Alpha and Omega Voice Acting Cast

Acting, singing, saving whales.

And now, as widely reported, Hayden Panettiere (along with comedian Justin Long) will voice the title characters in “Alpha and Omega,” an animated family feature whose lineup also includes Christina Ricci and Danny Glover. The movie follows two bickering wolves — one a disciplined, Alpha-bred wolf (Hayden Panettiere) and the other a fun-loving, comical Omega wolf (Justin Long) — who are captured and taken thousands of miles from their home.

Determined to rejoin their pack, the two mismatched wolves begin a dangerous trek across unfamiliar terrain, battling the odds, the elements, the bears and one another — and finding love along the way. Anthony Bell (”The Boondocks”) and Ben Gluck (”Brother Bear 2″) are directing “Alpha and Omega”.

Production is underway. Lionsgate will distribute the film in North America and the U.K. in 2010.

Source: WeHeartHayden.com

Walt Disney Studios Announces 10 New Animated Motion Pictures Through 2012

The Walt Disney Studios unveiled a diverse and ambitious slate of 10 new animated feature films from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios to be released through the year 2012 at a New York press conference held today by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, and John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.

The line-up includes new films from Disney and Pixar’s accomplished team of filmmakers, and features vocal performances by such top celebrity talents as John Travolta and Miley Cyrus (“Bolt”), Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson (“The Bear and the Bow”), Anika Noni Rose and John Goodman (“The Princess and the Frog”), as well as return engagements by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and the rest of the “Toy Story” vocal ensemble (“Toy Story 3″). The roster of new animated features includes six new films from Pixar Animation Studios, four from Walt Disney Animation Studios, and the first four in a series of direct-to-DVD films featuring Disney Fairies from DisneyToon Studios. Starting later this year with the release of Disney’s “Bolt,” all Disney and Pixar animated features will be presented in state-of-the-art Disney Digital 3-D (TM).Additionally, newly converted 3-D versions of the beloved classics, “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2,” are set to debut in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Among the upcoming animated films on the 2008 release schedule are “WALL*E” (Pixar) from Academy Award(R) – winning director / writer Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo”) opening nationwide June 27th; “Bolt” (Disney) from the talented new directing team of Chris Williams and Byron Howard, due in theatres on November 26th; and the Disney DVD and Blu-ray release of “Tinker Bell,” the first in a new franchise of original entertainment set in the world of Fairies, on October 28th.

The Studio’s 2009 animated slate includes the summer release of Pixar’s first 3-D feature, “Up,” from director Pete Docter (“Monsters, Inc.”) and co-director Bob Peterson, the Christmas Day release of Disney’s original animated fairy tale “The Princess and the Frog” from acclaimed veteran Disney directors John Musker and Ron Clements (“The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Hercules,”) and the Disney DVD and Blu-ray release of “Tinker Bell North of Never Land” (working title).

2010 brings the highly anticipated return of Buzz and Woody in the Disney Digital(TM) 3D summer release of Pixar’s “Toy Story 3″ directed by Lee Unkrich (“Finding Nemo,” “Monsters, Inc.”); followed by the Christmas arrival of Disney’s version of the classic fairy tale, “Rapunzel,” featuring the directing debuts of animation legend Glen Keane and directing partner Dean Wellins, and the Disney DVD and Blu-ray release of “Tinker Bell A Midsummer Storm” (working title).

In the summer of 2011, Pixar’s “newt” marks the directing debut of multiple Oscar(R)-winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom. Christmas 2011 brings Pixar’s first fairy tale, “The Bear and the Bow,” from acclaimed filmmaker/writer Brenda Chapman (“The Prince of Egypt”). The Disney DVD and Blu-ray release of “Tinker Bell A Winter Story” (working title) also debuts in 2011.

The year 2012 will mark the return of Lightning McQueen, Mater the tow truck, and an international cast of favorite and new car characters in Pixar’s “Cars 2,” directed by Brad Lewis (producer of “Ratatouille”). Scheduled for Christmas 2012 from Walt Disney Animation Studios is “King of the Elves,” an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story, directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker (“Brother Bear”).

