December 2009 Archives
- Will spend the day rewriting & rerecording the script & then remixing the music & resequencing images for a short video. Rework is such fun.
- Just saw another ad on Craigslist from someone who wants to get into voiceover work just to make money. VO is NOT a get rich quick career!
- While @DrewCommins does a dive narration for @GeorgiaAquarium, I wrote about legal narration for HearTheBill.org: http://tinyurl.com/y94xojp
- I've also used some of the sites mentioned in that NY Times "DIY economy" article (http://bit.ly/75VJAR) to create short videos for clients.
- Voice talent/Voices.com in the mix RT @pkedrosky NY Times: The Great Recession & the rise of the Do-It-Yourself economy http://bit.ly/75VJAR
Have you read the Health Care Reform legislation that is currently pending in Congress? I haven't read all of the bills. However, I have narrated 5 segments of the various bills as part of the monumental, volunteer effort by professional voice talent to create audio versions of all of the House and Senate bills on health care reform at HearTheBill.org.
In addition to narrating the bills, I have listened to much of them. Anyone can download the various bills and listen to them like an audiobook. The voice talent who donated time, energy, and talent to this project did so without any political agenda. The aim of the site is enable Americans to make informed decisions about the health care proposals.
As I stated in my profile at HearTheBill.org:
As a voice artist, it's always my goal
to create lasting work that means something to people.
Since this bill has lasting impact to every American,
I am thrilled to join with my fellow voice talent
to create this recording and make
the proposed legislation accessible to all citizens.
HearTheBill founders Kathleen (Kat) Keesling and Diane Havens worked incredible hours on this increasingly massive project to build and maintain the web site, coordinate the activities of dozens of voice talent, develop and update the recording style guide, blitz the press and obtain top-tier national coverage, and narrate multiple segments, all while continuing to perform voiceover work in their own busy professional lives. Since the Senate is still working on a compromise bill, I'm sure Kat and Diane will call on the HearTheBill.org volunteers to quickly narrate the new bill once it is available.
If you're a professional voice talent, you can answer that call with me by volunteering to record a segment of the next bill. Not only is the HearTheBill narration important work that serves a vital community need, but the bills are excellent material for a legal demo reel. Think about it -- only a voice artist could start with dry, legislative copy and breathe life into it so that it actually sounds interesting! To apply, just fill out the volunteer application form on the site, and one of the founders will quickly respond to you.
The preparation time needed for these recordings can be significant depending on the number of pages you undertake, as well as the number and type of references to legislation within those pages. The copy is overflowing with abbreviations for other legislation. In order to make my narration sound flowing, I mark my script each time to spell out all of the legal terms according to the Style Guide.
Here's the list of my recordings to date for this project:
- H.R. 3200 (original House bill) page 600, Line 8 - page 616, Line 11 recording section 35
- Chairman's Mark (original Senate bill) Title I Subtitle F recording section 19
- H.R. 3590 Title IV Subtitle C Sections 4203-4207 recording section 67
- H.R. 3962 Division B Subtitle E Sections 1183-1189 recording section 33B
- H.R. 3962 Division B Sections 1303-1310 recording section 40
- .@anthonyvo Thx for the recommendation on the M-AudioTrack II. I was thinking about it or the Sony PCM-M10/R. Haven't found reviews on Sony.
- .@tjkeenan I always drool over the BSW catalogs! In fact, a sale flyer from them this week caused me to want to upgrade my voice recorder.
- Can you recommend a portable voice recorder that records MP3 w/ built-in speaker, line in, & USB port; also pristine no-hiss sound on voice?
- Publishers Weekly Audio Reviews for 11/30 includes a review for @SimVan and a starred review for @GroverGardner http://tinyurl.com/yeht7m2
Recent Comments
Linda Ristig on Thinking about starting a voiceover career?: Hi Karen,
lydia on Thinking about starting a voiceover career?: I too woul
Xe Sands on Thinking about starting a voiceover career?: Greetings,
Karen on Thinking about starting a voiceover career?: Greetings,
Elizabeth on Thinking about starting a voiceover career?: I sent a r
Karen on A mathematical viewpoint for success: I was abou
Karen on The feel-good voiceover blog post of the summer!: Greetings,
Steph on The feel-good voiceover blog post of the summer!: Loved This
David Sigmon on The feel-good voiceover blog post of the summer!: Well said