Ok, maybe that’s the wrong kind of fan. How about simply being our Facebook fan? For every new fan we get during August we’ll donate an equal amount to Give Kids The World, an organization that brings smiles to children with illnesses and their families. We’ll choose a different organization every month so we can give to those in need of hope, a smile or more. Are you a SunSpots client or voiceover talent? Click below, become a fan and help us help a good cause.
So as you may or may not have noticed I was gone most of last week from SunSpots Asheville. The fam and I took a trip to Cataloochee Valley up near Maggie Valley, NC in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s only about an hour and 15 minutes from SunSpots Asheville. If any of you voice talent are interested in coming to the area it makes a great day trip or overnight excursion from Asheville.
They are trying to reintroduce elk to the region and have an experimental herd there. I have posted a few pics of the elk here and on my facebook page. You basically drive through the valley at dawn or a couple of hours before sunset and the elk are feeding near the side of the road. It gets pretty crowded on the weekends so the best time to go is during the week. It really gets busy in the Fall when the elk begin the rut. It’s not uncommon to see a couple of bull elk lock horns over the one they love during the fall season. We were even lucky enough to see a bear with 2 cubs, although we heard tell of another bear sighting of a mama with 4 cubs. There is a campground located in the valley about 10 miles from the nearest highway. They have restrooms, but the nearest store is about 35 minutes away over a rough dirt road with barely enough room for 2 lanes. We were lucky enough to get one of the 6 or 7 creek side campsites. 
The fishing was slow. My oldest son caught a brown trout and I lost 2. From the stories being told by the other fisherman at the campground it was a tough week for everyone. There was even an old pro there who had been fly fishing for 30 years and he only caught 1 fish in 4 days. Overall we spent 5 days hiking, fishing, checking out historical sites, wildlife viewing and just plain chillaxin. Very refreshing. Anywho back to the real world!!! Enjoy the pics! -Bryan
The wildlife hits just keep on coming. Looks like it’s lunchtime in the animal world too. Around noon today a large deer visited SunSpots NC recording studios property near Asheville. We’ve got a heavy producing apple tree that the deer are beginning to visit every other day. Here’s our latest visitor:
Have any wildlife where you work? (Other than that creepy guy with the weird hair at the water cooler.)
And as always if you’re searching for professional voice talent, fully produced, supervised and directed recording sessions and creative audio production in most languages please visit SunSpots Productions.
What wild beast will show up next?!
Yeah, we’re fools for dancing babies, but babies on roller skate with attitude are even better. That’s a tv commercial that sticks to the brain. Does the product stick the same way? I remember the roller skating babies, but not the bottle they’re selling. How about you? Does a memorable tv campaign sell the product well or just the commercial itself? I do like the voiceover. Go baby go!
I just saw news yesterday of pythons being an invasive species in Florida. Here’s the story from USA today: http://tinyurl.com/msfp78
We had a small invasion of snakes here at SunSpots Productions Asheville…well in the driveway at least. As I was driving back from doing some errands away from the studio I drove up our driveway and found this elongated beastie catching some sun.
From online sources I think it’s a black rat snake. Possibly a female since I saw a baby the night before while I was walking in some grass around the same area. I had my camera in the car with me and was shooting from the window. Here’s a closeup (from far away):
Here’s one once it moved across the driveway:
I’ll have to get my camera ready for this weekend to catch some more wild beasties! Last night, right after sunset, there were 2 juvenile deer trying to get the apples from the apple tree about 20 yards from Bryan’s studio window. They were standing on their hind legs and would jump and hop and sort of fall over when they missed. The tree this year is bursting with apples so I bet we’ll have lots of woodland creatures visiting throughout the fall. So far this summer we’ve seen turkeys, deer, a black bear and snakes. Oh! PLUS, I’ve seen many honey bees on the flowers. After a good 8 years of decline they seem to have returned strong this year. That’s a very good thing. Hey, here’s something interesting…Bryan just told me that honey bees are not native to North America. He’s a flippin’ nature geenyus!
Voiceovers and nature…is there anything better?
Seen any creepy crawly, slithering, jumping, hopping, barking, mewing visitors at your place?
Tom
Story from the New York Daily News online edition about Rachel Ray and her vocal issues. Tuesday, July 14th 2009, 4:00 AM Rachel Ray is planning to be “giving her voice a rest for the next week or two,” says the TV host’s rep. The vocal cord operation that omnipresent TV host Rachael Ray reportedly underwent last week has a very high success rate, which means the ebullient celebrity chef should be back in the kitchen before long. Ray underwent surgery, according to People magazine, in order to remove a benign cyst from her vocal cord, following months of failed vocal therapy. Her rep,Charlie Dougiello, said in People that the toughest part for the chef “is going to be giving her voice a rest for the next week or two.” Most at risk for developing vocal problems such as cysts, nodules and polyps are singers, teachers, sales people and others who talk a lot, says Dr. Clark Rosen, an otolaryngologist specializing in voice disorders at the University of Pittsburgh. “It is a result of overuse or misuse of the voice,” he says. “Rachael Ray speaks very loudly and she has what we call a percussive voice, not a soft voice. Vocal cords are designed to vibrate with each other, but they do need down time or recovery time.” (This is important for us to remember in the voiceover business. Some of us are very active with voicing all day or evenings. Here’s confirmation that we need to take breaks and care for our vocal cords the way a professional athlete would with their muscles. A raspy voice indicates that the vocal cords need a period of rest or have been damaged and need additional care.) Soft and pliable, vocal cords, or folds, vibrate extremely fast in order to give the voice its pitch, explains Dr. Michael Johns, an otolaryngologist specializing in voice disorders and director of the Emory Voice Center. “They vibrate 200 times per seconds for women, and for sopranos, they may vibrate 1,000 times a second,” he explains. “What happens with a cyst is that the delicate mucus membranes break down, and then the folds don’t vibrate in the same way.” The first course of treatment is voice therapy, which very often takes care of the problem. If it doesn’t, an operation to remove the cyst is recommended. Surgery is “generally safe,” Johns says, and it’s “almost always successful” when done by a competent specialist. The toughest part could be the recovery period following surgery. “You have to rest your voice for a week,” he says. “And that means no talking, no whispering, no throat clearing and no coughing.” In Ray’s case, her rep told People that “the minor, non-invasive procedure was a success and she is already resting at home.” Though overusing the voice is definitely a risk factor for vocal cord problems, it’s not known why some big talkers get them and others don’t, Rosen says. “Some guys can sell peanuts at the stadium for 2-0 years and never have a problem, and yet a 16-year-old girl can develop a vocal cord bump after just on The main symptom is persistent hoarseness. Says Rosen: “Anyone with persistent hoarseness for two weeks without an upper respiratory infection should see a doctor. (What do you do to keep your vocal cords healthy and strong? Are there exercises you perform to strengthen your voice?) (Here are some informative links about vocal cord nodules, polyps and cysts: American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Merck.com, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Rachael Ray undergoes vocal cord surgery to remove benign cyst
Napolitano/FilmMagic
e round of high singing demands in the spring musical,” he says.
SunSpots Productions Zak Miller becomes full-time Voiceover Talent
As one of the founding members and manager of SunSpots Productions Orlando recording studios team, Zak Miller has decided to “put out his shingle” and work as a full-time voiceover announcer. Zak’s been working behind the console and mic for over 12 years with SunSpots and produced over 7,500 sessions and personally voiced over 1,700 radio and tv commercials and narrations. You can hear Zak Miller’s voices at SunSpots: http://www.sunspotsproductions.com/Voice_talent_detail.cfm?id=59
Zak got his start behind the mic in 1992 on the air at WCHZ in Augusta, Georgia. Zak says, “That opened the part of my brain that told me I love to voice! I produced my first spot for a horse show at a South Carolina mall. I had no sound effects so I had to foley everything!” From that radio station in Georgia, Zak worked his way to WDIZ in Orlando, Florida working middays as a DJ. Eventually he moved off the air to the Creative Service Department of Clear Channel Broadcasting in Orlando. While there, he voiced for the Orlando Predators Arena Football Team, Solar Bears Hockey Team and various concerts for the Orlando area.
It was Zak’s work on the radio that attracted SunSpots Productions attention. He joined the SunSpots team in 1997, soon after the company opened its Orlando studios location. Within a few years he became manager of the Florida studio. Zak describes his early years at SunSpots Productions, “Being on the ground floor of SunSpots was a very exciting time. To be a part of the growth and formation of a company like SunSpots with the ideals and approaches to the industry will always remain a special memory. To be able to raise the industry standards and what is and was expected from a production studio and talent agent was a great feeling. SunSpots has changed the way I approach life, business and relationships.” One of his favorite memories of SunSpots was, “sitting in the lobby eating Chinese food and thinking of names for the company. I’ll never forget the time that Janet (SunSpots Co-Owner), fellow voice talent Jaz Adams and I spent the day piling sand around the building to keep “Lake Cassidy” from flooding into the studios!”
Zak’s enthusiastic about his career change to jump to the other side of the recording console as a full-time voice talent. “I am very excited about voicing full-time. How come? When you’re able to do something in life that feeds your passion and creativity, your life becomes more fulfilled…My favorite spot to voice is a spot that tells a story. I love to be able to bring a person into a scene with my voice and my inflection.”
The entire SunSpots Productions staff wishes Zak the very best in his new voice talent career. To hear Zak Miller’s voices (he does a variety of voiceover styles) and his voiceover demos please contact SunSpots Productions at 800-355-SPOTS or online at www.SunSpotsProductions.com. You can also schedule Zak through SunSpots web site.
SunSpots Productions is a global supplier of voice talent and creative audio production and is a licensed talent agent in the State of Florida. SunSpots creates award winning audio from their studios near Asheville, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida.
A little black bear with a serious sunflower seed jones came a knockin’ at Shannon’s office window today here at SunSpots Asheville studio location. Take a look see.
Yes it looks like we are best friends but be assured after we were done taking vids and pics we scared it off properly and brought our bird feeders in until further notice. The last thing you want around here, or anywhere for that matter, is a bear getting used to easy food.
Seems like there has been a lot of bear activity in the region lately. Here’s an article on the closing of the Abrams Falls Trail in the Cades Cove area of the Smokies.
