Voiceovers by Tim McLaughlin Blog

Looking For Inexpensive Production Music?

Tim McLaughlin — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 14:41:17 +0000

Music and sound effects libraries can be pretty expensive. If you’re looking for an economical solution check out JewelBeat which has an extensive library of production music available for 99-cents per cut.

The cuts are royalty-free worldwide, meaning once you’ve purchased the music, you can use it in any production. In addition, JewelBeat offers automatic downloads so you can move on quickly with your production.

With more than 35,000 tracks available, you’re bound to find something you like.

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Why Is Andrea Purdon Trying To Scam Me?

Tim McLaughlin — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:26:41 +0000

On a weekly basis, I get a lot of inquires about my voiceover services. Luckily many of those turn into work, and a fair number turn into regular clients.

Andrea Purdon, Scam Artist

Every once in a while, though, an inquiry comes through that just smells like a scam right from the start. The one below had that “scam odor” right when I saw the subject line:

Subject: Studio Inquiry.

Hello,

My name is Andrea Purdon from M&G Investment International United States. I want to know if there is any availability for hiring of your studio and recording services if possible. If there is availability, kindly let me know about the dates and the quotes.

They are looking forward to Arrive on 4th of July 2011. The ONLY mode Of Payment is :Visa , Master or Amex Card.

Write me immediately with an update on the list of all the services you can offer and available at that time. Call me anytime.

Mr Andrea Purdon.

One of the things that points to this being a scam is the second paragraph, “They are looking forward . . .” Who are “they?”

But, just to be sure, I did a quick Google search for Andrea Purdon and found these:

In the emails posted in each of those links, the wording of the email is very similar to the one I received. About the only difference is the service requested and the date the service is needed. I wasn’t surprised in the least, since I pretty much knew it was a scam the second I read the email.

My guess is that the scam would be them overpaying me for my services and expecting me to provide a refund. Then I would find that the original payment was bogus, and I would be out the amount refunded. I didn’t fall for this scam, and I hope no one else does.

So to answer the question posed above, “Why is Andrea Purdon trying to scam me?

Andrea Purdon is a scammer who is trying to steal my money.

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Pronunciation Help With Names

Tim McLaughlin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:27:23 +0000

If you’ve ever had to pronounce names like Ted Kulongoski, the former Oregon governor, or the country Kyrgyzstan, you know what a challenge it can be.

For a lot of words, I’ll use the online Merriam Webster dictionary or Dictionary.com, both of which have audio versions of the words so you can hear how they’re pronounced.

If you have a company name, or an individual’s name that doesn’t show up in an online dictionary, try The Name Engine which also includes audio pronunciations. They’ll need to add many more pronunciations to make it really useful, but if you’re struggling with a pronunciation give it a try.

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The Fonz Shows His Packer Pride

Tim McLaughlin — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:07:57 +0000

One of my favorite commercials from Super Bowl XLV was the NFL spot:

NFL Best Fans Ever Super Bowl Commercial

I’d love to know how long it took them to track down all those clips before editing it together.

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Chrysler Used A Local For Its Super Bowl Ad

Tim McLaughlin — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:56:30 +0000

And by “local” I don’t mean Eminem.

I mean Kevin Yon, the Michigan voice talent who did the voiceover for the 2-minute spot:

Michigan man performs voice-over for Eminem Chrysler ad

I’m happy to know that they stayed away from a celebrity voice.

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Super Bowl Commercials

Tim McLaughlin — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:32:00 +0000

If you missed any of the commercials from yesterday’s Super Bowl XLV, or just want to see them again, here’s a link to the AdBlitz channel on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/adblitz?feature=ticker

You can even vote, until February 14th, for your favorites

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Roger Ebert Enlisting High-Powered Voice-Overs

Tim McLaughlin — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:06:31 +0000

Roger Ebert has enlisted some high-powered stand-ins to do voice-overs for his new TV show while finishing touches are made to his customized electronic voice.

Roger Ebert enlisting high-powered voice-overs

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Another Don LaFontaine Video

Tim McLaughlin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:28:09 +0000

A friend of mine posted a link to this video on his Facebook page. It’s one I hadn’t seen yet.

Not only do you get to hear the late Don LaFontaine’s voice, but also get a taste of his sense of humor. I never had the chance to meet him, but from everything I’ve heard and read he was not only a great voice talent, but also a great guy.

Enjoy:

Movie Trailer Guy Don LaFontaine

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I Honestly Had No Idea

Tim McLaughlin — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:17:45 +0000

I’ll admit that one of my favorite websites it IMDb – the Internet Movie Database. I would guess I visit the site at least a dozen times a week to check information on a movie or TV show.

All along, I’ve been assuming the site was the work of some company in Hollywood. However, just today I’ve learned the site was originally designed and developed by a fellow in the UK.

What started out as a hobby, has grown into the 42nd most popular site on the Web.

You can read all about it in this article from the Daily Mail:

Revealed: How the world’s biggest movie website is run by a ‘self-confessed geek’ from a house in Bristol

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Business Predictions For 2011

Tim McLaughlin — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 03:26:17 +0000

This time of year brings lots of predictions for the coming year. Fellow Coloradan Ryan Healy has 5 Business Predictions for 2011.

Ryan’s prediction #4 is the one that interests me the most — an increased use of video in marketing.

As a voice over artist, I’ve been able to record narrations for a number of web videos this year. In particular, I’ve been very fortunate to record many real estate tours for Coldwell Banker’s HighDefVideoTours by Rockin’ Media:

HighDefVideo Tours

Ryan’s prediction makes me even more optimistic than I have been about 2011.

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