Jodi Krangle

905 836 5444

Jodi@VoiceoversAndVocals.com

audio

Interview With Producer And Voice Director, Jeff Howell – Part 2

by

Here’s part two of my interview with producer and voice director, Jeff Howell. We talked about what specifically ad agencies are considering when choosing talent for a voiceover gig and the most important thing that will influence their decision.

We also discussed:

  • How the dubbing work Jeff does has been affected by the COVID-19 shutdowns (during which time we recorded this episode)
  • Why historically, dubbing has had a bad rap
  • The difference in how people are receiving programming these days
  • How Jeff chooses talent for dubbing
  • How Jeff brings reality to a dubbing performance
  • Why great actors often miss the mark and blow their voiceover auditions 
  • How sound and audio have historically been on the back burner while the visual has been stressed more
  • Why it doesn’t work when TV spots are pulled and run as radio spots
  • How Jeff gets emotional performances from voice actors
  • What has changed with promos during the COVID-19 shutdowns
  • The PSA project Jeff is currently working on
  • What else Jeff has going on right now

To learn more about Jeff and his work, you can visit http://www.jeffhowellvo.com or email him at jeff@jeffhowellvo.com to connect.

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?

Interview With Marketing Upheaval Expert, Rudy Fernandez – Part 2

by

Here’s the second part of my interview with marketing upheaval expert Rudy Fernandez.  We talked about how he directs voice talent while in a session and the most important thing to consider when doing so.

We also spoke about things like: 

  • How Rudy self-admittedly tends to overdirect and how he navigates that with the voice talent he works with
  • The importance of always keeping voice talent involved in the creative process
  • The difference between character reads and announcer reads
  • How to ensure that the right voice talent is selected for a brand
  • The importance of brands having multiple touch points for their audiences
  • How companies are still utilizing radio advertising to this day
  • The work Rudy’s company is doing with The University of Alabama College of Continuing Studies
  • How audio can connect with audiences in ways other media cannot
  • The use of earcons and how they serve as an audio logo of sorts
  • What Rudy is working on during the Coronavirus shutdown (during which time we recorded this episode)
  • What Rudy’s daughter, a voice talent, is up to right now and the work she does in L.A.
  • A little bit about what I’ve been up to during the shutdown (only because Rudy asked!) 😄

You can check out more about Rudy and Creative Outhouse on the company’s website https://creativeouthouse.com and can listen to his podcast at https://creativeouthouse.com/podcast.

You can also find Rudy and Creative Outhouse on the following social platforms:

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE Audio Branding Worksheet?

The Architecture of Sound

by

So apparently, a low frequency sound is responsible for the creation of our universe. That’s the low tone of a plasma cloud as it creates order out of chaos.  And really, all sound is just a vibration.  Like our existence is filled with “energy”, it’s also filled with “vibration”.  And our biological, carbon-based and limited meat suits, translate this as SOUND.

It turns out, our ears enjoy three times more neural connections to the brain than our eyes do.  That means we can hear a much broader spectrum of sound, than we can see a spectrum of colors.  And as I’ve already mentioned previously, sound is one of the quickest ways to our emotions – and our brains. (The other sense that’s like this, is the sense of smell.)

I’ve also spoken previously about how music can influence our moods.  I have an upcoming interview with a fellow who uses HipHop music to help his clients embrace a more positive outlook on life.  People create “playlists” to keep them energized when they’re exercising or to allow them to wallow in sadness.  Music can change the way we look at the scenes in a movie, making them more impactful. (Just try watching a movie – ANY movie – without the sound. It loses a lot of its meaning and your engagement goes WAY down.)

We create lots of pieces of media that include sound as an element.  But what about actual, physical, spaces? This is where architecture and sound vibrations, meet.  There are actually buildings crafted specifically to allow us to hear tones that feel uplifting or inspiring to us.  Shea Trahan (https://www.sheatrahan.com/), an architect intrigued by how sound works through his chosen instrument of creation, studied this in detail.  He talks about Resonance – sound as “sympathetic vibration” – and relates that to buildings that seem to exist to amplify this.  Then he adds information about Reverberation – how long a sound lingers once the source sound has stopped. The combination in a building, makes it the idea place for a concert.

