Voice Talent Tony Pasquale Announces Live at the Georgia Dome
April 22, 2008
Voice Talent Tony Pasquale is the live announcer for this year’s DECA International Career Development Conference in Atlanta.
High energy voice talent Tony Pasquale has been contracted to perform as the live announcer in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome during DECA’s International Career Development Conference. The annual conference, with nationally recognized entertainment, has an expected attendance of over 14,000.
Butcher Swaps Meat Cleaver for Microphone
April 18, 2008
The dulcet Tyke tones of a Bradford butcher have won him the chance to swap his meat cleaver for a microphone as the new voice of Yorkshire Water.
Kevin Carroll, 52, won a competition to find a friendly Yorkshire twang to greet customers when they contact the firm’s call centre.
He and more than 100 others recorded their own versions of the Yorkshire phrase: “Hear all, see all, say nowt. Eat all, sup all, pay nowt and if tha ever does owt for nowt allus do it for thi sen.”
Five finalists were chosen and the contest was put to an online poll, which Kevin, of Gregory Crescent, Horton Bank Top, won with more than two thirds of the vote.
He said: “I’ve been told my voice isn’t bad so when I saw the competition in the Telegraph & Argus I thought I’d give it a go.
“I’m proud that so many people voted for me.
“I think they just wanted a friendly Yorkshire voice, although strangely, I was in America last year and everyone thought I was Australian.”
Kristine Oller Helps Voice Actors Get Organized
April 17, 2008
Most performing artists want only one thing… to be a performing artist as a full-time gig.
In pursuit of the dream, many unconsciously let it slip away from them and find that in order to make their dream a reality, they need to overcome several obstacles, often self-imposed, before they can achieve their goal of a solid and stable career doing what they love.
That’s where people like Kristine Oller come in.
Kristine is a professional organizer and career strategist who consults people, works with them on plans to make the most their situations, and then frees up precious time, space and financial resources liberating her clients from their ruts and the baggage that holds them back from success.
DB Cooper Featured by Seacoast Online
April 16, 2008
For a woman born in California and raised in Hawaii, DB Cooper (Deirdre Williams) is heavily entrenched in the Seacoast. She’s a voice you know, even if you can’t put a face to it.
Cooper is a longtime, regional radio personality and has acted and directed for film and stage. These days she’s still “the voice” performing as a staff announcer for CBS Radio Boston, WBZ, one of four employees doing company commercials.
She actually makes a living with those pipes.
“Pat Fraley (my business partner) says I’m the poster child for the successful voice career from the hinterlands of America,” she says, laughing.
Stars to Give Car Park Voice-overs in the UK
April 14, 2008
THE squeaky voice of comedian Joe Pasquale will soon ring across a town centre - reminding motorists to lock their cars and take valuables with them.
The high-pitched funnyman is one of a number of celebrities whose voices will be given to “talking ticket machines” in Tunbridge Wells.
Reminders will be given to motorists as they wait for their tickets to be printed at Pay and Display machines.
Others voices used include Boycie from Only Fools and Horses, characters from the television show Little Britain, Elvis Presley and cockney actor Michael Caine.
Voice Talkers Video Gets Thumbs Up From Voice Actors
April 10, 2008
To say that the video “Voice Talkers : Living the Dream of a Voice Actor” by New York-based comedy troupe POYKPAC struck a chord with the voice acting community would be an understatement.
Little did they know that the brief video “Voice Talkers” featuring Taige Jensen, submitted to YouTube’s Sketchies II contest would turn into one of the most interesting and close-to-home snapshots of families with multiple voice actors.
Professional voice actor Dan Nachtrab remarked, “It’s as if someone put a camera in my house.”, suggesting that the video hit very close to home and the crew from POYKPAC had done a bang-up job presenting the realities of working in the voice over business.
Don LaFontaine’s Health Issues in Full Retreat
April 9, 2008
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
Voice Coaches Advanced Marketing Expo and Conference
April 7, 2008
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.
Business of Voice Over Shifts into High Gear
April 3, 2008
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.”
AFTRA Votes to Suspend Joint Bargaining Agreement with SAG
April 1, 2008
In an abrupt move, AFTRA’s national board of directors Saturday overwhelmingly voted to suspend its joint bargaining agreement with SAG and negotiate its primetime TV contract alone with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
SAG’s national board was notified of the decision by AFTRA’s president Roberta Reardon and national officers Susan Boyd Joyce, Denny Delk, Bob Edwards, Matt Kimbrough and Shelby Scott at what was to be an afternoon joint meeting of both unions’ national boards. In a statement, Reardon said over the last year, AFTRA has worked hard to “maintain the integrity” of the joint bargaining process, “so we could sit across the table from the industry with total and unequivocal unity.” She added, “SAG Leadership has made this impossible.”
She claims a recent attempt by SAG’s Hollywood leaders to “de-certify an AFTRA daytime soap opera,” is among the ways the union has “engaged in a relentless campaign of disinformation and disparagement.” As a result, she added, it shakes AFTRA’s confidence in SAG’s “ability to live up to the principles of partnership and union solidarity.” Reardon said AFTRA would now devote its energies to negotiating a new contract for its members as soon as possible, and she added hope that someday both actors unions can rebuild “the historic trust between these two organizations.
SAG president Alan Rosenberg blasted the decision, saying it is “calculated, cynical and may serve the interests of their institution, but not its members.” Rosenberg said, “We remain focused on negotiating the best terms for actors covered by the TV theatrical contract. We spent weeks working with our fellow actors in AFTRA on joint proposals to improve the lives of all working actors.” Read more
