TV Narration Debut

A busy week last week with tight deadlines starting off with my first major TV narration. I have been chosen to voice for the gospel talent show Just Out Of This World, an area I have to admit I know little about. Nevertheless, the first two episodes went well with all the links being recorded in my home studio.

Find out more by checking the Sky Channel 586 UCB on Thursdays at 1930 with a repeat on Sundays at 1800 GMT.

Creating An Image Of Spain (In A Dark Cellar In England !)

Long time no blog ! I thought it was high time I injected a little life into this page and produced some more video blogging.
A radio station on one of the sunny Costas in Southern Spain uses my voice and production services on a regular basis and this is a video recording of a short session of amendments needed for an existing radio ad.
So, do you think I manage to create an image of fine wine and food served in beautiful surroundings from a cold studio in Northern England ?

Back Online

Apologies to anyone who has tried to access voxjunction.co.uk over the last week and has had problems. The site is now back up and online.
If you have tried to email me recently and have not received a reply, please try again as everything should be fine now.

One Of Many Voices That Rock ?

Recently I was approached by respected voice over artist Kris Henderson to take part in a new audio documentary centred around the voice over industry. The Voice That Rocks will feature contribuitions from a variety of voice talent around the world and I feel privileged to be considered by Kris for inclusion in the soon to be completed series. I'll keep you posted !

Belated New Year Greetings

The middle of February for a New Year message ? That's good for me ! So far, 2009 has brought a little more work and new contacts, which in recessive times can only be good ! A overseas national radio campaign and some cool radio imaging work... I'll give you more details later.
Oh and just a warning - I have a new camcorder, so expect more video blogs shortly. Be afraid ;)

Website Redesigned Just In Time For Christmas

The Vox Junction has had a makeover and Laurence Llewellyn Bowen hasn't even been near it ! A completely new design which I hope you will like. My thanks go out to Keith from RV Imaging who designed my original site for his advice and support on the new layout.
Go on, have a look and let me know what you think ! It's here...

Voice Over Promo - Behind The Scenes

One day, I'll invest in a decent camera to spare everyone from the ropey quality and bad sync of my webcam. Until then, have a look a session from last Sunday when I recorded a promo for an Australian outfit for their Movie Night.

The Future Of TV & Film Is In Good Hands !

Moe and Rahul are two students from the respected Ravensbourne College in Kent, an establishment famous for training Britain's most talented directors, producers, animators and broadcast engineers. They approached me to voice a project of theirs and the result is stunning !
They have created a blog which details the hard work that goes into the making of the advert. All I can say is that I definately had the easy part !

A Face For Radio !

One of the first jobs this morning was the production of a sweeper for a radio station in Ireland. The webcam was balanced on the monitor, so I decided to hit record for audio and video. Here's the result. Yes, the moving pictures of me are just as bad as the stills ! Don't say I didn't warn you.....

Top UK Voice Man Mike Hurley Passes Away

Mike Hurley, one of the best known voices in Britain passed away earlier today. Although I never met Mike, I followed his career from his days as the breakfast jock at Pennine Radio in the late 70s, where his laid back presentation style, dry humour and fondness for playing Steely Dan tracks made for essential listening, through his countless ads for radio and television.
I used to think that Mike's voice was instantly recognisable, particularly on those energetic hard sell reads which Mike could do so well, but it wasn't until I discovered an short TV documentary about him that I realised just how many of the nation's favourite character ad voices he was responsible for. A true pro and a great loss to the industry.
Have a look at the documentary here.

Reward Points - (Not Quite !)

Dear Reader,
Order anything via my website and mention you read this blog and receive an extra dry liner free of charge ! Well, they don't do Green Shield stamps anymore.....

Hillarious Tales On The Road With Bryan

If you want to beat the January blues, there's a new audio comedy book out that will do the trick.

Canadian voice over artist and marketing guru Bryan Cox is also a comedian and his new audio book harvests the funniest tales of life on the road on the stand up comedy circuit. There's 2 CDs packed with wall to wall laughs and it really is a "must listen".

