Vox Daily

Wild Mississippi Documentary Narrated By Chris Nichter

2012-02-10T18:55:31Z

The mighty Mississippi River has captivated us all in some way, whether through literature, song or by living along its shores.

A new story about the river is due to air on the Nat Geo Wild channel this Sunday night featuring narration by a Voices.com talent!

Hear more about this program now in today's VOX Daily.

Old Man River

This past fall, Voices.com member Chris Nichter had the privilege of narrating a three-hour documentary titled "Wild Mississippi" for Red Rock Films. It will premiere on The National Geographic Wild Channel this Sunday evening, February 12th, from 8 until 11 PM, EST.

The documentary is a brilliantly filmed story about the once-in-500-year flood that occurred all along the Mississippi River last Spring and the devastating effects it had on wildlife, the human population, the environment and property. Nichter says that it's one of the top shows of the year for The National Geographic Wild Channel and he is sure you'll enjoy the amazing cinematography accompanied by his folksy storytelling in the style of a Sam Elliott-type cowboy.

Here's a link to the NatGeoWild Site for some preview clips. Alternatively, you can watch the clip via the embedded video below.

Wild Mississippi

Be sure to catch this great documentary on Sunday night. Here's some more details about Wild Mississippi.

Wild Mississippi: Deep Freeze

Sunday, February 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT

Nat Geo WILD travels to the starting point of the mighty Mississippi River -- Lake Itasca in Minnesota, where the 2,350-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico begins. Harsh cannot begin to describe the winter in this region, where temperatures reach 33° below zero. Survival strategies are as numerous as the creatures that live here, such as beavers, bobcats and gray wolves. We'll capture migrating bald eagles as they prepare for the bitter cold and watch a pack of wolves hunt for deer and porcupine, beavers feverishly work to make dens, and the vole, a creature similar to a mouse, create tunnels beneath the snow to scavenge for food. It is truly a test of survival of the fittest in this freezing cold wilderness.

Wild Mississippi: Raging Waters

Sunday, February 12, at 9 p.m. ET/PT

It's been no ordinary winter. The Mississippi River reached extreme low temperatures, causing an unprecedented deep freeze. Now, spring is in bloom, with all the snow and ice from across the watershed melting, triggering a massive flood of biblical proportions. We'll see how the inhabitants adjust and fight to survive. In the north, the floodwaters bring a new quest for life. Carnivores use high waters to find meals, while a pair of bald eagles patrol the skies snagging small prey flushed out of the riverside. Coyotes also reap the rewards of the flood by preying on rodents and other small evacuees. Spring not only brings a new hunt for food, but babies also begin to make their debut, including wood ducklings that endure a 30-foot jump to find sanctuary in the high tide. Life is beginning to come back along the river as the weather heats up and brings a fresh start.

Wild Mississippi: Delta Blues

Sunday, February 12, at 10 p.m. ET/PT

Our romance with the Mississippi River heats up as we head south. The river joins with an even more flooded Ohio River to form a union of destruction that challenges man and wildlife. The water rises at a rate of two inches every hour. Those creatures that can flee, do as fast as they can. Trying to make a last-minute dash to safety, some wild hogs can't make it out. Wide waters force turtles to look beyond their normal sandy nesting grounds for places to lay their eggs, which become vulnerable to predators. Pelicans flock to the swarming fish and work together to round up dinner. And, by night, bats swoop in to collect moths, using their tails like a catcher's mitt to scoop up their prey. Not only animals, but people are also forced from their homes as the Mississippi River expands to more than 25 miles wide. The beautiful and dangerous Mississippi River is both a life giver and a life taker.

Wild Mississippi is produced by Red Rock Films for National Geographic Channels. For Red Rock Films, executive producer is Brian Armstrong. For Nat Geo WILD, executive producer is Jenny Apostol, and executive in charge of production is Geoff Daniels. The narrator of Wild Mississippi is Chris Nichter.

For more information, visit www.natgeowild.com

What Does The Mississippi Mean To You?

Looking forward to your reply!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Creating Opportunities For Your Voice

2012-02-06T20:39:17Z

Are you out pounding the pavement for your voice?

Do you seek out specific opportunities where you believe your voice would shine?

While not all marketing efforts lead to a warm microphone, they can certainly help you to build relationships and create bridges to better business.

Such has been the experience of one talented lady in my acquaintance.

Hear more about one voice artist's inspiring story about how she is making inroads with prospective clients in today's VOX Daily!

Starting Conversations To Build Relationships

You might recall an article from last week about how to approach publishers to record audio versions of a publication. I hope you enjoyed reading it and found some of the tips and insights from narrators useful!