And here are some bear safety tips for any of you voice talent looking to take a vacation here.
Jay happened to have his camcorder on him so here is a quick video of our hairy, nosey neighbor.
Earlier this week I received an email from an active Non-Union voice talent. Let’s call this voiceover person, Terry, to cover all the gender bases. Terry felt that since they’ve been Non-Union, (not a member of SAG/AFTRA) that they could make more money by being a Union member exclusively. In Terry’s mind movie trailers, National Retailer TV and Radio accounts, the biggest of the big voiceover jobs are just sitting there ripe for the picking. Terry’s very experienced with 15 years of full-time freelance voiceovers behind the microphone. Like dreams of those dancing sugarplums Terry’s thinking that the bump “up” to Union status is the way to go to advance Terry’s career.
But is it true? Would Terry make more as a Union voiceover talent?
My opinion…it depends. Timing, meaning right place and right time are important, Terry’s vocal skill set, Terry’s physical location may also make a difference.
What about Financial Core? Doesn’t Fi-Core allow you to do BOTH Union and Non-Union work? Sometimes being Fi-Core can be a great benefit if you’re in the right location, conversely you can become a vo pariah if you live somewhere else.
These are questions I’d love to have discussed by those of you in the know about such things. I’m Fi-Core myself. I lost my agent in NYC because I was Fi-Core, yet for years outside of NYC, I was the voice of Circuit City (RIP), Nissan and Lenscrafters. Those gigs provided enough income to…well…to be life changing.
My bread and butter, the day in day out gigs are always non-union. Sometimes they pay very well, even above Union voice rates, most of the time not. I’ve always looked at this as a volume game and with volume one can become very financially successful.
What are your thoughts? Are you an experienced talent who has done both as Financial Core or previously one now the other? Are you a full-time Union voiceover talent? With the internet the tables have more than turned, they’ve been flipped over and it’s anyone’s game anymore.
We’d love to hear what you have to say on the issue.
Also, if you’re searching for professional union and non-union voiceover talent please visit us at SunSpots. Search here for voice talent.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Tom
WAYNE ALLWINE, VOICE OF MICKEY MOUSE FOR 32 YEARS, PASSES AWAY AT AGE 62
From the Disney.com site:
05.20.09 – Wayne Allwine, a veteran Disney voiceover talent and Emmy® Award-winning sound effects editor, who provided the voice of Mickey Mouse for the past 32 years, passed away on Monday (May 18) at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, from complications due to diabetes. He was 62 years old. Allwine’s wife of 20 years, Russi Taylor, who provides the voice of Minnie Mouse, was by his side at the time of his passing.
“There is a profound sense of loss and sadness throughout our Company today as we mourn the passing of our friend, colleague and Disney Legend Wayne Allwine,” said Disney President and CEO Robert A. Iger.
Allwine had been providing the voice of Disney’s world-renowned cartoon mouse since 1977, when he first lent his familiar falsetto to animated segments for The New Mickey Mouse Club. He went on to provide Mickey’s voice for such theatrical efforts as Mickey’s Christmas Carol
(1983), Who Framed Roger Rabbit
(1990), the 1997 Oscar®-nominated short Runaway Brain and the direct-to-DVD feature, Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers
(2004), etc. His voice has been heard at Disney Theme Parks
around the world, on television (Mickey’s 60th Birthday, Mickey’s MouseWorks, The House of Mouse and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, etc.), at live stage events and on many radio broadcasts.
Walt Disney himself provided the original sounds and speaking voice for Mickey Mouse starting in 1928 with Mickey’s talking debut in Steamboat Willie. Veteran Disney sound effects wizard Jimmy Macdonald assumed speaking duties for the mouse starting in 1947 with “Mickey and the Beanstalk” (from Fun and Fancy Free), and continued with it until 1977 when his prot馮, Allwine, took over the job.
Allwine recalled, “The main piece of advice that Jim gave me about Mickey helped me keep things in perspective. He said, ‘Just remember kid, you’re only filling in for the boss.’ And that’s the way he treated doing Mickey for years and years. From Walt, and now from Jimmy. I just feel like I’m filling in for the boss too. And it really puts the whole job in perspective. Mickey’s the real star. You know you just have to love the little guy while you have him, because he won’t be yours forever.”
“Like all actors, you put some of who you are into the character,” he added. “There’s always a sense of optimism about Mickey that’s got to be there. And even when we do work with little kids who are sick, you carry that optimism through and it gives them hope.
“There is a profound sense of loss and sadness throughout our company today as we mourn the passing of our friend, colleague and Disney Legend Wayne Allwine,” said Disney President and CEO Robert A. Iger. “Wayne dedicated his entire professional life to Disney, and over the last 32 years, gave so much joy, happiness and comfort to so many around the world by giving voice to our most beloved, iconic character, Mickey Mouse. Wayne’s great talent, deep compassion, kindness, and gentle way, all of which shone brightly through his alter ego, will be greatly missed.”
Wayne took over the voice of Mickey from Jimmy Macdonald, from whom he also learned the art of Foley recording.
Roy E. Disney, director emeritus and consultant for The Walt Disney Company, added, “Wayne not only gave voice to the character of Mickey but gave him a heart and soul as well. He did an incredible job bringing emotion, humor and appeal to the character, and superbly carried on the tradition originated by my Uncle Walt, and later by sound effects wizard Jimmy Macdonald. On a personal note, Wayne and Russi were wonderful friends, and gave generously of themselves for many charitable causes, especially when it came to working with children. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Russi at this difficult time.”
“Who is more recognized and beloved around the world than Mickey Mouse, and his appeal is in no small part because of the men who have given him voice: Walt Disney
, Jimmy Macdonald, and Wayne Allwine,” said Don Hahn
, the Oscarｮ-winning producer of such Disney animated favorites as Beauty and the Beast
at superstar status for over three decades. On the other hand, I’ll miss his friendship and the joy he brought to so many of us who worked with him.”
Born in 1947 in 
and Bobby Vinton
, and was a member of The Arrows, a musical group put together by Mike Curb
.
In 1966, Allwine opted for a “normal” lifestyle and took a job in the mail room at The Walt Disney Studios. From there, he worked briefly in Wardrobe, then moved to Audio Post Production and began a 7-1/2 year stint under resident sound effects expert Jimmy MacDonald.
Wayne married Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie Mouse, in 1991. “Wayne and Russi were wonderful friends, and gave generously of themselves for many charitable causes, especially when it came to working with children. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Russi at this difficult time,” Roy E. Disney said.
Allwine worked in sound effects editing on Disney films and television shows including Splash
(1984) and Three Men and a Baby
(1987), as well as Innerspace
(1987), Alien Nation
(1989) for other studios.
He received the Emmy Award and the Golden Reel Award for his contributions to Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories
, which he worked on for two years, and a second Golden Reel for his work on The Great Mouse Detective
(1986).
For the past 20 years, Allwine was married to Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie Mouse and many other popular characters for Disney, The Simpsons
, etc. They had their own production company, Taylor-Allwine Associates. Allwine and Taylor were both named Disney Legends in 2008 by The Walt Disney Company, and were immortalized with bronze plaque handprints at the Studio’s Legends Plaza in Burbank.
Allwine is survived by Taylor and five children from a previous marriage: Erin, Alison, Peter, Christopher and Joshua; and a grandson, Isaac. Funeral services will be private. Details regarding a life celebration will be announced at a later date. In Allwine’s memory, flowers or toys can be sent in Mickey’s name to Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, or donations can be made to such children’s charities as the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Guide Dogs of America or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Lots of bad news out there so it’s nice to see something that will definitely put a smile on your face. I love the idea of street theater and this is a perfectly choreographed example of it at work in England’s Liverpool Street Station. Go ahead and shake it at the office!
Fun wasn’t it?
Isn’t it great to see people of all ages and colors get together just to shake their collective groove thangs. Does it make me want to switch phone services to T-Mobile? Not really, but we are talking about them because of this video. As a basic branding device I think they hit the mark. The video is described as “T-Mobile dance” on Youtube so they’ve got their name out there in a very positive way. Wouldn’t it be fun if during political season, the advertising took a more positive, fun approach? Let’s hope that as we shift our values within our global economic crisis we appreciate and promote the good things in our world like cranking up the box and doing a little dance occasionally.
Oh, and when you need voiceovers and production for your audio projects call SunSpots at 800-355-SPOTS. We even edit together music like you’ve heard in the video for dance teams and cheerleader competitions. Yeah, we do it all. It’s a burden we have to live with. 
Tom
I just found this list of nearly 800 Chrysler auto dealerships that are slated to close. I’m still wrapping my head around the closures announced by GM and Chrysler today and will comment further in the future. I certainly hope that this move sustains and helps grow the auto business that so many are dependent upon. Having done literally thousands of car commercials in my career this is a stunner to see dealerships whose tv and radio spots I’ve voiced told to close their doors. The stock market seems to have stabilized (for a few days at least), but with moves like this we’ve got a long way to go before things get better. Let’s do what we can to help those who’ve been affected by the current financial unpleasantness. You might want to click the “full screen” option on the document viewer below to see the list better.
I was talking with someone the other day about my work and was running down some of the stuff I have recorded here at SunSpots. When I mentioned a documentary that I had recorded for PBS on Islamic Spain she said “Wow that sounds really boring.”. And normally I would agree with her but in this case voice talent Sam Mercurio did a great job of making a rather dry script very interesting.
This is why in most cases I cringe when I hear a director utter those fatal words “Less Feeling”. Of course that type of direction has it’s place on medical and technical reads but, in my opinion, it’s an overused direction. Give your narration a little boost. Let the talent throw a little of themselves into it. I find that when there is a little give and take from both ends of the session that the read always turns out better.
When voice talent Jim France is in town he comes into SunSpots Asheville and he and I are usually given free range on the direction of his voicing for “Dangerous Game” which is a big game safari hunting show that airs on Versus. This makes a subject that I usually wouldn’t be interested in fun and, well… interesting.
My two cents.
-Bryan
Howdy all,
Looks like I have been given the keys to the caddy here. I am about to jump into session but look for some blog posts from me now and again regarding the VO industry as well as the occasional non-industry related post.
