a business expense).  You on the other hand, being a voice over, are being paid to produce work.  That’s your livelihood.  You can’t make a living charging €22.50 per job.

I’m not saying you can’t get a good “cheap gig”.  I also know a number of VOs who do tons of work at that price for  radio stations.  The difference is that they get a high volume of these gigs, and they are quick and easy to knock out.   So if people want that price, they gotta buy in bulk.  Voice overs  could consider selling a pack of 10 or 20 gigs at a discounted rate, so that you guarantee yourself the volume.
Of course there is always going to be some VO willing to do a once-off  job for 22 euro… that’s OK, let them have it.  But it’s important to walk away from those jobs, because they just drive the price down for VOs everywhere.  It’s a race to the bottom and everyone loses.  

If more people say no to those McDonald’s rates (yes, you will actually be better off working at McDonald’s at those rates) it means that companies will have to try harder to find a VO at that price, which means it will cost them more time and effort… more time and effort means more money. Which means… ta-da! The rates go up!  Spread the word.

To new voice overs, it can be quite disheartening to do email marketing campaigns and putting yourself out there, and then the phone doesn’t ring. We estimate from past experience that, if you are not established in the industry, it could take anything up to a year to land your first job. We say this because it’s difficult for advertising agencies to try out a new voice – it’s high risk, and potentially expensive if the voice doesn’t work out. So they need to get used to seeing you out there.
Thankfully, most VOs get a job sooner than 1 year – but too many VOs beat themselves up if the phone’s not hopping. Just because the phone isn’t hopping immediately, doesn’t mean that you don’t have great talent. And a lot is to do with Lady Luck when you’re starting out. But we can’t just depend on her, because she can also be a bit of a cow sometimes. Here’s a checklist of things that are directly in your control:

Is there anyone who can vouch for you on your testimonials page? Perhaps the person who cut your demo, or your acting teacher?

If you have a great demo, and a good profile page, you should really get something within a year. If not, you need to look at your demo – whether or not it’s good enough. And also consider your own personal circumstances – for example, if you have a very niche accent or style of voice that could also affect you, as maybe there is not a big market for your type of voice.

Please give us a call to discuss your profile. We’ve worked with many voice overs to improve their profile, so if you’re not sure about something, give us a buzz anytime – even late at night. (We work late every night… we’re kind of losery like that)

A number of producers and copywriters in advertising agencies have already tried our Piehole phone auditions and liked them.  Now we’re trying to make it even easier for you.  If you’d like to hear a sample or samples of your script, simply email your script to info@piehole.ie or anyone at Piehole.  We’ll send mp3s back to you same-day.   This means copywriters, sound engineers and producers can:

• - Find  the best voice for the job – risk free
• - Receive anything from 1 to 30 auditions for your job
• - Discover new talent
• - Get same day mp3s back 
• 
  

* If you’re interested in being part of the next ’Pass The Piehole’ project just click on this link and jot down your vitals Sign Up form *

WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU GIVE TEN TALENTED VOICE OVERS COMPLETE AND UTTER POETIC LICENSE BY ASKING THEM TO WRITE THEIR OWN LOOPY SCRIPT?

With the theme of ‘Romantic and Humorous‘  and a few words to get the ball rolling we sent it out there and let VO’s do their thing.

The idea was to have a story told by 10 voice overs, each recording their own 10 seconds and adding it onto the previous part of the story, almost like a spontaneous radio drama in which each voice over gets to give their own artistic input.

FOLLOW US THIS MONDAY TO FRIDAY AS WE’LL BE RELEASING IT DAILY IN TWO PART COMPILATIONS!

How did you get into the world of voice-over acting?
I had trained as an actor and did a few radio projects for a TV/Radio student I knew. His instructor was very complimentary. Years later, when I had relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, I did the narration for a documentary. Then a local casting director suggested that I expand into voice work, so I took a course from Sonny Dufault. When I had him put together my demo, I already knew I was moving to Ireland, so I wrote up a few Irish ads to record as well.

What has been your favourite job to date and why?
Most of my ad work has been as an on-screen actor for TV, but I did have a blast doing a Pringles radio ad in which I played an American crashing a St. Paddy’s Day party, apparently in costume – and with an inflatable bodhran! I was a social outcast UNTIL they realised I’d also brought along the Pringles.
I also had great fun voicing a variety of characters for the award-winning animated TV show, ‘Zombie Hotel.’

