Nova Scotia wines and PEI mussels- A fun shoot!

Dexter is currently my top pick if prime time shows that incorporate the use of voiceover. It uses narration to tell us the lead character’s – Dexter’s – thoughts. I think that works really well because you get inside Dexter’s head, and that’s part of the point of the series. It’s a device that’s clearly worked in literature forever, so why not TV? But I’ll save that discussion for when I teach a college class.

I just learned that the tag announcer for the well-known Geico “Celebrity” campaign starring the late Don Lafontaine, is actor and VO talent, DC Douglas. DC is fast becoming my favourite “hollywood” VO guy. Now if I could just become someone’s favourite “hallywood” VO guy…

[To check out Josh Wolk’s BB11 TV Watch column go to EW online click on TV Watch and look for the BB11 updates following Thursday’s live eviction.

Anyway, I got to thinking about the voice talent behind a GPS system, which quickly transported me back to the glory days of the original Knight Rider TV series (1982-1986) and the best talking car ever: KITT (voiced by William Daniels).

If I had a GPS in my car [I'd have to retire the retro CD/cassette combo first] I’d definitely want one featuring the talents of voice actor William Daniels providing turn-by-turn directions in KITT’s original voice. http://www.knightridergps.com/

“KITT?” “Yes Michael…err, I mean Shawn?” “To the Liquor Store!” “Very well, since you insist.”

Voice Immodulation Syndrome from Tony Weber on Vimeo.

Jason Thompson- the voice actor/announcer for Hell’s Kitchen on Fox- is my new favourite TV narrator. A little bit of sarcasm and slickness: right up my alley! Follow the link to his agency demo reel [sorry I wasn't permitted to embed it here]: http://tinyurl.com/nwyzuh

The most recent “voice” of Big Brother is Clayton Halsey http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0357022/. There have been several different announcers on the American BB on CBS throughout the years: Dave Walsh (BB1), Chuck Riley(BB2) and Phil Proctor (BB3-6).

I wouldn’t classify Halsey as a voice actor per se, but he most certainly is an off-camera announcer with a unique vocal style and delivery.  The announcer role is to provides some vocal continuity mainly in the episode intros and outros. His VOs remind us how that it’s “day 22 in the Big Brother House” and that there are “52 cameras and 80 microphones capturing every move and sound.” You occasionally hear some other short pick-ups and “calls to action” throughout each episode.  [“America- Which house guest do you want to see get a…”.

Apparently, Halsey’s first duty is as the show’s chief editor, so he’s obviously a multi-talented showbiz guy. But as far as his announcing duties go- Let’s face it, reading out loud isn’t all that difficult.

I might be asked to create a “character voice” to infuse life into a script, but I book the majority of my gigs because the agency and client really like my “regular” voice [which isn't really regular at all!]. Voice actors are also known as voice talents, voice overs, voice over artists, VO, VA, narrators, announcers, and so on.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/movies/12heym.html?_r=3&scp

Raspy, deep dark tones? “John Fluevog Thomson Engineer Boot.” Sophistocated, elegant, and eloquent? That’d be the traditional tassel from “Ben Sherman” or perhaps dust off the “Bruno Maglis”. True, real, organic, and believable? For me, there is no comparison to the original “Rod Lavers” from Adidas, but they must be in the leather and not the nylon mesh.

If you don’t get it right the first few castings, don’t worry. It takes practice. I remember one time when I actually wore a pair of classic “Vans” to a casting for a popular restaurant chain. Now Vans are perfect for a “hamburger” read, but “Premium Roast Coffee”? What was I thinking?!

Now, I know what you’re thinking. How can I afford to have such a range of footwear from which to select? Well relax. Sometimes it is not about the price point. When I was booked as the voice for a popular Dairy, I simply borrowed a pair of gently used Hunter Original Green “Wellies”. It was the boots that set the tone for the perfect read.

So, next time you listen to one of my VOs, try to guess what I’m wearing on my feet.

Candy was great and rocked a funny and intellgent hour-long set.

I haven’t hosted a live gig in a while,  but it was easy with the support of Candy and her sell out crowd.  I channelled a little Seacrest, but hopefully toned down Ryan’s gayness.

So if you need a Host for your live event, be it music, comedy, or “poetry slam,”

I’m your Instant Host: Just add Microphone.

I worked on this project, designed to engage Nova Scotia’s youth in the voting process, and voiced the Narrator/Host as well as various other characters within the site/game.

Inspired by the great voice talents from the “You Don’t Know Jack” series of video trivia games from the mid-90s,  the delivery of the educational scripts is simple, somewhat sardonic, and [hopefully] humorous! Check it out.

If you feel that I have infringed on a copyright or published an image without your permission please contact me and I will gladly give you credit where credit is due, or take the offending material down. Any copyright infringement is accidental and I am happy to comply with copyright laws.