Have a great week!
-Bryan
Hi there! SunSpots Deb here. Recently, I did a talent poll on Facebook asking what do voiceover talent wear while they are in the booth voicing. I also asked if there are certain materials that should or shouldn’t be worn. I got some interesting feedback.
Catherine Smith admits that “VO talent are probably the only people in the world who worry about how much ambient noise their clothing makes. For me it’s PJ’s or my gym clothes!” Now I’m wondering, are those one piece footed PJ’s? Cuz those sure are comfy.
Caryn Clark also likes to go the casual, comfy route. “jeans and a tee, or shorts and a tee. Come summer, it gets a little warm in the studio… so tank tops and shorts work!”
Cindy Neill apparently has a voice booth and sauna in one! Her “Sweat Box” doesn’t have A/C, so she keeps it light and wears Workout Clothes
. She said nothing that makes noise when you move, but “Think more along the lines of “Reese Witherspoon at the supermarket.” But without the body. Or the good looks. Or the hot boyfriend. And a bit more sweaty.” Poor Cindy. Maybe someone will invent a noiseless fan
Some talent really like to dress for the part and get into character. Take Jessica Gee for instance. At the time she was “voicing a chimp who plays tennis. So, I’m in a chimp suit from head to toe and i’m swinging a Tennis Racquet
at the mic!” Now that’s dedication to a part!
Eric Michaels likes to keep things very low key. He prefers a “burlap sack with armholes and ‘Will VO For Food’ scrawled on it.” Would someone please give Eric some VO work!
Most everyone agreed that the perfect VO wardrobe should be comfortable and made of cotton. That will help keep the noise to a minimum. And don’t be like Eric who “Once had a leather belt- the braided weaved kind- that crunched and squeaked! Not good.” Thanks for the advice Eric!
That’s it for now. Be sure to check out my Facebook page for more exciting and informative talent polls. And thanks to the wonderful talent for participating and passing on their knowledge. Be sure to click on the link below to listen to their demos and check out all the SunSpots voiceover talent.
TTFN SunSpots Deb
SunSpots Productions
The American Advertising Federation (AAF) Greenville announced the Board of Directors for the 2009-2010 club year, elected 4/21/09. These new officers will be installed at the May program meeting, and will begin their terms of service on June 1, 2009.
President: Nicole Christos, the bounce agency
Past President: Kasey Tant, the bounce agency
VP Programs: Jason Kelly
VP Membership: Gretchen Murdock
Treasurer: Jennifer Spellman, Infinity Marketing
Secretary: Karen Wessel, Erwin-Penland
Board Member: Nika White, Erwin-Penland
Board Member (Twist Chair): Christina Strayer, Torque Creative
Board Member (ADDY Chair): Corey Hudgins, Erwin-Penland
Board Member: Chris Jones, Popcorn Initiative
What’s this? Jay (that’s SunSpots founding audio engineer and voice talent Jay Patrick) and I were emailing this morning talking about what we did this past weekend. I started thinking why don’t we post up some non-work related stuff on the blog. Figured it’s a great way for you to get to know who we are and you can add your comments too and let us know about yourselves. What do you do when not writing scripts, voicing commercials, directing voice talent, producing industrials, etc.? How about it? What’s new with you?
What does the anchorman and anchorwoman do during the break during the tv news? Two minutes of choreographed fun! This is from WGN Chicago.
Saw this on Twitter a few minutes ago and thought those who know the “Eat Mor Chicken!” stores might enjoy this video. Great parody of Beatles, “Yesterday”.
How’s the voiceover business going for you? Ad spending has dropped which means we voice talent are not working as much. From blogs, twitter and facebook I’ve read that many talent are keeping busy doing voice work and also doing many auditions, but how much those gigs are paying is a different story. How about you? How are you coping with the general economic slowdown? Have you had to lower your rates to compete with some of the “dollar a hollar” people on the web? What strategies have you taken to ensure your success? Are you marketing yourself more or less? Have you had to take a second job?
My thoughts are pretty old school…advertise (self-promote) more. Now’s the time to refresh your demo or even redo your demo entirely. You can spend time finding new job opportunities online. Find a new agent. (By the way, SunSpots clients are always looking for new professional voice talent. If you have your own ISDN studio, Source Connect and/or live near our studios near Asheville or Orlando please contact us.) Do everything you can to make yourself better and keep your skills honed. Also, listen to the work that you hear on the air now. Has it changed? Are styles changing. Is there some thing about it that you can make your own?
We can all take small comfort in that if we’re slow now we’re not alone. Hundreds of thousands of people are also seeing a slow down or even worse. If you’re not, thank the tiny voice gods of your choosing and be grateful for what comes your way.
The true bottom line is that we’re all so lucky to be doing voiceovers for a living. Most of us had other jobs prior to becoming full-time voice actors and this is a good time to reflect on just how lucky we are. This voiceover business has been a blessing to me and I’m certain it has been to you too no matter your level of success. These slower times have reminded me of how lucky I’ve been and how each session is special.
I hope you make today a productive one and have a wonderful weekend wherever you are!
Cheers-
Tom
Thomas “Cassidy” Rohe
Pres.
SunSpots Productions Voice Talent & Creative Audio Production
Twitter: http://twitter.com/SunSpots_Tom
To help you beat the Taxman this year SunSpots Productions is offering 50% off all music and sound effects with your next fully produced audio session now through May 15th. That’s HALF OFF sound effects and music!
Since SunSpots recording studios are near Orlando and Asheville we were really excited to hear about this news this morning. Airtran Airways just announced service to Orlando International Airport (MCO) with nonstop flights from Asheville Regional Airport (AVL)
Flights begin June 11 from Asheville (AVL) and are not daily.
Here’s the nonstop service schedule between Asheville and Orlando from Airtran’s site:
| From | To | Flight | Departs | Arrives | Frequency |
| Asheville | Orlando | 1276 | 1:10 p.m. | 2:45 p.m. | Tue, Thurs, Sat |
| Orlando | Asheville | 1275 | 10:55 a.m. | 12:35 p.m. | Tue, Thurs, Sat |
I think it was after I heard that a young man saved himself from a stay at an Egyptian jail using Twitter that I began to think about how we could use Twitter at SunSpots. One of the things that I love about the web is developing relationships with friends and potential clients and voice talent and enhancing those existing relationships with Twitter updates or Tweets. Since joining I’ve posted hundreds of tweets and have a few hundred followers ranging from artists, advertising execs, fellow online marketers, old friends and others. The electronic village is making our world smaller and more intimate in a very good way.
Why should you use Twitter? There are many reasons to do so and these are just a few:
To keep your audience interested make sure that your tweets are more than just commercial announcements. I try to insert information about what I’m doing, festival or concert announcements, news specific to our studio locations near Asheville and Orlando, news announcements and so on. Those that use Twitter for just “we have such and such on sale” will eventually lose their followers. Like any good web site, it’s all about content and not just, “HEY! BUY SOMETHING FROM US!”. Use tinyurl.com to shrink your lengthy web addresses so that they fit easily into the 140 character Twitter format.
We hope to follow your Tweets soon.
Tom
Obituary for voiceover talent Connie Zimet in the Miami Herald:
BY ELINOR J. BRECHER
[email protected]
Sometimes sultry, sometimes snappy, sometimes over-the-top Noo Yawk shmoozy, jingle-singer and voice-over artist Connie Zimet promised that Coke was the real thing, that Honda wants you to be safe and that Norwegian cruises are “as far from the everyday as a ship can take you.”
In word and song, Zimet pitched thousands of products in her long career, including Apple computers, Fresca soda, Pall Mall cigarettes, Ajax scouring powder, Chevrolets and Godfather’s pizzas.
In the end stages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease — she contracted bronchitis and died at home in Plantation on Tuesday. She was 67.
The versatile performer acted in Off-Broadway plays, sang in nightclubs and made records. She was the voice of Lucy on an album version of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and in 1971, as ”Connie Z,” narrated The Way to Become the Sensuous Woman for Atlantic Records. Published in 1969, the book — a first-person erotic manual by ”J” — was a classic of the sexual revolution.
Zimet grew up in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, the daughter of a traveling salesman and a one-time dancer. Her only sibling, a brother, drowned in childhood.
She began acting in local productions and summer stock theater at the age of 8, then went to New York at 17.
She studied interior design and acting, and signed with Colpix, Capitol and Todd record labels, according to Zach Ziskin, of Fort Lauderdale, her only child.
She was married briefly to composer/pianist Victor Ziskin, a Leonard Bernstein protégé.
When Zimet moved to South Florida in the mid-1970s, ”there was not much of a market here for voiceovers,” said Zach, a music producer who also does voice-over work.
“She was a pioneer who helped build the market. . . . The more she did it, the more opportunities opened up for her. And before she knew it, it was 20 years later and she was considered an expert in the field.”
Zimet led the Miami chapter of AFTRA — American Federation of Television & Radio Artists — from 2003 until last year. In 2004, at a workshop in New Orleans, she described the voice-over artist’s mission:
“You’re an actor when you’re doing a voice-over. So, find your character, your attitude, answer what your condition is, and the voice will come out the way it should be heard. Focus on intention.”
She suggested that hopefuls in the field “read everything aloud — magazines, newspapers, recipes. Yeah, it may bug your significant other or your pets, but they’ll get used to it. . . .”
Herta Suarez, AFTRA’s southeast regional director, said that “everybody I know here on both sides, producers and performers, claimed she really built this market. She was very busy herself, teaching voice lessons and doing voice-overs.”
When she taught, Suarez said, “people would just not want to leave because she was so entertaining.”
Zimet had a wide repertoire of tones and accents, all with a reassuring warmth: naughty to sweet, chirpy to silky, peppy to languid. She could do almost any character: little old lady, confidential gal-pal, shrieking harpy, Southern charmer, reassuring voice of authority.
”Whatever something called for, she was up for it,” said Zach, though at home, ‘she was never really `on.’ ”
Two years ago, Zimet began to stumble and fall, which she chalked up to bad knees, but replacement surgery didn’t help. In rehab, she couldn’t walk at all.
By early 2008, Zimet began losing functions in her arms and hands. In her final months, ALS stole the voice that made her career.
