Voice-Over Artists

It’s a dark art the world of the voice over, but one that is absolutely necessary when it comes to commercials and webvideos. Titles and motion graphics are great, but there’s times when nothing quite hits home like a professional voice over. I think it’s three or four times now that I’ve had to use a voice over artist on one of my projects and each time it’s been a pleasure. As with any professions there’s your good types and your bad types, but from what I’ve seen, voice over artists are the pinnacle of exceptional customer service!

The most recent voice-over I used for my own showreel was from a gentleman called Eric Saint John based in Texas. Not only did he provide a fantastic quality of work, but his customer service was exceptional. He went above and beyond what I expected and I’d be more than happy to use him again in the future. He’s done work for Disney, the new sci-fi series ‘V’ and a whole host of commercials and webvideos.

If you work in video production and ever need a voice over artist then you should definitely check out the website of Eric Saint John: www.ericsaintjohn.com This guy is as close as you’ll get to the late, great Don LaFontaine!

www.stencilmedia.co.uk

“Wanna be a filmmaker…?”

“Well so do I, let’s figure it out!” was a line featured in the original titles of ‘Film Riot’ and I think it sums up the show perfectly. For those that don’t know, Film Riot is a weekly Revision 3 webshow all about film making which is hosted by Ryan Connolly.

So why is the line so apt? Well normally on such shows you’ll get some guy who proclaims to be a ‘professional’ filmmaker, preaching their way of doing things to the masses… you must do this, you must do that. The difference with Ryan and the gang is that they’re still on the journey to becoming filmmakers and they’re inviting you along on the ride, actually finding out what works and what doesn’t along the way. That makes it sound like I’m making them out to be amateurs, but in reality some of the things they’ve made far outshines the stuff that comes out of Hollywood!

The great thing about the show is that people email in and ask things like “how would you make it look like your actors are in a submarine… that’s in space?” and rather than giving a few theoritical pointers and the like; they’ll say “Erm, I’m not sure, but hey… let’s give it a try!!” and as a result they don’t only tell you how to do something, they also let you know what could go wrong and give you practical demonstrations along the way.

I think I’m not alone in thinking that the main reason people watch Film Riot rather than any other film-making show is down to the humour. Ryan, his brother Josh and the rest of the crew jam the show full of hilarious sketches and over the top sponsor ads that will keep you coming back for more week after week. Teaching people is a skill, but teaching people and making it funny along the way is pure genius. I don’t think I’d be where I am today without the likes of Andrew Kramer and it’s the same engaging style that makes Film Riot such a success in my eyes. Their Ford Focus advert needs to be seen to be believed!

Here’s the latest episode for your viewing pleasure:

If you have any interest in film-making, (or even if you don’t!) then you’d be insane not to check them out at www.revision3.com/filmriot

They’ve also just started a weekly movie news and reviews show called Film State that can be seen here: www.revision3.com/filmstate

www.stencilmedia.co.uk

So if you want to make a film then you can do a lot worse than check it out.

Australia – Film Review

I decided early on that I wasn’t going to write film reviews on here. Not that I don’t have an opinion on films, more that I have trouble summing up exactly what I like and dislike about them. I often think a film is great, average or rubbish; but couldn’t quite tell you exactly why.

So this isn’t a film review… it’s more a few observations of the film I watched the other night. Baz Lurmann’s ‘Australia’

I remember reading about the film ages ago before it came out and remember it being touted as a film that would define the very essence of Australia, a film that would be a truly breathtaking masterpiece. Impressive claims and although I tried my best to have faith in the hype, I never got round to watching it on release. I was also interested in seeing it for the visual effects as they used an environmental generation software called Vue to create some of the CGI shots of the harbour. So… seeing it in Tesco for only £2 it was an opportunity not to be missed!

Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the worst £2 I’d ever spent. I would have been better of purchasing an additional two loaves of bread, or possibly a multi-pack of Jaffa Cakes. If I had purchased £2 worth of bleach and slowly massaged it into my eyes I may have had a more enjoyable time than I did watching Australia. I felt embarrassed watching it, even though I was watching it alone! The visual effects were ok, but there seemed to be a ridiculous amount of green screen work for no apparent reason. If you’re doing a scene with a space walk to fix a damaged spaceship, you need green screen… if you’re doing a scene where your actor is surveying a demolished city, you need green screen… if you’re doing a shot of an actor on a stationary horse in the outback… you don’t need green screen. It would cut backwards and forwards from shots filmed on greenscreen and shots that weren’t and it was far too obvious. You wouldn’t expect such poor effects from a blockbuster of this size and budget.

Then there’s the annoying, whiny narrative from the young boy that doesn’t add anything to the film, but most certainly detracts from it. As for Nicole Kidman, I’d normally not have a bad thing to say about her, but her performance in Australia was shocking. One minute she’s giving a heart-warming rendition during a ‘touching’ scene, the next she’s attempting to perform some kind of Laurel and Hardy comedy routine and failing miserably! That’s the thing with this film, it doesn’t know what it is and veers ridiculously between several genres… comedy, war, romance, period; resulting in a horrid mess.

It goes on for far too long as well. The traditional first, second and third acts are all there as you’d expect and then there’s another third act… then another first, second and third acts for good measure… seven acts in all! For some films the extra running time is a welcome treat, for others (such as this one) it only contributes to you losing a little bit more of your soul, that you’ll never get back.

Then there’s the claims of racist portrayals of some of the characters… I’m not sure the film was specifically racist in the conventional manner, but I did think it was insulting to the human race in general; so in a way, yes… it was racist. I think the only thing that could have made it worse was if the actors broke out in song every fifteen minutes, but then again that may have actually made it better. I think Bazza should stick to the musicals, but I’d be much happier if he never worked again.

Australia – 0 Stars – Watch at your peril.