Although it's possible each book you see without a narrator is up for grabs narration wise, the opportunity where you are concerned may not come to pass...but don't let that discourage you from trying! Lisa Biggs pursued an opportunity, and while she didn't book the job, she was able to develop a meaningful relationship and connections with a book publisher.

Lisa shared, "Recently I contacted the woman who owns the rights to Dare Wright's book, The Lonely Doll, and asked when and or if they planned on producing an iBook. I also sent her a recording of myself reading The Lonely Doll, which has been one of my all time favorite children's books! Although they ended up asking a longtime friend of Dare's to narrate the iBook version of The Lonely Doll, I now have a relationship with them. They were receptive to my suggestion and even though this opportunity didn't work out the way I had hoped, it may pave the way for a future opportunity to lend my voice to one of Dare's books. Maybe they'll bring her stories to life through animation and guess who'll be first in line to be the voice of Edith! This business is all about relationships and every time you ask someone a question, you start a conversation which begins a relationship that may create an opportunity."

Can You Relate?

If what Lisa shared resonates with you, be sure to comment and let me know! I'm interested to hear about how your attempts to work with others, whether big or small, have produced fruit for your business.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Angry Birds Interview With Sound Designer, Ari Pulkkinen

2012-01-31T16:20:00Z

Do you play Angry Birds?

Ever wondered about where the voices came from or how the music came to be? If so, you'll love this post!

I hope you enjoy my interview with the sound designer and audio producer of Angry Birds, Ari Pulkkinen!

Interview With Ari Pulkkinen, Angry Birds Sound Designer

STEPHANIE CICCARELLI: Congratulations on your success with Angry Birds! As sound designer, you were responsible for composing the Angry Bird's theme music, music used in the game, the selection sound effects and also for crafting the voice overs used. Can you tell us about your creative process and how you decided what an angry bird or pig might sound like?

ARI PULKKINEN: Thanks! When I first got in to the project, the game was in alpha stage - character, game and graphics design was completed when I started design music and sounds for the game. I really liked the concept and I had instantly thought making the audio design a bit silly, funny and not too serious. I first made the basic sounds, ambiance and then composed the song in my summer cabin (yes, I was in nature when I composed AB!). Vocals for birds and the pigs were the last ones - I thought about it a bit and wanted funny and unique voice acting for them.

SC: How many talent from your team were involved? Were you all together in studio?

AP: The vocals were recorded in Rovio offices with me and selected people from their staff (including lead designer Jaakko Iisalo and Mikael Hed CEO). They were quite surprised when I decided to record the vocals with them, but it came out quite alright! A total of five people were in the recording session.

SC: What microphone(s) did you use to record for Angry Birds? What does your studio comprise of?

AP: I used Rode NT2-A and my backup Zoom H2. I don't record bands so I stick to the vocal and Foley recording microphones.

SC: The average console game has around 8,000 lines of dialogue. Epic console games, such as Spider-man 3, have upwards of 70,000 lines of dialogue. If you had to estimate, how lines were recorded for each character in the first Angry Birds and how many voice overs were recorded for the original Angry Birds iPhone app as a whole?

AP: For the Original Angry Birds there were many voice overs I wanted - different birds making idle, attack, flying, hit, dying, taunt voices and pigs had also similar emotions including also laughing and insults. I'd say that in the game we had over 70 different sounds for birds and the pigs including variations. Because of the HD limit, we had to cut additional pig vocals from the game, but it worked really great only with a large generic pig soundgroups. In the future, different pigs will have distinctive voice acting too as people have witnessed from the new trailers and videos.

SC: Are voice overs recorded whenever a new version/app is released or are you able to reuse preexisting voice files?

AP: The sounds are so iconic that they are used in every new game version and application. For trailers and videos there will be new voice overs though.

SC: Given that you are designing for mobile applications, there is less space so to speak bandwidth wise for audio where an app is concerned. How does this reality impact your ability to employ music, sound effects and voices for mobile devices?

AP: You have to prioritize music and sounds for the game and also decide how many variations will you use for one audio group. Luckily mobile devices have come far form the "medieval" times, there is much more space to use and better sound quality. I always prioritize the most important sounds and main title song, these are usually imported for the game more higher quality too.

SC: Which character was the most fun to record? Which character was the most challenging to record? Did you direct the voice over sessions or was a voice director other than yourself present?

AP: I think the most fun was to record pigs laughing in a group; it might have been also the challenging because we laughed so much that many good takes were spoiled. Personally, the hardest things to record have been Angry Birds getting angry (the classic rising anger) but when you get it right, it sounds really funny. I was the voice director and actor when we recorded the sounds. I've done about half of the voices in-game and the latest bird I voice acted for was the Orange Bird for Ham'o'ween.

