Q It Up: Should there be a unified rate card for voiceover work?
Twenty-one VO pros weigh in on this Q It Up: Should there be a unified rate card for voiceover work? Obviously this would not pertain to that small percentage that commands top dollar, but what about for the rest? Explain your position and feel free to add any other comments on the subject!
R.A.P. Interview: Gary McCleneghan, Imaging Director, Bell Media, Edmonton, Alberta
by Jerry Vigil
If you’ve been keeping up with the RAP CD and Soundstage over the past few years, you’ve probably noticed the work of Gary McCleneghan appearing quite regularly and getting better with time. So good in fact, that he picked up not one, but two first place trophies in this year’s 25th RAP Awards. One was in the Medium Market Promo category, and the other was in RAP’s new Imaging category. This month’s interview picks Gary’s brain on the two trophy winners, and we focus a bit on his growing freelance work, both in imaging and voiceover.
Working With Voiceover Artists as a Producer
by Ashley Bard
Voiceover Artists are arguably one of the most important parts of the radio industry. If they’re the station voice, they’re your brand. And more importantly, if they’re voicing an advert, they pay your wages. However, the art of working with them is an often overlooked area of expertise.
Radio Hed: Less Info, More Heart Brings Better Commercial Results
by Jeffrey Hedquist
The people we try to reach with our messages don’t need more information. They’re already drowning in information. They need to be touched, moved, heard and inspired. Information doesn’t sell; it’s just more… information.
Production 212: Just One Wafer Thin Mint (with apologies to Monty Python)
by Dave Foxx
A few months ago in this space, I talked about stations that go through a change when a new Program Director arrives, causing all kinds of anxiety. I assured everyone that not much was changing at Z100/New York as we transitioned to our new PD, Mark Medina… and I was basically right. The in-house staff remains intact, the fundamentals are all the same with only very minor tweaks, and the overall direction and philosophies are all pretty much exactly like they were. Mark has changed only a handful of small things, but now I’ll have to define what I mean by small. To the crew already working here in Gotham City, it’s not such a big deal if you swap out one of the outside contracted voices on the station. To the audience however, that one small difference has had an amazing impact on the sound of Z100.
"....And Make It Real Creative!”: Love for an Orphan: The First Annual "Audio Adoption Contest"
by Trent Rentsch
Welcome to the First Annual Audio Adoption Contest. Here how it works: there are 3 orphan sound elements on the RAP website: a music loop, a sound effect, and a stupid audio drop. [Download here] (I’ll warn you now, none of them are pretty). Your job, should you decide to accept it, is to take these elements, and make them work Creatively and effectively in a piece of production.
Imaging: The Ear Candy Tastes Stale
by John Pellegrini
A while back I was reading through an interview with a rock radio program director on an industry website, and I found some comments that I thought were very strange. The guy was disparaging what he called, “ear candy imaging”. Apparently he was not a fan of anything creative for imaging other than the standard ‘big voice’ reading station identifiers. Surprisingly, I agree with him on this singular point: if we’re talking about the standard funny-line/movie-drop/stinger-effect/call-letters imaging, then yeah, I’m kind of tired of that as well.
The R.A.P. Soundstage
The 25th RAP Awards Best of the Rest – Part 2 - Imaging & Commercials - Once again, hats off to all those involved in these excellent pieces of work. Many of these came so close to making to the Finals that we can’t emphasize enough each year how important it is for our Gold member Awards Judges to cast your votes. Every year there are at least a few entries that needed just one more vote to make it to the Finals!
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