Vox Daily

How can one little link have a significant impact?

When it looks just as good as the place it is going to, there's more to a graphical link than just the search engine optimization benefits.

Make a visual impact and get the click-through!

Want More Visitors to Your Website?

Today we're going to briefly discuss how you can get additional traffic to your Voices.com website through a simple link.

Allow me to introduce a new graphic that we've created recently to help you gain more visitors to the website you operate at Voices.com:

How Can I Use The Code?

You can use the provided code (your personal code is located in your My Account in the Profile section) to advertise your voice over services in the following ways:

1. To be used on your website
2. To feature on your blog
3. Include in your signature on forums
4. Post on your MySpace.com page or other Social Media websites
5. To accompany your Voices.com URL as an image on your business card

Nice & Easy Does It Every Time

It's just as easy as a copy / paste!

If you are your own webmaster, chat in a group or have a blog, it's never been easier to encourage people to discover your website as well as share your affiliation and brand association with the industry leading voice over marketplace.

Get Traffic Now!

Be sure to grab the code directly from your the Profile section in your account. That will make sure that the website you are directing people to is YOUR Voices.com website.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Live in and around New Hartford and want to get into voice acting?

Try out this introductory class "Getting Paid to Talk" on November 5th, 2007 taught by our friends at VoiceCoaches.com.

Remember reading about the team from Voice Coaches?

I just caught wind of a voice acting course being taught by John from Voice Coaches via the Community News for Oneida County on UticaOD.com. “Getting Paid to Talk” is an adult education class taught by the voice acting professionals from Voice Coaches, an industry leader in voice acting training.

The class lasts two and a half hours, a non-credit course, during which students will learn what it takes to become a professional voice actor including the basics of getting started, all the way through working in the studio, recording a demo, and landing jobs.

Class attendees will have an opportunity to record a mock commercial under the direction of a producer. The class is taught by instructor John Gallogly, Senior Creative Director for Voice Coaches.

Want to know more? Details Please!:

What: Introduction to Voice Acting Class "Getting Paid to Talk"
Instructor: VoiceCoaches.com Senior Creative Director, John Gallogly
When: Monday November 5, 2007 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: BOCES Consortium of Continuing Education on Middle Settlement Road, New Hartford
Contact: For information or to register, call 315-793-8696

If you get to the lecture, be sure to let us know what you thought by leaving a comment here on the blog!

Best,

Stephanie

Image © VoiceCoaches.com

There's no place like home for the holidays, however, what happens if you aren't at home for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or Christmas but are in the hospital instead?

Find out how you can make this holiday season a bit brighter for sick children by donating your voice for a noble cause.

Holiday Magic CD Talent Needed

Voice actor Jeff Gelder of GelderHead Productions is looking for voice talent to participate with him on a project called "Holiday Magic 2007… a gift for children of all ages," a CD featuring music and a holiday tale that will be distributed to sick children at Children's Hospital San Diego and their siblings.

Last year, Jeff produced the first Holiday Magic CD and distributed 1500 CDs to four hospitals, and Jeff tells me that there are more hospitals requesting the CD. The first edition of the CD was produced in 2003. Among the talent involved is Connie Terwilliger, Voice Over Expert and professional voiceover talent.

Jeff hopes to exceed that number this year and plans to "play Santa" in December at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego.

Financial Donations Accepted to Cover Production Costs

"For every $2.00 donation a child will receive a CD of their own. This is a labor of love that is received with much joy by children who are unfortunately spending the holiday season in the hospital and their siblings, who often crave attention due to so much being given to the ailing member of their family," Jeff said. He confides "We appreciate all donations! The more donations the more children that will be receiving a CD."

How To Donate

Donations are requested throughout the year. Checks of any denomination should be made out to GelderHead Productions (with Children's Hospital CD Fund on the memo line) and sent to P.O. Box 3386, San Diego, CA 92163-3386, or donate via Paypal at http://www.HolidayMagicCD.com and click on "Make a Donation."

How To Volunteer Your Voice Acting Services

For those who would like to get involved in the project, contact Jeff at jeff (at) gelderhead.com

Best,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Gina Luck

Ever thought about how to get somebody's attention in an email?

I know whenever I see it, it intrigues me and makes an impact.

Try this little tip - it'll go a long way.