An Internet fundraising campaign enabled the family to buy a sight-recognition communications device that Zach said ”was truly a godsend” when his mother could no longer speak.
“She had it for the last month and was able to communicate with her eye movement.”
Zach plans to complete the the book his mother left unfinished: Connie Zimet’s Voice-over Tool Box. He also plans a celebration of her life in the coming months.
Connie Zimet’s website: http://www.conniezimet.com/ and her voiceover demos page.
We wish her family and friends the best at this time. It’s always sad to have another voice stilled. We send our sincere condolences. Please donate what you can to the ALS Association “Fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease” in Connie’s memory.
Tom
I was reading a news story today about how so many charities are having difficult times.
I asked the staff at SunSpots which charities were their favorites and thought you might be interested. I’ll have separate blog posts of their responses. You might find one you’d like to donate to.
Jen Stevens is our voiceover talent coordinator and one of our recording session schedulers at our recording studios near Orlando, Florida. Here are some of Jen’s favorite charities:
American Humane Association
The Breast Cancer Fund
The American Kidney Fund
Doctors Without Borders
International Planned Parenthood Foundation
The Elephant Sanctuary
You can follow Jen on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/SunSpots_Jen
Be Friends with Jen on Facebook: SunSpots Jen Stevens
If you can, please give something, no matter how small or give your time to your favorite charity. We’re all in this together. Here’s a helpful guide to choosing an effective charitable organization.
Tom
Follow me on Twitter at: SunSpots_Tom
Be Friends with me on Facebook: SunSpots Tom Rohe
Proof that cats are smarter than dogs?
Facebook worm video supplied by CNN Video
This year’s Orlando Addy Awards were presented at the Shakespeare Theater with a Shakespearean theme and in keeping with that theme Treefrog Cinegrafix, Inc. produced videos with Shakespeare’s characters parodying our delightful biz. This video was filmed here at SunSpots Productions Florida studios and even stars the studio manager, Zak Miller. The “engineer” was filmed in Xavier’s studio and Zak was in one of our six voice booths.
Notice the Christmas tree branch on his head. We couldn’t find any olive branches for his ceremonial garb. Hail Zakus!
I was twittering and blipping earlier today and thought I’d share on here what I’ve been listening to at the office between being berated by Bryan about the newsletter, talking photography with Tera and having lunch with Zak.
In no particular order:
The Rough Guide to Highlife-Music from west Africa
Primarily music from Ghana and Nigeria. Some intricate guitar work and funkiness.
Ray Charles-Night Time is The Right Time
Remember this one from an episode of the Cosby Show when the ladies of the family performed it for the grandparents.
Johnny Cash-Why Me Lord
Lyle Lovett-That’s Right You’re Not From Texas
Norah Jones-Shoot The Moon from her Come Away With Me CD
Steely Dan-Blues Beach from their Everything Must Go CD
(I’m such a Steely Dan fan I have every CD of the band plus Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s solo work on my ipod.)
Hot Fun in the Summertime-Sly and the Family Stone
Foggy Mountain Gospel-Flatt and Scruggs
I grew up with a bluegrass pickin’ and preachin’ grand daddy from eastern Tennessee. It’s in my blood. Lester Flatt’s voice is comforting and sweet as he sings about “a place called Heaven”.
Jack Johnson-Dreams Be Dreams from his On and On CD
King Tubby-Essential Dub
It’s not a work day without my Tubby!
Jerry Garcia and David Grisman-Shady Grove
Some good old timey music with Jerry and David singing and playing.
Time to get back to work. That’s just a sample of what I’ve been listening to at work today. How about you? What’s on your playlist? What music helps you through your day?
Think Positive and/or Pray for Recovery
Tom
Whoops! Jay Patrick’s birthday was this past weekend and I’m late getting him his cake…
Jay is SunSpots Productions original audio engineer and has been creating award winning audio since 1986. Jay started in radio, like Zak and I did.
Jay began in radio in Houston, Texas and even produced parody spots for Glenn Beck when Beck was on the air in Baltimore, MD.
He moved to Asheville, North Carolina in 1993 and began working with what was then known as The Cassidy Company in 1995. The Cassidy Company grew beyond voice talent Tom Cassidy and became SunSpots Productions a year later. Within a few years and with Jay’s help and leadership, SunSpots became a world leader in supplying voiceover talent and creative audio production to the advertising industry.
In addition to being a superb audio engineer and director Jay also voices. Here’s Jay Patrick’s voiceover demo.
Jay’s also involved in scouts in the Asheville area, plays guitar and bass and enjoys spending time on the trails around Asheville on his mountain bike. He’s married and has 3 kids.
Happy belated birthday Jay, from everyone at SunSpots!
Tom
Voiceover talent Gordon “Gordy” Owens is celebrating his birthday today!
Listen to Gordy Owens voiceover demo right now.
Happy Birthday Gordy from your friends at SunSpots!
Tom
Valencia Community College graphics students took home many Addy awards last Saturday night at the Orlando Ad Federation Addy Awards.
Here’s the rundown of winners as supplied by the Valencia Community Graphics Dept.:
Student SPECIAL JUDGES AWARD for DESIGN: Brian Nutt for They Might Be Giants CD Case
Student BEST OF SHOW ADDY Award: Wendy K. Johnson for Olympus America Inc. Statue of Liberty Camera Ad
Gold ADDY: Wendy K. Johnson for Olympus America Inc. Statue of Liberty Camera Ad
Gold ADDY: Wendy K. Johnson for Olympus America Inc. Eiffel Tower Camera Ad
Gold ADDY: Brian Nutt for They Might Be Giants CD Case
Gold ADDY: Wendy K. Johnson for Olympus America Inc. Camera Ad Campaign
Gold ADDY: Reina Castellanos for Dia de los Muertos
Silver ADDY: Brian Nutt for Monster Candy Boxes
Silver ADDY: Shajah Junco for Bourré Bourbon
Silver ADDY: Reina Castellanos for 925 Furniture
Silver ADDY: Blagovesta Miltcheva for Self Promo Package
Silver ADDY: Wendy K. Johnson for Volkswagen of Amercia Beetle Brochure
Silver ADDY: Christine Cerniglia for General Electric Brochure
Silver ADDY: Christine Cerniglia for Domtar EarthChoice Poster
Silver ADDY: Brian Nutt for She Wants Revenge Poster
Silver ADDY: Wendy K. Johnson for Volkswagen of Amercia Beetle Brochure
Silver ADDY: Wendy K. Johnson for Olympus America Inc. Washington Monument Camera Ad
Silver ADDY: Wendy K. Johnson for Doritos Nacho Cheese Snack Ad
Silver ADDY: Wendy K. Johnson for Doritos Hot Wings Blue Cheese Snack Ad
Silver ADDY: Wendy K. Johnson for Doritos Zesty Taco Chipolte Ranch Snack Ad
Silver ADDY: Aaron Fischer for Smoking is a Gamble Ad – Odds
Silver ADDY: Aaron Fischer for Smoking is a Gamble Ad – House
Silver ADDY: Wendy K. Johnson for Doritos Snack Ad Campaign done for
Silver ADDY: Rosanna Lee Currence for Ninja Dorito’s Campaign done for
Silver ADDY: Katrina Mustakas for Healthy Cone: Print Cover
Silver ADDY: Katrina Mustakas for Volt Campaign
Silver ADDY: Katrina Mustakas for Sherwin Williams Logo
Valencia has an amazing program for graphics and web design. Congrats to everyone involved. I’ll be posting up the other winners soon.
Congrats everyone!
Tom
From the Voiceover Times:
Connie Zimet, a well-known voice over coach and mentor based in Florida, is in the late stage of ALS, battling now not only for her life but the very ability to communicate with her son and those whom she loves.
There is hope for Connie to regain her ability to communicate, but she needs the support of the voice over community to realize that vital goal, with donations being accepted to offset costs for the purchase of special equipment that will allow her to communicate with her eyes using the aid of a computer.
Robbed of her voice, mobility and requiring care around the clock, it may seem as though Connie Zimet hasn’t much hope, however, we have learned that there is a special machine that she can use to communicate with using her eyes that would enable Connie to use her “voice” again, albeit in another way.
Connie has been struggling now with this disease for a long time, but it had not interfered directly with her ability to communicate until the passed year.
Her last email communication to friends sent on June 8, 2008, dictated to a friend, explained why she hadn’t been in touch and acknowledged her illness, sharing in this excerpt:
“Please know that I think about and care about you—more than you know. And now I am asking for your prayers. Those will mean more than anything at this time. I am determined to create a miracle here and those prayers will be of tremendous help. Thanks for understanding. With love always, Connie”
This eye recognition device will be of great benefit to Connie, however, the device doesn’t come cheap.
Donations are being accepted to the Connie Zimet Medical Fund, no matter how small, to help offset the escalating costs of Connie’s medical needs and care.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Pam Lipschitz or Zach Ziskin (Connie’s son) via email or by phone. Connie’s address is 827 NW 79th Terrace, Plantation, FL 33324, and also has a PayPal account at [email protected].
Pam Lipschitz
[email protected]
Zach’s info:
[email protected]
954.367.3363
Thanks to Steph at voicescom for alerting us to Connie’s situation.
Our prayers, positive thoughts and good wishes are with Connie and her family.
Tom
Did you seen Joaquin Phoenix when he appeared on David Letterman last week? If not check this video from the Letterman show:
Then compare it to Ben Stiller doing his version of Joaquin Phoenix at the 81st Annual Academy Awards ceremony.
I thought that was one of the more entertaining parts of the Oscar ceremony.
So, was Joaquin pranking Letterman that night or do you think he’s got problems? I think he was putting Dave on. You can just catch a glimpse of a smile every few minutes. You never know though. Personally I’ve always liked the concept of “street” theater of taking what is supposed to be normal reality and breaking it down and twisting it around.
I had a chance to do some of that many years ago in Asheville with the Blue Plate Special theater troupe.
More to come. It’s going to be a most excellent week.
Peace-
Tom
I was on Twitter this morning looking at was happening and found a great post from our Twitterbuds Wadester23 and AshevilleLive (Asheville Live are the people that bring us the variety of downtown web cams: http://www.ashevillelivecam.com/ ).
