Entries Tagged as 'My Favorite Voice-Over Web Sites!'

my favorite voice-over websites! laurel thomas

Full disclosure: there is a benefit to being old and stupid.

This evening when I was plowing through browser tabs, I had my Twitter screen up and in one of the small boxes on the screen filled with some suggestions of who I might want to connect with I saw a kind of artistic icon. I didn’t look at the name, I was just drawn to the icon, I wanted to see what it was.

Turns out it was the Twitter page for a voice talent named Laurel Thomas. The name struck me as familiar but I didn’t think too much of it originally because I focused, I wanted to get a better look at that icon.

Going to the web site, I loved not only the icon (which drew my eye initially) but the site itself which was laid out in a simple, tasteful design but most importantly was EXTREMELY easy to navigate. Thinking from a producer’s perspective who might happen upon this site, I thought wow, this would definitely allow a producer to get demos and information about this talent really easily. This is web site design at it’s best. Hopefully there is a great SEO plan associated with this as well but it’s worth pointing out social media (in this case, Twitter) did it’s job and it guided me to where I assume Laurel would like her Twitter followers to land at some point.

Then I thought…how cool. This would be the first “My Favorite Voice-Over Websites!” website reviewed of someone I hadn’t met…except, this is where the old and stupid part comes in.

Laurel’s a Faffer. I knew something about the name was familar, the voice rang a bell and then when I googled the image, not only did her pics come up but so did MY blog logo as Laurel had commented on a past post. Oy!

I risk embarrassing myself here (well, there’s no ‘risk’ actually as I just DID embarrass myself) for the simple fact that not only is it a funny story to tell on myself but it highlights that producers can get scatter brained too….in spite of all your phone calls, direct mails and fancy business cards, they forget. It’s not at all personal…it’s information overload and we ALL suffer from it.

So your branding and web site better be ready to catch a producer’s attention – like Laurel’s does.

my favorite voice-over websites! mara junot

If you’ve never met Mara Junot, you may not understand why every man and woman who meets her has an instant crush on her. She exudes a charm, jubilance, intelligence and 50,000 megawatt smile that envelopes everyone…EVERYone who meets her.

But that’s not what makes her a great voice-over talent. But it is her talent COMBINED with all of the above that makes her a star.

And while there is a star on her website, that’s not why I think it’s a great site. Certainly it’s not because it’s adorned by her lovely pictures (which it ain’t). It’s that the simplicity of the site let’s you get a sense of the talent while allowing the demos to take center stage. When you hear that voice (which is terrific) come out of that web site you are focused on the sound…not the performer, not clutter.

Sound. It’s what voice-talents’ sell. Mara does it well.

my favorite voice-over websites! melissa exelberth

Let me be clear about one hard and fast rule I have: I dislike web sites with black backgrounds and white letters. They have been proven time and time again to be difficult to read.

I think Melissa Exelberth’s voice-over web site design is outstanding.

So much for my rules.

I think as a voice-over web site what stands out to me most, I what I know from personal conversations with the lady her own self, is the “X”. It just grabs your attention and makes you stop and look at the site.

And as always, a simple, easy to follow layout helps you find everything you need from crime to the devine!

my favorite voice-over websites! – doug turkel

Yes Doug is a long-time friend of mine but that’s not why he’s leading off this series. In fact, he doesn’t know I’m writing about his web site.

Well, I suppose he does now.

But look at that one picture of his web site and see if you can’t pretty much find out everything you need to know about Doug and his amazing voice-over work in about 3 seconds.

Want an easily accessible demo? Check!

Need a killer testimonial (or six)? Check!

Branding upfront? Done (well done)!

Got a phone number you can link to if you’re on a cell? Got it!

Blog link? Of course

Simplicity is the key. It is executed masterfully. I hate him for that. 😉

What is also annoying about Doug is that this is the SECOND amazing web design he’s pulled off. I don’t have a picture of his old site which was done in a brilliant, extreme close-up, comic book design; it really was terrific.

Point of fact, though: he outright stole from me the red, black, gray and white color motif…as did every other web site that uses the red, black, gray and white color motif. Rat bastards, all of y’all.

It was actually this redesign that made me realize that my old site design (which I still arrogantly love) did need to be brought up to speed with the changing technological world we live in. Doug cost me alot of money.

Look at the use of fonts on this site…spectacular and the buttons are awesome. It’s causing me, upon further reflection, to think about tweaking my site on one small item. So Doug will cost me even more money.

Upon even further reflection, you should only look at this site for ideas if you have enough money in the bank.

You’ll have to excuse me now as I have to go sell one of my kidneys on ebay.

a new blog series – my favorite voice-over web sites

The other day when I was writing my FaffCon thank you blog post, I tried to take a look at every voice-over web site that I linked to.

Some had no web sites (didn’t need them I guess, no rule says you HAVE to have one) some had what I would consider an OK web site and some had web sites that really caught my eye, that I thought really conveyed the brand well. These sites were unique in design and that just clicked with me.

It got me to thinking that there are more than a few voice-over web sites that I’ve always admired for different reasons. So what I thought what I’d do is occasional blog feature one here that maybe would give you an idea or two for your web site (not that anyone in voice-over has ever stolen a web idea or three from a peer) and just generally give you an appreciation for some good design.

Let’s be clear…I don’t need help, I don’t nominations and if you beg, you’re banished. When I find them and I like them, I’ll write about them. It may take me a long time to find yours or your design may not click with me. That makes neither you or me a bad person…well I may be a bad person but that has nothing to do with this series.

Remember also, good design does not always translate into good Search Engine Optimization, which is really where the game is played. Somebody may have a dog ugly web site which is pristinely optimized and somebody else might have an amazing design that search engines ignore. Not for the first time in my life, I’d go ugly.

So with all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the occasional peeks into voice-over web site greatness (in my opinion).