What differentiates you from other VO’s in Ireland?
Aside from my standard Midwest American accent, I guess it would be my range. I’m often asked to do corporate and e-learning programs, as well as character voices for animated film and TV projects.

What advice would you have appreciated when you were starting out?
Just go for it!

Anything else you would like us to know?
Although I’m based on the West coast – of Ireland, I go where the job is. Have car, will travel.

The USA or Ireland?
I like both, but for different reasons. What I like best about Ireland is that you can be in the heart of a city, hop in a car, and five minutes later you’re in open countryside. That’s good for the soul.

Check out Gary’s profile here!

The Free Spirit Theatre company is presenting the Alfred Tennyson classic ‘Robin Hood‘. It’s directed by PJ. Dunlevy, Liam Burke and Andrea Scott and runs from Wednesday the 20th – 23rd of July in a fabulous location in the forest beside the Belfield campus. The acting is quite lovely as well. Break a leg PJ and cast!

Check out PJ’s profile here

The producers of TV3′s ‘The Apprentice’ has chosen Piehole once again to provide them with voice overs to appear in an episode this years show.

It’s an awesome opportunity for VO’s to get exposure on one of the most viewed shows on national television and any prime time publicity for Piehole should work for the greater good.

Selected VO’s should receive a call this Monday afternoon and filming of the show goes ahead on Tuesday. Good luck and thanks again to all who put their names down and hopefully someone will be proverbially “Hired!”

The Ark PLAY Music Festival is on for five weekends this summer and will be running family concerts with tons of cool musicians and hands-on workshops so you guys can experience all the fun of making music even if don’t know the neck of the guitar from the body. Concerts and workshops are designed to engage young audiences so as the cheesey line goes “it’s fun for all the family!”

VO Hillary Cotter has the pleasure of being the voice of the national radio ad. Check out her profile here

NEXT DATES:

July – 18th (practice session) / 23rd (recording session)

August – 22nd (practice session) / 27th (recording session)

I warn you – it’s quite intense. For those who want to put an extra bit of love into their demo – read on. Here is the full breakdown:

Evaluation of existing demo.

Identifying strengths/weaknesses as well as any bits of the demo we might want to keep to edit into the new demo.

Gathering content

We’ll give you all the best places to find content, as well as advise you on what works best for your type of style

REHEARSAL SESSION

Here you get the opportunity to have a practice round in studio before you record. Broken up into small groups of 2 or 3, you’ll get some quality time behind the mic. It’s here where we decide the final content for your demo, as well as give you the chance to swap material and learn from the other VO’s.
RECORDING SESSION

- your demo will be recorded by a top sound engineer in a one of Dublin’s best studios, where you will work closely with both sound engineer and ad agency exec.  You will book a 1.5 hour time slot in on this date to record your demo.

Your demo will then be mixed an edited to a very high production value. This takes about 3 – 4 weeks for everybody’s to be completed.

The price for the final product is €325***, its about €60 more than the average demo price, as there is going to be a lot of prep work plus extra training in studio.
There are only 6 places available per date. To book your spot leave a €75 non-refundable, non-transferable deposit here

Hey Guys,

My venture into voiceovers was quite a whirlwind.

A friend of mine, Ronan Byrne had done his demo with Priscilla at piehole so I mailed her in September to find out more. She was having her last v.o demo recording session of the year that week, so if I was going to do it, I’d have to get everything together fast. I tracked down some scripts, with her help and then had a one to one asessment and rehearsal with her. Usually she does these in small groups and you get an afternoon, where the group hangs out (with pizza!) and everyone gives feedback on which scripts worked or didn’t work for you.

I then recorded my demo in the studio. I wasn’t made to feel under pressure for time, which was great and the team were really friendly and helpful. I got my demo back of what they felt were the best samples within the week!

My first job was doing books on tape, and its been a nice steady little nixer since. I reckon its WELL worth the investment!

I would have no hesitation in recommending Piehole for recording a voice demo. They were invaluable in helping to source and select good material in advance of the recording session. As a result of their practice session and ongoing consultation, I went in to the studio much more prepared than I would otherwise have been, confident that I had the best scripts available to me to record. Their advice in the studio pushed me to achieve the best recording I could and helped me to feel much more confident in the studio environment. The final demo was brilliantly produced and it was only a couple of weeks before I got booked for a gig off the back of it.