Commenting on the announcement, Cook said, “We couldn’t be more proud and excited about our upcoming line-up of feature projects. With so many great films literally on the drawing boards and computer screens, we felt that now was the perfect time to give moviegoers all over the world an update on the state of our art. In a year when our Studio is marking the 80th anniversary of Mickey Mouse, the character that started it all for us, it seems especially timely to share our plans for the future of animation. With John Lasseter and Ed Catmull guiding our creative efforts both at Emeryville and in Burbank, this is as exciting a time as any in our history.”

Lasseter added, “This is an amazing time for animation at Disney and Pixar, and it’s a thrill to be working on such a diverse and original group of films with such an all-star team of filmmakers. The thing I love best about my job is that I get to work at both Disney and Pixar with filmmakers who are passionate about their projects and who are the absolute best in the business. We’re excited to be pushing the boundaries of 3-D and computer technology to tell our stories in the best possible way. At the same time, we’re drawing on our past to emphasize memorable characters, original edge-of-your-seat stories, and believable worlds. Walt Disney and his creative team taught us how to blend comedy, powerful emotion, and action-filled excitement in our films, and this group of incredible filmmakers is bringing their own originality and sensibilities to the process.”

For press materials log on to http://www.wdsfilmpr.com

Source: PRNewswire.com

Don LaFontaine’s Health Issues in Full Retreat

With treatments finally at an end for a lung infection, Don LaFontaine is on the road to full recovery and has his family to thank. Don’s wife, Nita Whitaker, a former nurse, was the first to realize how serious the situation was and took charge of monitoring her husband’s health during his stay at Cedars Sinai last Fall.

In a recent newsletter, Don shared, “I would have never made it without the endless patience and support of my one-of-a-kind wife and daughters.” Read more

Film Fest Draws Familiar Faces and Voices, Joe Sirola for one

It took designers Jason Champion and Laurie Bell 475 yards of white fabric and 20,000 staples to create the elaborate hallway that served as a portal to Saturday’s poolside party and made everyone who passed through it feel like a star.

It was the second year in a row Lakewood Ranch’s most exclusive development was host to the Sarasota Film Festival’s Reel Experience.

“It’s been amazing and wonderful,” Champion said of the design process. “I hope the design brings a better vibe, a smooth and more comfortable vibe to people of all generations.”

Even a little rain didn’t dampen the spirits at the ’50s fete as all different kinds of food from – sushi to beignets – was up for grabs. Those who desired could partake in hand-rolled cigars and, of course, liquor flowed freely.

Saturday Night Live alum Nora Dunn, was among the familiar faces. Dunn is one of the comedic forces who make an appearance in “Certifiably Jonathan,” a documentary of sorts that premiers at the festival today.

The film is filled with comedic geniuses who are trying to help Jonathan Winters get his sense of humor back. Everyone from Winters’ “Mork & Mindy” co-star Robin Williams to Sarah Silverman gets in the act.

One of the evening’s most treasured guests, Joe “King of Voice Overs” Sirola, talked about some of his favorite films to be shown, including “Certifiably Jonathan.”

“I knew him before he quit drinking,” Sirola said.

Then again, in a career that spans five decades, there aren’t many influential actors Sirola hasn’t met, but his passion for film is just as strong today.

He raved about his friend Michael Badalucco’s film “Who is Norman Lloyd,” which will premier at the festival next weekend, and William H. Macy’s “The Deal,” which had its showing Friday night.

“Macy’s film was great too,” he said. “I laughed so hard.”

In his long career, Sirola has done everything from beckoning people to Club Med to convincing them to rent from Hertz. He has been the voice of Boar’s Head for 25 years.

That familiar voice can spin tails of the golden days of Hollywood when he and best friend Richard Burton used to go out on the town. He even travelled with Burton to film Cleopatra.

“I quit ‘Molly Brown’ and the soap opera I was working on and went along with him. He was wonderful,” Sirola said.

In addition to the notable faces that peppered the crowd, the Rat Pack-era feel of the party packed a punch.

Swinging tunes from St. Petersburg scenesters Lounge Cat added to the ’50s flair.

