Marketing in the Voice Over Business

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• Wild Mississippi Documentary Narrated By Chris Nichter

  The mighty Mississippi River has captivated us all in some way, whether through literature, song or by living along its shores. A new story about the river is due to air on the Nat Geo Wild channel this Sunday night... The mighty Mississippi River has captivated us all in some way, whether through literature, song or by living along its shores. A new story about the river is due to air on the Nat Geo Wild channel this Sunday night featuring narration by a Voices.com talent! Hear more about this program now in today's VOX Daily. Old Man River This past fall, Voices.com member Chris Nichter had the privilege of narrating a three-hour documentary titled "Wild Mississippi" for Red Rock Films. It will premiere on The National Geographic Wild Channel this Sunday evening, February 12th, from 8 until 11 PM, EST. The documentary is a brilliantly filmed story about the once-in-500-year flood that occurred all along the Mississippi River last Spring and the devastating effects it had on wildlife, the human population, the environment and property. Nichter says that it's one of the top shows of the year for The National Geographic Wild Channel and he is sure you'll enjoy the amazing cinematography accompanied by his folksy storytelling in the style of a Sam Elliott-type cowboy. Here's a link to the NatGeoWild Site for some preview clips. Alternatively, you can watch the clip via the embedded video below. Wild Mississippi Be sure to catch this great documentary on Sunday night. Here's some more details about Wild Mississippi. Wild Mississippi: Deep Freeze Sunday, February 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT Nat Geo WILD travels to the starting point of the mighty Mississippi River -- Lake Itasca in Minnesota, where the 2,350-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico begins. Harsh cannot begin to describe the winter in this region, where temperatures reach 33° below zero. Survival strategies are as numerous as the creatures that live here, such as beavers, bobcats and gray wolves. We'll capture migrating bald eagles as they prepare for the bitter cold and watch a pack of wolves hunt for deer and porcupine, beavers feverishly work to make dens, and the vole, a creature similar to a mouse, create tunnels beneath the snow to scavenge for food. It is truly a test of survival of the fittest in this freezing cold wilderness. Wild Mississippi: Raging Waters Sunday, February 12, at 9 p.m. ET/PT It's been no ordinary winter. The Mississippi River reached extreme low temperatures, causing an unprecedented deep freeze. Now, spring is in bloom, with all the snow and ice from across the watershed melting, triggering a massive flood of biblical proportions. We'll see how the inhabitants adjust and fight to survive. In the north, the floodwaters bring a new quest for life. Carnivores use high waters to find meals, while a pair of bald eagles patrol the skies snagging small prey flushed out of the riverside. Coyotes also reap the rewards of the flood by preying on rodents and other small evacuees. Spring not only brings a new hunt for food, but babies also begin to make their debut, including wood ducklings that endure a 30-foot jump to find sanctuary in the high tide. Life is beginning to come back along the river as the weather heats up and brings a fresh start. Wild Mississippi: Delta Blues Sunday, February 12, at 10 p.m. ET/PT Our romance with the Mississippi River heats up as we head south. The river joins with an even more flooded Ohio River to form a union of destruction that challenges man and wildlife. The water rises at a rate of two inches every hour. Those creatures that can flee, do as fast as they can. Trying to make a last-minute dash to safety, some wild hogs can't make it out. Wide waters force turtles to look beyond their normal sandy nesting grounds for places to lay their eggs, which become vulnerable to predators. Pelicans flock to the swarming fish and work together to round up dinner. And, by night, bats swoop in to collect moths, using their tails like a catcher's mitt to scoop up their prey. Not only animals, but people are also forced from their homes as the Mississippi River expands to more than 25 miles wide. The beautiful and dangerous Mississippi River is both a life giver and a life taker. Wild Mississippi is produced by Red Rock Films for National Geographic Channels. For Red Rock Films, executive producer is Brian Armstrong. For Nat Geo WILD, executive producer is Jenny Apostol, and executive in charge of production is Geoff Daniels. The narrator of Wild Mississippi is Chris Nichter. For more information, visit www.natgeowild.com What Does The Mississippi Mean To You? Looking forward to your reply! Best wishes, Stephanie

• Creating Opportunities For Your Voice

  Are you out pounding the pavement for your voice? Do you seek out specific opportunities where you believe your voice would shine? While not all marketing efforts lead to a warm microphone, they can certainly help you to build relationships... Are you out pounding the pavement for your voice? Do you seek out specific opportunities where you believe your voice would shine? While not all marketing efforts lead to a warm microphone, they can certainly help you to build relationships and create bridges to better business. Such has been the experience of one talented lady in my acquaintance. Hear more about one voice artist's inspiring story about how she is making inroads with prospective clients in today's VOX Daily! Starting Conversations To Build Relationships You might recall an article from last week about how to approach publishers to record audio versions of a publication. I hope you enjoyed reading it and found some of the tips and insights from narrators useful! Although it's possible each book you see without a narrator is up for grabs narration wise, the opportunity where you are concerned may not come to pass...but don't let that discourage you from trying! Lisa Biggs pursued an opportunity, and while she didn't book the job, she was able to develop a meaningful relationship and connections with a book publisher. Lisa shared, "Recently I contacted the woman who owns the rights to Dare Wright's book, The Lonely Doll, and asked when and or if they planned on producing an iBook. I also sent her a recording of myself reading The Lonely Doll, which has been one of my all time favorite children's books! Although they ended up asking a longtime friend of Dare's to narrate the iBook version of The Lonely Doll, I now have a relationship with them. They were receptive to my suggestion and even though this opportunity didn't work out the way I had hoped, it may pave the way for a future opportunity to lend my voice to one of Dare's books. Maybe they'll bring her stories to life through animation and guess who'll be first in line to be the voice of Edith! This business is all about relationships and every time you ask someone a question, you start a conversation which begins a relationship that may create an opportunity." Can You Relate? If what Lisa shared resonates with you, be sure to comment and let me know! I'm interested to hear about how your attempts to work with others, whether big or small, have produced fruit for your business. Best wishes, Stephanie

