PROMAX|BDA To Pay Tribute to Voice Acting Legend, Don LaFontaine

Promax|BDA, the leading global association for marketing, promotion and design professionals working in the entertainment industry, announced today The Don LaFontaine Legacy Award, created to honor the name, memory and defining legacy of one of the world’s most famous voices.  This past year, entertainment lost Don LaFontaine, whose immediately recognizable voice was featured on more than 5000 promos and trailers over a period of more than 30 years. This award, along with two new Voice Over categories within the Promax|BDA Promotion, Marketing and Design Competitions, will recognize the best in voice talent, an often overlooked, yet integral part of entertainment promotion.

“Mr. LaFontaine was an indisputable leader in the industry whose legacy delves much deeper than his iconic voice” said Jonathan Block-Verk, President of Promax|BDA. “Don was a genuine lover of the arts, a true craftsman and a motivated mentor focused on giving back to the industry that supported him.  The Don LaFontaine Legacy Award is designed to pay tribute to industry leaders who represent this defining legacy.”

The Promax|BDA Awards, which recognize creativity and excellence in marketing, promotion and design in the international entertainment industry, represent the most prestigious honor given in the entertainment sector for marketing, promotion and design. In addition to this special honor, Promax|BDA is introducing two new categories for its 2009 competitions—Best Female Voice Over and Best Male Voice Over.

“Don really understood the power and beauty of the written word, and he would be humbled to know that there is a lifetime achievement award in his honor” said Don LaFontaine’s widow, Anita. “He loved what hid did for a living, and I know he would’ve cherished being a part of The Promax|BDA Awards this year.”

The Don LaFontaine Legacy Award will be introduced at the Promax Marketing & Promotion Awards celebration on June 18, 2009 as part of the 54th annual Promax|BDA Conference taking place in New York from June 16 – June 18.

Submissions for the Promax|BDA Promotion, Marketing and Design competitions will be accepted through Monday, February 27th. For more information, visit http://www.promaxbda.org.

About Promax|BDA
Promax|BDA is a global, non-profit association dedicated to being the leading resource for education, community, creative inspiration and career development for marketing, promotion and design professionals within the entertainment/information industry.

Contact:
Laura Hart, Laura@beckmedia.com
or Steve Spignese, Steve@beckmedia.com
310-689-7363

Kymaro Body Shaper Voiced by Julie Williams Enjoys Top 10 Rating

The Kymaro Body Shaper infomercial, voiced by veteran talent, Julie Williams, has taken the country by storm, consistently being rated as one of the top ten infomercials in America. It has rated as high as #3, according to IMS Charts. IMS is a subscription service that rates infomercials.

“This is a big deal,” says producer Dan Dunn.  And he credits voice talent Julie Williams as contributing to this achievement.

“We are so pleased to have Julie Williams as part of our television productions,” adds Dunn. “ She has been our voice over talent for the Kymaro brand, including the New Body Shaper, Curve Control Jeans and Glamour Eyes—just to name  a few.  I know that her unique style of delivering our message has contributed greatly to our success.  I can’t say enough how lucky we are to have such a great talent on our team!”

Williams has also worked for such noteworthy clients as:  Orbitz, Casio, Plantronics, The US Army, Pampers, and thousands of others. In addition, Williams received the honor of being asked to teach 600 professional voice talents at the recent VOICE 2008 Summit in Los Angeles.  Branding herself as “VoiceOver Chocolate“, she can be reached at julie@voice-overs.com.

Source: Brad Venable

Rita Pardue Judges Gracie Allen Award Media Contest


On January 24, 2009, Ms. Pardue, Production Manager at 89.3 KPCC-Southern California Public Radio, presided as a judge in several broadcasting areas including local, national, and international television and radio at the George Washington University Media and Public Affairs building located in Washington , D.C. The three day event was hosted by American Women in Radio and Television.

Of the many contestants vying for the coveted Gracie Allen Award, there were many well known entrants such as CBS Sunday Morning and many well-known television personalities such as Barbara Walters. Though the judging categories focused on production and content, Ms. Pardue critiqued, “In my opinion, the most talented pieces weren’t just newsworthy, but they were the ones high in diversity where the high production quality combined with the newsworthiness just moved me.”