For further details and places to find Comic Road Stories, click here. You won't be disappointed !

A Vast Collection Of Talent

Thanks go out to my good friend Bryan Cox for directing me towards a new talent listing site for promotion of voice over, radio, TV and artistic talent. As well as Bryan, my friends Jerry McCrae, JJ Wright, Jud Niven and many more already have a listing there.

You can check out my page at

Belated New Year Greetings !

A bad bout of flu has seen me out of action since New Years' Eve. So now I have finally got my voice back, let me wish all friends, whether they be clients or radio/voice artist colleagues a Very Happy 2008 !

Great Acoustics.... Anywhere !

A voice artist buddy of mine, Kris Daniels, recently documented the ups and downs of improving studio acoustics whilst building a voice booth (read about it here) which reminded me of a recent solution from Harlan Hogan for those who have a less than ideal room to record in. It's a booth-in-a-box which can transfer a hollow sounding hotel room, bathroom etc into a studio without having to deploy power tools or a hammer.

Even Santa Has To Do Multiple Takes !

Here's a little voice over related seasonal fun. I wonder how many of my voice over buddies will be too busy trying to identify the gear in the studio ?

What Every Man Found In His Xmas Stocking In The 70s !

Time to take a seasonal nostalgic trip to the 70s with this short clip from British TV. If you received a gift of aftershave in the 70s, it was usually Brut 33, Hi Karate, or Denim. The Denim commercials stay in my memory as they followed the same theme, quite risque for the era ie:- hairy chested, medallion wearing guy would have his denim shirt slowly unbuttoned whilst the coolest sounding baritone voice would deliver the tag... Denim, for men who don't have to try too hard ! I doubt you would get away with such a campaign these days.

The voice belonged to Bill Mitchell, a Canadian born voice artist and actor who would hop from session to session in the studios around Soho in London. Movie trailers, national ad campaigns and radio liners, Bill could rattle them off in no time. He also had a dry sense of humour, hitting the UK charts with a parody of the Telly Savalas song If in 1975 under the pseudonym Yin and Yan. Bill passed away ten years ago. Hear more of his work here, you'll love it.

Their Secrets Revealed !

Search for books on voice over and you'll find plenty to choose from. Quality and relevance vary from book to book, but one of the best ones I have discovered over the last couple of years is Joan Baker's Secrets Of Voice Over Success.
Rather than a technical manual or a step by step how to do book, Joan approaches the subject in a simple but effective way. She collars America's top voice artists and lets them speak for themselves. The result is an interesting formula with the likes of Don La Fontaine, Joe Cipriano, Dave Fennoy and many others revealing how they got their start, their methods and tips for people new to the industry.
Don La Fontaine and Jo Cipriano appeared on the Paul Harris show to publicise the book, the proceeds of which go to an Alzheimer's charity, giving a lively, interesting and amusing insight into their work. Here the interview here.

The Best Microphone For Voice Over

Ah ha ! Caught you ! Did you think it was that simple ? Opinions amongst VO and production people about the best mics are like.... er well, you know the phrase that ends in everybody has one ! So I'm not going to express an opinion either way. One thing I have found in my short time in this business is what sounds great on one voice sounds not so great on another.

Then there's mic snobbery balanced against mic envy. The guy/gal with the most expensive mic will always hear But it's not what you have, it's how you use it ! So if you're in the process of setting up your home studio and you've heard all the blurb from folks saying X mic is better than Y mic, you may be interested in the following blindfold mic test from Transcom. Try it out - no cheating now ! You might also want to read the opinions of a radio/production guru over at the Audiomasters Forum.

My own mic ? I like my Rode NT1A (pictured), but only because it suits me. Other products are available...as they say !

The Voice Of Olive Oil ?

I was recently asked to provide the voice for a demo TV commercial. Whilst a very enjoyable project to work on, unfortunately I wasn't invited to the pristine orchards of Greece to carry out any research :)

Thanks go out to Jef Bray who holds the copyright for the attached.