There are only 6 places available per date. To book your spot leave a €75 non-refundable, non-transferable deposit here. The balance is payable on the first practice date.

What was your first taster of voice over work?
While presenting a show on the pirate radio station Hot Fm I was asked to do a lot of ads for radio. I started experimenting with my voice and it felt natural. The team there were very encouraging which helped.

What has been your favourite job to date and why?
Being the voice of “Colm and Jim Jim’s Homerun” (the tv show on RTE1 two years ago), I loved going to the studio and recording the VO every week. I got a buzz hearing my voice on the show every Sunday night! It was a good experience working with the producers and sound engineer too, I learnt a lot and always tried to listen to what they wanted me to do. It was such a good feeling being a part of it.

If you had to pick one style which you feel represents you best what would it be?
Young and bubbly I reckon.

Have you been involved in anything interesting lately?
Yes, I am currently the voice of “Frenemies” (a kids tv show on RTE2) which I enjoyed recording. Last week I recorded the VO for an Irish supermarket advert with 2 other VO artists. Lately i’ve also done lots of concert ads for MCD which can be heard on Irish radio and tv.

Any advice for aspiring voice overs?
Make a good demo which shows your individual style, doing what you can do

Anything else you would like to let us know?
As soon as I go into the studio and put on the headphones I’m always happy, excited and get a few butterflies….LOVE IT! And I prefer to stand up doing VOs!

Check out Adrienne’s profile here Adrienne O’Hora

Hey guys, we’ve just come across Wordfruit.com, a really handy site which aims to hook marketing agents up with a large vetted source of talented freelance Copywriters, and vice-versa. They’re a Dublin-based company with the majority of the work coming from English language markets such as the US and UK.

Basically, it can be really difficult for marketing agents to find the best copywriter for the job and this site seems to make it tonnes easier. Richard Clunan, the guy behind the site, is also really cool so we wish them all the best in future!

Tara Breathnach is currently rehearsing with the Focus Theatre on a new production ‘Francis and Frances’. The show runs in the Focus from June 13th until the 25th nightly at 8pm. She is also voicing the lead character in the second series of the popular cartoon ‘Olivia’ for Abúmedia and TG4. We wish her the best of luck!

Tickets available from the Focus Theatre 016624677

I’m doing some development work with a really good playwright/screenwriter on a couple of his upcoming works.  It’s great to enter in the ‘middle draft’ stages of new works by an established writer.  The actors get first chance in at the road testing stage, and the writer gets to hear it voiced for the first time.

How and when did you get into voiceover work?
I was doing an award-winning Performance Corporation show with an actor buddy of mine who’s also a very busy vo artist.  He would be doing two to three in an average week.  After the run, we sat down together, he gave me some advice, an insight into the industry and even helped me get my demo together.  I guess you can’t underestimate the value of a friend’s help.

What styles do you kick ass at?
I love having fun with some mad country character voices, but at the same time savour a soft reassuring read in my own South Donegal voice.

Any advice for aspiring voice overs?
Tonsil press-ups.  Daily.  Lots of them.

Anything else you would like to let us know?
Trivia wise, I also run a group called See For Free which builds theatre audiences by offering free tickets to group members, and publicity to theatre companies.  It’s also ticketed dance shows, film screenings and even t.v. audiences.  The group is contactable at seeforfree@gmail.com

Guinness or Merlot?

A pint of the Barack stuff

How and when did you get into voiceover work?
I was first introduced to the wonderful world of voiceover work during my time training as an actor in the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, when Roger Gregg, voiceover extraordinaire and all-round audio genius, gave us an exciting introduction to the game by creating a radio play just for us. After I graduated he gave me one of my first jobs working on radio drama series for RTE with his company, www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com and it went from there.

What has been your favourite job to date and why?
Well, as they say, the first cut is the deepest – and in the course of my work for Roger and Crazy Dog I had the opportunity to work with such illustrious talent as Phil Proctor, Karen Ardiff, Melinda Peterson and Morgan C.Jones – among many other seriously talented artists – and it set a high standard for me to aspire to. I also really enjoy my narration work, as it gives me a license to jump in and out of a variety of characters’ minds while also getting an opportunity to use my voice to express beautifully crafted language. But it doesn’t really matter whether I’m advertising chocolate or performing Shakespeare – I love every aspect of this job.