Former award recipients include American Idol’s Cecile Frot-Coutaz in association with Fremantle Media, Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus, Harpo Radio’s Dr. Maya Angelou, Saving Grace’s Holly Hunter, Heroes’ Ali Larter, Today’s Hoda Kotb, CNBC’s The Suze Orman Show, WE tv’s Wedding Central and MTV’s Half of Us Special, CBS News’ Nancy Giles, CNN’s Heroes: An All Star Tribute, Lifetime Television’s Army Wives, and Oxygen’s Who Cares About the Girls.

The 2009 Gracie Allen Award winners will be honored at the 34th Annual Gracie Awards ceremonies on June 3, 2009 at the New York Marriott Marquis and June 4, 2009 at Tavern on the Green, also located in New York. For further information please visit:

http://www.awrt.org/awards/gracies.html

Source: Rita Pardue

Peter K. O’Connell Elected to MCA-I Board of Directors

Peter K. O’Connell, president of audio’connell Voice Over Talent, has been elected to serve a two-year term on the board of directors of Media Communications Association – International (MCA-I).

As part of his role on the association’s board, O’Connell will also serve as chairman of the association’s Membership Committee.

“Over my twenty-five plus years in the communication industry, the technological avalanche I have witnessed over the past five to seven years has been amazing. It’s one of the reasons I joined MCA-I,” O’Connell says.

“The portability, the speed and the accessibility of the technology driving personal and professional communication today across so many media channels means that individuals and companies will need to access the brain power of our MCA-I membership now more than ever.”

With nearly 800 members world-wide, MCA-I supports professional communicators who work in film, video and the Internet as well as other electronic media, and who communicate through broadcast and non-broadcast delivery channels.

The professional association is headquartered in Madison, WI, and with 29 active chapters, celebrated it 40th anniversary in 2008. The association’s web address is www.mca-i.org.

Source: VoiceOverXtra.com

Voice Over Is Alive and Well in Europe

Bettye Zoller recently returned from a three week sojourn over the Christmas holidays from a European tour and learned a fair deal about what is going on in voice over in countries such as Austria and Germany.

While out to lunch with a friend in Nurnberg, Zoller discovered that more and more actors and singers are making money in the voice-over field all over Europe nowadays, in cities of all sizes from large to small, and that many also work from home, similar to their counterparts overseas.

Voice-overs are particularly attractive to starving artists as extra income – filmmakers, actors, models, and of course, musicians.

Duly was that many Europeans have the advantage of speaking three or more languages fluently, since most European schools teach languages to children in the early grades, not waiting, as do American schools, until the pre-teen or teen years.

Multiple languages are spoken by many European parents.This means that European voice talents easily voice jobs in many languages.

What Europe lacks, her friend confided, is U.S. English – people who speak American English without a European accent.

For more information, read the complete article at VoiceOverXtra.com

Source: Bettye Zoller via VoiceOverXtra

Teri Clark Linden and Sherri Berger Teach in Detriot May 2-3, 2009

Detroit Voice Over Talent/Teacher Teri Clark Linden is partnering with Chicago’s Sherri Berger to bring Sherri’s Voice Over U Beginner’s Lecture and Lab Workshops to Detroit.

The two day workshop will be held Saturday May 2nd and Sunday May 3rd and will include breakfast, lunch and a workbook on both days. Saturday’s workshop will be held from 10:00-5:30 at the Troy Homewood Suites and will also include a guest speaker (agent or producer) and Sunday will be behind the mic at Randy Stephenson’s RMS Studios in Birmingham from 10:00-6:00pm.

The Sunday series will be limited to 10 students. Teri is a professional, union actress with twenty plus years in stage, screen and voice over. Voice over credits range from commercial (On-Star, Comerica Bank, Honey Baked Ham) to narration (Dodge/Visteon) to audio books (Mirage, Big History, Blue Covenant,) some of which have been recorded from her home studio near Ann Arbor.

