I hope you have NOT seen this commercial before (I’ve just seen it on the web) and the imagery and imagination that when into it I think is just terrific.
Advertising like this works best when the concept is so unexpected, it makes you think/say “what, what was that again?”
September is National Voice Over Month
Unfortunately for my pal Dave Courvoisier, he answered the phone last week.
I happened to be on the other end because I had an idea which involved his baby – National Voiceover Month. It struck me that with all the things that went on in the voice over world in September, maybe a video should be created to at least attempt to capture the sense of the month.
That was the entire sum of the idea and Dave was all for it. He helped me gather the pictures and I slapped this puppy together.
My thanks to everyone who provided pictures and my apologies if we somehow omitted your event. No slight was intended.
Voice Over Talents who shared their skills in the videos opening montage include Doug Turkel, Peter K. O’Connell, Mike Coon, Bobbin Beam, Dave Courvoisier, Diane Maggipinto, Stefania Lintonbon, Cira Larkin, Scott Nilsen, Liz de Nesnera and Adam Behr.
Some of the activities included “That’s Voiceover!” in New York City; Faffcon – The Voiceover Unconference held in Portland, OR; Voices of Vision in Toronto, Ontario Canada; Bob Bergen’s Voiceover Workshop held in Chicago, IL; the Marice Tobias Voiceover Workshop held in Las Vegas, NV; Bettye Zoller’s Voiceover Workshop held in Dallas, TX; and the Western New York Voice Over Meet-up held in Buffalo, NY.
Because of my proximity to Toronto, I know of the Toronto-based social media author, broadcaster and blogger Amber MacArthur or Amber Mac as she’s known, maybe more than most folks in the states – although the web knows no borders.
I really enjoy one of her shows, CommandN and saw on her blog that she was recently featured in a video on a blog (also featured below). Amber has a new book out so she’s out hawking it like any capitalist author should do.
So I checked out the video and was blown away…not so much but the content which was fine but by the presentation of video which was unlike anything I’d seen on the web not produced by a network news department and re-purposed for the web.
Jimm Foxx and Rob Woodbridge have created an amazingly professional, interesting show that looks like it could be on a broadcast television network (any network) right now. It’s brilliant.
Why is this a big deal? Folks, I owned a video production company for many years and produced, directed and wrote more than my share of videos…it is a TON of work to get all the elements created and produced in such a way that it comes together looking so sharp.
Walking interviews, cut away, sit down interview with multiple cameras, motion graphics…it takes time and resources. Freshly produced video on the web is not new. For example, Amber’s CommandN show is nice Rebel Voice’s production takes the production quality standard to a new level.
So to see Rebel Voice on a web based platform should make you applaud AND wonder…what does this mean for TV, for broadcasting, for the tools we use to absorb media.
If a two man web operation can do this and make it look this good, this viewer friendly….obliterating the line (certainly in the consumer’s mind just by watching it) of broadcast media and web media…can they both coexist or does one have to die off? How quick a death?
We are the people for whom this information is being created and these web channels are the tubes through which they are sent – does it make you think about the media’s future or is it just another day in webville?
Rebel Voice Episode #3 Amber MacArthur from Rob Woodbridge on Vimeo.
I came across this video produced by the design firm Chermayeff & Geismar. It’s really impressive.
It takes some of their most famous logo designs (and there are lots of them) and morphs them into a cool video montage. The video has been around a while but its new to me so maybe its new to you too.
Not only is it entertaining but it’s also effective marketing although by the looks of their clients and their great work, you’d think securing new business isn’t so much a problem.
I was called in early Friday morning to voice more spots for the most recent Time-Warner Cable Buffalo Bills radio campaign.
Since we had some time, I thought it would be fun to record the session and show you how it went.
I appreciated the work but appreciated the camaraderie just as much!
How did I do?
Father and son voice actors Donald and Kiefer Sutherland
People ask me alot about how I succeed in my search engine optimization, why I seem to be alot of places on the web and “how do you do that?”
It involves pixie dust and eye of newt, to be sure 😉 but I think a better example would be a recent experience I had that describes it pretty well.
I subscribe to Google Alerts with a bunch of key words – I want to know what those words uncover on the web for me.
One of those terms is voice over talent (because I is one, ya know).
Reading a day’s post headlines in the Google Alerts, I was directed to the blog for the very popular advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy New York who evidently have the Delta Airlines account. Following its merger with Northwest Airlines, Delta is now the nation’s (or world’s or galaxy’s) biggest airline.
Anyway, the agency has a blog (oooo, is that social media at work? hint) and they did a post about their recent TV spots for Delta. These spots feature the voice over genius of Donald Sutherland.
Damn those Sutherland boys (Donald and Kiefer), I just KNOW that every spot they were picked for, I was the client’s SECOND choice for voice talent. I just know it! You’d think those boys could say no once and a while! 😉
Anyway so I watch the spots and they are magnificent. They are well shot (in black and white no less), well edited, superbly written and the voiceover is as I said genius. You can see them at the end here. I say that not only as a marketing, advertising and voice over professional but also as a frequently flyer and not always on Delta.
So bringing this back to the lesson:
* With a free subscription to Google Alerts to find information that is customized for my likes
* I found a blog post to a major advertising agency’s blog (maybe they could be my client some day – why not?)
* Who produced some amazing TV spots that fill my creative mind with more ideas
* Which also included a wonderful voice over performance that I can also learn from
* And without even any of the parties knowing it (Delta Airlines, Wieden+Kennedy, Donald Sutherland and Kiefer Sutherland) I am telling you (and showing you) about their work which now makes it viral.
* If you share this story with even one more person it makes it more viral
And all of it is social.
Any questions?