What styles do you kick ass at?
I’m known for rocking the sassy, sexy, sensual and smooth style to perfection, but also, as a professional actor, playing characters and really getting into the mood, atmosphere and soul of a piece is where my heart truly lies.

Are you involved in anything interesting lately?
If anyone ever wakes up thinking ‘do you know what, I just would really LOVE to listen to Remie’s dulcet tones right now’ they don’t have to go far; just set the radio dial to RTE 2FM – I’m the resident station voice there. I’m currently writing a comedy series with fellow actress, Nika McGuigan, which I’m pretty excited about. There are a few other things going on, but I have to keep them under wraps for now … but hopefully not for too much longer.

Any advice for aspiring voice overs?
Be nice and arrive on time – we’re working in a business that is all about customer service and tight deadlines and if you do your best to make people’s jobs easier they will appreciate you all the more for it, and maybe even hire you again. Also, you can never promote yourself too much. By the way have you seen my website www.remiepurtillclarke.com ?

Check out Remie’s profile here!

Are you performing in any interesting shows lately?
I last performed in a play about five years ago…I am not a professional actor and my roster in my everyday job makes it difficult for rehearsals.
How and when did you get into voiceover work?
I ‘stumbled’ into v/o work because I was in a play about 25 years ago with another actor who just happened to be the sound engineer on the local pirate radio station (there was only RTE in those days) he asked me to do some station v/o’s and it grew from there.
What styles do you kick ass at?
I am good in almost any style…’friendly old Santa’ ‘…..’conversation’ ( as long as the script flows and does not contain stilted details like addresses and phone numbers making the format unworkable) …corporate…would be good as ‘on hold’ or on a training video, I have done a couple of powerpoint presentation v/o’s.
Any advice for aspiring voice overs?
I would advise aspiring v/o artists to listen to themselves carefully, be critical and work on their weaknesses, I would also advise them to practice accents etc. The secret is to make it look easy….if it was actually easy, everyone would be doing it. I suppose I would also advise them to market themselves using agencies like Piehole and any and all contacts that they may have…NETWORK!!.
Anything else you would like to let us know?
If you’re looking for a professional VO with years of radio experience come check me out!

Des Goodwin’s profile

Check out Bill’s narration on the ultimate episode of ‘The Outlaw Concy Ryan’, finalists of RTE’s Storyland competition.
He tells us that during production, director Ivan McMahon asked him to “do a Morgan Freeman on it“.

Watch his performance here and be sure to give them your vote for the win. Good luck!

‘The Outlaw Concy Ryan’ Final Episode

So if you’re looking for a lovely, romanteeeek French voice, look no further.

Dominque Monot

Dominique Monot is an actor based in Ireland. He has lots of voice over experience working with some top ad agencies. You can listen to his demo or book him by clicking here

Nelly Henrion

Nelly Henrion is also a very experienced actress and is currently playing a femme fatale Nikita-type role in a movie. She’s done some great voice over work on big brands like West Coast Cooler and many more. To book her or listen to her demo click here.

He breaks down the art of making a great radio campaign into 6 easy to understand videos

You can check out more info on his website: www.michaelholmesadvertising.com

Liam Geraghty

Liam, our voice over artist, has just launched his new website www.liamgeraghty.com in time for the start of his new radio show The Musical Hour which he will be hosting every Weds 2-3pm on 103.2 Dublin City fm. Go check it out!

Liam Geraghty – Voice Over Artist from Liam Geraghty on Vimeo.

Jeanna Gallagher

Are you performing in any interesting shows lately?

Well I guess the latest interesting show has been a move to London to become the new Irish announcer at FILM4. If you’re flicking through the telly – chances are you could hear me on FILM4, MORE4 or even Channel4…Having studied film in college and worked at RTE for years as a continuity announcer – it’s the perfect combination for me. And yes – I do get to watch some brilliant films…

How and when did you get into voiceover work?

This really should sound more exciting…but truth is I used to do a lot of readings in Mass when I was young and from there, I did little bits and pieces in college radio, followed by local radio. I became a runner in RTE and then worked my way up to being the Continuity Announcer for RTE 2 for years. The more eagle eyed would also have spotted me presenting the odd weather bulletin aswell….and now here I am in London working for Channel 4.

Get any work from Piehole?