SC: From what I understand, the Angry Birds theme is so popular that people want to purchase sheet music! Is sheet music available, and if so, where can people buy it?

AP: Luckily, official sheet music is getting done finally in the near future! The main target group will probably be schools, small bands and solo instruments - I personally am really excited about the release. Rovio will be handling the publishing so I'm quite sure people will know when the sheets are out.

SC: What else are Angry Birds voices being used for (i.e. toys, animation, etc.)?

AP: Angry Birds voices are pretty much everywhere imaginable! They have been in toys, animations, short movies and even in various remixes. I think you cannot go anywhere in the world without hearing those sounds.

SC: Are you working on new Angry Birds projects? Is there anything more that you can tell us?

AP: I'm currently working other projects and my latest work have been music and audio design for successful games like Outland and Trine 2. As for the Angry Birds, only future will tell!

About Ari Pulkkinen

Ari Pulkkinen, CEO of AriTunes, is a composer, sound designer and audio producer. His decade-long career in game development has given him the opportunity to focus on specialties including game music and audio design. When Angry Birds first came along, Ari had already been running his own company for over a year and most recently, has won "the best Finnish game developer of the year 2011" award. For more information, you may visit his website, www.aritunes.com and if you want, his YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/artz1234.

For a treat, you can also watch a video interview with Ari to learn more about the making of the music and sound effects of Angry Birds.

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound and Music of Angry Birds from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Any Thoughts?

Be sure to add your voice to the conversation by adding a comment! If you're reading this from your email, click here to get to the Angry Birds interview with Ari Pulkkinen online.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

How To Get Permission To Record A Copyrighted Book

2012-01-30T19:08:02Z

If you came across a book that you wanted to narrate that is still under copyright, who would you contact for permission to record?

After an open discussion via Facebook, two recommendations emerged for who to contact first when obtaining permission for recording a copyrighted work.

Hear what audiobook narrators are saying and discover tips for how you can embark on this journey in today's VOX Daily.

Recording Books

Every now and then I come across some wonderful books that are just crying out to be narrated. After scouting for audio versions on sites like Audible or Amazon, inevitably I find that some of the books have not been recorded as of yet.

Maybe you've done the same thing.

When you realize that an opportunity is waiting in the wings for you to record, what do you do? Who do you ask?

There are a couple of camps regarding who to approach first to inquire about recording an audio version of a book whose copyright is still in effect: either the publisher or the author. Ultimately it is the person who holds the rights to the audio.

Contacting The Publisher First

Narrator Diane Havens correctly pointed out that the right person to contact is ultimately the one who holds the rights to the audio. She shared, "Depends who holds the rights by contract -- could be the publisher or the author -- or in some cases it could be someone else entirely who bought the rights. This is as I understand it, but I'm not a copyright attorney, of course. The copyright on the book is the print copyright. Rights to audio and other versions of the book you'd have to investigate with the publisher. So I'd start with them."

Trish McFerran commented, "Copyright can be held over published or unpublished works. If it's a published work it would also depend on when it was published, whether the work has passed into public domain and whether it is a singular or a collective work. Copyright is granted to and essentially protects the author, however, the author can release the copyright to a third party. Since there are so many variables and a publisher generally 'represents' the work then I'd start the ball rolling with the publisher, who would probably be easier to make contact with anyway."

Authors

Karen Commins has gone a different route, stating "For what it's worth, I have approached several authors. I preferred to start that way because the authors were much easier to find than the person managing the rights at one of the big publishers. I also felt that the authors also were more interested in answering my questions. I knew one still owned the audio rights because I found an article about her book. Another author knew she still owned the rights and is intent on narrating the book herself. Also, I hope an author might be my champion in the casting process in those cases where the publisher owns the audio rights. One more thing -- a literary agent told me that you probably have to pay the author for audio rights. The authors I have contacted also wanted to know my plans for packaging (if on CD) and distribution of the finished audiobook."

Frank Baum noted, "These days more authors do seem to be reserving audio rights. I have contacted both with well chosen script performance demonstrating why I thought a currently rights protected book could benefit from a new or second production. I've gone from 'looking for a gig' to coffee shop pleasure of discussing how good it all can be."

What's Worked For You?

If you have had an experience in this area, be sure to comment and share your story!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Damir Cudic

How Does Your Work Reflect You?

2012-01-27T16:07:11Z

The sort of work you do, even though it may be acting, is telling of who you are, what matters to you and what you're willing to have your voice associated with.

How do the scripts you read reflect you and your heart?

Join in the discussion in today's VOX Daily.

Can You Draw A Correlation?

When you decide to audition for a job or record for a client, do you find that the script in question falls in line with what's on your heart or things that are important to you?