You might be wondering what this "little tip" is that with minimal effort will not only grab someone's undivided attention but also afford you the opportunity to market your successes without looking "salesy".

OK, here it is:

Include your "recently worked for / recorded for" client list in the signature of your email.

That's it... really, I mean it!

Whenever I receive an email from a voice actor and they have included their list, I am always impressed by the names of the clients I see listed there.

It's comparable to a professional version of the parent or grandparent's brag book, but instead of pictures of babies, it's a list of ten to fifteen of the companies you have recently worked with.

I'd like to provide you with two exemplary lists that I have found particularly enticing. These clients currently represent the most recent work completed by voice actress Bobbin Beam and voice actor Brian Haymond.

Bobbin Beam

RECENTLY RECORDED FOR: Toshiba, Tribune Co., Hilton Garden Inn-Denver, Nobel BioCare, AMN Healthcare, Marriott Hotels, AAA (Auto Club), Allergan, Ericcson, Radisson Hotel & Suites(Chicago), TimeWarner Cable

Brian Haymond

Recently Recorded for: UNC Charlotte, Samaritan's Purse, Best Buy, Symantec, Sovereign Bank, XM Radio, Orbitz.com, Honda, Botticelli Olive Oil, Valspar Paints, Certainteed Shingles, RAMADA Hotels and Rinnai

Impressive, wouldn't you say?

Now, how do you do this for yourself?

1. Make a list of the 10 to 15 most prominent or unique clients you have worked for within the last 30 days
2. Open up your email program
3. Select the option that allows you to edit your email signature
4. Insert your "Recently Recorded for" list beneath your contact details
5. Save the changes and update them monthly or more frequently if desired

Has this strategy worked for you?

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Androsov Konstantin

Are there any recordings of you from when you were younger that helped shape the voice actor you've become today?

Maybe you've got an old tape kicking around in the basement or, better yet, have digitized the old analog recording.

Let us know at VOX Daily!

This afternoon, I caught a program on CBC Radio One that asked people to call in with their stories of old recordings that were taken of them from the past.

Rita Celli, host of Ontario Today, posed the question to her listeners and got a variety of responses from callers, including a professional storyteller who had a recording of herself reading a story called Crooked Old Man and also a Toronto-based actor and dialect coach named John (if you're reading this John, please get in touch with us!) who had a recording of him and his brother singing the Herman's Hermits song Henry the Eighth by Fred Murray and L. P. Weston.

Some of the callers said that the recordings, although they didn't know it at the time, were indicative of where life might take them in their careers decades after the fact.

Do you have any old recordings of your voice that you'd like to talk about with us?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Duncan Walker

Have you seen the footage of the devastating forest fires in southern California?

As thousands are being evacuated, among them are voice actors, maybe even someone you know or work with.

Monitor the status of voice talent affected by the fires at the Voice-Overs.com Forum and learn more here about how you can help at VOX Daily.

Breaking News

Moments ago, I received an email from Julie Williams about the fires in southern California and how they are affecting voice talent.

She asks that prayers are said for the following voice talent. Here's a message from Julie:

Bobbin Beam, who recently built her custom-made home studio, has been evacuated from her home. I'm told that Greg Allen has been evacuated as well.

Kelli Casey is also dealing with the smoke issue, but is OK.

Frank Frederick reports that Jim Sutton has also been evacuated.

I spoke to Connie Terwilliger, who tells me she believes James Alburger has probably also been evacuated from his home ( confirmed by Penny Abshire - James is to return today to his home ).

Connie says she is safe for now... but, of course, all the smoke in the vocal cords is not good either! There is so much smoke that it can actually be seen from space!

If you know of another talent affected by these fires, please post their name on the thread at the Voice-Overs.com forum in the Chit Chat section.

~~

How You Can Help

Once everything has settled down a bit, Julie would like to pull all voice talent together to raise funds to help fellow voice talent get back on their feet and rebuild studios. She indicates that support from voice over marketplaces, organizations, and individual talent will be very helpful.

If you would like to help them get back on their feet, please contact Julie at julie (at) voice-overs.com so our community can begin planning how we can offer our love, support, and concrete assistance to those affected.

Once an action plan has been determined, Julie will post it in the V-ZINE (coming out soon), and coordinate endeavors at http://www.voice-overs.com/forum.