The post I found was a web page that shows the various places in Asheville and Buncombe County that you can find free wi-fi for your laptop or other wireless device. Looks like a good list, I haven’t tested anything other than downtown near Jack of the Woods.
Here’s the Asheville/Buncombe County free wi-fi guide.
http://www.openwifispots.com/Finder.aspx?City=Asheville&State=NC#35.602711,-82.567281,12
As always, cause the self-promotion never ends, if you’re in Asheville and looking for professional, not part-time, creative audio production please give SunSpots a shot to bring your audio and video projects to life.
http://www.sunspotsproductions.com/Voice_Talent_Contact.cfm#sunspotsnorthcarolinamap
Have a great weekend!
Tom
SunSpots voice talent Jen Sweeney celebrates her birthday today. Happy Birthday Jen, we hope you have a wonderful weekend of birthday cakey goodness!
Listen to Jen Sweeney’s voice talent demo at SunSpots.
After posting the new show intro I found this quickie of the evolution of Homer from Hulu. More stuff to turn our brains to mush. Yummy.
Just saw the new opening for The Simpsons. Wonder what’s up with the addition of the 3-eyed crow?
Every time the Simpsons voice actors threaten to strike I always have my fingers crossed and tongue ready. It’d be the voiceover’s guy dream come true to get one of those roles. How about you voiceover pros? Do you do any of the Simpsons character’s voices? Throw in a demo with your response if you have one. We’d love to hear it!
Ok, I know it doesn’t have a thing to do with voiceovers, but I had to share some pics I shot of Paul Simon’s concert at the refurbished Beacon Theater in New York this past weekend. We were lucky enough to get tickets to both nights of his show there. Friday night’s extraordinary show was capped by a surprise appearance by Art Garfunkel. How poignant it was to hear them sing “Old Friends/Bookends” together. His show attracted loads of celebs such as Caroline Kennedy, Paul McCartney, (Tony Soprano) James Gandolfini, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Bon Jovi, Jimmy Fallon, New York’s Mayor Bloomberg, Jane Krakowski from 30 Rock and others. Saturday’s show was less formal and more spirited. It made for a spectacular Valentine’s Weekend though we had to cut our visit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art short.
Voice Talent Bob Jump informs us that one of the pioneers in our voiceover world, Marv Henry, has passed away. Marv Henry was one of our friends at Studiocenter’s original founding voice talents. Our condolences and best wishes to his family and friends.
Every time we lose someone it’s another reminder to tell our friends and family how much we love them.
Thanks Bob, for letting us know.
Peace-
Tom
UPDATE: A more detailed story was posted last night by Jim Washington from the Virginian-Pilot:
By Jim Washington
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 16, 2009
Marv Henry, a well-known voice on local radio for decades, died Monday.
According to friends, Henry’s work appeared in movies, television and radio over the years. He worked for several local stations, including WAVY, WFOG and WTKR, and did voiceover work for the company Studio Center Worldwide in Norfolk.
Henry was one of the company’s founding talents back in the 1960s, according to owner William Prettyman.
“He was one of the all-time best voices at the company,” Prettyman said. “He was a legend.”
Dave Davis is a producer at Studio Central and worked with Henry for almost 20 years.
“He was the most talented voice actor I’ve ever worked with,” Davis said. “He had a range that was second to none. He could draw poetry out of the words. He had an ability to make anything sound better than it was written.”
Henry was an office cut-up as well, Davis said. His co-workers often found themselves the subject of his doodles.
“He was always drawing cartoons of people at work,” Davis said. “He was like an uncle. A mischevious uncle.”
We’ve added some new voiceover talent to SunSpots “Fresh New Voices” section on the home page of our web site. We’ve got a nice mix of kids and adults. Our new list of talent includes English and Spanish voiceover professionals.
You can find and schedule voiceover talent online at SunSpots web site with our exclusive voice talent search engine, ezCast.
Alrighty boys get ready, here they are, those wild <a href="http://event.godaddy.com/videos/super-bowl-commercials.htm
“>GoDaddy Superbowl commercials ONLY available on the internet. lol What I’ve seen so far is very tame. Enjoy!
http://event.godaddy.com/videos/super-bowl-commercials.htm
See the tv commercials from the Pittsburgh and Arizona 27-23 Superbowl here: http://www.sunspotsproductions.com/voiceover_video.cfm#superbowl_commercials
I’m watching the Superbowl tonight just like a handful of others are doing and posting live on my Twitter account too: http://twitter.com/SunSpots_Tom
I’ve been trying to find SunSpots Scheduler/Audio Engineer Deb Munini in the crowd. She’s there working audio like she has done for previous Superbowls. She’s also done audio work at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Here’s a post about Deb from October, 2008: http://sunspotsproductions.blogspot.com/2008/10/multi-talented-deb-munini-gets-profiled.html
I think the tv spots have not been as strong as they have been in the past, either in creativity or emotional connection. Some are good, few are great and some are just lame (yes, GoDaddy I’m talking to you, but we LOVE your prices and service).
Watch all the Superbowl tv commercials here and on SunSpots Productions web site Plus on our video page there’s a good bunch of other videos featuring SunSpots voiceover talent and some other video oddities:
So far things have come down like this:
Thought Conan O’Brien’s Bud Light spot was hilarious. I love his strange sense of humor. Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, had a nice dream sequence of the star basketball player playing football.
One of my favorites early in is from Bridgestone with Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead. Bridgestone’s Superbowl commercials have all been strong and creative tonight.
Castrol’s grease monkey ad ended being creepy. C’mon kissing a monkey?
The trailer for Land of the Lost with Will Ferrell looks like fun. (I’m eagerly anticipating seeing Will Ferrell as George Bush in, “You’re Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush” on March 15 at the Cort Theater in New York.) The original Sid and Marty Krofft show, Land of the Lost, when I was a kid was tough to watch. Maybe I was too old. But any Krofft projects were just plain chock full of Ecstacy induced weirdness. I’m just guessing on that.
Pepsi Max tv spot was funny. Can’t beat slapstick pratfalls. I like the Pedigree except for David Duchovny’s waaaaaaay too laid back read for the voiceover. I prefer voiceovers with just a pinch more interest in the voice. But that’s me. He’s doing the “authentic”, “real person”, “pulled back” read. Since I’m mentioning voiceovers, if you’re looking for a voice to bring you audio project to life search SunSpots ezCast for voice talent.
More to come. Time for a chicken wang!
I want to welcome a new voiceover talent, Alexandra Spaziani. She’s on her way to becoming a pro and at only 4 years old (she’ll be 5 in December) she’s currently the youngest voice talent on our EZcast™ voiceover talent roster. Thankfully, she and her parents live close to our Asheville, North Carolina studio so it’s no hassle to come in for auditions or spots.
Sad to see a company I spent years doing radio and tv spots for and still do some voicing for is filing for bankruptcy. Circuit City just announced it today. I was lucky enough to do lots of work with them over the years. Really fun creative people and hilarious times in session.
Here’s the story from CNN’s website:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Circuit City Stores Inc., the No. 2 electronics seller after Best Buy, filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, hoping the move will allow it to stock its shelves in time for the crucial holiday shopping season.
The move comes about a week after Circuit City said it would close 155 stores as it deals with a worsening economic downturn that has left more consumers with less money to shop. The company intends to keep its remaining stores open through the bankruptcy procedings.
Circuit City (CC, Fortune 500) said it decided to file for bankruptcy at this time to ensure that it would have “adequate merchandise flow to stores during the important holiday season.”
The retailer said consumers should continue to shop at its stores.
“Chapter 11 is not a closing or liquidation,” the company said in an e-mail to CNNMoney.com. “We remain committed to doing a better job of taking care of our guests, and making it easier to shop at Circuit City.”
For anyone that’s on the hunt for a sweet deal on a flatscreen TV, Circuit City spokesman Jim Babb said it’s “safe to assume” that consumers can expect deep discounts on TVs and other products in those Circuit City stores that are being liquidated.
In the rest of its stores, Babb said the company’s prices will remain competitive with the market over the coming weeks.
Circuit City said it is seeking approval from the bankruptcy court to honor customer programs such as returns, exchanges and gift cards. “Approval of such programs normally is granted,” the company said in the e-mail.
The electronics seller said it will still accept credit cards, including Circuit City-branded credit cards, which the company said are not be impacted by its bankruptcy.
Circuit City also said it will continue to honor its warranty plans, including its Circuit City Advantage Protection Plans.
Despite these measures, one industry watcher remained unconvinced that Circuit City could still attract shoppers from here on and especially through the holiday season.
“Consumers will be skeptical about buying a $1,000 or $2,000 flatscreen TV with a warranty at Circuit City,” said Craig Johnson, retail analyst and president of Customer Growth Partners. “In their mind, there’s no guarantee that the company will still be around in the future.”
“Regarding gift cards, if you are buying a $50 gift card for Christmas, where would your comfort level be higher? At a Circuit City or a Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500)?” Johnson said.
The company’s bankruptcy filing was also made at a crucial time of the year for merchants who are preparing for the year-end holiday shopping season.
The November-December period can account for 50% or more of retailers’ annual profits and sales. But this year, many Americans have clamped down on their shopping habits amid a weak economy and a shaky job and credit market.
Industry analysts warn that retailers will have to do whatever they can this year if they hope to have at least decent holiday sales.
Will stay in business for now
According to the company’s Chapter 11 filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Richmond, Va., Circuit City has 566 operating stores in the United States and will continue to do business and pay its workers while it restructures debt and its business operations.
In announcing the store closings last week, Richmond-based Circuit City said it would cut about 17% of its 40,000 domestic workers.
Johnson said Circuit City’s problems are partly its own making. On the external front, the retailer’s competitive landscape has became much more formidable as Best Buy continues to enhance its product offerings and service.
Circuit City has also felt the squeeze from discounters like Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) who has aggressively expanded into electronics over the last few years.
More importantly, Johnson believes Circuit City shot itself in the foot when the company decided last year to fire more 3,000 of its highest-paid sales staff and replace them with lower-paid workers.