Consider this quote:

"What we love usually manages to get into our conversation. What is down in the well of the heart will come up in the bucket of the speech." - Vance Havner

This quote, while referring to conversation in general, could also be applied to voice over as the voice over itself is meant to engage people in a conversation of sorts whether around a product, service, concept or otherwise.

Even if you aren't the author of the words you are reading, you are the author of the voice over being recorded and are expressing those words as if they were your own.

What Do You Think?

I'm interested to hear from you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/imagedepotpro

London ABCs App Voiced By Voices.com Talent

2012-01-25T16:45:11Z

Do you know your ABCs?

Looking for an app that makes learning the alphabet fun?

A new app in Apple's App Store will do more than simply teach you alphabet...it will also introduce you to the many wonderful things you can see and do in London, Ontario Canada!

Hear more about an app that got its voice at Voices.com in this review of London ABCs.

London Calling

Our company, Voices.com, was mentioned in a London Free Press article by Kelly Pedro covering the London ABCs app built by one of our friends, Echidna Solutions Corp.

The free app, brought to you by ThisIsLiteracy.ca, helps preschoolers learn their alphabet and introduces the littlest Londoners to local landmarks and places of significance in the Forest City.

This Canadian effort fittingly includes a Canadian voice! Vancouver Island-based voice over artist, Erin Setch, was hired to record the voice commentary. Erin's fresh voice was just what Andrew McClenaghan, president of Echidna Solutions, was looking for.

After working with Setch, McClenaghan said, "Erin did a fantastic job for us! She was quick and accommodating. Our client is very happy with the voice over work and Erin was a great fit on this project."

Voice Commentary

I was eager to download this app for a number of reasons. Which landmarks made the cut? How they were presented? What the voice over sound like and how it was used? Let's dig into the voice over.

The voice over in London ABCs is used for two purposes, being to:

1. Introduce and enunciate the letter and connect it with a relevant word.
2. Share one fact or item of interest about the depicted landmark associated with the letter.

For those interested, the last letter in the alphabet, Z, is pronounced "Zed" and not as "Zee," highlighting the Canadian flavour of the app.

This app has been tested by two of my children, one a preschooler and the other six months of age. Setch's voice and the images on the screen captivated baby Olivia, and in our house, we always say that you're never too young to learn!

That being said, even if you don't live in London, ON Canada, this literacy app is a welcome addition to the collections of parents with young children. The local anecdotes serve as an education on a place you've never been, and perhaps might even inspire you to plan a trip!

Where To Get London ABCs

To download the London ABCs app for free, go to:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/london-abcs/id491811297?ls=1&mt=8

Do You Have This App?

Comment and let us know how it's helped you or someone you love!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Photo courtesy The London Free Press

How Do Authors Name Fictitious Characters?

2012-01-24T15:31:45Z

How do authors, copywriters and screenwriters select names for characters?

Are they swayed by trends or is there more thought, perhaps research, that goes into giving a name to a character?

Hear how real authors name their characters and chime in with names of characters you've voiced by commenting on today's VOX Daily.

The Importance of Names

A name is very important and helps to shape our identity early on. The naming of children is influenced by a number of factors including being named after a relative, how a name sounds, pop culture, religious significance, and in some circles, based upon the meaning of a name.

Many of us have been in a position to give names, whether it be to our children, or for those who have them, pets. Bestowing a name upon someone is a huge privilege and responsibility that shouldn't be taken lightly.

When naming fictitious characters, authors also invest a significant amount of time when selecting names that fit a character's identity and signify their role in the book.

Victoria Grossack, an author based in the US and Switzerland, advises "When you, as the author, name a character, you signal the reader that this character is worth remembering. If a character is not worth remembering, you may prefer to dispense with a name, and simply refer to that character by his or her role in your story. For example, you could call the policeman 'the policeman,' or the grocer 'the grocer,' or the taxicab driver 'the taxicab driver.' After all, in real life, we often interact with people without knowing their names."

Baby Name Books

Earlier this year, BabyCenter.com released their list of the 100 most popular baby names of 2011.

Top 10 Girls Names For 2011

1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Isabella
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Lily
7. Chloe
8. Madison
9. Emily
10. Abigail

Top 10 Boys Names For 2011

1. Aiden
2. Jackson
3. Mason
4. Liam
5. Jacob
6. Jayden
7. Ethan
8. Noah
9. Lucas
10. Logan

The popularity of names can be cyclical. Many of the names on these lists were popular one hundred years ago, and as you've likely noted, some never go out of style.

