Britain’s Most Famous Voice-Over, Mike Hurley, Gone at 59
February 27, 2008
Popular radio presenter and voice-over artist Mike Hurley has died. Mike suffered from a stroke at the young age of 59. He was best known for his programmes on BBC Radio Humberside and BBC Radio York, along with performing voice-overs for many radio commercials.
Known as ‘the voice of Hovis’ after being featured as an old Yorkshire man in a television commercial, there are very few radio stations he hasn’t been heard on over the years.
Guess Who Drives This Car?
February 27, 2008
Now, you don’t see this everyday, do you?
Recently, a car totally covered in Hambly Prismatic Stickers was featured on the company’s weblog.
Turns out Fabio Rodriguez, the owner of the car, is an artist who covers cars in different things. This is his new car affectionately called “Liverpool Dreams”, a tribute to the Beatles.
He also has created an art piece consisting of a car decorated entirely with dimes that is in Ripleys Believe it or Not.
Fabio drives Liverpool Dreams back and forth between Vegas and LA every week, and according to the sticker company, their high quality prismatic stickers don’t come off easily.
Fabio Rodriguez is also a voice actor and is currently the voice of Disney Espanol.To view more pictures of the car, click on the source link below.
Source: Hambly Screen Prints
Oscar Smiles on Ratatouille and Peter and the Wolf
February 26, 2008
Winning in the feature animated film category was Ratatouille (Brad Bird) and the best animated short nod went to Peter and the Wolf (Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman).
The beautiful stop-frame animation Peter and the Wolf is a half hour work that re-interprets Prokoviev. The film has also been designed in such a way that it can be projected in a concert hall to go along with a live musical accompaniment.
Peter and the Wolf is also nominated for the British Animation Awards which are held on March 13th.
Source: ForbiddenPlanet.co.uk
SunSpots Productions’ Zak Miller Celebrates 10 Years and 7,000 Sessions at SunSpots Florida Studios
February 26, 2008
Think you’ve done lots of spots?
SunSpots Productions Zak Miller may have you beat. He just produced his 7,000th session at SunSpots recording studios Orlando location. If that isn’t reason enough to celebrate, Zak is also celebrating his 10th anniversary with SunSpots Productions.
How many spots is that?
Zak says “You can figure an average 2-3 spots per session, so I imagine I’ve engineered and produced anywhere from 10 to 15 thousand commercials.” Radio and TV commercials, long form industrials, web 2.0 audio and every application you think of where a voiceover is needed has been recorded from Zak’s customized studio.
An avid surfer, Zak had his studio custom painted last year with all walls filled with soft clouds and blue skies melting into a fiery sunset. “Clients love it when they do sessions in my room. They’re surrounded by the beach sunset.”
What about 10 years at one location?
“That’s rare in this business, but I was here soon after SunSpots began in the voiceover and audio production world and I knew the owners were dedicated to excellence. I’ve done things I never could have done when I worked in radio.” Zak was a fixture on Orlando radio station WDIZ for many years. “Last fall, I was flown to LA to be the post-production engineer on an HBO film with Katt Williams. A couple of years ago Larry the Cable Guy was in the studio to lay down ADR for the movie Cars and there’s been other celebs I’ve got to work with here at SunSpots. A couple of weeks ago we were working with Golf Legend, Arnold Palmer.”
Zak’s hard work and dedication eventually earned him the position of Studio Manager of the Florida SunSpots location.
“I’m looking forward to another 10 years at SunSpots. We’re the best in the world at what we do.”
SunSpots co-owner Thomas Rohe, feels the same. “Zak has been there from our baby steps to our giant leaps as we’ve become a world-wide leader in our industry. Whatever we’ve needed, Zak has been there for us, his co-workers, but also our voice talent and our clients. We can’t thank him enough for his hard work and dedication.”
Source: PR.com
Flashpoint Installs P-SOLO Preamps to Sound-for-Film Suites
February 26, 2008
Flashpoint, The Academy of Media Arts and Sciences, has purchased two TRUE Systems P-SOLO single-channel microphone/instrument preamplifiers and installed them in two sound-for-film suites in its new 32,000 square-feet production/post complex.
The educational facility, which opened in the heart of Chicago’s Loop in September 2007, offers two-year courses in digital arts and entertainment technologies at its campus, which features multiple sound stages, graphics bays, Avid edit suites and audio rooms outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment.
“We bought the P-SOLOs specifically to install them in our mini suites,” says Bernie Mack, a Chicago-based recording engineer and educator for over 15 years and a Flashpoint Academy Recording Arts faculty member. “They have everything we were looking for - features, controls, design and performance. They’re perfect, especially for the price.”
Flashpoint Academy chose the TRUE P-SOLO preamps after a lot of research, explains Mack. The physical form factor played a part in the decision, he says. “It was the fact that they are tabletop - they’re heavy, solid boxes - and they have all the functions we were looking for: 48 volts, a pad and a nice big knob.”
As for the sound quality, John Murray, Chair of the Recording Arts, comments, “The reason we purchased the TRUE P-SOLO is that they are very transparent and also the noise floor is significantly low. When we first plugged it in, we turned it up and said, ‘Wow, that’s pretty quiet.’ But we really love them for the transparency. They’re mostly for doing voice over work, so we wanted something that wasn’t going to color the sound a lot.”