“This was a huge strategic blunder,” said Johnson. “People want a knowledgeable sales person when they are spending $2,000 on a TV. They don’t want to buy it from some kid at Wal-Mart,” he said
The company said it has negotiated a commitment for a $1.1 billion credit line to supplement its working capital. The company said the credit line will replace the company’s $1.3 billion asset-based line provided by its lenders.
Circuit City said the credit line will give it immediate liquidity while it works to reorganize the business and enable it to pay its vendors and employees.
“We recently have taken intensive measures to overcome our deteriorating liquidity position,” James Marcum, Circuit City’s acting president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
“The decision to restructure the business through a Chapter 11 filing should provide us with the opportunity to strengthen our balance sheet, create a more efficient expense structure and ultimately position the company to compete more effectively,” he said.
End of story from CNN.
I agree that it was a horrible blunder when they fired so many people to restaff with lower paid, less skilled employees. Here in Asheville, they fired skilled staff and then tried to restaff with lower paid workers and I think they even tried to rehire the people they fired at a lower wage. Not only error in judgment, but bad for morale internally. It made the local news here and was a bad pr mess for them.
Here’s a story from the Washington Post from March 29, 2007 about those firings: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/28/AR2007032802185.html
I wish the best for my buds in the ad department at Circuit!
Good morning!
I just saw this article in Variety online…
With the resumption of SAG’s contract talks in limbo, the guild’s toughening up its ban on members working for nonunion producers. The Screen Actors Guild recently notified its 120,000 members in a “Check Your Backside” message that, starting on Jan. 1, it will “vigorously” enforce the ban on nonunion work for new-media productions.
“Rule One states that ‘no member shall work for a producer who is not signatory to the appropriate SAG agreement,’” SAG said in the missive. “Rule One is printed on the back of every SAG membership card. SAG members may also work on new-media projects if they are covered under an AFTRA collective bargaining agreement.”
SAG’s master contract expired June 30 — the same day the majors made their final offer — and members currently work under the expired contract’s terms in features, primetime and new media. SAG’s negotiating committee met Wednesday with federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez about its stalled contract negotiations, but no date’s been set for restarting talks between SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.
Earlier this year, SAG’s national board unanimously OKd the move to launch the Rule One campaign. “The goal is to make sure that members insist on basic protections when they work in new media,” national director of organizing Todd Amorde told Daily Variety.
Guild leaders have become increasingly concerned in recent years over actors circumventing discipline under Rule One. SAG announced last year that members filing for “financial core” status — under which a member resigns SAG membership and withholds dues spent by the guild on political activities but can still work on union jobs — generally won’t be allowed back into the guild.
Aside from expulsion, Rule One violators can be fined or suspended after a trial board hearing.
With SAG and the majors awaiting the next step in the mediation process, the Intl. Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees and the AMPTP will return to the bargaining table today — seven months after they concluded three days of negotiations without reaching a deal. Both sides have set aside three days for the talks.
The current IATSE deal expires in August and covers about 25,000 West Coast workers in 18 locals. If the AMPTP can make a deal with IATSE, it will mark the sixth such pact signed by the majors this year, following deals with the DGA, WGA and casting directors plus two TV agreements with AFTRA.
Before turning to mediation, SAG unsuccessfully attempted to restart negotiations Sept. 30 by announcing a trio of “threshold” issues: new-media jurisdiction for all productions, rather than the $15,000-per-minute budget threshold the majors propose; securing residual fees for made-for-Internet productions when those productions are reused on new-media platforms; and continuing force majeure protections for actors, which the majors have sought to eliminate.
For its part, the AMPTP’s insisted it won’t change the final offer to SAG and stressed that its terms are similar to those in the WGA, DGA and AFTRA deals.
It’s going to be very interesting to see how the voiceover and acting unions survive the economic mess we’re currently in.
Speaking of professional voice talent, if you’re a voice talent with SunSpots Productions please make sure we have your latest voiceover demo in hand so we can keep your best in front of our clients. Please send it to:
Jen Stevens
SunSpots Productions
821 Marhall Farms Road
Ocoee, Florida
34761
Cheers-
Tom
Doesn’t it seem like it’s taken years to get to this point? Election Day is finally here. I hope that you vote today if you haven’t done so already in early voting. Reports so far are mixed about lines at polling places. I just spoke with someone in south Florida who waited 2 hours this morning. Some of our Orlando SunSpots crew waited a half hour and here in North Carolina voting lines were about 15-20 minutes for our staff that voted today. Looks like the early voting, where available, helped the process.
To me, this is one of our greatest aspects of our democracy. So many people who have come before us have suffered and even died to either get the right to vote or to protect that right. I remember when President Nixon certified the Constitutional Amendment for the voting age to be lowered to 18 from 21. Kids were being sent off to Vietnam at 18 to fight, but could not cast a vote and had no voice until then. Amazing how times have changed. Think of all the African-Americans who were intimidated and murdered because they wanted to cast their ballot. Even though they had the right to vote in the 1870, it wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act in 1965 that voting became easier and more Federally protected. Just think that in 1870 voting rights were given to slaves. Slaves. It’s hard to wrap the mind around that fact. What about women and their right to vote? Can you believe women didn’t have the right to vote until 1920? What progress we’ve made! Look at other countries where people are still beaten because they want to vote. Why don’t we have 100% turnouts at the polls?
My point in bringing all this up is that so many have toiled and given so much of themselves in every way to get us to this point today. To sit still and not vote is a disservice to their dedication, their lives and the foundation of freedom that they all laid to lead us to where we are today.
How wonderful it is now to see where we are in history. I hope that you take the time today and cast your vote for whomever you see fit. If lines are long think of those who had no lines to stand in. If the weather’s bad think of the many who braved more than the elements to cast a vote.
We take so much for granted here and many of us think our voice doesn’t matter, but it does matter. It matters who you vote for and it matters that you do vote. Please do so and make your voice heard for all those voices long since stilled by time.
One other thing. Let’s make our national election day a Federal Holiday. We should be celebrating this day with as much patriotic enthusiasm as we do July 4th. What do you think about making today a Holiday where we vote and share the American Experience as one? I think we should and we should pass the idea around till we make it happen.
However today ends I hope that we all come together as one tomorrow and that in whatever way we can we work to make our country and the world a better place.
Tom
SunSpots talent scheduler and audio engineer is a graduate of Full Sail University in Orlando. They profiled her this year and asked her about her experience when she ran audio at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Picture and story is from Full Sail’s web site: http://www.fullsail.com/news/15990-event-audio-for-the-democratic-national-convention-deb-munini.html?section=ra
Audio is an integral part of nearly every kind of production. Whether it’s a commercial, live broadcast, film, or television program, good sound has the ability to grab listeners and transport them from their homes, making them feel as though they are right there on location.
Deb Munini feels this effect just like everyone else, but with one key difference – sound literally transports her around the country. As a freelance audio engineer, the Full Sail Recording Arts graduate has covered an assortment of huge events, including eight Super Bowls, TNA Wrestling, and this year’s Democratic National Convention in Denver.
“The DNC was really interesting,” she says of her two-week stay in Denver. “It was very cool to be involved and see the whole process of the event. It was also very odd to me to see how people treat these politicians like they’re celebrities. I’m so used to going to rock shows and working with those kinds of celebs, so it was an unusual experience to see that kind of attention put on politicians.
“During certain speeches, the atmosphere was just electric,” Deb adds. “Everyone was just so enthralled during Hilary Clinton’s speech, and of course during Obama’s speech, as well. It was very exciting and energetic. And of course, a lot of setting up had to be done. Miles and miles of cable that always seems to come out a lot faster than it goes in.”
Along with her freelance endeavors, Deb is also an audio engineer and scheduler at SunSpots Productions in Orlando, Florida. The studio records voiceovers for radio and TV commercials, documentaries, audiobooks, and anything else that may need a voice and also functions as a licensed voice talent agency.
“My days at SunSpots definitely vary because it all depends on what a client needs done,” Deb explains. “Sessions can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours depending on how many talent are involved and if it’s being produced here or if it’s being produced at another studio and we are just recording a backup of the session. We have some voiceover talent that come in-house, but a lot of them work remotely from all corners of the world and we connect with them through ISDN [a high-speed telephone network system that allows the digital transfer of voice and data].”
According to Deb, the wide availability of such remote technology is something of a double-edged sword. “I think it’s opened up a lot of competition for studios like us,” she says. “But it’s also a good thing because it’s made it easier for us to access a variety of talent across the country.”
While balancing the studio gig and her own freelance work can be a tricky task at times, Deb says that it also allows for the best of both worlds. “SunSpots has been great in allowing me to continue to do freelance work, and it’s because of that freedom that I am able to come back with added experience that I can contribute to them,” she says. “I definitely apply what I’ve learned on other jobs to any problems or situations that we come across in the studio. It keeps things exciting. Instead of doing the same thing over and over, I can look forward to going out and working with other people at different times and learning new things out in the field.”
Thanks to Full Sail for the use of the story and image.
Months ago, I found a good retro video on www.declareyourself.com about voting. I thought it was a neat little piece with Ed Helms from the Daily Show and The Office featured as the voiceover talent. I liked what they did, but I thought we could amp up the energy and sound effects with it so I asked Tera Parks, one of our engineers in SunSpots Orlando studios to take it on because she enjoys doing audio post production. I think she did a great job. I hope the people at www.declareyourself.com don’t mind. By the way, they’ve got a nice variety of videos and still pics related to voting. They’re a non-partisan group just wanting people to get out and VOTE. Here’s Tera’s video with Tom Cassidy providing the voiceover:
You can find the original version of the video on this page: http://www.declareyourself.com/multimedia/multimedia.html
I’m in a postin’ mood today. I found this video in the vaults that Zak Miller produced for Disney’s Star Wars Weekends. He did all the audio post at SunSpots FL studio. Tom Cassidy voices, but I think they chose James K. Flynn for the final mix. It’s a couple years old and ran on tv and I remember seeing one run at a theater at Downtown Disney one night. Just a side note on Downtown Disney; if you love movies and great audio go the AMC theaters there. Enormous, digital screens and amazing audio. Only downside is the pricing.
It takes a moment to load. Crank up your audio for this video. As always, Zak gave the audio a creative smackdown and it sounds great!