Author Midge Raymond relies on baby name books as a source for picking the right names for her characters as well as baby-name websites such as the Baby Name Wizard and the Social Security Administration's Popular Baby Names page. The latter lists names by popularity. If Midge needs to find a name for a 90-year-old female character, she can peruse the top 500 most popular girls' baby names for 1922. Midge also keeps the character's ancestry in mind and picks names based on what his/her parents might have wanted to pass down, whether an Irish family name or a Biblical name. All this being said, Midge relates, "But for me, a character's personality is most important -- a name must look and feel, to a reader, as if it fits that character perfectly."

Historical Context

D. Dina Friedman researches time periods and places when finding names for her characters. She writes, "In my historical YA novel about the Holocaust, Escaping Into the Night, it was important for me to find names that were appropriate for the time and place, but also relatively easy to pronounce and ultimately to relate to. I settled on the name Halina for my main character which has its derivations in Polish and is not a particularly religious or Biblical name, as this character is not religious. Then I chose Batya and Reuven for my secondary characters, also easy to pronounce, though not names you would necessarily hear too much on the street in this day and age."

Names With Subtle Clues

L.D.C. Fitzgerald authored a book that involves the ability for characters to travel through time and attempt to change the course of history. A number of his characters were given names that provide insight regarding their personalities. One of the characters in the book is a forthright man who questions whether time-travel is possible. This character was given the name "Frank Thomas" to, as Fitzgerald reveals, "indicate a frankly speaking, doubting Thomas. Another member of the squad is a man who believes himself to be morally superior, and best suited to choosing right from wrong. Since this is an archetype that any of us can identify with, I gave him a common first name, Sam. Coupling that with his role as the self-appointed moralist, his name became 'Sam Morales.'"

Author Elle Beauregard did something similar when naming her protagonist. "...The main character of The Shift Series...Leah is outgoing, thoughtful, intelligent and emotional. I knew those things about her before I'd ever written a word of her story. I also knew she was a shape-shifter, capable of changing her appearance to look like anyone around her. So, when the name Leah came to me, I liked the way the word felt unfinished--it's full of soft, pliable sounds, and comes to a breathy end. That, for me, felt right--when the reader meets Leah, she is unfinished; she's about to turn 17, and about to discover something amazing about herself. It isn't until later in the series, when this new-found identity begins to define her and she is forced to take on other names, that she clings most tightly to her true name and feels the most at home in her skin."

Finding Common Ground

When you are trying to appeal to a general audience, and children in particular, sometimes it's about finding some common ground and making the book more accessible across the board. Author D.G. Bahtuoh shares, "For me, naming a character isn't a difficult task, but I generally stay away from cookie cutter 'popular names' list. The name does have to fit with the personality of the character, however. My book titled, 'Nap-Nap, Quack-Quack' is written beautifully, my daughter (5 months) at the time was my muse. For the main character, I wanted to blend classic with the current, and cross all cultural boundaries, so I went with a baby duck character named Maggie."

Themes

You might find it a fun exercise to take a look at the names in the books you're narrating or characters you are voicing to see where they fit in and if you can tie them to a particular niche. Do the names fit under the categories of:

๏ What's old is new again
๏ Celebrity names
๏ Biblical Names
๏ Period (Time) Names
๏ National / Ethnic names
๏ Names in terms where one lives / setting (Geography)
๏ Trendy names

What Are Names Of Characters You've Voiced?

Be sure to comment and let me know!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Peter Zelei

MyVoice App Helps People Overcome Speech Challenges

2012-01-23T14:04:15Z

Do you know anyone who has lost their voice or finds it hard to communicate verbally?

Toronto-based MyVoice Inc., founded by Alexander Levy, has opened doors for thousands of people suffering from speech and language challenges through the revolutionary mobile app, MyVoice.

After doing a fair bit of reading on the subject, I took the app for a spin to see how it works and learn more about the voices used.

Want to learn more?

Hear about this wonderful app and how it is giving a voice to the voiceless in today's VOX Daily.

MyVoice

Alexander Levy, founder, CEO and lead designer of MyVoice Inc., has developed a game-changing app for those who have difficulty speaking. What started as a university research project has turned into a Canadian company offering a salable product that gives people with speech and language difficulties access to better, more advanced products at lower prices with more affordable options.

The MyVoice mobile app, which runs on Apple and Android smartphones and tablet computers, helps the deaf and people with speech disorders, such as stroke survivors and those with autism, to converse audibly.

MyVoice has received praise from people ranging from the Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation, a speech language pathologist and a medical doctor to name just a few. Entire communities supporting people with speech and language difficulties have rallied around this product and are embracing the groundbreaking technology.

What Does MyVoice Do?