You are invited to show your support by leaving a comment here on VOX Daily.

Thank you for caring about fellow voice talent!

Julie Williams and Stephanie Ciccarelli

P.S. If you have a blog, please post about this and direct people to Julie's forum so that efforts can be made to help out. They would like to centralize the aid and are considering opening a bank account for relief purposes.

©iStockphoto.com/Alex Pitt

Wherever there are video games, there are voice actors and there are gamers, and there are all kinds of opinions on the subject of the voice overs in games...

While the two groups of people may be worlds apart, one deeply affects the other to the extreme and may even determine the overall success and sales of a video game.

"Heavy lies the head that wears the crown."

~ William Shakespeare, Henry IV

When it comes to voice acting for video games, we could go on and on about the celebrities who are getting in on the game, the enormous profits of blockbuster productions and animation beyond all expectations... but, that would be boring.

We've been there done that, so today I'd like to examine another side of the perception of video game voice acting specific to the gaming experience.

Here are some facts to consider about gamers:

1. Gamers fully understand the characters in RPGs (role playing games)
2. Gamers have a preconceived notion of what the voice accompanying the characters should sound like
3. Gamers demand that the voice acting in their video games meets their expected reality
4. Gamers are keenly sensitive regarding how the characters are portrayed
5. Gamers are quick to judge, most of all, the voice actors and voice overs used in video games

I've read enough threads, forum posts and blog entries to know that if a gamer or community of gamers doesn't like the voice overs or a voice actor / voice acting cast, it becomes evident quite quickly, whether the criticisms are deserved or not.

The potential volatility that may ensue should a game have voice overs that don't correlate with what a gamer is expecting causes one to stop and think.

Many games released here in North America have been imported from overseas, generally from Asia, and have gone through a round or two of localization and editing. The script is not precisely the same (after all, it's hard to translate colloquialisms) and the original meaning or purpose of each line and phrase as a result may have been altered to the point that the intended meaning has changed drastically to better align with our language and culture.

With a script that has changed, even if slightly, the interpretation of the storyline and voice acting will also be slightly different, which is hardly the fault of a voice actor.

What is it about voice acting in video games that strikes such a nerve?

Does it come down how large the budgets are, thus determining who gets the gig, OR is it more about researching the characters and presenting a fan base (the gamers) with voice acting that rings true to how they envision a particular character or set of characters to be?

Talk about responsibility!

What is video game voice acting to you? Should voice overs determine what gamers think of the entire gaming experience?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Stephanie

P.S. If you are a gamer, please share your feelings on voice acting in video games.

©iStockphoto.com/Robert Payne

Do you have a blog?

Do you like reviewing products?

We've got a new product about to go to market... in a nutshell, it's about how individual voice actors can become their own Internet marketers and get ahead in the competitive world of online voice overs.

Want to learn more?

Ah, Internet marketing finally made easy for voice actors!

Shortly after we released The Ultimate Business Plan for Voice Actors, we received a lot of wonderful feedback and are grateful for it, including the request that the plan be followed up by a marketing guide specific to voice actors.

One of our comfort zones is Internet marketing, so writing this guide was not only supplying a demand, but also quite enjoyable, too.

I'd like to open this up for review to the voice actors who blog.

The first ten (10) voice acting bloggers to reply to me here on the blog will get the first crack at reading the plan for FREE and are authorized to share their impressions with you on their blogs to paint a picture of what you can expect from a voice actor's point of view.

Everything in the marketing plan is an ingredient that has been instrumental in the success and ongoing successes of the Voices.com website.

As some of you know, I've lectured about many of these elements at conferences with my Voices.com co-founder and company CEO David Ciccarelli to mind-blown audiences who heard the information first-hand. Imagine how much more effective it would be to have all of that information and more in written form documented and ready to go, accessible to be read at your own convenience and without the note taking?

Curious?

If you don't want to wait for the reviews to read more about the Internet Marketing Plan for Voice Actors, here's a quick synopsis of what the guide will teach you to do.

• How to get traffic to your website without spending money
• How to establish yourself as an authority in the eyes of search engines and your visitors
• How to get leaps and bounds ahead of your competition
• How to maintain your web presence as well as continue to grow

By all means, you could wait to buy the plan, but if you are confident in what I am presenting, you can click here to learn more, and if you are so inspired, order now.