Hey Zak, do you remember what effects you used for the mouse ears opening on the tower? Sounds like some old chains being pulled or something.
Tom
If you’re of a certain age range you grew up with Ron Howard and if not you’ve probably seen Andy Griffith and Happy Days in reruns. I just saw this video a few minutes ago. No, it’s not a political endorsement by me or us. It’s just cool to see Opie and some old friends together again. Check it out and don’t forget that whoever you’re voting for, please vote early if you can, cause it’s going to be a wild ride on the 4th!
To see more of our favorite videos visit our SunSpots videos page. I think Hal Douglas doing the Seinfeld promo is still one of the best on there. In a worrrlllld…..
Have a great day!
Tom
Are you able to drive to them?
Around the Southeast and here in Asheville, it has been a little unsettling to see so many stations out of gas. It wasn’t till yesterday that I really started getting concerned about it. If need be I’ll hop on the Goldwing and run my smaller errands. I was wondering how YOU are doing. Is the gas crisis in the South an issue for you if you don’t have ISDN and have to drive to the studio to record? If so, how are you coping with it?
If you do need a studio to work from to connect to another studio we offer special rates for visiting voice talent.
Speaking of voice talent. Many folks have been very busy lately with us:
CJ Goodearl doing some sports work Michigan.
Wendy Hawkinson, Carlos Quintana, Daniel Eduardo and Nadia Garzon voicing for Fedex en Español.
Brian LaFontaine is on an av today.
Tom Cassidy and Ross Bagley are voicing for Capitol College outside DC.
Orlando’s own traffic reportin’ wonder-girl, Kim Sanders, heads to the islands..virtually, for an av for the Virgin Islands.
Longtime friend and original SunSpots voiceover talent, Bill Thomas is the voice for a builders association airing in Birmingham.
That’s just a few of the voice pros working today at SunSpots.
Let me know how things are going with you and if getting gas is an issue. LOL! Oh yeah…I can hear the mexican food jokes already.
Peace-
Tom
So what have you been up to? Any spots you’ve done the voiceover for and you want to tell the world about it? (And you really can tell the world via the internet.)
We’d love to hear what you’ve been up to.
Have you starred in a play, had a film role, on-camera spot? Is that you on a radio campaign? Are you the voice on hold somewhere we all know? Is that you on doing a voiceover on the web? How about voicing at a theme park? You can tell the world right here. It doesn’t matter where you’ve recorded it or when you did it.
Let’s let the world know about you and your talents! So go ahead let’s get out those horns and start tootin’. Who else better to tell the story of successes than you?
Cheers-
Tom
It’s a good time to think of others who could use our help.
Personally, SunSpots has many ad agency clients, voice talent and friends in the Gulf South who are suffering from the effects of the various storms this season and even extending back to Katrina’s devastation. Our friends need your help. Please do so if you’re able.
Whatever you can afford to donate would be very much appreciated.
Click here to donate to the Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund.
You can view the latest storm tracking information from the National Hurricane Center.
Google, no longer just “search engine” Google, is celebrating their 10th anniversary this week. Can you believe it’s been 10 years? Can you believe what it was like BEFORE Google hit the web? Can you believe so many of us passed up buying Google stock at $80 a share? lol I did on that one. Thought they wouldn’t be around long. OUCH!
What a massive player and global powerhouse they’ve become. They stuck with their dreams, focused on excellence and became much more than just successful. Their name even became a verb!
I wonder how so many of us would never be found without Google being on the web. A few years ago, after a technically savvy employee left us, we were absolutely lost in Google’s results. We were ranking in the 800′s or worse.
Through three years of effort we (SunSpots Productions) now show up at least in the Top 20 results in Google’s search engine or mostly on their front page. For example search for “voice talent agent“, “spanish voice talent“, “creative audio production“, “voice talent“, “audio production“, “asheville voice talent“, “orlando voice talent” and there we are on the front page or number one out of millions of pages. It was all done while wearing a white hat too! (SEO peeps know what I mean.)
So thank you and congratulations Google! You’ve inspired and changed our world. I hope the next 10 are full of positive innovations and useful products for us all.
“In a world…” Where he’ll be greatly missed.
This morning we decided to shutter the studios in Florida as Tropical Storm Fay passes nearby. Zak and Xavier were troopers this morning and came in a for a couple short sessions. The brunt of the storm is passing by this afternoon so they left in time. Currently at 2:27pm local time, Orlando is reporting light rain and light winds around 20 mph. Just like any other summer afternoon storm so far.
Watching CNN this morning I heard a report about Obama’s visit to Europe. In the story the anchor mentioned a radio ad by the RNC that is airing in Berlin. That’s Berlin cities and towns in the USA. Here’s the radio ad. Here’s a story about the radio commercial in the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch section online. It even contains the script with a fact check at the end of the story. Here’s the story from Reuters online. This story is about the ad and the information in it from CBS News online.
As usual, these posts come from sitting around yapping with friends and co-workers about the state of things. Seeing the collapse of the Indymac bank, all the record foreclosures and tonight hearing of Anheuser-Busch being sold to Inbev in Belgium would make one think we’re in the latter days. I mean, it IS an American icon of beer!
Carol Krol reports on Business to Business online magazine’s website that a severe slump in U.S. ad marketing is expected to continue through 2009. Those folks predicting the numbers aren’t saying they’re going negative, but just lacking the growth of the past. It does indicate changing times will continue to trend slightly stagnant with light growth.
Hearing of George Carlin’s passing has been like a death in the family. I remember as a kid in the the late 60′s always catching Carlin on whatever 3 channels were broadcasting him. He and Richard Pryor were my favorites to watch. Maybe I didn’t understand exactly what he meant at the time, but I knew the authority’s noses were being tweaked. George’s edge got even sharper once he let his hair down and spoke from his heart about the war and 60′s/70′s American popular culture.�
We were having a staff meeting at SunSpots Orlando recording studios last week and there was one of those moments where the conversation stopped and after a long pause I said in disbelief, “HUH? Really?!”.
What stopped the conversation and what stunned me is that someone was speaking with one of our clients and they had told them, “Oh, I didn’t know SunSpots did audio production. I thought you guys just provided voiceover talent.”
Que? Say what?
We were all a little flabbergasted (there’s a word you don’t hear too often or enough I say!). It was shocking to hear this because SunSpots has won awards with our audio production for clients all over the country for over a decade now. We’ve been creating award winning audio production since we were cutting tape with a razor blade. The company was built upon skillfully produced, creative audio production.
So, I guess it’s time to climb to the top of this electronic mountain and shout it out to all the world…SUNSPOTS PRODUCTIONS DOES KICKASS AUDIO PRODUCTION!
You can listen to our Audio Production Sampler by clicking this link to our Audio Production Sampler. You’ll hear Kim Sanders (have you seen Kim on WKMG-TV Orlando in the morning?), Tom Cassidy, Bill Thomas, Lindsay Ayliffe, Sam Mercurio (You should hear his Burgess Meredith imitation!), Zak Miller, (Yep, that’s SunSpots Audio Engineer Zak.), Diego Diment, Jonathan Hanst, Jen Stevens (That’s our talent coordinator and booker, Jen Stevens in a bit part.), Austin Howard, Angel Tolentino, Bobby Jaymes, Jaz Adams, and others.
As a voice talent and severe allergy sufferer I was wondering how other voiceover talent survive the allergy season? It’s so tough for me that at one time I was getting 6 shots every 3 days. I felt like a human pincushion! It did help a bit I think. Had to give up my cats Porky and Melvin though. (They went to a loving home thankfully.) The question is, how do you do your job as a voice talent and deal with your allergies, if you have them of course. When I’m at our Asheville studios Janet keeps tossing Claritin at me. I eat ‘em like Tic Tacs! Allegra’s not bad, but the Claritin seems to do the job for me if I double the dose. I thought when I drove to Florida last week I’d avoid the pollen, but nope! The trees around Orlando are peaking. I just heard my voice on a spot for Courtesy Toyota and (lol) I could hear a little of the stuffy sound.�
SunSpots Engineer, Zak Miller and I were talking yesterday about voiceover talent having issues with their studios and ISDN connections. Since Zak is our resident ISDN expert we thought it’d be good if you wanted to post questions here and he could answer them for you. He’s helped many talent set up their home studios and voice booths and has had years of experience with the ISDN boxes. SunSpots was working with ISDN back when the similar technology was called “switch 56″.
Next time you’re in a recording session with Tera make sure you wish her Happy Anniversary. She’s celebrating 6 years at SunSpots Orlando recording studios this month.
How many sessions has she recorded over the past 6 years at SunSpots? “I just looked on our database and I’m almost at 5,000 sessions. That’s got to be thousands of spots!”, Tera says. Radio and TV commercials, long form industrials, web 2.0 audio and every application you think of where a voiceover is needed has been recorded from Tera’s studio near Orlando.
Tera, who graduated with an A.S. in Audio from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida came to SunSpots looking for a foot in the recording studio door. “What I liked about Tera when she first came to us was that she was really eager to learn about the business. I loved her positive, even-keeled attitude”, says Thomas Rohe, founder and co-owner of SunSpots Productions, “She started off answering phones, then doing voiceover talent booking/scheduling and eventually running the day-which involves making sure voice talent have scripts, clients are dialed and every session starts on time. When she had the opportunity, she was sitting in with Zak Miller learning the “SunSpots Way” of audio engineering and commercial production. She picked up everything quickly. Now she’s running sessions with talent and clients across the globe.”
SunSpots Florida studio Manager, Zak Miller, says, “Tera has turned into one of the best engineers I know. She has a great attention to detail, and a sense of humor that keeps you on your toes.”
When she started six years ago, being a woman in the audio engineering/producing field was uncommon and still is today. “I do find that other women notice it (being a female engineer). Like, sometimes, the female voice talent and female creative directors will mention it in sessions, especially if it’s all women together. One of our voiceover talent, Nancy McLemore, recently wrote me saying how ‘proud of me she is because I’m the only female engineer she knows.’ I never really felt like I was an exception, but I have felt like I had to prove myself with others in the business. So, I made sure no one could criticize my skills by working extra hard to be the best I can.”