The band is no stranger to film festivals but it was their first time at Sarasota’s.

“I love film festivals,” said Eddie Rosicky, lead singer of Lounge Cat.

Rosicky actually just returned from South by Southwest in Austin where he had an opportunity to see the new Bela Fleck film “Throw Down Your Heart,” which plays Sunday in Sarasota.

“I wept it was so good,” Rosicky said.

Source: Brandeton.com Lakewood Ranch Herald

Dark Sector Sound Design

Monster Sounds Through Human Performance

Trying to come up with a convincing ‘monster’ sound is a difficult task. You want it to somehow sound realistic in a way that the player could believe these characters were real, but at the same time you don’t want it to mimic like other generic monster sounds out there.

Through much trial and error we found that laying down a human performance as the core of our sound was the best way to get that realistic feel. ‘Acting’ out the vocalizations of a character is much easier to match to animations, and can get the point across as to what that specific creature is doing, or trying to do. Also, adding an ounce of humanity to a character can make it more terrifying as players can relate to what they’re hearing… something that maybe used to be human but is quickly becoming something else.

Once the core elements are in place, then processing and other layers to the sound would be applied (depending on the situation). Hopefully players will be a little on edge when they get further into the game and the ‘less-human’ characters start to emerge.

Dwight Schultz became the voice of Robert Mezner. We needed someone who could portray a larger than life character and be able to develop a voice that you would remember. Dwight did an amazing job of making Mezner come across as this psychotic half beast half monster enemy. Hayden often hears the voice of Mezner in his head throughout the game. Through the use of various signal processing techniques we were able to shift Dwight’s voice and make it sound like he’s taking over Hayden’s mind. It turned out really cool, so listen for it when you pick up the game!

Voice Acting the Main Characters

A great performance for all the characters in a game will only help draw the player in that much more. When you’re not sitting back and making comments on how poorly the voice over is acted out, you’re paying more attention to what’s happening on screen. Finding the right talent is key.

The cast of characters for Dark Sector come together and work really well. Michael Rosenbaum (of Smallville fame) pretty much nailed the overall vision we all had of Hayden Tenno, while Dwight Schultz (which everyone around my age group remembers from the A-Team as Murdoch) does an amazing job voicing Hayden’s rival, Robert Mezner.

When we set out to find character voices for Dark Sector we wanted to find actors who we all admired and thought would make the voices of Dark Sector come alive. We got the amazing opportunity to sit back and listen to Michael Rosenbaum become the voice of Hayden Tenno. Hayden was voiceless for a long time in the development cycle and so it was great to give our main character a voice after being mute for so long.

Working with these talented actors was quite and amazing experience. Though we monitored the recording sessions remotely from our studio here, it was almost like being out in the L.A. Studio. We could communicate back and forth as if the talent were in the next room, helping with direction as necessary.

Source: Official Dark Sector Blog

Voice Coaches Advanced Marketing Expo and Conference

For the second year in a row, Voice Coaches, a company that provides creative voice development services and instruction for voice actors, hosts the Voice Coaches “Advanced Marketing Expo and Conference” on Saturday May 3, 2008 in Schenectady, NY at the GE Theater.

This one-day event for voice actors brings together a unique blend of industry professionals with a variety of specialized knowledge and experience, giving attendees a rare opportunity to learn from and interact with top professionals and experts.

In previous years, the conference had been exclusively limited to clients of Voice Coaches, but this year, their team is excited to announce that the Advanced Marketing Expo and Conference has open registration and welcomes voice talent from all over the country offering registration over the phone toll-free to reserve tickets for this industry event.

Read more

audio’connell Voices New Political Campaign for Caleem L. Jabbour

Political candidate Caleem L. Jabbour, running for the 38th District’s Representative seat in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, enlisted audio’connell Voice Over Talent to serve as the voice for his campaign’s advertising.

