September is National Voice Over Month

Not to be too dramatic about it, but it’s about damn time.

Almost every group, organization and/or species has a week or month named in honor of them. Often times it sounds like a joke when you hear some of their names and so too may the impression here now for some, but it’s not.

My friend and fellow Voice Over Talent Dave Courvoisier kinda mentioned the idea in passing when he noticed in his blog about a week or so ago how many voice over activities were taking place in the month of September (more than usual, it seemed).

For example: Amy Snively’s Faffcon is taking place in Portland, Oregon on September 11 & 12th. Joan Baker’s New York City-based “That’s Voiceover” LINK is taking place on September 22nd. These events in addition to the usual voice over seminar suspects like Pat Fraley’s regional seminar in Buffalo, NY on September 25th & 26th mean that the summer slumber has been shaken off.

Then Dave sent me an email Saturday (yes, just this past Saturday) saying this National Voice Over Month idea was gnawing at him and what did I think.

I copied him, Amy Snively and Bob Souer on my answer (because I feel it’s always better to cause trouble in a group); my answer was that Dave’s idea for a National Voice Over Month was the right idea and that we could pull it off in four days…and now we are.

Somewhere in there, Voice Over Xtra!’s John Florian and Voice Talent and Social Media Tour De Force Terry Daniel I believe also got roped into this and I think there are many others who are contributing to this month long event as well. I hope you’ll take time to acknowledge all their efforts when you see them on-line on blogs, podcasts, videos or social media outlets like Twitter or Facebook etc.

Dave grabbed a domain and created a web site, Amy drew up a logo, I helped with some copy and we’re all still actively adding to the program – as a professional voice talent you are sincerely encouraged to participate in whatever manner you feel you want to…maybe comment on blogs, retweet NVOM announcements, or maybe create a Voice Over meetup in your city where all the voice talents get together for a visit.

One of the more interesting things to see was how Dave (the true driving force of this idea) called for a hastily called weekend vote on Saturday from the board of SOVOA to endorse and support September as National Voice Over Month; by Sunday it was passed. Brilliantly executed and kudos to the Board for the response time.

Our goal, I think, is simple and openly self-serving– share with as many people as possible what Voice Over Talents do, who they are and where they can be found. Yes, we are trying to create awareness among potential employers for every voice over professional in this industry but I think we’re also trying build on the credibility we’ve established in the wake of our collective professional works this far.

I’m proud of my very small part in all this because I believe strongly not only in the art and industry of Voice Over but also in the men, women and children who perform within it around the world. We are a talented bunch and it’s not a bad thing that we say that ever so briefly…maybe once a year.

Will you celebrate with us? Let me know how you’ll be a part of National Voice Over Month.

Tags: National Voice Over Month, announcers, blogs, commentary, community, facebook, faffcon, internet, logo design, marketing, social media, social networking, twitter, voice actors, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover meet-ups // 13 Comments »

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, August 28, 2010 – - Specializing in software and services that provide operational and financial efficiencies to global trucking and distribution companies, XATA Turnpike recently completed an extensive sales and e-learning project for its RouteTracker product. The web based project was narrated by male voice over talent Peter K. O’Connell.

WATCH AND LISTEN TO THE PROJECT HERE

RouteTracker, from XATA Turnpike, is a device that combined GPS information with Engine Diagnostics. RouteTracker leverages the technology of cellular phones or handheld devices to communicate GPS and Engine Diagnostic information via Bluetooth to their completely web based application, Turnpike Direct. The RouteTracker device is unique in that it does not contain an embedded modem.

Turnpike has over 30,000 vehicles made up of over 600 companies utilizing the system. Small and large fleets employ reporting tools that include: fuel efficiency monitoring, driver safety scorecards, engine diagnostics, GPS reporting, 395.15 compliant Hours of Service (HOS) driver logs, speed, hard brake events, odometer readings, payroll verification, customer delivery monitoring, and complete IFTA automation.

A professional voice talent since 1982, some of Peter K. O’Connell’s professional voiceover credits include productions for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Shell Oil, Starz Cable Channel, New Jersey Alliance and New Jersey Tourism, J. Walter Thompson Advertising (JWT), 2K Games, Cleveland Browns, Tops Friendly Markets, Island Press Publishers, Harlequin Enterprises, First Choice Power, Pathmark Supermarkets, Crosby Stills & Nash, Fashion Outlet Mall, Junior Chamber International, Peek N’ Peak Resort and Spa, Devaweb and The Advertising Club of Buffalo.

audio’connell Voice Over Talent is a worldwide, English language-based voice talent business. The company provides voice talent for commercials, animation, corporate narrations, documentaries, broadcast voice imaging, audio books, podcasts and messaging on-hold (MOH). Founded in 1982, industries served by the audio’connell include advertising agencies, media and broadcast production companies as well as both large and small businesses around the world. Sister company International Voice Talents provides similar services, using professional foreign language male and female voice actors.