Known as one of the most highly respected voice over performers and one of the top names in Chicago, Sherri Berger has accumulated a vast list of high profile accounts. Among her national campaigns are: Culligan, Coast Soap, Mr. Clean, McDonalds, Bounty, Mrs. Dash, Rubbermaid, Kelloggs, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Bisquick, Sears, Wrigley Gum, Chrysler, Pharmacia, Sprint’s 1-800-PINDROP, and many more local and regional spots.

Teri and Sherri met during a Pat Fraley voice over workshop weekend Sherri hosted at Cerny America Studios in Chicago. Teri recently flew to LA to study ADR/Voice Matching and Replacement with Pat and Ned Lott at Buzzy’s Recording Studio and began to realize a lack of professional voice over training in Detroit, but a multitude of inquiries on how to get started in the business. Both Teri and Sherri are excited to bring professional voice over skills to Detroit area talent and hope this is the first of many.

Registration and information inquiries can be sent to Teri Clark Linden at info@tericlarkvoiceover.com.

Source: Teri Clark Linden

Brian Haymond’s Voice, Partnering with Samaritan’s Purse, Wins Award

Brian Haymond was honored to partner with Samaritan’s Purse on a national commercial/PSA providing voice over narration about the humanitarian relief needed by all the ravaged people in Sudan.

Recently, the spot “Sudan / Samaritan’s Purse was Listening”, won the prestigious 2009 National Religious Broadcasters Media Award for Best Television Commercial of the Year.

Impressed by the work itself and the team that produced the winning video, Haymond remarked, “The video production these folks do is stellar in every way, so I’m not surprised to see the work noticed but, to have been a part of the finished product is very fulfilling. My hat’s off to those who put it all together!”

NRB (National Religious Broadcasters) has a convention each year and the upcoming convention is in Nashville, Feb. 7-10, 2009.

Like many voice over professionals, the voice acting gene runs in the Haymond family.

Brian Haymond’s daughters, Olivia (11) and Samantha (8) both do voiceover when they can through auditions on Voices.com exclusively, also gaining work through offline efforts. Olivia just finished doing some voiceover for The Boy Scouts of America and Samantha has been doing a campaign for Bojangle’s Chicken and Biscuits, a job she landed on Voices.com.

Haymond has a history with Samaritan’s Purse having narrated promotional videos for their yearly campaign “Operation Christmas Child“, a drive that encourages children to give gifts to children around the world in need of items such as school supplies, winter apparel including mittens, hats, socks, even toothbrushes and toys, neatly packaged in a brightly decorated, festive shoe box to be received at Christmas.

Haymond shared, “Some of the money my girls made from their voice over work was donated to Operation Christmas Child. The instructions ask that those donating goods consider adding $7 per box to help cover processing and so on. Both of my girls took some of the money they made doing voiceover and put $7 in each of the 6 boxes!! So, with the help of Voices.com, we are teaching the girls about good work ethic and giving to others in need! PRICELESS!!”

In related news, Brian Haymond’s song “Deckno the Halls” made the cut for the Holiday Magic 2009 CD, a compilation of voice over and musical recordings that will be distributed to children who are hospitalized and to their siblings during the holiday season in select hospitals across the US. Holiday Magic is a CD produced annually by Jeff Gelder of GelderHead Productions.

Source: Brian Haymond

Voices.com To Give Away 1-Year Premium Membership

For the past couple of months, Voices.com, the voice over marketplace, has been doing weekly giveaways on their company blog, VOX Daily, featuring anything and everything from books on the industry from leading voice over experts, promotional opportunities, Entertainer’s Secret Throat Relief spray, and private consults with giants in education.

This week, they’ve done it again with what many consider to be the best giveaway yet; a 1-year Premium membership subscription free of charge to Voices.com.

By joining Voices.com as a Premium member, voice talent will discover the power of online career management using intuitive technology and bolster their career with superior marketing opportunities and visibility for their voice at Voices.com.

With the ability to upload 100MB of audio, video, and text documents, a Voices.com Premium member website becomes the primary destination for clients seeking vocal expertise on the Internet. Premium members can audition for jobs and promote their services in Unlimited Featured Talent Directory Listings as well as enjoy priority ranking in the Voices.com search engine.