Tera says her most memorable moment in session was, “Once when we connected with a voice talent via ISDN. We were in the middle of recording when all of a sudden, I heard this big, crashing sound, the talent yelled out and he told me his homemade studio had collapsed on him! He was ok and a little shaken up. It was funny at the time though.”
Her hobbies include photographing her cats, Fraglie and Eugene “The Vampire Slayer”, hanging out with her circle of close friends and family and being a rock guitar god on “Rock Band”. Marty MacNeill, SunSpots daily coordinator, describes Tera’s wit,”It’s as fast as her Rock Band guitar trigger finger!”
If you wish to send her an anniversary present please make sure it’s in the form of some sort of candy. She’s a freak for the candy cigarrettes, hot tamales and zebra cakes. We guess that’s slightly better than a diet of doughnuts and french fries. Just slightly.
View Tera’s personal web site at: www.teraparks.com
Here’s something I need some new or want to be talent to remember. Please do not call us checking on your demo status, why you’re not working as much, who got what job, what Tera did on the weekend (Not much, I asked already), advice on making a demo, what should get recorded on a demo, etc. Almost all this information is located online on SunSpots Web Site.
Just a quick note tonight. The SunSpots Productions booking staff and I were chatting on Friday about conversations they’ve had with voice talent over the past weeks. The changes in the economy and the overall changes in our industry are affecting all of us in way or another. A few talent are having tough times finding gigs and getting a little tired of doing multiple auditions for us and other studios.
I was thinking this morning (sometimes a scary thought!) when I was walking outside enjoying Asheville’s really crisp, super cold, sunny day. I was thinking about what to chat about this week on here. Here’s what I came up with. It involves YOU, the successful, working voice talent. I was wondering if you’d like to give tips to those who are just starting out in voiceover careers. Here’s some ideas to get the conversation started: How did you get started doing voiceovers? What made you decide to go for it full-time? Is it hard to do? What’s your favorite type of read to do? What’s your most memorable session? How long have you been voicing? Did you start in radio or come from a theatrical background?
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I wanted to mention that I placed some voice talent wanted ads on Craigslist this weekend. Here’s links to the ads that are currently running.
Seeking Orlando area Voice talent
Seeking Asheville area Voice Talent.
There’s others on the net too.
Here’s some important information to keep in mind when sending in your materials:
Remember that SunSpots is seeking working, professional voice talent. Sometimes beginners do “get it”, but, it’s rare.
Do not send any of your presentation materials (photos, audio files, resumes, etc.) via email unless requested.
Please use the address listed for the studio you are physically closest to if you do not have IDSN:
Good luck to everyone!
This issue has been coming up lately so let’s talk a little about it. How do you make a good voiceover audition? We’re going to assume you’ve already got professional equipment. If you do need equipment please check out SunSpots Voiceover Resource page. With Amazon.com we’ve got books, computers and other gear for sale at discount prices.
The most important thing to do when it comes to your audition is to follow the client’s directions for the read. Before you lay down anything, read the directions and practice your read a couple of times. Get a good feel for the audition, then lay down what you think best matches the instructions you’ve been sent.
Remember, before you send the mp3 to us, slate your name and SunSpots Productions. Your read should follow this example: “Your Name, SunSpots Productions”. Please don’t add anything else to the voiceover audition. Don’t say “Your Name for SunSpots Productions” or “Hi, this is Jane Smith laying down a couple reads for you. You know I’ve done lots of spots over the years. And here’s my audition”. Do anything other than, “Your Name, SunSpots Productions”, and your audition may not be sent to our client and you’ll lose the job because they never hear you. You see, clients have told us they’re listening to many auditions when they’re casting a job and they need to only hear the name of the talent and SunSpots Productions after that.
Another way to ensure your success, when you get an audition turn it around as soon as possible. SunSpots Talent Coordinator, Jennifer Stevens agrees, “They must turn it around in a timely manner. It shows they really care about this. It shows enthusiasm! That they’re professionals .” It seems that almost every voice job requires an audition. If you’ve been voicing for decades like I have or are new to the business this is just part of the business we’re in. Those who change with the times will survive and thrive. Jennifer continues, “The volume of auditions is beyond our control. Talent have to remember auditions aren’t a waste of time. They should treat each one like a potential paycheck.”
So make sure your voice over booth and equipment are as high quality as you can afford, read and listen to the directions for the audition, format your audition file exactly as requested and keep sending ‘em in.
Is it a lot of work?
I’d like your comments on this. What do you think about all the auditioning going on these days?
Peace-
Tom
Jon Stewart was great fun don’t you think? I called it for “No Country for Old Men” fo Best Picture, but thought Juno would win more. Surprised Ellen Page didn’t get the win tonight, but what competition! You know the thing I liked the most about the show tonight? It wasn’t hokey like they used to be. Same with the Grammy’s. The performances were good and less hoke was had too. Speaking of Hoke…He’s got to drive Miss Daisy and I off to the big house. It’s late. Good Night and Good Luck!
Tom
Who do you think it’s going to be tonight? I’ve tried to see as many of the nominees as possible, but missed a few like Atonement. By the time we were ready to see it it was down to one theatre across town. If it does well tonight it may be re-released. Here’s a link to the nominees.
I’ve seen: There will be Blood, No Country for Old Men (I’m thinking Best Picture for this), Charlie Wilson’s War, Into the Wild, Juno (Ellen Page WILL win!), American Gangster (amazing story), Ratatouille (surprisingly good film about a rat in a restaurant), Surf’s Up (surprisingly un-annoying penguins), Across the Universe (BEATLES!!!!!), Sicko, the Bourne Ultimatum, Pirates of the Caribbean (nominated for makeup and I’d nominate for exceedingly too darn long), 3:10 to Yuma, Transformers (for Sound Mixing…another film that could have used the knife) and did I mention Across the Universe, which I saw twice. You can’t beat dancin’ Beatles! I’m thinking Juno is going to win a handful tonight. It was witty, original, fresh, fun and reminds you to rent “Hard Candy” which is far from fun, but brilliantly acted by Ellen Page.
Zak Miller, our Studio Manager at SunSpots Orlando studios, just celebrated two milestones with us. He’s celebrating his 10th anniversary at SunSpots and he just completed his 7,000th session behind the console. WOW! We can hardly believe it’s been 10 years already. I remember sitting on the floor at SunSpots when we had just one studio going in Florida and dreaming about what things would be like a few years from then. We couldn’t believe then that we’d become a global leader in our industry. It’s been Zak’s hard work and extraordinary dedication that has helped us achieve that goal. I can’t thank him enough for being there during those late nights, weekend sessions and doing what he does every day to separate us from the herd. You can read more about Zak here. By the way, 7,000 sessions equates to 12 to 15,000 spots he’s recorded at SunSpots. We’re not kidding when we say we do “professional audio production”.
And let’s not forget Zak is a professional voice talent too! Listen to Zak Miller’s voiceover talent demo.
If you’d like to schedule Zak to do your audio production or to voice a spot or two for you please call us at 800-355-7768 or you can book your entire session the web way by using our voiceover session scheduling page.
Congrats amigo! Also, thanks to Jay Patrick, SunSpots very first engineer, for hearing Zak’s production work on the radio in Orlando and saying…”Hey, this guy’s got it! He’s really good.” Yep, we think he is and so are you Jay! (Jay’s been with us since the very start when we were simply “The Cassidy Company” and we’ll talk more about him soon.)
Peace-
Tom
In partnership with Amazon.com, SunSpots now has an incredible selection of books, videos, computers, software and more for the professional or soon to be professional voice talent. Want to get some books on voice training? How to do voiceovers? How to be a successful voice talent? We’ve now got all the answers on our site through Amazon’s discounted services. Here’s the link for it: http://www.sunspotsproductions.com/voiceover_resources.cfm
Some of our favorites are Protools LE software with the MBOX, Sony MDR7650 headphones, ALL the Apple laptops (yep we sell those through the site too!) and lots of the voiceover books.
The page is called “Books, DVDs, Computers, Software and Gear for the Voiceover Professional“. It almost flows off the tongue. Well…almost.
Keep checking out the SunSpots Productions web site as we’re adding new content to it every week.
Remember to keep us posted with your successes and we’ll post them on the web for you!
Peace-
Tom
We’ve had ads running on Craigslist and other sites lately looking for experienced voice talent. We’ve gotten lots of voice talent demo cds in and more and more talent are joining our roster and letting us represent them. However, in addition to the pros sending in demos we’ve been swamped with requests about how to do voice overs, what it takes to create a good demo, what to put on it, etc..
But first, let’s talk about demos. Not your content, but your presentation of your demo.
Here’s what you want to do to make sure your demo gets the attention you want.
That’s it for now. More to come.
Peace.
Tom
Happy New Year!
So it’s time for SunSpots to join the world of bloggers. Sure wish there was a different word for it. Blogging sounds like a Scottish mud fight.
Our plan for this blog is to keep you informed about our heroic, multi-talented SunSpots staff, our recording sessions, helpful tips for voice over talent and ad agency news and of course rants and raves.
If you have any suggestions as to what heaping piles of wisdom we should insert here please let me know at: Tom[at symbol]MySunSpots.com
If you’ve not been the main page of our web site please visit this link: http://www.SunSpotsProductions.com . You can listen to demos, book talent online and request our voice talent and audio production demo cd too.
I’ll be placing some info for new voice talent on soon. Seems to be a very popular subject. Every day we get requests from people wanting to be voice over talent and asking for advice on creating a voice demo, how to market themselves and especially how to create an affordable home studio or voice booth. We’ll have our resident ISDN expert and SunSpots Producer/Engineer Zak advise on that issue.
We’ll also be creating podcasts of our voice talent instruction with interviews and advice in the coming weeks. My belief in advising talent is, as the late James Brown said, “Just keep it real baby”. So I’ll be talking about staying away from topics that seem to mostly apply to those voicing in New York and LA. Let’s talk about what it’s like to work every day around the country doing good ole medical, narrations/industrials and such. It’s a small crowd that voices national animation, national SAG and AFTRA gigs and movie trailers. What I want to discuss is the business of voice work. The day to day business of voice work, not something that may occur rarely. Let’s talk about being voice artists and running your voiceover career as a business at the same time.
Nice to meet you.
We’ll talk again soon.
Tom
