March 30th, 2011
Now that Gilbert Gottfried lost his job as the voice of the Aflac duck, voice actors from around the globe are battling for this one primo gig. Others have taken this opportunity to have a little fun amidst all the calamity. No matter which side of pond you swim in, I think you'll enjoy these videos:
March 20th, 2011
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!
February 12th, 2011
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:
"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."
January 15th, 2011
Some more fun voice-over video goodness:
January 10th, 2011
Recently, voice actor Paul Strikwerda created a very eye-opening video about the realities of becoming a professional voice actor. It's worth checking out (and now you, too, can finally hear how to correctly pronounce his last name! )
Remember: being a voice actor really is about loving the job. It certainly ISN'T a get-rich-quick profession. But if you love doing the job, then you'll actually feel rich until the day you might just actually become monetarily rich (but I wouldn't bet the farm on that one. )
December 21st, 2010
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!
December 19th, 2010
(Notes from Harlan's website) Harlan narrates Christopher Kimball's recreation of a 12-course Christmas dinner originally hosted by Fannie Farmer in 1896. Fannie Farmer's Last Supper is playing throughout the holiday season on PBS.
December 11th, 2010
WOW! Where has the time gone? Last year was VAN's first Christmas. To celebrate the season, I posted two videos to spread the holiday cheer. Well, now I think it's a good time to bring those two videos back from the archives and share once again with all of you! 
November 16th, 2010
While doing a little YouTube surfing the other day I came across two short but informative videos about mic placement for vocals. These videos are meant for singers, but I found that they're also quite relatable to recording voice overs as well.
Click the Read more link below to check out the videos. Enjoy!
October 18th, 2010
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...
