BioWare is having a “Mass Effect” on Edmonton Voice Actors

Who ever thought there would be work for blockbuster videogame voice acting in Edmonton, Alberta Canada?

Far from the bustling beehive of talent in Los Angeles, voice actors from Edmonton are given Hollywood opportunities to star in videogames, courtesy of BioWare Corp.

One of the year’s biggest busters of blocks in any medium, Mass Effect, was produced in little old Edmonton, AB.  Look out, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal!

Selling over a million copies in the three weeks since its late-November release, Mass Effect, developed in Edmonton by BioWare Corp, puts players in the role of interstellar agent Commander Shepard and takes them on a galaxy-spanning Sci-Fi adventure. The game features tens of thousands of lines’ worth of recorded dialogue.

Needless to say, that’s a lot of work for a lot of voice actors.

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George DelHoyo Voices John Edwards Campaign Trailer

Primetime Voices’ George DelHoyo has recently recorded a movie trailer voice over for the John Edwards 2008 Presidential Campaign.

The video is targeted clearly at US citizens in the state of Iowa. The Democratic candidate running for election to the White House may also have the support friend and celebrity Kevin Bacon to meet his goals for rounding up the support of the people of Iowa.

George DelHoyo, pictured at left, is a bilingual voice actor who speaks both English and Spanish. He is known for his movie trailer voice over talent and is represented by the Tisherman Agency in Los Angeles, California.

Source : http://bennycat.blogspot.com/2007/12/new-movie-trailer-ad-featuring-edwards.html

The Simpsons Paint the Town Yellow

The Simpsons took over mid-town Manhattan yesterday, to celebrate the new release of their DVD. Creator Matt Groening, Executive Producer James L. Brooks, Producer Al Jean, Director David Silverman, Mike Scully, and many popular Simpsons voice actors were there to part take in the festivities.

2500 mega donut balloons lead the way from 42 Street into Bryant Park. The Bryant Park Pond was the centre-piece of the festivities where huge Simpsons billboards were set up around the ice. Celebrations included give-aways, and a one-day only Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor. The frozen pond was dyed “Simpsons Yellow”, where fans could skate with Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa. The Empire State Building was aglow in yellow light as it participated in its very first involvement with a movie promotion.

In other areas of the country festivities took place to honor The Simpsons Movie DVD release. In 20 cities across The United States pink donut balloons were tied to parking meters in high traffic areas indicating free parking for the day, and across 50 cities Simpsons Santa hats were being distributed to celebrate the event.

Nintendo Power 2007 Nominations Announced

As this year draws to a close, the Nintendo Power 2007 nominations have been announced!

Here are the top three categories as they pertain to Voice Over Times:

Game of the year-Wii

a. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
b. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
c. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams
d. Super Mario Galaxy
e. Super Paper Mario
f. Zack & Wiki: Quest for the Barbaros’ Treasure

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Joan Cusack Narrates Peep and the Big Wide World

The animated series PEEP and the Big Wide World gives wings to the innovative idea of teaching science to preschoolers. Wry and distinctive visual humor, charming plotlines, and lovable characters combine with a comprehensive science program to attract and engage kids three to five years old.

Set in and around a pond, a bush, and a tin can, the show follows a newly hatched chicken named Peep, and his friends Chirp and Quack (a robin and a duck), on their daily adventures. Surrounding them is a large urban park — a place of great wonder and mystery, a place they are forever eager to explore, a place they call “the big wide world.”

Narrated by award-winning comedienne Joan Cusack, PEEP and the Big Wide World is a funny, engaging series that celebrates being curious, being adventurous, and, for at least one character, being a duck.

“Peep and the Big Wide World“, is principally funded by the National Science Foundation.

Voice Acting Perks for Celebrities

If you’re an actor that works in the film industry (on-camera), have you ever wondered if the grass is greener on the other side?

Some of Hollywood’s leading actors have discovered the hidden benefits of voice acting and eagerly jump at voice acting roles every chance they get.

Why are they doing it?

Less Preparation Time

Actors find that preparing for voice acting sessions is much easier than for roles where they are filmed. For instance, Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona) didn’t have to go in for hours of make up and hair appointments for her roles in Shrek and Shrek 2. Imagine if Mike Myers had to actually suit up as Shrek… The make up and costuming would have taken hours to apply and his acting wouldn’t have been as convincing as a big green ogre with a Scottish brogue ‘in person’ as it was with an animated hero tailored to fit the physique of Shrek.
Scripts at Sessions

Many voice actors read from scripts. There’s another bonus for the actor that usually memorizes all of their lines before shooting a scene. This is not to say that voice actors don’t memorize their lines. It’s just that when you aren’t in front of the camera, the audience will never know that a script was present if the voice acting is spectacular. That, and a script can serve as a security blanket for busy actors on the go with multiple engagements and projects.
Achieve the Impossible

Now, let’s look at Eddie Murphy’s role, Donkey. Aren’t there scenes where Donkey flys and… talks?! Picture Eddie dressed up as a donkey down on all fours trying to convince you that he is a magical donkey. If you had to pick yourself up off the floor from laughter or disbelief, you’ve just given another brownie point to the ability of animated films to achieve (and make you believe) the impossible. Cameron has proven herself in the Charlie’s Angels series for her phenomenal butt-kicking, but could she have pulled off the Matrix-like engineered fighting scenes without her animated Princess Fiona self?