So, if you are a voice actor with an active blog, leave a comment here (complete with the URL of your blog) to secure your promotional copy. The first ten to do so will receive the Internet Marketing Plan for Voice Actors free of charge for review purposes.

Cheers,

Stephanie

Many moons ago, we did a round up voice actors who write blogs relating to voice over and since then, there have been many more blogs added to the community!

Just how are these people starting blogs and why is it important?

Find out!

What is a blog?

A blog is an online journal produced by an individual, publishing stories or news bits to share with their audience on a regular basis. Some people blog daily, weekly, or whenever the spirit moves them. Blogs give people an outlet to comment on the world around them and are usually themed. For instance, you are reading a voice acting blog right now. VOX Daily is written with voice actors, audio producers and fans of voice actors in mind.

Why do people blog?

Some blog because they want to share knowledge with others, spread a message, or connect with their community and or fan base. Others blog for business reasons while others mix both business and pleasure, similar to what you experience here at VOX Daily.

How can you get started as a blogger?

Getting started in blogging is very easy, in fact, you can do it within several minutes.

All you need to do is go to a website such as Blogger.com to sign-up and secure your own blog and domain name hosted on the service provider's website. Many web services give you the option to have a free account whereas others charge for the use of their blogging software or for additional perks.

Is it hard to blog?

Blogging itself isn't difficult, however, maintaining the will to do so on regular basis is the most challenging part of any blogger's career. Some days you won't feel much like writing, and that's fine. Something you can do is have emergency articles waiting as drafts that you can readily publish if you're short on inspiration or are too busy to start from scratch.

Why should I blog?

There are many different reasons why it behooves (benefits) you to blog. We've discussed reasons and many benefits of blogging before, and now, there are even more blogging benefits since then! In a nutshell, you'll receive benefits relating to community, search engine results, expertise, and personal wellbeing.

Why else is it important to blog?

Blogging as a voice actor gives you opportunities that you may never have otherwise. What a wonderful way to broaden your horizons! For example, you can reach out to others, position yourself as an authority, and develop more content that hungry search engine bots just gobble up. You'll also find that you can make a difference by using your blog as a vehicle to inform, entertain and document happenings as a citizen blogger.

If you have been thinking about starting a blog, you're already on the right track! As with anything that takes dedication, you have to genuinely want to do it in order to be successful and receive enjoyment from your efforts.

Would any of you be interested in learning how to blog? If this sounds like an activity you'd enjoy, let me know by leaving a comment on this article and I'll put something together as a guide.

Also, if you have any specific questions, I invite you to send them to me so that I can incorporate answers to your questions in the guide to make sure we've covered as many areas as we can. You can email your questions to me here: stephanie@voices.com.

Cheers,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Alex Kalmbach

Hey, what's all the buzz about?

Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian and television star, hits the silver screen as an animated bee, buzzing into a theatre near you on November 2nd, 2007.

Zigging and zagging toward November, I picked up a magazine with an article about Jerry Seinfeld's first animated film Bee Movie, a feature he shares voice acting credits with Hollywood voice talents Matthew Broderick, Chris Rock, Renee Zellweger, Barry Levinson, Kathy Bates, and Patrick Warburton.

Bee Movie Story

In a honeycomb (or nutshell, if you prefer), Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld), a curious young bee, leaves the comfort of his hive and ventures forth to see what the big wide world has to offer a buzzing young chap in black and yellow pinstripes.

One aspect of Barry's journey is developing a friendship with a human, a florist in fact, named Vanessa (Zellweger).

The plot thickens...

Discovering friendship is one thing, but finding out that people can buy honey off the shelf is quite another! Barry intends to get his just desserts by suing humankind for the theft and exploitation of honey, in his view, the fruit of his and his fellow bees labor.

Three years in the making, Bee Movie should prove humorous as well as a wonderful debut for Jerry Seinfeld as a celebrity voice actor headlining his first animated feature.

On a side note, the movie also raises awareness with regard to the recent plight of bees. There has been a dramatically noticeable shortage of bees, the root of which hasn't yet been confirmed. The film seeks to educate everyone on just why bees are important highlighting what they do for the environment and contribute to the ecosystem.