Mr. O’Connell also owns Voice Over Workshop, which provides professional voice over training to novice and experienced voice talent world-wide.
audio’connell Voice Over Talent, International Voice Talents and Voice Over Workshop are all a part of O’Connell Communications, LLC.
- 30 -

► NOTES TO EDITORS

Company Name Pronunciation:
au•dio•o’•con•nell (awe-de-oh-oh-kah-nel) or au•di-o’•con•nell (awe-de-oh-kah-nel)

Company Name Spelling:
Use lower case letters- audio’connell or audio’connell Voice Over Talent

Company Web Sites:
http://www.audioconnell.com

http://www.internationalvoicetalents.com

http://www.voworkshop.com

http://www.occomllc.com

Company Blog:
http://www.voxmarketising.com

Social Media Connections:
Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Linked In

FriendFeed

Tags: media releases // Add Comment »

Many thanks to all of you who so kindly vote, opined and other wise sounded off on the correct choice for my new eye glasses in a blog post a while back.

I thought it a silly, fun idea for a blog post and was very thrilled to see such interest.

Clearly in the voting the gray frames were a HUGE fan favorite.

And yet I was a fan of the black frames. I just thought I could see better out of them.

So the winner of the eyeglass vote was….

Neither of them.

Turns out that the eyeglass place that I was going to buy these frames from would NOT accept my insurance so they expected me to shell out over $500 free and clear for these specs. Since I have eyeglass coverage with my insurance – that seemed kinda stupid. Plus I’d have to wait a week to get them because I wanted anti-glare on the lenses (and of course pay more for that too).

On the OTHER hand, it turns out Lenscrafters IS included in my insurance plan (saving me about 40%) and they could get me my glasses in 24 hours.

So I went simple, basic and practical – everything the other glasses weren’t. Silver metal frames (oh, excuse me, titanium). The selection wasn’t as nice as the other place but I decided that I am at a time in my life where its more enjoyable to spend money like that on my family than on me or better yet save that money for later. Must have been a passing case of vanity…shame on me.

So when you see me out with my specs, for better or for worse, this is what you’ll see.

Tags: commentary, peter o'connell, silliness // 6 Comments »

If you are an American voice actor in the Northeast or a Canadian voice actor in Ontario or even southern Quebec, I would encourage you to check out the seminar Pat Fraley has planned on September 26, 2010 in Buffalo, NY.

Called the “Pick Up Your Oscar” Event -The Craft of Voice Over Acting, Pat welcomes only 12 students (and many spots are already taken) for the event which is the “Only Acting System Created Specifically for Voice Over”.

My friend, teacher and agent Toni Silveri from All Coast Talent is again hosting Pat and his seminars are can’t miss events.

For more info, visit All Coast Talent.

Tags: voice actors, voice over training, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice // Add Comment »

Here’s the thing – if you get Google Alerts or have an “ego search” in your blog reader, sometimes you can come across some very unique, odd, upsetting and just weird posts associated with your search.

I get lots of news from Ireland (as you might expect with my last name) including a bizarre murder story there (very sad) and tons of rugby information.

Another more recent example, the movie and TV actor Jerry O’Connell (no relation) is naked in a new movie called Piranha 3D (the title of which leads me to ask “were there so many unanswered questions in the first two movie installments, there needed to be a third? j/k)

I know this because for the past several days I have been getting pings that highlight “o’connell” (which is one of my search terms) followed closely in these announcements by the word “naked” (which again to be clear is NOT one of my search terms).

Evidently in this movie, Jerry O’Connell’s character’s man bits are shown getting eaten by a piranha. Which one of those images would you like erased from your brain first?

Except the man bits are not Jerry O’Connell’s but some CGI handy work. I know that won’t fully help with the erasure but oh well.

I have seen Jerry O’Connell in interviews and he seems like a very affable guy and I saw his lovely wife in an interview/parody on swimsuit models years ago in which she showed terrific comedic timing. So my thought is I’m fortunate to share some search with him as he doesn’t seem as wacked out as some of his peers may appear to be.

But my other thought is I wonder if he checks his searches and wonders who or what the heck audio’connell is? Probably not.

What about you…do get seaches back about famous people with your name?

Tags: commentary, peter o'connell, silliness, social media // Add Comment »

Can I write a snappy blog headline or what?!

Sorry this won’t be a salacious as you may have been expecting but it’s still pretty cool because another airline has redone its logo (including repainting their planes). And what Virgin Atlantic created really looks a thousand times better, I think. Thanks to Brand New for the tip.

What do you think?

By the way, ever see a plane get painted? It’s kinda cool.

Virgin Atlantic plane livery time-lapse movie from johnson banks on Vimeo.

Tags: advertising, branding, logo design, marketing, video // Add Comment »