The above picture shows…
A) Part of the United States’ new surface to air defense system
B) The spawn of the robot in the 1986 movie “Short Circuit”
C) Pamela Anderson’s home movie camera
Please no looking at others student’s answers.
Begin.
I can’t recall if we’ve been given a name but if we have its probably something like a jinglephile – people who love jingles.
Whether an advertising jingle or a radio station jingle, if it’s good I’ll hum it and play it forever. It started back when I started in radio in 1982…I used to go into the PD’s office and listen to all the new demos. There are now message boards and web site’s all over the place filled with wackos like me…obviously all brilliant and talented people 😉 .
I don’t collect these jingles like some folks but I know the ones I love. There are some commercial jingles here in town that I’d probably voice for free because I’d just love to have my voice on those jingles. Of course I’d snap into invoice mode when the negotiations started, fear not!
I bring this up because I found myself at the TM Studios web site recently. I go to most of the jingle websites and listen a couple of times a year to hear what new stuff they have.
This time I found a smooth jazz radio station package that may have been around for a while but we don’t have that format any more in Buffalo. But the package’s first cut is just terrific and I thought I’d play it for you here to hear. This is the 40 second version. I love the singer’s voice and the use of the flute.
Smooth Jazz Jingle Package from TM Studios Cut 1 (:40 secs)
[audio:http://www.audioconnell.com/clientuploads/mp3/jingles/TMStudios_SmoothJazz_Cut1_40sec.mp3]
Mahmoud Taji pinged me to say he’s got a new voice over directory started (this seems to be a trend) called the The Voiceover Pavilion.
It’s a pay-to-play directory (you won’t be sent leads ala V123 but you pay to have a listing). He also advised he’s going to be spending some of these proceeds on advertising to end users who do the hiring.
The Apple i-Pad
Nobody has yet said that about the i-Pad as far as I know…well, because it’s not true.
But what they (and I’ll define who “they” is in just a moment) have said is: “the i-Pad changes everything!”
Well, that’s not true either, but reality, practicality and obsessive fandom don’t play well together.
I say: congrats to Apple on creating another good and useful product. To me, that seems like a positive review. But Merriam-Webster called me early today to advise that i-Pad reviewers and users have used up all of their dictionary’s superlatives. “Magical”, “Revolutionary”?
The i-Pad is a communication tool, and an expensive one. It has the potential to change portable computing and mobile communication from the way it exists now. New devices are supposed to do that…it’s why we buy them.
But from even the smarter analysts of social media and technology, down to social media experts (aren’t we all) and even the lowly end “users” (I never thought I’d miss the moniker “consumer”)– their unanimous, overboard passion for the i-Pad (pro or con) is asinine.
The i-Phone is a good mobile device (disclosure: I bought one) with many features and some short comings….it didn’t and doesn’t change everything (oy, did “they” go nuts over that device). Neither does the i-Pad.
Whether it’s a desire for a snappy headline or just a bunch of zombie-like devotees – the write-ups and even broadcasts about this stuff seems neurotic. It goes beyond marketing.
I recognize the whole weird Apple addiction/superiority thing but people are getting a bit stupid about this stuff.
The development of electricity, the telephone, the light bulb, the airplane…these things each changed everything. Literally, figuratively and absolutely. Even if you’d like to make a case in this category for the first computer or the first portable computer – I will certainly welcome your opinion about how these items “changed everything”.
But so far there has been no i-Anything that has “changed everything”.
Short attention spans and instant gratification seekers lack perspective yet they live in a world of absolutes (“best” this or “worst” that). I’m guilty of it sometimes and I bet you are too.
But it seems we can be shaken from “absolutes” coma and gain some perspective eventually. I hope these Apple and i-Pad fanatics will get some soon too.
Is it just me noticing this or are you seeing it too? Am I wrong?
Male Voice Talent Michael Minetree
Look, to go through the headache of creating a really nice, well thought-out on-line voice over web directory seems overzealous, generous and a bit crazy to me. Pictures, demos, links – too much work for a lazy guy like me.
But not Michael Minetree.
It seems in addition to his MineWurx Studio, Michael likes to create projects for himself. He created a very enjoyable to watch (maybe less enjoyable to build) video chronicle of the construction of his new voice over booth (a link to one of the many videos created on that project can be found here).
Then he decided to create this voice over directory (I’m in there somewhere under the category of short, fat voice talent – sadly, it’s not an exclusively listing ;).
Now he’s also created a “Voices with ISDN” web directory, listing all voice talents who have ISDN numbers.
And there is more to come.
While maybe not wholly altruistic (we are all business people here) these are all extremely generous efforts by Michael to help promote an industry that is fortunate to have him as a practitioner.
Pam Tierney, Actress and Voice Over Talent
My friend Pam Tierney has been focusing a great deal more on her blog, I have noticed recently, and readers are all the better for the experience.
Case in point is a very simple yet insightful post about what can affect your voice over performance.
In Pam’s example, and to quote the always quotable Mars Blackmon: “It’s gotta be the shoes!”