Here are some interesting facts as compiled by the journalist Paul Baswick, contributer to What's Up Kids, Canada's Family Magazine:

Bee Movie Briefs and Facts about Bees

* Jerry Seinfeld was stung on the nose by a bee at a beehive while conducting his research for the movie in Long Island
* There are about 1,300 different shots in Bee Movie
* Bees can't see the color red, but they can see ultraviolet light
* Honey bees have six legs, five eyes, and four wings
* Most of Canada's honey is produced in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba
* Bees don't have ears but they can detect sound by sensing vibrations through their legs

Will you be going out to see Bee Movie this Fall?

Best,

Stephanie

When it comes to studio sessions and voice actors, recording engineers and studio owners have seen it all.

How should voice actors behave themselves in a studio session?

Find out what Marc Graue has to say about it in his Voice Over Experts episode "Studio Etiquette", sure to both entertain and help prevent messing up in the future. Listen to the MP3 episode here at VOX Daily.

If you've ever wondered how to behave at a recording studio, especially it's your first studio session, this is the podcast you need to listen to. After all, no one likes being embarrassed, and thanks to Marc Graue, you needn't find yourself in those sorts of situations in a studio setting.

Listen to this episode and add your thoughts as comments here on this article.

Download Marc Graue's Studio Etiquette Episode of Voice Over Experts

What do you think?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Steven Miric

These days it's not just about who you know, it's about how many people you "know" that matters.

Are you part of the global online network yet?

Find out how to get connected on VOX Daily where a world of opportunity waits for you.

Will you be my friend?

In a literal sense, being a friend usually entails knowing someone and engaging in activities or community on a regular basis, whether through an organization or personal relationships formed over years of being acquainted.

Usually there are common interests, bonds and even shared relatives or mutual friends.

In recent times, acquiring virtual friendships has entered into our society within the open doors of the Internet by means of social networking sites, sites whose users beg the question, "will you be my friend?"

How many millions of people have experienced the phenomenon of MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other websites created solely for the purpose of facilitating relationships between people with similar interests and business goals?

The Guardian reports that even relatively unknown social networking sites like Bebo have 80 million people signed up. To put that in perspective, that's one in every three Americans.

If you thought 80 million was huge, MySpace, the first mammoth social networking site (now owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch), boasts 205,447,293 members around the world.

How Do You Network Socially?

1. Go to any social networking site
2. Sign-up for a free account
3. Create your profile
4. Start adding "friends" with similar interests
5. Approve people who add you as their "friend"
6. Start communicating!

You'll find that the people you meet and befriend become acquaintances as well as business prospects or peers, possibly even friends in the classical sense.

Many of the team members at Voices.com have online profiles at a number of prominent social networking sites.

We'd love to be your friend. Will you be ours?

You can start by adding David, Erica and I if you like:

Stephanie Ciccarelli

MySpace
Facebook
LinkedIn
Digg
Netscape
Technorati
Sk*rt
Del.icio.us
StumbleUpon
MyBlogLog

David Ciccarelli

Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
Digg
Netscape
Technorati
AdGabber
Del.icio.us
StumbleUpon
MyBlogLog

Erica Bontje

StumbleUpon
Digg
Netscape / Propeller
Technorati
del.icio.us

The more of us out there on these sites from the voice over industry, the better.

For example, we can all vote on each others submissions at social networking sites like Digg and raise more awareness for voice acting as well as have a more unified voice on the world stage.

People love learning about voice acting and voice overs, so what are you waiting for?!

This is the perfect mixture of networking for business and pleasure.

Will you be our friend?

Best wishes,

Stephanie, David and the Voices.com Team

©iStockphoto.com/Quavondo

Will this issue ever be resolved?

What happens when video games like Halo 3 make video game production companies millions of dollars but their voice actors only see the initial session fee payments?

Potentially a strike, that's what. Check out this interview that aired on NPR on October 11th, 2007 tackling this very touchy subject.

There was an interview October 11th, on NPR (National Public Radio) in the United States hosted by Nate DiMeo featuring an interview about pay for voice actors in video games, the argument being that if blockbuster video games are earning hundreds of millions of dollars, union actors who provide voices for the characters should get a bigger share of the profits, perhaps even residuals, just as their colleagues in television get when television shows enjoy re-runs.

To hear the 3-minute interview, listen at the NPR website and then return to VOX Daily and leave your comments.

My thanks to Dan Chien for passing this story along!

