Posted by admin on Oct 15, 2013
Hi there! Welcome to my snazzy new website. On the landing page you can see a video of me explaining briefly the ease and cheapness of using Skype to connect to remote recording sessions. Very handy if you and the client are continents apart, which is usually the case for me. Soundstreak is the latest thing, however. Then of course there is Source Connect and ISDN as well. So why make a video about old/established technology like Skype? Simple. Because it works. And is immediately available. For free. The bottom line is that … sound quality is dependent on your internet connection. Bandwidth. Oh, and everyone knows about it. Or do they? Mmmm last month I got a call from a UK voice agent, asking if I am not by chance in London that week. No, I am not, I said, but just offer to the client that he can direct me live via Skype. Easy. Ok, says the agent, he will ask… And then the client declines. No, they would rather find a South African voice artist based in their city. Really? (Marinda pulling her hair out.) Why??? The technology exists and yet we are hesitant to use it. Skype has been around for many years, as the links to articles below will tell you,. Soundstreak is the new kid on the block, seemingly ready to replace ISDN, to give Source Connect and Skype a run for their money. As the saying goes, however, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Until production houses, studios and clients start to work with these technologies, us voice over artist can be as excited as we like. We need the willingness of the client to experiment, to make these new (and old) technologies really work for us. The VO industry is abuzz with Soundstreak. Only time will tell if it catches on on the production side as well. Until then, there is always Skype… Below are three nice resources I found, which clearly explain and compare the various technologies I mentioned in this blog. Hope you find it useful: http://www.voiceemporium.com/archives/02/sound-streak-the-next-generation-of-remote-recording/ http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lovethatvoiceover/2013/09/12/love-that-voiceover Listen to a two-part podcast with the CEO of Soundstreak. Very interesting. http://vostudiotech.com/storage/docs/George_Whittam-SkypevsSC-MAY2012.pdf Slightly dated but very clear description of the various technologies...
Read More
Posted by admin on Oct 15, 2013
Like most actors living in London, I attended classes at the Actor’s Centre, in an attempt to hone my skills. I especially liked the one-on-one sessions with a vocal coach. My vocal coach was always extremely interested in my accent as she didn’t meet many South African actors. She said she had never had an Afrikaans student at all. Well great, that made for good conversation – she asking cultural questions, me answering her with slight (snobbishly amused?) disbelief at her obvious lack of knowledge about my culture (or the fact that she was actually, sincerely interested in it?). Anyway, we only had an hour per session, so better crack on. Having committed myself to a career in acting, I spent hours practicing to lose my South African accent, to sound “more British”, to try and conquer the elusive Received Pronunciation. “The bells must be tingling, my dear” she said once, referring to the crystal clear articulation that is required for RP. It was a struggle for me. As a rule, we Afrikaans speakers can be quite lazy with our pronunciation. (Oh, shoot me. It’s true). I had to practice my voice exercises daily, as a day or two without doing it, would cause a lapse that was quite irritating and embarrassing.( If you are staring at a client through the glass pane separating the vocal booth from the technician and you just. cant. get that word pronounced so it sounds natural, you do wish you had done your homework.) It’s a great feeling to be fully warmed up and “on top” of your toolbox – your voice. If you are a VO artist, I recommend that you keep doing your vocal exercises, as often as you can. But that’s not what today’s write-up is about. Having practiced my rolling R’s and softening my guttural G, I ended up being thrown in the following scenario, many times. I read a script to a client, in South African English or Afrikaans and receive the following note: “ Mmmmm. Ok…But can you sound a bit more South African?” (Pause. What does he mean?) “Erm? What do you mean?” (Do you mean you actually WANT to hear my over-pronounced Afrikaans R and just love the scraping G in my throat? ) Mumbling from the other side of the glass, fumbling for words to express what is needed. (You do? ?) “Oh. OK....
Read More
Posted by admin on Jun 10, 2009
Looking for an Afrikaans voice over artist? I am a South African born voice artist and a native speaker of Afrikaans and South African accented English. I do voice over work for national and international clients and I adore corporate VO copy! Below are three samples of my voice over work. Please browse my Voice Work page for more. South African English Corporate Montage: Afrikaans Montage: South African English Commercial Montage: I specialize in: south african voice over african voice over afrikaans south african south african afrikaans south african language afrikaans foreign voice over foreign voice overs foreign language voice over afrikaans voice over south afrikaans translator south africa afrikaans south african afrikaans afrikaans south africa south africa in afrikaans afrikaans south african afrikaans in south africa south african language afrikaans south afrikaans south african voice over african voice ove afrikaans south African south african Afrikaans south african language Afrikaans foreign voice over foreign voice overs foreign language voice over afrikaans voice over south afrikaans translator south africa Afrikaans south african Afrikaans afrikaans south Africa south africa in Afrikaans afrikaans south African afrikaans in south Africa south african language Afrikaans south Afrikaans telephone messages phone message telephone messaging phone messages on hold messages voicemail messages message on hold telephone message </p> <div style=”display:inline;” mce_style=”display:inline;”> <img height=”1″ width=”1″ style=”border-style:none;” mce_style=”border-style:none;” alt=”” src=”http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion/998015575/?label=Bd2GCLmPoQMQ14Ty2wM&guid=ON&script=0″ mce_src=”http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion/998015575/?label=Bd2GCLmPoQMQ14Ty2wM&guid=ON&script=0″/> </div>...
Read More
