Bob Souer Narrates 774,000 Words for Bible Podcast
December 21, 2007
Voices.com: It’s amazing that you are recording the entire Bible! Could you please specify which version of the Bible it is and the total word count?
Bob Souer: This project is for the world’s largest publisher of Bibles, Thomas Nelson. We’re using their “New King James” version. Word count is about 774,000.
Voices.com: What has the process been like so far working on such a large and monumental project? Do you do anything special to prepare for your sessions?
Bob Souer: The process has gone amazingly smoothly. I’m in my home studio in Charlotte, NC, connected via either Source Connect or ISDN (most of the sessions have been done with ISDN thus far, but with the new version of Source Connect coming in about a month we’re hoping to be able to move to that system more often) to the main production studio in Nashville, TN. I try to get a short nap before I start my session each day. In a typical week, we record for 4 hours each day Monday through Friday for between 5 and 7 hours on Saturday. Sunday is a day off for all of us.
Voices.com: Which stories are your favorites? Any verses in particular that you enjoy reading aloud?
Bob Souer: Reading the Psalms was a great joy. They lend themselves to being read aloud so very well. Also, some of the familiar passages in Isaiah were very interesting to read in the context of the entire book. In fact, the single most striking thing about taking part in this project is getting an opportunity to experience these familiar stories in the whole context. No matter how familiar an individual story or passage is, it takes on a different flavor when read as part of the whole.
Voices.com: Is there an element of voice acting involved (differentiating individuals in the Bible) or is this project more of a straight narration project?
Bob Souer: We’re not doing “characters” as we read, but as I mentioned in conversation with my friend Dan Nachtrab the other day, the key for me has been to keep in mind that it’s simply telling stories. Even the genealogies are the story of a family, told in a way that sounds strange to our 21st century ears; but still a story.
Voices.com: Which company hired you? Were you given any specific direction from your client as to interpretation?
Bob Souer: The production and editing are all being done at Northstar Studios in Nashville, TN. They have an audio editor and a producer who are overseeing every detail, both of whom are monitoring the script as I read; so very few mistakes slip through. We have pick-up sessions now and then to go back and correct those few places that we didn’t catch as we were recording initially.
Voices.com: How will people be able to purchase / access the recordings and will there be a CD series with all the recordings on them? Have you completed the job as of yet or is there a deadline you have set for yourself?
Bob Souer: This project, as I understand it, is being recorded for distribution as a daily podcast so that at the end of a year, you’ll have listened to the entire Bible. I believe that’s going to take place through the Thomas Nelson website, possibly through iTunes or another distribution site, too but I don’t know the specific details.
Source: VOX Daily Voice Actors Blog
Voice Acting in Second Life
December 19, 2007
Second Life isn’t just a place to hang out and make virtual friends in virtual locations. Turns out, it’s also somewhere people can sell their products and services.
Voice actor Ari Ross, also known as “Voicedude Reinoir” at SecondLife.com, is one such person who has set up shop in what residents of the website lovingly call SL. Voicedude Reinoir’s store is aptly named “Vox Humana “, highly indicative of his voice over services.
Living it up on Linden dollars, business is booming in the Second Life marketplace.
Starting with a gig for American Express endeavors on Second Life and some voice acting for a CSI : NY game in the virtual world, Ari, erm, Voicedude Reinoir, has struck a chord and has giving the community a little something to talk about.
Source: VOX Daily - Read the exclusive interview with Ari Ross. Vox Humana pictured below.
George DelHoyo Voices John Edwards Campaign Trailer
December 19, 2007
Primetime Voices’ George DelHoyo has recently recorded a movie trailer voice over for the John Edwards 2008 Presidential Campaign.
The video is targeted clearly at US citizens in the state of Iowa. The Democratic candidate running for election to the White House may also have the support friend and celebrity Kevin Bacon to meet his goals for rounding up the support of the people of Iowa.
George DelHoyo, pictured at left, is a bilingual voice actor who speaks both English and Spanish. He is known for his movie trailer voice over talent and is represented by the Tisherman Agency in Los Angeles, California.
Source : http://bennycat.blogspot.com/2007/12/new-movie-trailer-ad-featuring-edwards.html
Mickey Mouse summoned to court
December 13, 2007
A host of famous cartoon characters have been summoned to take the witness stand in a trial in
A court in
They were called as part of a trial of a Chinese man accused of counterfeiting products of Disney and Warner Bros.