Peter K. O’Connell, president of audio’connell Voice Over Talent, served as the voice talent for Jabbour’s advertising campaign.

audio’connell Voice Over Talent is a worldwide voice over talent service featuring professional English speaking and foreign language male and female voice talents. Services include providing voices for commercials, animation, corporate narrations, broadcast voice imaging, audiobooks, podcasts and messaging on-hold (MOH) all of which are created for advertising agencies, media and broadcast production companies as well as both large and small businesses around the world.

The company also operates Voice Over Workshop (www.voworkshop.com), which provides professional voice over training to novice and experienced voice talent around the world.

Source: audioconnell.com

Bob Bergen Brings Animation Weekend to Boston

A mere five years into his life, Bob Bergen already felt confident enough to share the culmination of his worldly ambitions with his parents: When he grew up, the wee lad declared, he didn’t want to be an astronaut or a race car driver or a fireman. No, Bergen would not rest until he became . . . Porky Pig.

“My mom said, ‘You can’t be Porky Pig. You’re Jewish,’ ” Bergen recalled. “Being more ‘-ish’ than ‘Jew,’ I had no idea what she meant. I just knew there was this cartoon character I liked and could imitate. So I studied cartoons more than I studied my schoolwork.”

It isn’t difficult to imagine the trepidation Bergen’s parents must have felt listening to their young son sit in his room for hours practicing Porky’s “eh-puh-peh-eh” cadences when he should have been doing math homework. Yet when Mel Blanc passed away less than two decades later, Bergen was invited not only to become the voice behind the world’s most sweet-natured pig, but also a host of other iconic characters ranging from Tweety Bird and Speedy Gonzales to Marvin the Martian.

For those likewise struggling with misunderstood voiceover dreams, fear not! Bergen will make his way from Los Angeles to Boston on April 12-13 to pass along his hard-earned wisdom via one of his uber-popular two-day Weekend Animation Voice Workshops at the Dexter Media studios.

As one might imagine, unlike at most career building and networking gatherings, there is nary a dry lecture, PowerPoint presentation or dull moment at Bergen’s voiceover shindig.

“At a recent Atlanta workshop I was teaching everyone to bark like a dog,” Bergen said, describing a recent class. “Believe it or not it takes awhile to teach the technique. Well, just as I gave to word for everyone to bark the mailman walked in. He gave us the ‘I don’t know what these people are doing, maybe it’s some sort of therapy’ look. It’s not all that uncommon.”

While fun may be integral to Bergen’s workshops, the actor stressed voiceover work is, in fact, work.

“What most people can just ‘do’ is funny voices,” he said. “They imitate their teacher. They entertain their family. Their friends tell them how funny they are. And then they get a script and have no idea what to do with it. What they learn in the class is you have to think of yourself as an actor first.”

They also need to know how to hustle. Bergen didn’t spend the years between when he first broke his swine dreams to his parents and his ascent to the upper echelon of animated voiceovers twiddling his thumbs.

After his father moved the family to Los Angeles, for example, a 14-year-old Bergen cold-called every animation studio in town to get advice on how to break into the business. He went so far as to precociously ring up his hero Blanc at home. (The audio evidence is posted on Bergen’s Web site, www.bobbergen.com.)

“I was just a kid with passion, a dream and no idea that what I was thinking about doing was competitive or hard,” he said.

When a friend of the family arranged for Casey Kasem to send Bergen an autographed picture on the occasion of his graduation from high school, the 18-year-old responded with a note explaining his dreams. Kasem offered assistance, and Bergen sent along the tape of himself doing 85 voices. That tape would eventually land him an agent.

Even then the struggle didn’t end.

“I got my first cartoon and my first agent a week out of high school,” said Bergen, who also had guest roles on such classic 1980s sitcoms as “The Facts of Life” and “Gimme a Break.” “Then I worked for five years as a tour guide at Universal Studios trying to pay the rent and eat while I was making a name for myself.”

All of this was hardly for naught, however, for at the moment when the planets aligned in 1990 and Blanc’s replacements were being chosen, Bergen was prepared to seize the moment and – sort of – step into his hero’s shoes.

“There are a handful of us who share these characters and none of us sound like Mel Blanc as far as I’m concerned,” Bergen said. “I do my best to uphold the character more than the person. I don’t try to do Mel Blanc. I try to do Porky Pig.”

