Microphones Donated to Upgrade PA System for Announcing

The Pratt Leadership 2000-Plus fall class of 2007 donated two microphones to the Pratt Recreation Department Wednesday at the Green Sports Complex.

The microphones upgrade the complex’s public address system. The donation was part of the class’s community service project. PRD director Bruce Pinkel graciously accepted the donation.

Pinkel and his staff welcome 90,000 visitors per year to the complex, hosting national, state and local events.

In 2007, the PRD hosted the state American Legion AA championships and Hap Dunlop World Series.

Source: Pratt Tribune

Sausalito Company Voicetrax Celebrates 20th Anniversary

The business of the voice-over has taken directions the founder of a Sausalito studio and academy never imagined when she started it 20 years ago.

A successful voice actress at the time, Samantha Paris had experience doing voices for cartoon characters, commercials and film narratives in Los Angeles, but she never imagined she would offer the range of classes that she does at Voicetrax San Francisco Inc., based in Sausalito.

Voicetrax’s curriculum includes more than 100 workshops and seminars for students at all levels, as well as individual coaching. Its clients include news anchors and trial attorneys who want to improve their presentations, as well as professional voice actors.

Classes cover acting, narration, dialogue, animation and audition techniques. But newer classes have been developed to meet modern-day needs that were created largely by advances in technology. For instance, Paris has introduced a directing class because agents increasingly expect actors to be able to audition from home - without a director.

“Technology is pulling me,” Paris said. “I have to stay on top of it. There are more voice-over opportunities than ever before.”

New business has come in the form of multimedia, podcasts, telephone prompts, Web voice work, walking tour guides and audiobooks. Paris, 47, has been a voice actor for 32 years and admits she has run the business living on the edge.

“It’s my life. It’s my passion,” Paris said. “Your business plan is you’re going to wake up every day and do what you love.”

Paris said although hers is the only such business in Marin, she is aware of two other similar businesses in San Francisco.

When Paris moved from Los Angeles to Sausalito 20 years ago, only a handful of actors in San Francisco were doing voice-over work. That surprised her because many of the scripts she read in Los Angeles were from advertising agencies in the Bay Area.

As she picked up work and got to know people in the industry, she found that the Bay Area did not have a large pool of voice-over artists, so the agencies sent scripts directly to Los Angeles.

Before long, students were coming to her for coaching, and Voicetrax was established in a hall closet in her home. As the business grew, Paris added a casting service after local producers were asking for talent.

“It signaled a huge shift in the ad agencies’ attitude toward the Bay Area talent pool,” Paris said. “It showed that they were becoming more open to the idea of hiring locally for their high-profile campaigns.”

Chuck Kourouklis started with Voicetrax as a student and now works in the studio. He said voice acting can be more tricky than performing on a stage because the actor must connect with an audience without physical gestures.

There is more to voice acting than training, he said.

“You need to learn how to act and learn the process of seeking representation and getting auditions,” Kourouklis said.

Source: Marin Independent Journal

Image: Samantha Paris directs students while teaching a class at Voicetrax in Sausalito. Her voice-over training program is celebrating its 20th anniversary. (IJ photo/Jeff Vendsel)

Cop by Day, Voice Actor By Night

San Leandro police officer Brian Sommer enjoys his career catching criminals.

But when his uniform comes off, Sommer sometimes turns into the bad guy or a monster voice acting in video games.

Brian can be heard on more than 40 video games, such as “Sam & Max,” “Art of Murder” and “Death Jr. 2: Root of Evil.”  He also does some commercial voice over work for television and radio.

His voice is extremely versatile, branding himself as Brian Sommer, Killer Voiceover.

To hear a sampling of Brian Sommer’s character voices, learn more about why he got started in voice acting and find out who his voice over heroes are, click on the source link below to listen to a recent podcast featuring some Killer Voiceover.

Source: SFGate.com

Actors Score $500K for Video Game Voice-Overs

 

For a time, indescribably horrific voice acting was a hallmark of video games. However, with the game industry now pulling in nearly $18 billion a year in the US alone, publishers and developers have learned that it takes some solid investment in talented people to make the voice acting in video games not only professional but enjoyable from a gamer’s point of view.

Renowned actors as Sir Ian McKellen, Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, Ron Perlman, Keith David, Samuel L. Jackson, Chow Yun-Fat, and others deliver top-notch vocal performances for audiobooks, film narration and video games, a trend that sees no stop to celebrity voice acting any time soon.

So how much are these actors being paid to lend their real-world pipes to virtual heroes? According to Screen Actors Guild rules, union voice actors can expect to be paid $760 for one four-hour recording session.