• Angry Birds Interview With Sound Designer, Ari Pulkkinen

  Do you play Angry Birds? Ever wondered about where the voices came from or how the music came to be? If so, you'll love this post! I hope you enjoy my interview with the sound designer and audio producer... Do you play Angry Birds? Ever wondered about where the voices came from or how the music came to be? If so, you'll love this post! I hope you enjoy my interview with the sound designer and audio producer of Angry Birds, Ari Pulkkinen! Interview With Ari Pulkkinen, Angry Birds Sound Designer STEPHANIE CICCARELLI: Congratulations on your success with Angry Birds! As sound designer, you were responsible for composing the Angry Bird's theme music, music used in the game, the selection sound effects and also for crafting the voice overs used. Can you tell us about your creative process and how you decided what an angry bird or pig might sound like? ARI PULKKINEN: Thanks! When I first got in to the project, the game was in alpha stage - character, game and graphics design was completed when I started design music and sounds for the game. I really liked the concept and I had instantly thought making the audio design a bit silly, funny and not too serious. I first made the basic sounds, ambiance and then composed the song in my summer cabin (yes, I was in nature when I composed AB!). Vocals for birds and the pigs were the last ones - I thought about it a bit and wanted funny and unique voice acting for them. SC: How many talent from your team were involved? Were you all together in studio? AP: The vocals were recorded in Rovio offices with me and selected people from their staff (including lead designer Jaakko Iisalo and Mikael Hed CEO). They were quite surprised when I decided to record the vocals with them, but it came out quite alright! A total of five people were in the recording session. SC: What microphone(s) did you use to record for Angry Birds? What does your studio comprise of? AP: I used Rode NT2-A and my backup Zoom H2. I don't record bands so I stick to the vocal and Foley recording microphones. SC: The average console game has around 8,000 lines of dialogue. Epic console games, such as Spider-man 3, have upwards of 70,000 lines of dialogue. If you had to estimate, how lines were recorded for each character in the first Angry Birds and how many voice overs were recorded for the original Angry Birds iPhone app as a whole? AP: For the Original Angry Birds there were many voice overs I wanted - different birds making idle, attack, flying, hit, dying, taunt voices and pigs had also similar emotions including also laughing and insults. I'd say that in the game we had over 70 different sounds for birds and the pigs including variations. Because of the HD limit, we had to cut additional pig vocals from the game, but it worked really great only with a large generic pig soundgroups. In the future, different pigs will have distinctive voice acting too as people have witnessed from the new trailers and videos. SC: Are voice overs recorded whenever a new version/app is released or are you able to reuse preexisting voice files? AP: The sounds are so iconic that they are used in every new game version and application. For trailers and videos there will be new voice overs though. SC: Given that you are designing for mobile applications, there is less space so to speak bandwidth wise for audio where an app is concerned. How does this reality impact your ability to employ music, sound effects and voices for mobile devices? AP: You have to prioritize music and sounds for the game and also decide how many variations will you use for one audio group. Luckily mobile devices have come far form the "medieval" times, there is much more space to use and better sound quality. I always prioritize the most important sounds and main title song, these are usually imported for the game more higher quality too. SC: Which character was the most fun to record? Which character was the most challenging to record? Did you direct the voice over sessions or was a voice director other than yourself present? AP: I think the most fun was to record pigs laughing in a group; it might have been also the challenging because we laughed so much that many good takes were spoiled. Personally, the hardest things to record have been Angry Birds getting angry (the classic rising anger) but when you get it right, it sounds really funny. I was the voice director and actor when we recorded the sounds. I've done about half of the voices in-game and the latest bird I voice acted for was the Orange Bird for Ham'o'ween. SC: From what I understand, the Angry Birds theme is so popular that people want to purchase sheet music! Is sheet music available, and if so, where can people buy it? AP: Luckily, official sheet music is getting done finally in the near future! The main target group will probably be schools, small bands and solo instruments - I personally am really excited about the release. Rovio will be handling the publishing so I'm quite sure people will know when the sheets are out. SC: What else are Angry Birds voices being used for (i.e. toys, animation, etc.)? AP: Angry Birds voices are pretty much everywhere imaginable! They have been in toys, animations, short movies and even in various remixes. I think you cannot go anywhere in the world without hearing those sounds. SC: Are you working on new Angry Birds projects? Is there anything more that you can tell us? AP: I'm currently working other projects and my latest work have been music and audio design for successful games like Outland and Trine 2. As for the Angry Birds, only future will tell! About Ari Pulkkinen Ari Pulkkinen, CEO of AriTunes, is a composer, sound designer and audio producer. His decade-long career in game development has given him the opportunity to focus on specialties including game music and audio design. When Angry Birds first came along, Ari had already been running his own company for over a year and most recently, has won "the best Finnish game developer of the year 2011" award. For more information, you may visit his website, www.aritunes.com and if you want, his YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/artz1234. For a treat, you can also watch a video interview with Ari to learn more about the making of the music and sound effects of Angry Birds. SoundWorks Collection: The Sound and Music of Angry Birds from Michael Coleman on Vimeo. Any Thoughts? Be sure to add your voice to the conversation by adding a comment! If you're reading this from your email, click here to get to the Angry Birds interview with Ari Pulkkinen online. Best wishes, Stephanie