Yep…I was with Piehole for about 3 months and I got a gig doing a VO for an internet based firm. That was such a boost….I’d been shortlisted for other bits too and even though I didn’t get them – it was nice to think that people were listening to my demo and I was getting ‘out there’….wherever ‘there’ is. I’m now registered on both the UK and Irish sites and am able to do work in either country.

What styles do you kick ass at?

oh – shucks…I dunno. I’ve been told I have good comic timing and a good range of silly voices. But I also have good diction – so if there’s important information – I’m the woman to deliver it.

Any advice for aspiring voice overs?

I guess – it’s just to keep at it…We all have setbacks and sometimes you may think that you’re not going to get past them and it may take some time but you never know what’s around the next corner. That next big job could be waiting for you – and if one job doesn’t work out – there’s usually a reason for it.

Marmite or Bovril?

Yikes – neither. Chocolate, cheese or …. maybe liquorice allsorts?

TO LISTEN TO JEANNA’S DEMO, CLICK HERE

- narrative demo

- children’s book demo

- drama demo

- singing demo

- on hold message demo

- corporate demo

- cartoon / video game demo

- e-learning demos

So to celebrate our new fancy feature, we’ve got a special on… you can choose 3 of the above demos, recorded in a sound studio for €300.  We’ll help you with content. Afterwards you’ll go into a sound studio to do the recording at a time that suits you. Then we’ll upload the finished product(s) onto your Piehole page (if you have one).  THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE A COMMERCIAL DEMO. Only the above demos mentioned are included in this special.

To book your place, leave a €100 deposit here.  As soon as we your deposit, we’ll call you and plan your demo session with you.

It’s so difficult right? I’ll do a visual demonstration……………….

And that’s it!! Here is the finished product… your lovely voice, beamed on your facebook wall like this:

Jim, our voice over artist, is currently working on the RTE Storyland online drama series ‘The Last Security Man’. This is a very original comedy drama centred on the unusual experiences of a psychotic Belgian Security Guard named Dirk De Smet who works in an Irish Shopping Centre. Jim plays his manager and sometime nemesis, Brendan.The series is very funny and has reached the semi final stages of the Storyland competition which is based on a public vote. You can view all three webisodes here:

Please Vote Dirk!!!

€20,000 for 50% equity

This week there’s a follow-up show on RTE about what has happened to past contestants on Dragons Den. For those who didn’t see the show… here’s our appearance in a nutshell:

J and P deliver most excellent pitch.

Dragons offer piddly investment.

J and P tell Dragons to buzz off.

If you’d like to see the full version, here it is.

The Dragons Den appearance was great for Piehole. We had a lot of new companies hiring voiceovers from our site – companies we’d never heard of in the past, have registered our site and are hiring our VOs. Another (nerdy) thing was that all the great links to our website made sure that we killed the SEO and are first on google rankings for main keywords. We did see an increase in our sales too, but being a very niche industry – it’s not really a mass market product. Our biggest motivation for going on Dragons Den was getting publicity for our site, hence the crazy outfits, etc. It would have been great to get a Dragon on board, but not for 50% of the biz.

$40,000 for 0% equity?

After turning down the Dragons, we found ourselves in San Francisco, looking for ways to make Piehole go global. We met Diego from StartUp Chile, who works with the government in Chile to promote entrepreneurship in Chile. They have an super program, where they offer start-up companies a $40,000 grant to go and live in Chile for 6 months while working on their business. We applied for it, and got accepted in November.

What?! We’re getting paid to live in Chile AND work on Piehole??

It really has been a dream come true. Being a small business, this was the first time we’ve been able to invest money into Piehole. We hired Sasha, our new “head of smiles”, who has really been an amazing help, and we realised how badly we needed the extra help. We were so busy keeping the every day operations going, that there was never enough time to really push Piehole forward, and spend more time on innovation. In a few short months, we’ve translated Piehole into Spanish, and added lots of new features to the site, like Facebook integration, multiple demo uploads, and much more.

We also took the time to create TVADS.ie - a type of advertising agency social network. We built it over the Christmas time (yes, we know, that is quite sad) . But it links nicely to Piehole, as the same people using this site, are the same people hiring our voiceovers. The site has become hugely popular, and we think this is a good way to interact both with the voiceovers and the advertising industry.

So that’s pretty much what’s happened in a non-nutshell.

OH, and j@piehole and p@piehole got hitched this year too!  YAAAY!