The court summons cites ‘Titty, Paperino, Paperina, Topolino’ - the Italian names for the characters - as damaged parties in the trial.
Instead of naming only the companies and their legal representatives, clerks also wrote in the witness list the names of the cartoons that decorated the toys and gadgets the man had allegedly reproduced.
‘Unfortunately they cannot show up, as they are residents of
‘It certainly pleased us that the characters were considered real, because that’s what we try to do.’
The
‘Let’s hope the characters will not be prosecuted for failing to appear,’ she said.
Source: Metro.co.uk/News
Image Copyright: Disney
audio’connell Voice Over Talent President Cast in 2007 Video Game of the Year
December 13, 2007
The 2007 “Video Game of the Year” winner Bioshock features audio’connell Voice Over Talent president and voice talent Peter O’Connell.
The 2007 Video Game Awards (VGA’s) honored Bioshock as “Game of the Year” at this year’s ceremony. audio’connell Voice Over Talent president and voice talent Peter O’Connell was a voice actor featured in the highly acclaimed game.
Peter O’Connell played the character of 1940’s
audio’connell Voice Over Talent is a worldwide voice over talent service featuring professional male and female voice talents specializing in commercials, corporate narrations, voice imaging, podcasts and messaging on-hold (MOH) 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 to provide professional voice over training to novice and experienced voice talent around the world.
About audio’connell
The Perfect Choice for An Awesome Voice™
audio’connell Voice Over Talent is a worldwide voice over talent service featuring professional male and female voice talents specializing in commercials, corporate narrations, voice imaging, podcasting and messaging on-hold (MOH) created for advertising agencies, media and broadcast production companies as well as both large and small businesses around the world. audio’connell is an affiliate of O’Connell Companies. The company also operates Voice Over Workshop to provide professional voice over training to novice and experienced voice talent around the world.
Source: NewsWire Today - /newswire/ - Buffalo, NY, United States
The Character Voiceover Market
December 13, 2007
The character voice-over market is one of the most popular and competitive fields where voice-overs are concerned. Voice actors provide voice-overs for animation on the Internet and off-line including voice-overs for cartoon characters, video game characters, computer game character voice-overs, and even the voices of animated characters in film.
Characters can range from traditional beings such as animals and humans to inanimate objects (think CGI films like “Toy Story” or “Robots”) such as trees, toasters, and pineapples.
One of the markets that is heavily making use of character/celebrity voice-over impersonators is the telecommunications industry. Telephone broadcasts may use character voices in them to help sell a product or service. Other companies are getting into the game by offering custom recorded character voice-overs for special occasions like Valentines Day and birthdays.
If you think about it, celebrity voice impersonators are also character voice actors. Whenever people are looking for a voice talent who sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger, George W. Bush, or Elvis Presley, they expect that person to recreate the voice of the celebrity by performing a character voice-over. The same scenario applies if a Catherine Zeta Jones, Julia Roberts, or a Marilyn Monroe impression is in order.
Check out some animation voice talent and video game voice talent online.
How Podcasting Differs from Radio
December 12, 2007
When podcasting first came on the scene, there was a flurry of speculation concerning the future of radio and if podcasting would remain as a viable method of consuming audio content.
Critics were torn. Some said that podcasting would mean the death of radio, while others thought that podcasting would drop of the face of the Earth. A while ago in an interview, someone asked me what I thought about this subject. My answer to their question was that podcasting would not disappear and radio would have to adapt in order to compete with the new medium and its extraordinarily diverse content and time-shifting convenience for listeners.
What do you think?
From my vantage point, podcasting has grown, has gained acceptance, and continues marching toward the critical adoption of the majority as a medium that can be relied upon for accessibility, variety, and most importantly, on demand podcast consumption. Mind you, Radio is catching up by podcasting some of their programs for free and an assortment of TV shows can be purchased in the iTunes store for a dollar a piece…
Maybe one day, the new debate will be “Podcasting or Broadcasting?” Currently, we’re still working out as a people whether we would rather drink “Coke or Pepsi” and use a “Mac or PC”, but this debate will start simmering and perhaps already has in some workplaces and water holes. I know that many of the podcasts that I currently subscribe to only have an online presence, and that being said, I wouldn’t want to give them up, especially since they are so portable… Pop your MP3 player into your computer, update the playlist, and off you go, favourite programs that are enjoyable and available on demand.