According to a recent feature in PROFIT, MyVoice comes pre-populated with common words and phrases, and with a few taps of a screen, the device enunciates a desired sentence. If you click a folder entitled "I want," you'll be given a choice of logical options, such as "one ticket" or "a coffee." Let's say you're at a Starbucks and crave a tall, non-fat, extra hot Chai latte. You can easily populate the app with that command. And when you enter your local café, the GPS capabilities in your device will recognize your location and pull up the relevant cue.

I downloaded a free version of the app and tested it with my son. There are many different things you can do using the free app. Our favourite was typing in phrases for MyVoice to read aloud and listening to the sample voices.

The Voices of MyVoice

A free, limited version of the app is available for download including one voice to start. The default voice is Dave, an American accented male voice. If you'd like to add voices, you can purchase voices for $4.99 each and choose from:

๏ British female voice "Kate"
๏ British male voice "Simon"
๏ American female voice "Susan"

MyVoice Plus is available to users on a monthly or annual subscription basis and allows for more functionality and packages. Proceeds from these sales, says Levy, go towards making better speech aids.

Are You The Voice of an App?

Let me know which app(s) you are the voice of! I'd love to hear from you.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Voices of Influence

2012-01-21T01:07:08Z

Do you hear voices?

Voice overs have worked themselves into our daily lives and few pause to consider how our perceptions have been shaped by various characters and advertising campaigns using voice.

Read this article on VOX Daily and then listen to a unique podcast celebrating voice artists and their contributions.

Voices of Influence

Recently I listened to a CBC radio program called Under the Influence hosted by Terry O'Reilly. This particular episode, Voices of Influence, featured voice overs and I thought it might serve as an interesting topic for discussion.

A voice director by trade, O'Reilly shared that he is in a constant state of listening to and analyzing voices.

The episode opened with clips of Canadian actor Douglas Rain voicing HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey and prominently featured game changing uses of voice over for companies such as MasterCard.

The show, which ran for approximately 25 minutes, comprised of some "guess that voice" mixed in with history, psychology, humourous anecdotes, a debate on the effectiveness of celebrity voices in commercials and O'Reilly's unique insight as a voice director.

Voices You Know

Carolyn Hopkins, voice of over 200 airports around the world as well as subway platforms and weather warnings, was featured 3/4 of the way through the show. The role of professional female voices in general is also discussed as well as some very surprising facts about the origin of telephone operator voices at AT&T. Apple's iPhone 4S assistant SIRI also makes an appearance.

A number of celebrity voices were discussed and spots galore were played for context.

If you'd like to listen to the podcast episode, you can subscribe to Under The Influence in iTunes.

I'd be curious if any of you hear your voices on this program!

Did You Listen To Voices Of Influence?

Be sure to comment with your thoughts.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Alexey Avdeev

What Makes Cereal Mascots So Effective?

2012-01-19T20:52:20Z

Characters featured on cereal boxes occupy a special place in our culture and endear products to generations of families.

What is it that makes them so effective? Who's your favorite character?

Be sure to comment with your thoughts and join the conversation in today's VOX Daily.

Animated Characters Influence Breakfast Choices

The cereal aisle in a grocery store presents a plethora of choices regarding what you can feed your family for breakfast. Each box, strategically designed with imagery depicting a nutritious, wholesome meal, is ripe for the taking.

While good branding and tasty vittles can move product, more often than not it's the work of a character that instills brand loyalty and makes an emotional connection with its target market.

What Draws Us In?

"Kids love cartoons and the cereal mascots. They relate to cool, fun animated characters. And this is what sells them to tug on their parents legs in stores to buy the cereal they remember from that awesome commercial they saw on TV," cites Andy Randazzo of Me3 Creative Inc, adding, "And we as parents never wanting to see (or hear the screams) our kids not get what they want buy in to the commercialism part of the advertising equation and pull off the shelf the box/character they want and put it into our carts."

I may be biased to say the least but I feel the voices of cereal mascots add an extra layer of connectivity and also play a major role in how a brand is perceived. Perhaps you agree?

When asked, American voice artist Herb Merriweather and his colleague British voice artist Andy Boyns acknowledged how Thurl Ravenscroft's voicing of Tony the Tiger helped cement the fact that Kellogg's Frosted Flakes are "Grrrrreat!"

Canadian voice talent Ralph Hass placed his vote for Snap, Crackle, and Pop, the mascots of Kellogg's Rice Krispies. The first mascot, an elf, appeared on a box of this cereal in 1933. Upon its popularity being recognized, two other elves were added resulting in the trio we know and love today.

American voice talent Scott Fortney shared, "I grew up in awe of Thurl Ravenscroft - he was "G-R-R-REAT! I also loved the voice of the little leprechaun in the Lucky Charms ads. My other favorite is Daws Butler as Cap'n Crunch!"

