January 2007 Highlights

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Terry Trouyet in Baltimore who works at WVIE-AM, asking about compression and equalization. His boss complained that his work had way too much bottom end and that it simply rumbled every time it came on the air. I was a little unsure of the facts because with the exception of the first few months of my career, I’ve always worked on FM. So, I went to an engineering friend whose opinions I trust and asked how compression and EQ affect a station that uses Amplitude Modulation. My, oh my, did I learn a lot. Terry’s problem wasn’t compression at all. It was purely EQ.

This month’s RAP Interview dips into the voice-over biz, and we chat with an amazing talent and voice-over coach, Joan Baker. Joan is the author of Secrets of Voice-Over Success, and has performed hundreds of promos and commercials for TV, film and radio throughout her highly regarded career. ABC News, American Express, HBO, The New York Times, Lens Express, Sony Music, JP Morgan Chase and Showtime represent a few of the clients who regularly call upon her unique sound. And Joan also has it going on live! This past December, she provided the live voice announcements for the “Museum of the Moving Image Salutes Will Smith” to be aired on Bravo TV.

Prior to authoring Secrets Of Voice-Over Success, Joan built a lucrative following among people (actors & corporate executives) seeking training in the art of voice-over acting. Nancy Grace and the late Johnnie Cochran are counted among her high profile students. Today she travels the country as a lecturer and seminar leader through a variety of arts institutions. She’s the creator of “Make Millions With Your Voice,” a very success seminar through the Learning Annex.

As if her VO acting and coaching career isn’t enough, in 2001 she co-founded and now oversees business development and public relations for Manhattan-based advertising firm Push Creative. And her contributions have not gone unnoticed. She won three PROMAX/BDA Awards for two TV campaigns she co-produced for SPIKE TV, a Gold Promax/BDA, two Excellence in Multi-Cultural Marketing Awards, and two Telly Awards for a series of spots she co-produced for Black History Month.

In honor of her late father, James P. Baker, who passed away from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, Joan contributes all royalties from the sale of Secrets of Voice-Over Success to the Alzheimer’s Association.
If you’re thinking about venturing into the VO business on a large scale, or if you’re in it and want to push yourself further, this month’s interview is a must read. Be sure and check out Joan’s VO demo on this month’s RAP CD!

I’ve looked in vain for an all-in-one publishing solution that I could afford for quite awhile. But look for yourself — printers with mechanical arms to shuffle discs are expensive. Even Primera’s own Bravo and Bravo II printers, with or without burners included, start at two large retail. That is out of my league. So when the company introduced the BravoSE disc publisher that includes a burner, an inkjet printer, a robotic arm to make it all work, and a street price around $1400, I knew it was time for a review.

Every commercial is designed to solve a problem. Before you can create one that works, you first need to be clear on what the problem is. Once you’re clear, your next steps in the creative process will be easier. How do you get clear? Turn the problem into a question, in fact several questions. Not the same ones your client brought to you, but questions from different points of view.

Q It Up: Voice talent -- the producer’s perspective. Who is your favorite voice talent to work with, and why? Is it the one-take wonder? The guy/gal who needs no direction? The guy/gal who takes direction better than anyone you’ve ever worked with? The voice that’s makes your production sound better than anyone else? And if you want to also go to the extreme, tell us about your least favorite VO talent to work with -- but let’s leave out those peoples’ names!

Have a question for the next Q It Up column? E-mail your suggestions to the editor at JV@rapmag.com. Thanks!

For years and years, people have used the saying "a bad workman always blames his tools." In production however, sometimes "a good workman" can also blame his tools. You can be technically and creatively brilliant, but if you haven’t got the right quality of tools in your box, then you’re instantly on an uphill struggle. Think about what our "tools" actually are. OK, so they may not be big bulky things that fill up a shed, but they are equally important instruments that enable us to do our job efficiently and to a high standard. Radio production tools can be related to tools of other trades in certain ways. If you buy a cheap basic drill, then you’ll get substandard results compared to the Black and Decker 18V GELMAX with a two-position gearbox! In our language, buy substandard tools…get substandard production.

...And Make It Real Creative: 
By Trent Rentsch