That’s just the fee for a professional voice actor with union status.

Now, if you were to talk celebrity voice talent, that figure increases exponentially. Speaking to Reuters, Blindlight production company general manager Lev Chapelsky said that some stars have demanded $750,000 for an hour’s worth of work, and one voice actor actually received $500,000 for a single session. Chapelsky told Reuters that top talent commonly receives “in the high five figures for a single session.”

Videogames have helped resuscitate the careers of many film and television actors, whose distinctive voices can make them a hot commodity in the game world even as their status in Hollywood fades.

Many once-familiar actors have carved out second careers as video-game characters.

Videogamers, will more likely recognize Keith David for his role as the Arbiter, the deep-voiced alien “co-star” in Microsoft’s best-selling “Halo” videogames.

Marty O’Donnell, audio director at Bungie Studios, which created “Halo”, said he stumbled across David’s distinctive voice when listening to a documentary the actor was narrating, and knew he was perfect for the Arbiter.

O’Donnell sees celebrities are a boon for the gaming industry, because there are a lot of great actors out there not currently working on the latest triple-A film.”

Roughly 1,200 to 1,500 lines of dialogue per character are recorded for story-driven games. “Halo 3″ had more than 35,000 total lines of dialogue, according to O’Donnell.

With blockbusters like Halo 3, it’s clear that residuals in games will be a major bargaining issue in upcoming SAG negotiations.

Residuals are payments to actors for subsequent showings of their work, such as when a movie is shown on TV.

Currently, voice actors don’t get residuals for games, and it’s an issue that echoes the complaints of Hollywood’s striking writers that they should be paid more for digital distribution of their works.

Source: Reuters

Photo: REUTERS/Phil McCarten

Voiceover: Beyond the Booth Class to start in February at NYU

“Voiceover: Beyond the Booth”, formerly called “The Business of Voiceover” is now open for enrollment at NYU for Spring 2008. The first class begins Wednesday, February 13th at 6:45 p.m. and runs through May 7th.

Frequented by special guests including top agents, voiceover talent, casting directors and producers, “Voiceover: Beyond the Booth” helps people who have a burning desire for voice acting find out what it takes to succeed in the business and brings them more than one step closer to making their dreams of voice acting professionally a reality.

Participants also have the opportunity to address their questions to the people who make this industry tick. A benefit unique to Voiceover : Beyond the Booth is that students will have the chance to read voiceover copy for A-list industry professionals and get an insider’s perspective and feedback about their skill level, a privilege that no other course available offers with regard to the business of voiceovers.

The course is offered as a part of the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies, taught by a leading professional in the voiceover field with almost 2 decades of experience as both a top voiceover agent and a voiceover industry consultant who has started and cultivated the careers of some of the most prominent voiceover artists working today.

Beyond the Booth Guests have included:

The Legendary Don LaFontaine – Voice of over 5000 Movie Trailers
Rodd Houston – Voice of Verizon Wireless
Joan Baker – Author “Secrets of Voiceover Success”
Bill Graves – Voice of ABC’s Nightline and Primetime
Tim Champeaux –Voice of Jenny Craig, Today Show Concert Series
Jim Kozloff - Director of Talent and Business Development at VH-1
Stewart F. Wilson Turner – Co-Creator of voicebank.net
Voiceover Agents from Don Buchwald & Associates, Abrams Artists, Paradigm and Innovative Artists
Producers from Miramax Films, ESPN, BET, HBO, NBC Sports

Click to register for Voiceover: Beyond the Booth.

For more information, contact:

Johnna Gottlieb
President
JOHNNA GOTTLIEB CONSULTING
(718)768-3511
www.jogoco.com

Amitabh Bachchan to do voice over for ‘Jodha Akbar’

After a voice over for Lagaan, the Big B has been roped in to do the same for Jodha Akbar.

Bachchan is by now a veteran at voice overs as he has lent his baritone for a number of films like Bawarchi, Balika Badhu, Shatranj Ke Khilari, Tere Mere Sapne, Parineeta and Swami.

Jodha Akbar, which is scheduled for a Feb 15 release, is a historical saga of Emperor Akbar and his Rajput Queen Jodhabai. Amitabh Bachchan, who will be the narrator for the film, was director Ashutosh Gowariker’s only choice as he wanted someone who could convey both the gravity and historicity of the era.

For Bachchan, who has also done a voice over for the sound and light show at the Golconda fort, Hyderabad, where he takes the audience back to the days of the Nizam, doing a period film should be an easy task.

Source: IndianTelevision.com

The Union Question: Should You Join?