Measuring Brand Loyalty

While most people go on emotion, there are companies that specialize in quantifying and interpreting what brand loyalty means. E-Poll Market Research based in Encino, California measures consumer opinion towards celebrities, brands, and characters. E-Poll's Senior Director of Marketing & Communications, Randy Parker, shared that the E-Poll Market Research database comprises of more than 1,100 characters including many of the most popular cereal mascots such as Tony, Lucky, Snap, Crackle, Pop, Cap'n Crunch and more. Information about which characters have the highest awareness and or appeal among adults and kids of various ages is also available.

What's Your Favorite Cereal?

What do you eat in the morning? If it's cereal, be sure to let me know what you're eating, why you like it and if the cereal has a mascot.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Spam!

2012-01-18T17:49:52Z

Do you suffer from Internet spam messages sent to your email or web platform?

Unlike traditional Spam (pictured at left), spam in the form of comments submitted to the blogs at Voices.com has been rampant.

An increased volume in spam sent to our comments box has prompted this posting, and if you've been commenting on the blog but have not seen your comments published, your comments may have been caught in our spam filter.

Learn more about what we are doing and how you can help in today's VOX Daily.

Where's My Comment?

Recently I answered an email from someone who was concerned that all of the effort they had gone to commenting on the blog a couple days back was unappreciated. Yikes!

If your comments have not appeared on the blog in recent weeks, be assured that your comments are appreciated. There is a technical issue preventing many valid comments from getting into the approval queue and thus being as categorized as spam.

How Much Spam?

Every couple of weeks I empty the spam, purging the system of thousands of spam comments. To give you an idea, there is at least one spam comment being sent to the blogs every 3 minutes. Scary, I know.

Whenever a number of comments are submitted in a given time period, the system starts to treat them as though they are all spam, sensing an attack. The sheer volume of spam comments being sent to Voices.com via the blog right now is preventing valid comments from getting through. Essentially, valid comments are being treated as Spam if they are being submitted while the blog is being spammed.

Other comments that get in the spam filter are comments that contain more than one link in the comment itself.

Rescue Missions

This morning I went back to some of the oldest trapped spam messages from January 3rd, 2011 and was able rescue 2 comments that were not spam at all. All of the published comments to do with how to protect your hearing were rescued this morning from the Spam filter.

I do my best to rescue valid comments regularly but you can imagine how trying this has been. We love to hear from you and don't want to miss any of your contributions to the discussion!

What Can You Do?

My advice to you at present is that if you receive the blog via email, reply with your comments to media(at)voices.com and we will ensure that they get posted. Ashley monitors the media email address is eager to help us continue the conversations going on at VOX Daily.

If you are seeing this on the web, try commenting here. If you do not see your comment approved by days' end, it may have got caught in the spam filter and will need to be rescued so to speak.

Thank you for understanding! My hope is that we can resolve this soon.

Let me know if you've suffered from Internet spam and also what you did to quell the storm!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

How Do You Protect Your Hearing?

2012-01-16T20:41:55Z

Just as the voice is key to being able to perform as a voice actor, the ability to hear and to hear well, can make or break a career in audio recording and engineering.

Protecting an engineer's golden ears helps them to work for as long as possible in the field of audio production.

How can this be done?

Hear about some proactive steps the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology is taking to protect the ears of their students and future audio engineers in today's VOX Daily.

Getting Serious About Your Hearing

One of the world's finest audio recording schools can be found in our hometown of London, ON Canada. The Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology, affectionately known by its acronym OIART, cares deeply about their students, especially their hearing.

Recently, OIART graduate Keith Gordon returned to the school and fit each student with a set of custom in-ear earplugs to protect their hearing. Keith was there for two days and the process took less than 10 minutes per person. According to OIART's blog, the earplugs also accept the nozzle end of any set of headphones with removable buds, meaning you can turn the earplugs into custom fit earbuds.

Making The Coolest Earplugs Ever

Keith Gordon relates, "Instant Custom Fit uses what I call a 'core,' which is a center structure shaped like an ear canal. Then there is a soft silicone bladder that fits over the core like a balloon. Between the core and this bladder, liquid silicone is injected into the earpiece while it is still outside the ear. The ear piece is then placed into the ear canal. The bladder full of liquid silicone will conform to the shape of the ear and set into place. The patient ends up with a custom fitted ear piece within three minutes."

The Custom Fit Earplugs Offer a Choice of Filters, Including:

๏ 5 dB *
๏ 10 dB
๏ 15 dB
๏ 17 dB
๏ A full block 25 dB filters

* dB refers to Decibels

These earplugs can be made to accommodate different needs, for instance, guitar players versus drummers or non-musicians. And as OIART says, great hearing protection is just as valuable as great gear!

How Do You Protect Your Hearing?

