Voice Actor's Notebook » Must-see ads

Voice over videos galore!

David Radtke — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 10:22:28 +0000

Now that things here in Japan seem to be not so "panicky", it's time to roll up my sleeves and get some actual blogging done. Since I haven't posted some good voice over videos for a long time, I figure that there is no better time than the present.

Here are seven (count 'em, SEVEN!) videos to wet your voice over appetite!

Lego Clone Wars

Here's a behind the scenes look at the voices behind the new Lego Star Wars Clone Wars. The cool thing is that there is no actual script! The actors are only making up wacky sounds.

Robert Downey Jr. goes nuts

Our favorite Iron Man is also the voice behind Planters Nuts.

Rango

Take a look behind the scenes as Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, and a fantastic cast of actors, supply the voices for the new animated feature "Rango."

Gnomeo and Juliet

Last but not least, and unique twist on a Shakesperian classic featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan, Jason Statham, Patrick Stewart, Julie Walters, Ashley Jensen, and many others!

My No-VO television commercial!

David Radtke — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 10:41:47 +0000

Here's my latest appearance on TV! About a month ago I auditioned and landed a TV commercial gig for a travel agency here in Japan (did I ever mention that I currently live and work in Japan? I didn't? Oops! ) Anyway, it just aired today both on TV and on the travel agency's website. It's part 1 in a series of four commercials. I'm in the first two, but so far only the first commercial is on TV.

Now, unfortunately, there's a huge image covering my face, kinda like in the movie, Monsters Inc. But you can see my eyes and my freshly cut hair (if that's any consolation.)

Oh well...

I'm the only 'white guy' in a sea of Japanese faces wearing a black and white plaid shirt, which, much to my disappointment, makes me look fat (but don't people look bigger on TV anyway?)

It took about 4 hours of filming just to make this 15 second spot. Here it is:

Here's the translation :

"We found it! We found it! We found a vacation we'd like take!"
(Then the Japanese VO mentions that it's the travel agency's big "Thank You!" sale and gives an example of a trip to Italy.)
The song ends with: "In this morning's newspaper!"
The VO ends with: "You can also make reservations on the Internet."

Great VO work in holiday commercials

David Radtke — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 11:32:27 +0000

Here are some great holiday commercials from Best Buy. Listen carefully to the voice acting — there are some excellent performances going on here!

As always, a special thanks to Voice Coaches for scouring the Internet for such great voice over videos and sharing them with everyone!

Smell like a monster… smell like a man

David Radtke — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:53:59 +0000

VoiceCoaches.com has a category of posts on their blog called Voice Overs Of The World. Each post highlights a few top-notch voice acting performances. All of which are a great source for study, inspiration, or even just entertainment. The two videos I'm showing you today (found on their blog) have a little bit of each...

Smell like a monster (The parody)

Smell like a man (The original)

Darth Vader recording for TomTom GPS

David Radtke — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:24:28 +0000

Here's another great commercial featuring the voice of James Earl Jones:

Hamsters are voice actors, too!

David Radtke — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 07:25:08 +0000

Here is a video containing a few spots for the Minnesota State Lottery. I love these not just because the voice acting is spot on, but also because the hamsters are so darned cute!

Must-see ads: Gettin’ funky!

David Radtke — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:03:28 +0000

Here's a little treat to help put a smile on your face . It's not filled with a lengthy voice over. But hey, there are many commercials that don't require it (and we still get paid for doing what we love to do!)