If you find some news related to voice acting, you can send me your story idea or suggestion via email to stephanie@voices.com.

Steph

P.S. If you prefer, send in your feedback recorded as an MP3 and I'll air it on an upcoming episode of VOX Talk.

Ever run into a name in a script that you didn't know how to say?

Nancy Wolfson from Braintracks Audio pointed out a dynamite list of over 9,000 entries of names in the media and grace the history pages that may be of some help to you.

Discover how to say some of these famous names correctly BEFORE you need to record them now!

Pure pronunciation power!

Nancy sent me a resource that will make your life a whole lot easier and contains precisely 9,032 entries of sheer phonetic goodness hosted on the Library of Congress website, compiled by Ray Hagen.

Ray Hagen is a voice actor who started collecting the proper pronunciations of names in the 1970s written on index cards he kept in a shoe box. No doubt these pronunciations came in handy when recording over 400 audio books!

I was very impressed with this resource and decided to contact Ray personally, and upon doing so, was delighted to learn that there is a companion guide called The ABC Book, A Pronunciation Guide that features acronyms, brand names, corporations and obscure words, a resource which is hosted online as well.

What inspired "Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures"?

Say How? was born at the Library of Congress Talking Books for the Blind Recording Studio, where pronunciation of words and names borders on obsession. We found that one area was conspicuously missing from all of our many dictionaries and pronunciation guides: names of lesser known and contemporary public figures. Reference works tend to favor the famous and the dead. So at our Studio we began compiling a file of 3 x 5 cards with names of people prominent and obscure, past and present, in the fields of entertainment, politics, sports, literature, science, crime, fashion, medicine, law - anyone, in short, who's name could possibly turn up in a book. (Even relatives got included - David Niven's wife, Beverly Sills's husband, Fred Astaire's daughter, etc. - because they get written about, too.) After filling up five shoeboxes with index cards, we were finally able to computerize the list and distribute it in print form to other Library of Congress Talking Book Studios throughout the country, updating it every six months with additions and corrections.

As briefly outlined above, here is the background for this guide and how to use it.

Say How? is meant to be an ongoing project, with errors corrected and new names added regularly. In fact, Ray eagerly solicits any and all contributions and corrections. Ray encourages you to send all such information to: hagenray (at) earthlink.net.

You can view the online version of "Say How?" here.

This version at the Library of Congress was last updated in May of 2006, however, Ray has been updating the guides on his own.

We are working with Ray to acquire the newest versions for you at present.

Best,

Stephanie

P.S. After you've reviewed the list, come back to VOX Daily and leave a comment with your fave names to pronounce!

©iStockphoto.com/elianet ortiz

Have you run out and bought the new limited edition of Disney's The Jungle Book Platinum DVD?

It's the fortieth anniversary of the celebrated release, but what you may not know is that it has a Canadian connection...

Watch the movie, but as soon as you're through, pop in the bonus DVD DisneyPedia : Junglemania and listen to the voice overs recorded by Canada's Brandon Hunt.

Welland, Ontario Canada based voice talent Brandon Hunt recorded voiceovers for “DisneyPedia : Junglemania”, the bonus disc that comes with the platinum DVD edition of Disney’s cherished animated film, The Jungle Book. The 14-minute piece teaches children all about jungle animals using examples from the film.

You may recall that we covered this story last week in VOX Talk Episode 44.

How I found out about this story is a story in itself!

As you may know, the team at Voices.com is on Facebook and many of our friends on there are voice actors.

One of my friends happened to update his status a few minutes before I had logged in and the first headline I saw was to the effect of "My voice is on a Disney DVD"...

I just had to know more, so I jumped over to Brandon Hunt's profile and asked him for more details. Something that wasn't mentioned in the news report was how astonished Brandon's young son was by his father's wealth of knowledge concerning animals! Ah, the magic of a good script and an even better voice over ;)

I found an exclusive snippet of the "King Louie" segment on Truveo.com.

Have any of you surprised your kids with a wealth of knowledge upon listening to some of your work?

Perhaps you've picked up some neat facts from having narrated an educational, historical or technical piece.

Add your voice to the conversation by leaving a comment.

Cheers,

Stephanie

Image © Disney

Although not much more will be official until October 17th, 2007, TheTimesOnline.co.uk reports that the BBC has threatened to release over a fifth of their workforce where news reporting is concerned, possibly affecting 600 people just prior to Christmastime.