Bergen teaches all levels of ability from beginners to professionals with agents. (His Los Angeles classes have a three-year waiting list.) Still, one has to wonder: Is there really any hope for the aspiring voiceover actor these days, what with Hollywood’s A-list gobbling up animated feature roles left and right?

Bob Bergen certainly believes there is.

“I have done almost every Disney animated feature since ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame,’ ” Bergen explained. “I’ve done most of the Pixar films. I’ve been Comet the Reindeer in the ‘Santa Clause’ movies and Luke Skywalker on ‘Robot Chicken’ and in Star Wars video games. I’m not Tim Allen. I’m not Don Rickles. I’m not Tom Hanks. They’re going to play the leads. And I’m fine with that. I play the squirrel. I play the robot. I play the baby.

“Would I like to play the lead?” he continued. “Sure. Will my name on the marquee bring people in? No. Do studio executives care if I’m the squirrel or not? No. Am I happy to be working and getting paid my residuals? You bet. Look, if you’re really interested in this, it really doesn’t matter what’s involved or what the obstacles are. If you’re meant to do it, you’re going to do it.”

And for those who do make a career of it, many wonders await them.

“The great thing about voiceover work is that it’s unpredictable,”

Bergen said. “Sometimes you’re advertising toilet paper and sometimes you’re the voice of the toilet paper.”

Source: ENCORE an edition of The Telegraph

George DelHoyo Travels Less Thanks to ISDN

Half the mystique of “that guy” who narrates trailers is wondering what he looks like in person. By doing his recordings from home, George DelHoyo makes it so that even those who hire him have to guess.

“They say, ‘Children are to be seen and not heard.’ I think the opposite is true of voiceover people: We’re to be heard and not seen,” says DelHoyo, who worked for years as the voice of Fox, recording all the “American Idol” promos since the show first aired.

When DelHoyo started, he would drive from his Toluca Lake to studios around town, losing hours daily at the wheel.

“The first two years I had the car, I put 36,000 miles on it,” he says. Since adding a home ISDN connection, DelHoyo drives less than 2,000 miles a year.

His equipment is industry-standard — a Sennheiser mic, Avalon M5 pre-amp, Rane mixing board and Zephyr Xstream ISDN transmitter from Telos — but DelHoyo prides himself on a relatively low-tech operation.

DelHoyo eschewed a basement studio, preferring to work in a comfortable office with double-paned glass, heavy drapes and a thick sealed door.

“This is a very quiet street,” he says. “If the neighbor’s gardeners come to take out a tree or grind a stump, I had (an identical setup) built in a spare room upstairs on the other side of the house.”

He also created a third studio at his getaway home in Arrowhead, converting a spare closet into a booth.

“My family felt a little trapped by my work ethic,” he says. “I’m in here working so much of the time, anywhere from 11 in the morning till 9 at night.”

CREDITS

Can currently be heard narrating the campaigns for “Nacho Libre,” “Monster House,” “The Ant Bully” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”

Source: Variety.com

Business of Voice Over Shifts into High Gear

So you want to get into the voice-over business.

For sure, the Internet has opened up a whole new world and work is more plentiful, but a golden voice alone won’t cut it.

“As important as a person’s voice is, so too is their personality and ability to be perseverant,” said David Bourgeois, president and creative director of Schenectady-based Voice Coaches, which provides voice acting training. “There is room for a much broader range of voices today, and there has never been more opportunity in the field.”

A large chunk of the business today has shifted from the commercial end to the Internet and narrative voice-over work, including audiobooks, training and educational material, and documentaries, Bourgeois said. By most estimates, audiobooks are expected to increase fivefold within the next two years.

Video gaming and podcasting also are red-hot, said David Ciccarelli, chief executive of Voices.com, a Canadian company that connects businesses with voice actors and voice-over talent.

“All of this is creating a new demand for new content because there is a new base of listeners and opportunity for advertisers,” he said, noting that the Internet and podcasting means a large audience and opportunities for more advertising dollars. “The industry is growing in leaps and bounds in terms of dollars that are being invested.”

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