Here’s some more information from Voices.com:

๏ Audition for voice-over jobs that are sent to you via email. We guarantee that all voice talent will receive the project notifications at the same time. 500+ jobs are posted at Voices.com each month.

๏ Get contacted directly. Clients can email you from your web page (http://yourname.voices.com) and hire you for work.

๏ Showcase your voice-over demos online. Easily send files to business associates, casting directors and advertising agencies. (100MB)

๏ Priority ranking in the search results. Your name appears above other membership levels.

๏ Be promoted as a Featured Talent on the home page.

๏ Get paid directly. Set your own rates. Accept online credit card payments with the industry-leading SurePay™ Escrow service or by using your own PayPal account.

๏ Bonus eBooks! Included are the 150 page eBook “The Definitive Guide to Voice-Over Success“, “The Voice Over Script Collection” and “Commercial Scripts for Radio and Television Ads“, a $90 value!

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is have a preexisting profile on Voices.com (regardless of voice talent membership level) and comment on the VOX Daily article to let Stephanie Ciccarelli know that you’d like to win the 1-year Premium membership subscription to Voices.com

Source: VOX Daily

SAG Board of Directors Votes to Request Federal Mediator and Send Strike Authorization Referendum to Members if Necessary

The Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors today passed the following resolution at its quarterly plenary in Los Angeles:

“In hopes of moving the Theatrical and TV negotiations forward, the national board hereby takes the following actions:

SAG will formally request a federal mediator be brought into the negotiations.

The Board adds four new members to the National Negotiating Committee, two from the Hollywood Division, one from the New York Division and one from the Regional Branch Division.

The Board authorizes a referendum and accompanying educational information be sent to the members requesting their authorization for the National Board to call a strike in the Theatrical and TV Contract, at such time as the Negotiating Committee determines in its sole discretion that the mediation process has failed.”

Adopted 96.72% to 3.28%

Approval of the strike authorization would require 75 percent approval of members who vote.
“We hope mediation will help move this process forward. This action by the board demonstrates our commitment to bargain with the strength of our unified membership behind us. Economic times are tough for all Americans, but we must take a stand for what is fair,” said Screen Actors Guild National President Alan Rosenberg.

“Our number one goal remains securing a good contract without a strike,” said SAG National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Doug Allen. “I am pleased by the board’s strong show of support for the national negotiating committee and look forward to meeting with the federal mediator and AMPTP representatives as soon as possible.”

Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) negotiating committees met for 44 days of formal negotiations and have not yet reached a successor agreement to the TV/Theatrical Agreement that expired June 30, 2008.

The board further resolved to add four new members to the negotiation committee, two from the Hollywood Division, one from the New York Division and one from the Regional Branch Division.

Source: SAG.org

Combustion Equipment Manufacturer Selects Warm Voice Talent

John Zink Company, a Tulsa, Oklahoma company that specializes in making equipment and systems used to cleanly burn fossil fuels burn and/or reduce end-process contaminants, produced an industrial video presentation on the vision and mission of the company. audio’connell Voice Over Talent’s Peter K. O’Connell served as narrator for the Zink corporate video featured on the company’s web site and in the company’s offices which also include locations in Luxembourg and Japan.

A professional voice over talent and audio producer for over 25 years, Peter O’Connell is president of audio’connell Voice Over Talent, a worldwide, English language-based voice talent organization. Mr. O’Connell also operates International Voice Talents, a company featuring professional foreign language male and female voice actors.

Both companies provide voice talent for commercials, animation, corporate narrations, documentaries, broadcast voice imaging, audio books, podcasts and messaging on-hold (MOH). Industries served by the two companies include advertising agencies, media and broadcast production companies as well as both large and small businesses around the world.

Mr. O’Connell also owns Voice Over Workshop, which provides professional voice over training to novice and experienced voice talent around the world.

audio’connell Voice Over Talent, International Voice Talents and Voice Over Workshop are all a part of O’Connell Companies.

Source: audio’connell blog

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