The National Union of Journalists came forward today with the news that potentially more than 1/5 of the BBCs news journalists are at risk of losing their jobs, with the flagship One O'Clock News under threat in swingeing cuts scheduled to be unveiled next week.

TimesOnline.co.uk published a story detailing that Jeremy Dear, the general secretary, said he believed that "600 to 700 jobs are at risk", out of a total of 3,000, a level that if formally proposed will almost certainly lead to strikes at the corporation in the run-up to Christmas.

Other union sources said they had heard "credible reports" that "the One O'Clock News will go", with the bulletin replaced by a half-hour feed taken from the BBC News 24 channel.

A decision by Mark Thompson to make cuts at BBC News, including the elimination of the separate One O'Clock News programme, is likely to generate political concern.

Further rumors are circulating that after this round of cuts is made, another several thousand may follow. Job losses, as noted, are expected to be in the realm of 2,600 across the board, but this number will not be confirmed until October 17th.

Union leaders also gave warning this morning of a possible 72-hour strike, amid widespread speculation that 2,600 jobs could go at the BBC, mostly in the next two years.

Do you live in the UK or work for the BBC as a journalist? How will these potential changes affect you?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Peter Finnie

Have you been monitoring the latest trends in voice acting?

I've noticed a few but want to know if you're also keeping an eye out too.

What's going on in audio and voice recording now?

Take a look at vintage voice over, the recent past, current trends and toward the future of voice over as it fits in with Advertising and Entertainment here at VOX Daily.

Noticed anything on the up and up?

At any given time, there are trends hitting the market that have an impact, whether small or large, on an industry.

In voice over, certain trends have come and go, some have come back, and others have yet to define themselves in cyclical fashions.

Trends in Advertising

One off the top of my head is the "Announcer" voice of generations past (1950s and 1960s), a style of voicing that is synonymous with an older gentleman sporting a comb over, holding a cigarette, who is dressed in a tweed suit with Buddy Holly glasses on asserting a father-knows-best attitude. Paints quite the picture visually, vocally, and politically, doesn't it?

In recent years, there was a great desire for a more nasal sounding, know-it-all, younger gentleman sound...

Now it's all about the Real Person, you know, the guy or gal you could relate to who doesn't impose themselves vocally and has a way of inching into a comfort zone to sell you something with seemingly effortless persuasion.

Trends in Entertainment

Another trend that has perpetuated over the last decade is the hiring of celebrity actors from Hollywood to voice character roles in feature length animated films, even if they are not the best voice actor suited to the job.

Advertising, Entertainment and voice over are all closely related, so it isn't at all surprising to see a cross-over from pop culture to the voice overs you may hear in the grocery store.

To sum up my observations, most trends originate in Advertising and Entertainment.

Exploring Production Trends in Advertising

One last trend I'd like to explore with you is if you've noticed an increase in genuine voice actors being hired to provide voice over services for broadcast radio and television commercials with the advent of voice over marketplaces and advertising sites such as the Google Audio Ads platform, eBay / Bid4Spots, and SpotRunner.com that facilitate the sales of remnant air time directly to advertisers.

The reason why I said "genuine" voice actors is because oftentimes, broadcast stations, radio in particular, require their on-air talent to record liners, commercials and other projects after hours as part of their job description.

This person, or in some cases, people, may or may not have any formal training or experience in voice acting or voice over specifically.

When a radio station sells their own air time to an advertiser who needs creative services rendered as well, their responsibilities include:

1. Producing the creative elements (copy writing perhaps, music, sound effects, music)
2. Recording the voice over
3. Editing / Mixing / Mastering the advertisement
4. Keeping their production and air time fees competitive to obtain / maintain the advertiser's business
5. Airing said advertisement for the duration of the campaign

If an advertiser has produced their own creative elements or has access to people who can outside of a radio station, that's one thing. If they can also acquire air-time cheaply from a liquidator of remnant ad space, the plot thickens a bit, doesn't it?

Based upon those two facts, it would be logical to assume that more and more of these broadcast advertisements would be recorded by freelance professional voice actors.

Has anyone been keeping tabs on the trends mentioned in this article or other trends? If so, I welcome your thoughts.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Nicholas Belton

Ever wondered how radio stations get their call letters?