• How To Get Permission To Record A Copyrighted Book

  If you came across a book that you wanted to narrate that is still under copyright, who would you contact for permission to record? After an open discussion via Facebook, two recommendations emerged for who to contact first when obtaining... If you came across a book that you wanted to narrate that is still under copyright, who would you contact for permission to record? After an open discussion via Facebook, two recommendations emerged for who to contact first when obtaining permission for recording a copyrighted work. Hear what audiobook narrators are saying and discover tips for how you can embark on this journey in today's VOX Daily. Recording Books Every now and then I come across some wonderful books that are just crying out to be narrated. After scouting for audio versions on sites like Audible or Amazon, inevitably I find that some of the books have not been recorded as of yet. Maybe you've done the same thing. When you realize that an opportunity is waiting in the wings for you to record, what do you do? Who do you ask? There are a couple of camps regarding who to approach first to inquire about recording an audio version of a book whose copyright is still in effect: either the publisher or the author. Ultimately it is the person who holds the rights to the audio. Contacting The Publisher First Narrator Diane Havens correctly pointed out that the right person to contact is ultimately the one who holds the rights to the audio. She shared, "Depends who holds the rights by contract -- could be the publisher or the author -- or in some cases it could be someone else entirely who bought the rights. This is as I understand it, but I'm not a copyright attorney, of course. The copyright on the book is the print copyright. Rights to audio and other versions of the book you'd have to investigate with the publisher. So I'd start with them." Fellow audiobook narrator, Tavia Gilbert, recommended that narrators start with the publisher. Markham Anderson agreed, citing that publishers usually have all rights reserved. Trish McFerran commented, "Copyright can be held over published or unpublished works. If it's a published work it would also depend on when it was published, whether the work has passed into public domain and whether it is a singular or a collective work. Copyright is granted to and essentially protects the author, however, the author can release the copyright to a third party. Since there are so many variables and a publisher generally 'represents' the work then I'd start the ball rolling with the publisher, who would probably be easier to make contact with anyway." Authors Karen Commins has gone a different route, stating "For what it's worth, I have approached several authors. I preferred to start that way because the authors were much easier to find than the person managing the rights at one of the big publishers. I also felt that the authors also were more interested in answering my questions. I knew one still owned the audio rights because I found an article about her book. Another author knew she still owned the rights and is intent on narrating the book herself. Also, I hope an author might be my champion in the casting process in those cases where the publisher owns the audio rights. One more thing -- a literary agent told me that you probably have to pay the author for audio rights. The authors I have contacted also wanted to know my plans for packaging (if on CD) and distribution of the finished audiobook." Frank Baum noted, "These days more authors do seem to be reserving audio rights. I have contacted both with well chosen script performance demonstrating why I thought a currently rights protected book could benefit from a new or second production. I've gone from 'looking for a gig' to coffee shop pleasure of discussing how good it all can be." What's Worked For You? If you have had an experience in this area, be sure to comment and share your story! Best wishes, Stephanie ©iStockphoto.com/Damir Cudic

• How Does Your Work Reflect You?

  The sort of work you do, even though it may be acting, is telling of who you are, what matters to you and what you're willing to have your voice associated with. How do the scripts you read reflect you... The sort of work you do, even though it may be acting, is telling of who you are, what matters to you and what you're willing to have your voice associated with. How do the scripts you read reflect you and your heart? Join in the discussion in today's VOX Daily. Can You Draw A Correlation? When you decide to audition for a job or record for a client, do you find that the script in question falls in line with what's on your heart or things that are important to you? Consider this quote: "What we love usually manages to get into our conversation. What is down in the well of the heart will come up in the bucket of the speech." - Vance Havner This quote, while referring to conversation in general, could also be applied to voice over as the voice over itself is meant to engage people in a conversation of sorts whether around a product, service, concept or otherwise. Even if you aren't the author of the words you are reading, you are the author of the voice over being recorded and are expressing those words as if they were your own. What Do You Think? I'm interested to hear from you! Best wishes, Stephanie ©iStockphoto.com/imagedepotpro