Murray elaborates, “In our Recording Arts program we have a large recording room, two post control rooms for sound design and four mini suites. Two are built out right now and two more will be built out in the future. The mini suites are for doing sound for film, with Pro Tools|HD, a small control surface, a plasma television and a pair of nearfields. They’re connected to a narration booth where students can record voice overs.”
The two P-SOLO preamps were installed in December, he says, and although they have only been used for voice overs, it may only be a matter of time before they get used in other rooms, perhaps with visiting guest musicians, who have, so far, included Michelle Shocked and Rob Fetters, former frontman of The Bears, Psychodots and Raisins. “We have a main music control room where we do a lot of our tracking,” says Murray. “We’re impressed with these preamps, so we’re potentially going to be looking for more in the future for other rooms. The P-SOLOs have been rock-solid so far and I can only say good things about them.”
A total of approximately 150 students were accepted for the inaugural year at Flashpoint Academy, which offers two-year programs in Film, Game Development, Visual Effects & Animation, and Recording Arts. “The concept is that everyone works together,” explains Mack. “What’s awesome is that, for instance, the film students produced a two-minute film and were paired up with a Recording Arts student who did all the location audio as well as sound design and editing.”
The academy expects the total student population, which this year includes about 45 on the Recording Arts program, to rise to about 250 next year, he says. “Our goal is to cap out at 1000 students. We never want to get larger than that. We have selective admissions and a big screening process. We look to make sure that our students are engaged and passionate about what they want to do, and that they have drive and a good work ethic.”
Source: Flashpoint Blog
Little Known Facts about Announcing for The Oscars
February 26, 2008
The 80th Annual Academy Awards took place on Sunday night.
By now that is old news, but what you may not have known is that the announcers on the Oscars were Randy Thomas, one of the best known American female announcers, and Tom Kane, both veterans of announcing at Hollywood’s biggest night.
Randy Thomas, Entertainment Tonight (ET’s) and “The Insider”’s announcer, has been the voice of the Oscars seven times now and she says of the experience that it is always a thrill and an honor, stating, “This job never gets old nor do I take it for granted. It is amazing.”
Chicago 10
February 25, 2008
1968 was a turbulent time in America.
We were in a war that was claiming countless lives every day and had a forthcoming election that would decide where the country would be headed. A significant portion of the population became organized and tried to make their voices heard at all times possible. In Chicago, in the summer of 1968 outside the Democratic National Convention, these voices were going to be heard.
After all was said and down, eight men were arrested and charged with crimes that resulted from this march.
Directed by Brett Morgan (The Kid Stays In The Picture) with a deft touch, Chicago 10 presents a nice piece of history while drawing parallels to the current world situations. By using a mix of golden era protest songs, along with a healthy dose of Rage Against the Machine, the film captures an era and shows how even though we may be done with the past, the past isn’t done with us.
The animated portions are quite good and the voice performances are particularly worth noting, as Hank Azaria does a terrific Abbie Hoffman, and Jeffrey Wright’s portrayal of Bobby Seale is worth the price of admission alone.
Source: MoviesOnline.ca
Harlan Hogan’s Porta-Booth Provides Mobile Studio Solution
February 25, 2008
Voice actors typically record their audio projects in their own home studio – a space with quality equipment and dead quiet. New jobs arrive daily from clients via email or phone and require quick turnaround.But sometimes, a business trip or vacation beckons, creating a dilemma: How to provide quality voice-over recordings while on the road?
“When you’re on the road, you’ll often find yourself in less-than-perfect recording environments,” says veteran voice actor and author Harlan Hogan. “Even a very quiet hotel room can sound like a big, boomy box to your microphone.”
Hogan wants to keep busy on the road. “I love this work!” he says. And it shows. As one of America’s favorite voices, Hogan has pressed many commercial slogans into our memories, including “Kills bugs fast. Kills bugs dead,” “The cereal even Mikey likes,” and “Hey Culligan Man!” We also hear him today in countless promos, narrations and documentaries.
Hogan describes his solution for eliminating “road noise” from recordings in an article featured at VoiceOverXtra.com.
He devised the Porta-Booth, a collapsible box lined with 2’-inch thick insulating foam, into which the microphone happily sits in dead quiet.
“It’s a simple, practical and inexpensive way to sound good anywhere,” Hogan says, “at home or on the road.”
Source: OpenPR.com
GM Voices Exhibiting at the 2008 Blue Cross Blue Shield Customer Contact Conference
February 25, 2008
GM Voices, Inc., the leading global provider of professionally recorded voice, localization and branding solutions for self service applications, announces its participation as an exhibit sponsor of the 2008 Blue Cross Blue Shield Customer Contact Conference to be held March 2-5 in Los Angeles.
The 2008 conference provides an opportunity for telecom and call center technology providers to present their solutions to the Blue Cross Blue Shield member plans. The forum will focus on customer service, telecommunications and claims issues.
As part of the sponsor program, GM Voices will present voice, persona and branding solutions as they relate to the insurance and healthcare industries. GM Voices goal is to enhance awareness and understanding of its products and services and how BCBS member plans can leverage them to increase customer satisfaction and reduce ROI.
Source: TechLINKS.net
Voices.com Announces the 2008 Voicey Award Winners
February 21, 2008
The 2nd Annual Voicey Awards took place via the VOX Talk podcast on February 21, 2008 airing at 6 p.m. EST. The awards recognize voice actors for their career accomplishments, vocal prowess and contributions to the voice over industry.
