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14754. Ms. No - 4/28/2005 4:59:27 PM Jay,
Yes, there are many more celebrities doing voice-overs now than there used to be. Sally Kellerman's been doing the Pavilions Markets radio spots for a couple years --- which is why I'm noticing that she's sounding old. Of course Kellerman's done VO work for most of her career simply because she does have such a unique voice.
I almost picked up some VO work before I left Sacramento. Oddly enough it's because of someone my mother had worked with. She and I sound very much alike and he really wanted to use her but she lived 400 miles away so he figured he'd see if I could fill the gap. What he wasn't thinking about is that no matter how alike our voices are, my mother had some 25 years of experience in the business and I'd rarely ever spoken into a microphone before. So, after speaking to me on the phone and getting all excited that he'd found a replacement his hopes were completely dashed upon getting me into the studio.
And that was the beginning and most likely the end of my voice-over career. 14755. jayackroyd - 4/28/2005 5:04:57 PM With the exception of the DJ (who has been reading ads for a living since his late teens) the folks I know who've done it all say it is a remarkably difficult thing to do. The producers have a very precise idea of the pitch, tonality and pitch changes (rising, flat, falling....) they want. Dozens of takes of very short segments are common. I know one guy still getting residuals because he is the last second and a half of Captain Morgan's signature laugh. 14756. thoughtful - 4/28/2005 5:13:06 PM I was into books on tape for awhile and it's amazing how the voice of the narrator becomes the character...one book in a series used a different narrator and it just wasn't the same. Of course, she was supposed to be kay scarpetta from VA and doing it with a british accent just didn't work! 14757. Ms. No - 4/28/2005 6:46:46 PM Jay,
Yeah, it is hard. I've done some voice-overs for friends' projects and even as undemanding as they are it required multiple takes. The real pros are in high demand not just because of their tonality but because of their skill in being able to get things just right with a minimal number of takes. Those who have such skills and can add in multiple characters or capable accents and dialects are solid gold.
I heard a very strange radio spot recently for Del Taco. Three guys are talking about their masculinity in relation to some Macho Combo or something and they're supposed to sound Latino. Only one of them does and the other two are horrid. I couldn't figure out first of all why they needed to be Latino and second of all why in a town like Los Angeles the producers couldn't have found 3 guys with authentic dialects. The commercial is very jarring because of this.
I also notice trends in "popular" voices. The Julie Kavner sound was a big hit for awhile. It seemed every spot with a female voice in it had that scratchy nasal quality that was somehow supposed to give the impression of an intelligent, thirty-something woman with a wry sense of humor and a tendency to catalogue shop from J. Crew and Pottery Barn. 14758. Ms. No - 4/28/2005 6:50:39 PM Thoughtful,
That had to be hard to assimilate. It's one of the things that's prevented me from listening to any books on tape --- fear that the narrator won't sound right. Although I did hear a wonderful reading of Poe's Mask of Red Death performed by Gabriel Byrne. 14759. thoughtful - 4/28/2005 8:26:25 PM sometimes the author narrates the book which is interesting since they add the emphasis they originally intended, but then again, they may not be the best voice actors.... 14760. wonkers2 - 4/28/2005 9:26:19 PM Dickens really comes alive on tape. 14761. Ulgine Barrows - 4/29/2005 8:09:06 AM Does it depend upon who is reading? 14762. Ulgine Barrows - 4/29/2005 8:14:55 AM We heard some children's renditions of the Lemony Snicket series that were vile & uncredited. The ones from Tim Burton at least had some ooomph of continuty.
And now that Carrey is palting the lead in a feature movie, they may get their due.
You know, I cringed at every rendition of "the Hobbit and Whatnot" until it was done correctly.
What's his toes that directed hobbits, the new generations is looking at lemony snicket. 14763. alistairconnor - 4/29/2005 8:38:30 AM Speaking of.
I would love to hear your voice in the Fiction thread. 14764. Ulgine Barrows - 4/29/2005 10:05:35 AM I'm feeling petulant.
I want what's his other fuzzy decrepit toes name?
PsychProf! should invite me in a groveling fashion.
Oh who I am kidding, I'm in love with you, alistairconnor, and I'll go over there eventually. 14765. Magoseph - 4/29/2005 2:04:53 PM If I remember well, the last time you talked to PsychProf, he took offense, little imp. We haven't seen here since that time. 14766. Magoseph - 4/29/2005 4:07:24 PM I meant to say--we haven't seen Prof since that incident.
Yesterday, my daughter-in-law and I met at the hairdresser, and we got the best haircuts we ever had. Our guy is closing his shop, giving up on the area, and moving to a shopping center we both love because it is a chic one located in Milwaukee, which will be a change from a touristy area. We saw a movie, then we went to the kind of bar where the locals gather and that is always an experience for us, timid violets that we are. The atmosphere was happy and boisterous, composed of people who know each other forever— it was nice to see how they reacted to each other, and after a while, they even took us in and asked us to come back.
14767. arkymalarky - 4/30/2005 12:42:36 AM Sounds like a great outing, Mags.
Mose is out of school except for finals next week, so she took me to the grocery store today and she's cooking for us tonight. It's only the second time since having surgery that I've been out, and I drove this time. It was ok. I'm still sore, and I'll be glad when that's gone and I can go and do without worrying about overdoing it.
We're having a bonfire out here tomorrow night with a few friends. I'm looking forward to that. 14768. Magoseph - 4/30/2005 3:53:13 PM 
Norway-(Random International's banner):
14769. PelleNilsson - 4/30/2005 5:39:30 PM There will be (soon) several large bonfires around here as well. It is Walpurgisnacht. But it is only in east and north of Sweden that the bonfires are lighted up tonight. In the west and in Norway they happen at Easter and in Denmark on St Hans's day which is midsummer eve. 14770. judithathome - 4/30/2005 6:46:20 PM I'd like to make a bonfire of everything in my house. I'm in one of those moods where I'm just sick of everything and tired of looking at it. It will pass, as it always does, but one of these days, I may follow through on the urge and just start over. 14771. arkymalarky - 4/30/2005 6:54:30 PM Oh, don't do that! Your place is great.
And if it doesn't pass, let us know if you have a garage sale! ;-) 14772. robertjayb - 4/30/2005 7:29:16 PM Arky, does the school board know of your pagan practices?
Walpurgis night in Scandinavia...
in Germany...
Fascinating stuff. I love Google. 14773. arkymalarky - 4/30/2005 8:56:21 PM That is great timing. I'll have to inform the company that they're actually part of a ritual. They'll be thrilled, I'm sure.
I was just thinking when I read Pelle's post about my AP English seniors and having read Faust before I left, wishing I could tell them about Walpurgis Night in Sweden. I need to call and ask my Swedish exchange student to tell them about it.
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