Be sure to comment and share how you protect your golden ears and tell us what your hearing means to you.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

The Endangered Sounds List

2012-01-11T23:04:17Z

What sounds heard today are getting closer to the realm of archival recordings and the domain of the Foley Artist?

Should we be focused on sampling more of these sounds that may never be captured in the wild (both literally and figuratively) again?

Find out what made our community list of Endangered Sounds and share some of your own in today's VOX Daily.

Disappearing Sounds

Just as there are animals, plants and so on that have become endangered, with many species unfortunately having suffered extinction, older technologies fall to the wayside and are no longer employed or produced when newer, faster and more relevant tools come along. These technologies disappear from use, often taking the sounds they used to make with them.

In many parts of the world, sounds such as chalk on a chalkboard, dial-up Internet connection and typewriters are treading dangerously close to the realm of distant memory. As German voice actor Viktor Pavel observed, the sound of a needle being dropped on a vinyl record and fast-forwarding a cassette tape are already fading in terms of sounds one might hear.

One piece of technology that has evolved is the telephone. How many people still use rotary dial phones these days? American voice talent Dick Ervasti noted that the sound of literally dialing a phone number, as opposed to pressing touch-tone buttons, is endangered indeed.

Capturing and Recreating Sounds

Before a sound gets to the stage of endangerment, samples are generally captured in audio or video format for posterity. Archiving sound is integral for future Foley Artists who will need references from which to help them recreate, with some authenticity, sounds from a bygone era. These sounds can make their way into sound effects collections to help film producers, recording engineers and voice talent alike.

You may not have thought of this but recording engineers can also document and archive sounds by going on location to record a subject. Many animal noises are sampled this way when documentaries or natural histories are filmed. In this way, audio engineers can act unwittingly as sonic preservationists! This kind of documentation came in handy for narrator Katherine Kellgren when she did some pachyderm sound effects related research to learn how to snort like a camel in a book she recorded.

If you're thinking about creating sound effects or capturing sounds at home, there's no time like the present to get cracking on what may be one of your last chances to hear something and document it in its natural habitat and use. Word on the street is that niceties such as "please" and "thank you" are also on the Endangered Sounds list :)

What Sounds Would You Put On Your List?

What would you include on a list of sounds rarely heard in today's world? What kind of sounds would you like to capture or recreate?

Comment and let me know!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

The Use Of Silence In Audio Recordings

2012-01-10T02:50:52Z

Is silence always golden?

What about an awkward silence, for instance?

Those of you on-air have certain opinions (and fears!) to be sure of what silence means and I'm curious to learn about how this translates to audio in general.

If you've found a way to use silence to your advantage, I'd love to hear from you!

Join the conversation in today's VOX Daily!

Awkward...!

TIME Magazine published an article in December 2010 entitled Awkward Silences: 4 Seconds Is All It Takes To Feel Rejected. The piece came to my attention a few weeks ago during a talk I heard and got me thinking about how this concept may apply to the audio community in a special way.

The gist of the article was that a period of silence 4 seconds or longer creates major discomfort in someone awaiting a response or reaction. This can even result in a sense of rejection should an answer not be given right away or an uncomfortable silence not be broken.

While this observation pertains to in-person conversations, might prolonged silences create negative reactions in an audience where audio is concerned?

Turning Silence On Its Head

There are a few ways to look at this. Silence can be perceived as either friend or foe depending on its application and use of timing. In comedy, silence can actually be very effective.

If there is silence on the air waves in a live radio broadcast however, silence can be costly in terms of lost listeners, dead air time and so on. Many radio pros have reoccurring dreams (or nightmares) about dead air time...even after they've retired!

All of this said, silence can also be used strategically and work to your advantage.

What Do You Think?

Do you use silence in audio recordings, and if so, how do you apply silence strategically? On the flip side, how tightly does one need to edit a recording to avoid the listener feeling uneasy?

Best wishes,

Stephanie

12 Trends of Voice Acting for 2012

2012-01-05T16:09:10Z

Each year, we shed some light on where we believe the voice over industry is headed with a number of observations from the unique perspective of the voice over marketplace.

Significant ground has been broken in many areas and opportunities for voice talent, regarding both scope and prosperity, have increased.

Access your free copy of 12 Trends for 2012 in today's VOX Daily!

12 Trends For 2012

What does 2012 hold in store for voice over talent? Stephanie and I brainstormed a number of topics that we trust will be of interest to you. Perhaps one or more of these trends may inspire you to take action this year to break new ground of your own or to further capitalize on areas of strength.

Please feel free to Tweet or Share this document:

12 Trends Of Voice Acting For 2012

What Do You See As Emerging Trends?

Be sure to comment with your thoughts!

With kind regards,

David