A guaranteed minimum pay scale… a paymaster who bills your clients and sends you checks… health insurance… celebrity presidents and board members who negotiate on your behalf.

Unions are indeed enticing for voice actors.

Can you join? Should you?

It’s a major business decision that will affect your income.

Yet there are also reasons not to join, and as the high-profile writers’ strike drags on, you’ve got to wonder if you’re cut out for the picket lines.

From having “learned and lived the union life” as both a union official and voice talent, voice actress Bobbin Beam details what to consider for those interested in joining a union.

To read the entire article visit the source below.

Source: VoiceOverXtra

Child Voice Actors Love “Sunday School” with Sunday Muse

Sunday Muse a leading animation voice actor who has provided her voice on such hit shows as Care Bears (Cheer Bear), Rolie Polie Olie and Jo Jo’s Circus, is now offering her immensely popular kids Voice-Over workshop.

Geared towards children who are either looking to move forward in the animation/voice over industry or just looking for a unique educational experience, “Sunday Muse Cartoon Voices for Kids,” shows kids how to ‘be’ the cartoon voice that they see on TV. In a safe environment, kids explore cartoons through rap music, imitation and a series of mock auditions using scripts from popular animated scripts like Rolie Polie, Care Bears, Super Why, and Arthur. Using her one of a kind technique “Actively on the Spot,” kids learn how to animate their bodies and voice by connecting to the emotions and actions of the character they are playing.

Sunday provides her students with the skills in demand by casting directors of national cartoons and children’s shows and her students end up on national television.

Source: VOX Daily

Character Actor D.C. Douglas Survives Writers Strike with Voice Over

The writer’s strike may be keeping writers and actors off Hollywood sets, but it can’t keep character actor D.C. Douglas from talking. During the recent drought of theatrical work, Douglas counts on voice over jobs to keep him afloat commercially. His work, including the now famous celebrity GEICO commercials, can be heard at http://www.MyVoiceOverGuy.com

Landing the GEICO announcer role last year gave Douglas’ voice over career a kick in the proverbial pants. The 2007 campaign was downloaded daily on YouTube.com and stirred up additional work for Douglas throughout the year. The commercials were so popular that GEICO is extending the campaign with a new round of commercials including celebrities like Joan Rivers, Peter Frampton, James Lipton and even Mrs. Butterworth. Douglas says it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“I absolutely support the writers in their fight,” says Douglas. “Unfortunately, this kind of fight takes a toll on the industry - there are virtually no auditions and pilot season seems to have been decimated. But I’m in an extremely lucky position being a voice over artist as well as an actor. I still get to use my craft to generate income and support the writers at the same time. I’m doubly lucky that the GEICO campaign has been renewed for 2008. Funny thing is, I’ve got several films that were shot a year ago that won’t be out until this summer or later. So for now I’m anonymous but making a living.”

Not until late 2008 will we see Douglas in “Change Your Life” with Tony Plana (”Ugly Betty”), “Deadwater” with Lance Henriksen (”Aliens”), “Universal Remote” with Charles Q. Murphy (”Night At The Museum”) and the movie of the week, “Final Approach” with Dean Cain (”Out Of Time”). Until then, keep your ears open.

Source: Emediawire.com

Voices.com Wins a Frost & Sullivan : 1to1 Impact Award

Phoenix, AZ - On Monday, January 14th, Voices.com CEO David Ciccarelli was an honoured guest at the Frost & Sullivan : 7th Annual 1to1 Impact Awards, receiving a Silver medal on behalf of Voices.com as recognized winners in the Full-Suite CRM category, sharing the spotlight with Westpac Banking Corp (Gold medal) and ESET Software (Bronze medal).

The winners were honored at a special awards session and panel discussion at Frost & Sullivan’s 9th Annual Sales and Marketing West Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

Award categories (and their winners) include:

Customer Strategy: Travelocity, Watercolor Inn & Spa, Big River Telephone

Full-Suite CRM: Westpac Banking Corp, Voices.com, ESET Software

Marketing Optimization: AT&T, TD Bank Financial Services, Sylvan Learning

Sales Optimization: US Bank, DirecTV, The Berry Company

Customer Service Optimization: A.O. Smith Water Products, Virgin Atlantic, Earthlink

New Media: Procter & Gamble, Subway Buffalo SFAFT, La Redoute - For instance, Subway uses text messaging to send coupons to the 5,000 customers who have opted in. On a snowy day with light traffic, they can blast an SMS message to create some traffic. P&G has improved its organic search engine results.

Organizational Transformation: Honeywell Aerospace, Canada Post

Award winning companies will be featured in the January/February issue of 1to1

Source: LeeAase.WordPress.com

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