His TEDx talk is fascinating.  I’ll link to it hear so you can have a look (and listen) for yourself.  And while he admits that the applications of this kind of study have a lot to do with entertainment, he also acknowledges that it could be used for health care.

Sonic therapy is useful for the treatment of PTSD, depression, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Imagine how useful a space could be if it had built in healing resonances and reverberations.  The applications are endless.  And I’ll talk more about sound for health care in future blogs.  For now, have a look at his TEDx presentation, and see what you think:

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

This Might Make You Uncomfortable

by

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It has to do with certain triggers, usually having to do with sound or sight, giving you “tingles in your brain”.  It may seem like a strange reaction to have while hearing unintelligible whispers, someone using a marker on a pad of paper or seeing someone use a makeup brush to caress your “face” (when the face is the camera). But it’s very real!

And interestingly, music in this particular context, seems to take away from the experience, rather than add to it.  In Duncan Geere’s article about this phenomenon in Science Focus: https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/asmr-more-than-a-feeling/ – one of the scientists he questions has this to say:

“We’re interested in things like whether particular settings might be helpful, or particular object interactions,” explains Davis.

“[The results] were actually a bit of a mix. But the one thing that was really clear and surprising is that people didn’t like background music. That to me is really odd, because we use music all of the time to enhance a mood that you’re trying to experience. That doesn’t seem to work for ASMR. It seems to distract from the sound of an object being interacted with.”

Huh.  So the two types of sound, don’t seem to go together. Our brains are strange.

In my own deep dive into this topic however, I actually did experience these “brain tingles”.  I first heard about ASMR when IKEA used it in one of their commercials.  It’s included below.

When I first saw and heard this video, I have to admit, it kind of creeped me out.  I didn’t understand why the woman’s voice was so whispery-soft, and I truly didn’t understand what the attraction was to all those sounds of sheets being stroked, pillows being squished and desk lamps being tapped with fingernails.  I didn’t get it.  And at the time, I didn’t particular want to explore what it was all about.

In my research into sound and the science of sound, ASMR kept coming up – again and again.  And now that I’ve experienced what it actually IS, I’m impressed by what they put together.  (And if you watch the video, read the comments below.  They’re hilarious!)  While I didn’t mind the voice they used, she was a bit louder than I was expecting for this particular genre.  Of course, I get that she had to talk above a whisper so that she could be understood.  She was, after all, there to sell a product. And that meant you had to hear what she was saying.

I’m not sure it works as true ASMR as a result, because you have to concentrate too much for it to really be as relaxing as it should be.  But as an example of how this could be used for a different kind of advertising experience, it’s not half bad.  If you get it.  Seeing as they’re trying to appeal to college students, I don’t think that’s a bad bet.

I’ll also point out that the pops and crackles of lips smacks and tongue movements from a voice being that close to a mic, would be a nightmare for most voice over.  But for ASMR?  The intimacy of it is supposed to be relaxing. That’s the point.

One of the best “performers” of this that I’ve seen while going down the rabbit hole of YouTube, is Gibi.  I’ll link to one of her videos in my blog & show notes so you can have a look and a listen. But I’ll admit, I’ve subscribed to her channel.  In this video (the link is below), she collaborates with a couple of other performers so you get a good overview of a bunch of potential triggers from different performers with slightly different styles:

https://youtu.be/hxXnfGD3vUM

For those of you that have been following my blog here, you know I’m a gamer.  Gibi even did a video where she interacted (the video was about wood tapping and scratching) with a product from Wyrmwood! (They were a sponsor for this video. And she promoted them perfectly for her audience.)

And if you’d like to know more about this from Gibi herself (and, coincidentally, actually hear her real speaking voice – which I admit, I was curious about), have a look at the video I’ve linked to from a YouTube channel called Rooster Teeth. They had her on the show as a guest and asked her a bunch of questions that she very intelligently answered.

It’s a very interesting conversation, on a whole bunch of levels, and I highly recommend you watch it.

Ultimately, you have to decide if this works for you.  If not, it might make you very uncomfortable.  If it does work for you, watching these videos might well be the most relaxed you feel all day.  You’re welcome.

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!