* Ok, we left out the fact that Donkey and the Dragon become sweethearts - this has been done in King Kong too, but I hazard to say, it’s a bit easier to contemplate animals that fancy each other than it is to believe the same of a gigantic ape of prehistoric proportions and a beautiful young woman.
Freedom to Be Themselves

A voice actor is not likely to run into the paparazzi in a professional studio or recording from the privacy of their own home production facility. For celebs with a need to getaway from the glitz for some working R&R, voice acting may be the best antidote. It’s not that these celebrities are becoming camera shy, it’s just that they’re normal people like you and I who need to feel valued for more than just their physical attributes - that, and they also like showing up to sessions in attire that wouldn’t be acceptable on the set of a film studio. Some come to work in their pajamas, may not shower every morning, wear hats, and if need be, their reading glasses.

Have you been convinced? Perhaps some voice acting could do the trick!

To get started, download this FREE Getting Started in Voice Overs guide.

Stay tuned for more information on how you can find a voice acting coach to help you train as a voice actor.

Animoto Introduces Groundbreaking MP4 Download Capability

Animoto, the web application that automatically generates professionally produced videos from user-selected images and music, today released Animoto Downloads, the first video download service of its kind. With the visual energy of a music video and the emotional impact of a movie trailer, Animoto videos can now be saved as MP4 video files on Macs or PC’s, at no additional cost.

“Animoto is a very easy-to-use web application that allows anyone to create amazingly rich, professional-quality videos to capture and share experiences from their lives,” said Brad Jefferson, CEO & Co-Founder of Animoto. “Animoto’s download capability gives users full access to their video creations and the freedom to share them whenever and however they want, even when they aren’t connected to the Internet.”

Downloaded videos are formatted as MP4s (using the H.264 compression standard) and work seamlessly on Macs and PCs. Once downloaded, the Animoto videos can be synched to mobile devices such as the iPhone or uploaded to video sharing sites such as YouTube. To download a full-length Animoto video, users click on the download link after their video has finished rendering. The capability is provided at no additional cost for full-length Animoto videos.

Launched publicly in August 2007 by former TV and film producers, Animoto uses high-end motion design and music-analyzing technology to make it easy for users to automatically create professionally-produced videos from their images and music. Animoto videos are produced in widescreen format and can be emailed, embedded on social network sites like Facebook and MySpace, and now downloaded. Animoto is the first video-generating web application to give users the ability to download their creations in the form of a high-quality MP4 file. Unlike Flash-based services, Animoto uses its own proprietary system to render videos with motion design of uniquely strong production value.

The heart of Animoto is its newly developed patent-pending Cinematic A.I. technology that thinks like an actual director and editor. It analyzes and combines user-selected images and music with the same sophisticated post-production skills and techniques that are used in television and film. The technology takes into account every nuance of a song — the genre, song structure, energy, rhythm, instrumentation, and vocals. No two videos are ever the same. Even videos generated with an identical set of images and music will each have a completely distinct set of motion designs.

About Animoto

The founders of Animoto Productions are veterans of the entertainment industry who have produced shows for MTV, Comedy Central, and ABC, studied music in London, and played in indie rock bands. They share a passion for helping people better share their stories and express themselves through online media by innovating technologies in the field of video production. Animoto Productions, founded in August 2006, is based in New York City with an office in San Francisco.

Source: PR Newswire

Michael Douglas Lands Role as NBC Nightly News Announcer

If you’re a NBC Nightly News viewer, you may have noticed a change in the cast this evening.  Turns out NBC has opted for a celebrity to provide voice imaging and announcing services for the evening broadcast.

It’s official: Michael Douglas is the new announcer for the NBC Nightly News.

“Before we go tonight, as promised, a word about the new voice you heard at the top of the broadcast tonight,” Brian Williams said at the close of this evening’s NBC Nightly News.

“Yes, that is Michael Douglas…the great Michael Douglas, actor, producer, and Academy Award winner.”

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Mary J. Blige Celebrates Her New Album With Live Performance on SIRIUS Satellite Radio

SIRIUS Satellite Radio and Mary J. Blige will celebrate the release of her new album Growing Pains (Geffen) with a special pre-Christmas live performance exclusively for fans at SIRIUS’ Rockefeller Center studios in New York City. Mary Xmas and Mary New Year will air live on Hot Jamz channel 50, December 21st at 6 pm ET.

The anointed “Queen of Hip-Hop and Soul” will spend an hour performing songs from Growing Pains including the album’s first single “Just Fine,” which earned her a 2008 Grammy(R) nomination for ‘Best Female R & B Vocal Performance.’ Mary will also discuss the process of making the album.

Mary J. Blige has sold over 40 million albums and received six Grammy wins over her 15 year career. Growing Pains, her eighth studio album, is co- written by Mary and features guest appearances by Ludacris and Usher. Growing Pains will be in stores on Tuesday December 18th, one week before Christmas.

To learn more about SIRIUS Satellite Radio, please visit www.sirius.com.

Source: NEW YORK, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/

MEDIA CONTACT:
Neel Khairzada
SIRIUS
212-584-5243
nkhairzada@siriusradio.com

Bang Zoom! Entertainment Previews Adventures in Voice Acting Documentary at New York Anime Festival

Bang Zoom! Entertainment, a leading full-service audio post production company and producer of original entertainment content, has previewed its newest original production, Adventures In Voice Acting: Anime · Games · Animation, at the debut of the New York Anime Festival.

The trailer is available online now.

A first-of-its-kind documentary, Adventures In Voice Acting: Anime · Games · Animation is the beginning of a proposed multi-volume series detailing the behind-the-mic world of the talented and diverse personalities that bring animated and video game characters to life for English-speaking audiences. As anime and gaming continue to captivate millions of fans across North America, a strong interest has emerged to explore this subject in greater detail.

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