You can never have enough screen space 
Love my new 27″ iMac!!
Jay digs his new audio/video editing iMac!
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Category Archives: sunspots
The Adventures of Banjo & The Birthday Girl!
Banjo the adorable Labradoodle loves his birthday hat, a little too much – and Lisa turns 21, one more time! You’ll love the antics in this family friendly caper! Don’t miss “The Adventures of Banjo & The Birthday Girl!” At select drive ins soon.
Snakes Alive at SunSpots NC Voiceover Studios
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
SunSpots Zak Miller voices full-time
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.
Why should you use Twitter? Here's 5 good reasons to get Tweeting.
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:
- Increase your web presence. Twitter offers you the opportunity to have your brand/company/message out there with no cost involved. I’ve seen Tweets (the Twitter messages) show up in Google search results. Proving that it helps your seo efforts.
- Keep in contact with your clients and vendors. Emails are becoming less a marketing tool as social media kicks in. Let everyone know your business in a very concise manner!
- Announce company news and sales events or special pricing and discounts for you and/or your client.
- Quick review of products and services. An example, “We found a great new microphone that we use in our voiceover booths…”.
- Share news about your community and yourself. Here’s the “social” of social marketing in action. We’re able to post what’s new in our lives and our community with informal posts. These types of posts help others see who we are, innovative and creative, rather than just what we offer, voice talent and creative audio production. Be careful, it’s easy to become a Tweet Addict.
We’d love to hear what’s new in your world. Follow the entire SunSpots staff on Twitter:
Bryan engineering/web & graphics design at SunSpots NC
Deb booking sessions at SunSpots FL
Janet managing/accounting in SunSpots NC
Jay engineering/producing/voice talent at SunSpots NC
Jen scheduling sessions at SunSpots FL
Marty running the day at SunSpots FL
Tera engineering/producing/scheduling at SunSpots FL
Tom voice talent/web marketing/traveling back and forth to SunSpots FL & NC
Xavier engineer/producer/spanish coordinator/English & Spanish voice talent at SunSpots FL
Zak engineer/producer/voice talent & managing SunSpots FL
Bryan engineering/web & graphics design at SunSpots NC
Deb booking sessions at SunSpots FL
Janet managing/accounting in SunSpots NC
Jay engineering/producing/voice talent at SunSpots NC
Jen scheduling sessions at SunSpots FL
Marty running the day at SunSpots FL
Tera engineering/producing/scheduling at SunSpots FL
Tom voice talent/web marketing/traveling back and forth to SunSpots FL & NC
Xavier engineer/producer/spanish coordinator/English & Spanish voice talent at SunSpots FL
Zak engineer/producer/voice talent & managing SunSpots FL
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
Zak gets half-naked for the 2009 Orlando Addy Awards
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!
Happy Birthday SunSpots Audio Engineer and Voice Talent Jay Patrick!
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
SunSpots Productions Youngest Voice Talent
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.
Earlier this week I spoke with her mom, Suzanne, about Alexandra’s career as a voiceover talent.
Suzanne said Alexandra got started voicing by, “Practicing at home, imitating commercials and cartoons. One day an audition came along where the line was, “I have to go to the bathroom.” and she nailed it!”
I wondered if she could already read or if the lines had to be fed to her. “She’s close to reading”, Suzanne says, “she just repeats the lines for now. She memorizes things incredibly quick. She’s mimicked reading since she was 2. She would open the book and “read” it word for word. I was always amazed when I wanted to hurry a bedtime story along and she would point out every word I skipped.”
Her mom says that she goes into the voice booth with her and helps feed her the lines. She’s getting comfortable with the headphones and mic position. “I think she’s pretty close to being comfortable enough to take direction with the headphones on. I want to make sure she is having fun and not get intimidated by it. After every time she goes in the voice booth, I ask her did she have fun and did she love it. I want her to want to do it more then me wanting her to do it.”
At 4 years old Alexandra enjoys doing voiceovers, but also loves gymnastics, soccer and even horseback riding (she must be using a tiny horse). As far as a career in the voice business her mom Suzanne says, “She’s mentioned she wants to be an actor, but also has talked about being an astronaut, a teacher and a cheerleader.”
We love having her on our roster and hope she has fun and enjoys being a voice talent for as long as she wants.
Thanks to Suzanne for taking the time to speak with me about her daughter, Alexandra Spaziani. In the coming weeks, once school is over for me…(4 classes, never again), I want to focus on every one of our voice over talent so we can all get to the know them better.
How old were you when you started voicing? I didn’t do anything professional till I got into radio at age 18, which is now over (BLANK) years ago. I did record crazy voices and little audio shows with my friend Bob Feeley back in Pompano Beach, Florida when we were 12. When I was at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Bob, Tracy Clahan and I made up a fake news presentation for the high school’s morning announcements. That’s pretty common these days, but was fun and new to us at the time. Bob’s now a comedy writer in Connecticut and Tracy teaches theater at LaGrange College in Georgia.
Did you “do voices” as a kid or have early theater or even broadcast experience?
Like I’ve mentioned in other posts, please keep me informed about what things you’re doing as a voiceover talent. If you have a head shot and want us to use that in our promotion of you please email me.
Hope you’re having a beautiful Sunday! It’s cold, but beautiful here in the North Carolina mountains.
Tom
It's Opie Cunningham! Ron Howard time travels.
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
NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE
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.
If you’ve sent a demo to us you will hear from us in an email.
Otherwise please email your questions if the information provided for “voice talent submissions” doesn’t answer your questions.
So once more, for those in the cheap seats, sorry no phone calls.
Thanks! Gracias! Danke! Arrigato goziamus!
Tom
Voice Talent Needed Ads
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:
SunSpots Florida (Orlando):
821 Marshall Farms Road
Professionally recorded CD
NO cassettes
NO dvd’s
NO videotapes
NO handwriting on labels
Typed labels
Complete contact information including ALL available phone numbers
Your address
Real name/Stage name
Resume-(professional resume of voice and acting work)
Headshot (headshots do not determine representation, but will be added to your demo site if accepted)
Do not call the studios unless requested. We will send you confirmation of reception of your demo at SunSpots.
Review the SunSpots web site for more information about getting started in voiceovers.
Listen to other professional voiceover talent on our site using our EZcast search engine to hear what produced demos sound like and the vocal qualities of the voice professionals SunSpots represents.
821 Marshall Farms Road
Ocoee, Florida, 34761
SunSpots North Carolina (Asheville)
32 Gravely Branch Road
32 Gravely Branch Road
Fletcher, North Carolina, 28732
When you do send your demo make sure it is professionally presented:
Good luck to everyone!
Tom
How to do a successful voiceover audition
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