There are some places though that listening to podcasts on an MP3 player with head phones on is either dangerous or downright rude (the same could be said for any device that employs head phones or your full attention, i.e. cell phones, hand held games, portable radios, etc.).
For instance, using head phones while operating a vehicle of any kind may have severe implications and cause undue harm to others or even death should an accident occur. Our friend the radio gets some points here. You can turn a radio down and it also doesn’t inhibit your ability to hear sirens or distract nearly as much.
Unless you’ve burned a CD of your podcasts or have a lap top computer as your riding companion, the likelihood that you are using head phones is very high. Other places to avoid using this solo technology, or a personal radio for that matter, include schools, churches, and at the homes of other people.
On the other hand, I’ve heard feedback that TV viewers are getting their podcast fixes using TiVo, an aid used to clear out commercials and program your own television viewing schedule. Another innovation to note is the flat screen, supersized computers that are starting to take the place of popular television sets. I’ve comfortably watched DVDs on a G5, but these new giants from Apple have an even higher definition and a more convincing living room appeal.
Share your opinion by adding your comments below.
Do Celebrity Spokespeople Really Sell More Stuff?
December 12, 2007
Celebrities have been known to endorse products or services by means of voice-overs, sometimes coupled with on-camera acting. While celebrities have notoriety and influence, their reputations from their acting careers or choices made in the public eye may also carry certain connotations or excess baggage that is not intended to coincide with the advertiser’s marketing pitch.
Research by the University of Washington and Rice University suggest TV commercials featuring unfamiliar voice-overs are the most effective.
The study determined that when consumers didn’t recognize the voice actor, they were more likely to listen to the message without judging the voice actor or their background.
When audiences heard famous actors performing voice-overs in commercials, their opinions of the product were based upon whether they liked the celebrities or disliked them. For example, viewers who liked David Duchovny responded more favourably to brands paired with his voice than did viewers who disliked him. Simply put, if the listener liked David Duchovny already, they also liked the product that his voice was promoting just because it was endorsed by him.
Let’s look at the flip-side. By hiring unknown or professional voice talents, companies can walk away with voice-overs that will sell and brand effectively without pre-formulated connotations and a Hollywood price tag. Think of it as the “anonymous voice-over security” that celebrity voices actors are unable to provide by virtue of their high-profile careers.
Consumers easily identify with the guy-next-door type or the mom-who-does-it-all character. This strategy works because individuals can immediately determine if the character is trustworthy.
The bottom line for advertisers: When casting a voice actor, ask yourself “Do they sound real?” It is great to work with a celebrity if they are right for the part, but it isn’t advised to cast just anyone because they are a celebrity. Connect with your audience by working with real people — professional voice actors who will positively convey your message to influence a mass market.
Is Podcasting Commercially Viable?
December 12, 2007
The good folks at Gartner Research have come out with their list of tools that retailers should be taking advantage of in the New Year, one of which is, you guessed it…. Podcasting!
This may not be news to us audio geeks, but it IS helpful and encouraging to see that a research company with the authority of Gartner has come forward with a new recipe for retail success that includes our beloved podcasting medium.
Rounding out their list were other online tools such as blogs, RSS, Short Message Service (cell phone messages), VoIP, data sharing co-ops, and highly targeted paid search endeavours. The Blog is a convenient and accessible way to communicate online, which you are living proof of because we’re talking to each other in a way right now, online.
The main message from Gartner was that we have to embrace and trust these new mediums in order for them to thrive, communicate their objectives, and assert themselves in our daily lives. One of the easiest of these tools to welcome into our homes and into the workplace is podcasting. Not only has Apple made podcasting mainstream through their iTunes Music Store, but recording podcasts becomes easier everyday with new recording software and distribution services.
Friends, this is where you can play an instrumental role in all of this. You are voice-over talents or keen supporters of voice-over services. It is our responsibility to preach this new medium to our families, friends, and co-workers. Have you ever been visiting with someone and discovered that they had not yet subscribed to a podcast or that you had to explain what one was?
We must work together to build a foundation of trust and acceptance for podcasting. Most people that are converted to podcasting as a new medium for entertainment and education are referred by a friend or family member, usually while in front of their computer for a hands-on experience with an informed guide close by to answer any questions that they might have.
Here’s to a new year that gently integrates these extraordinary technological fruits!