Those 4 somewhat random alphabetical wonders do have a rhyme and reason and this article sets out to discover what it may be.

We've all heard call letters for broadcast radio and television stations, as they are the core purpose of station ids and station imaging.

Perhaps because they seem so commonplace, we don't really ever think about their purpose other than a gentle reminder or reinforcement of the station's branding at regular intervals during the broadcast day as regulated by the FCC.

What I've wondered personally is if you could buy custom call letters like you could obtain a personalized license plate...

CJOE

For instance, back in the day, my great-grandfather Joe McManus owned a radio station in London, Ontario Canada, a centennial project (Canada's Centennial was in 1967) which he christened AM 1290 CJOE, incorporating his own name into the call letters. At that time, the station was located centrally in the Hotel London in the heart of the downtown on the corner of Dundas St. and Wellington St. This is currently the site of a different building which houses several local radio stations. After the sale of the station in 1972, the station was re-branded as 1290 CJBK and it is still to this day. CJBK is located in the south of the city further down Wellington north of Southdale Rd.

From what I understand, the first letter is decided upon region, perhaps by province or state. All of the Ontario call letters start with a C, or at least the station call letters that I've heard.

Can you add to this conversation? Broadcasters, come on up!

On the other hand, if you're a listener or viewer of broadcast television or radio, what are the most unique call letters you've ever heard?

Best,

Stephanie

P.S. If you worked for 1290 CJOE between 1967 and 1972 in London, ON Canada or were a listener, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!

Looking to glitz it up Hollywood style at a VIP birthday party in Burbank this month for one of the greatest voice actresses of all time?

Join ASIFA-Hollywood as they throw what promises to be the mother of all birthday parties for June Foray on October 19th in Burbank, California.

While visiting Bob Souer's blog, referencing a post at CartoonBrew.com, I found a neat story that might just get you in with the who's who of cartoon voice acting.

The Los Angeles chapter of ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film D'Animation), ASIFA-Hollywood, is celebrating June Foray's 90th birthday (nearly one month after her actual birth date of September 18th), and the invitation is extended to ASIFA-Hollywood members and their guests only, so you'll need to be part of their organization or a friend of a member to attend.

Solution? Join ASIFA-Hollywood now or arrange to be the date of an ASIFA-Hollywood member!

Here are the details:

Date and Time: Friday, October 19, 2007, 7-10 p.m.
Location: Pickwick Gardens
Terrace Room
1001 Riverside Drive
Burbank, CA 91506

Specifics:

7 p.m. Cocktail Reception (no host bar)
8:30 p.m. Cake Cutting
Admission $25

Tickets will be sold at the door, however you must RSVP by emailing juneforay (@) asifa-hollywood.org, in order to attend.

The deadline to RSVP is Friday, October 12, 2007. In lieu of presents, June has requested that you make a donation to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

If any of you go to the party, snap some pics, will you! We'd love to see them.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. October 5th, 2007 happens to be the deadline for Annie Award entries to be received. Materials are due a couple of weeks following that. For more info, check out the ASIFA-Hollywood calendar. The ceremony for The Annies will take place on February 8, 2008.

Image sourced from CartoonBrew.com

What does the Transformers movie and Road Stories of the Real Highway Comics have in common?

Why, Canadian voice actor Bryan Cox, of course!

Read more about Bry's recent writeup in Stage Time Magazine.

Bryan Cox sent me a quick note this morning to say that he'd been featured in an article on StageTimeMag.com, touted as the magazine that stands up for comedy, highlighting his role in Michael Bay's Transformers as well as his popular audiobook release on iTunes, Road Stories of the Real Highway Comics.

Want to know more?

Read the article here.

Congrats on some more press, Bryan!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. Have you been making headlines lately? Send your news to stephanie@voices.com

Radio has always been a medium for all seasons, presenting news, talk, and music.

Working in radio has also been a profession with literally decades of history... what we want to know is what attracted you to radio?

Share your stories on VOX Daily and pass the torch with your inspiring comments.

To keep this post relatively brief, I'm inviting people who have been employed in the field of broadcast radio to comment with reasons why they got started in radio.

Also, if you have any anecdotes to share, we'd love to hear them too :)

Looking forward to discovering why you got into radio and what it means to you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Peter Finnie