Morgan Freeman is a Madman!...er, mad man.

A big controversey in the advertising, political and voiceover worlds this week involves political "attack ads" featuring a Morgan Freeman sound-alike.
Take a watch & listen:



Another ad is highlighted in this TMZ report:




Even though my politics likely differ, I think Morgan Freeman has a right to be mad.
Impersonators are generally protected if a work is satirical (think Saturday Night Live, etc) but these ads are clearly not satirical.
But at what point is a person's voice not their own?

AFLAC! or AFWACK?

So the new "voice of AFLAC" has been chosen. Here are a couple of clips introducing the new guy.




Kudos to him for getting the gig. But a big WTF? to AFLAC who, in their audition specs, requested something new and different. I would have auditioned if I new they really didn't want something new and different! ;)

It's About Time

Piles of wasted money and poor ratings will be the unfortunate legacy of Katie Couric at CBS News. Overall I don't think it was Katie's fault. She was put into a no win situation by management who thought her morning show success would translate to the evening. She is very good at the long form interview and as part of a team, but it's this journeyman journalists' opinion that no matter how much she lowered her voice, changed her delivery or school-marmed her hair in attempts to be taken seriously, she just didn't have the gravitas or presence to anchor "The Newscast of Record" for a major network.

A News Conference about News

A creative news promo utilizing the talents of Charlie Van Dyke who I'm proud to call one of my voice over mentors and advisors!

"Golden Voice" spoof from Jimmy Kimmel

So I wasn't posting during the entire Ted Williams "Golden Voice" saga inception, but now that the spoofs are coming out...this is one of my favorites!

Wow! Can you say "Time flies when living with Twins!?"

Holy cow! I can't believe it's been so long since I've added anything here!
Since we last checked in with our intreped hero (um...me), he, errr, I have been busy growing the VO biz and more importantly being "Mr. Mom" for fast-growing Abby and Gabe

Oh, did I mention there's also been a move from IRB to Sarasota?
We converted our "near the beach" home into a vacation rental (vacationrentals.com, ID # 77731)

Anyway, more updates and comments on select craziness are forthcoming now that some life-change hurdles have been cleared!

Talking the Talk!

Think you're a cunning linquist?

A master of your mouth?

Do you love tongue-twisters and reading Dr. Suess books to the kids?

Well, give the the NBC announcer test below a test drive.

(courtesy of Mike Sommer on http://www.voice-overs.com/)

A little history...
The test originated at Radio Central New York (NBC) in the early 1940s as a cold reading test given to prospective radio talent to demonstrate their speaking ability. In that era, the "prospect" would read the progression for clarity, enunciation, diction, tonality and expressiveness.
The prospect had to perform it PERFECTLY! No stumbles or stammers. Plus, it was to be read with FEELING and MEANING!

Here is it...

One hen
Two ducks
Three squawking geese
Four Limerick oysters
Five corpulent porpoises
Six pairs of Don Alverzo's tweezers
Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array
Eight brass monkeys from the ancient, sacred crypts of Egypt
Nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic, old men on roller skates with a marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth
Ten lyrical, spherical, diabolical denizens of the deep who haul stall around the corner of the quo of the quay of the quivery, all at the same time.

Easy enough. But wait there's more!!
This is how it should be recited:

One hen

One hen
Two ducks

One hen
Two ducks
Three squawking geese

One hen
Two ducks
Three squawking geese
Four limerick oysters

One hen
Two ducks
Three squawking geese
Four limerick oysters
Five corpulent porpoises

One hen
Two ducks
Three squawking geese
Four limerick oysters
Five corpulent porpoises
Six pairs of Don Alvarso's tweezers

One hen
Two ducks
Three squawking geese
Four limerick oysters
Five corpulent porpoises
Six pairs of Don Alvarso's tweezers
Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array

One hen
Two ducks
Three squawking geese
Four limerick oysters
Five corpulent porpoises
Six pairs of Don Alvarso's tweezers
Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array
Eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt

One hen
Two ducks
Three squawking geese
Four limerick oysters
Five corpulent porpoises
Six pairs of Don Alvarso's tweezers
Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array
Eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt
Nine apathetic sympathetic diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth

One hen
Two ducks
Three squawking geese
Four limerick oysters
Five corpulent porpoises
Six pairs of Don Alvarso's tweezers
Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array
Eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt
Nine apathetic sympathetic diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth
Ten lyrical, spherical, diabolical denizens of the deep who haul stall around the corner of the quo of the quay of the quivery, all at the same time!

Morgan Freeman CBS News Outtakes

All the attention on the Late Night shakeup with Jay Leno and Conan OBrien is helping actor Morgan Freeman cover his mess ups voicing the open for "The CBS Evening News". Until now!


Find more videos like this on VU


My thanks to VU (The Voiceover Universe) for spotting this.

The Babies are Home! The Babies are Home!

Abigail Grace (Abby) and Gabriel Allen (Gabe) are now home in the cozy confines of BishopVoice World HQ.

The Babies Are Here! The Babies are Here!

If one's good, then two's better right?
Meet outgoing Abigail Grace Bishop (right) and thoughtful Gabriel Allen Bishop. (left)
They decided they wanted out of mommy in time for Christmas, arriving on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009.
Sure they were 6 weeks early, but what's a little time in NICU right?
Mother and babies are doing great and we look forward to bringing them home early in the New Year.

Concert King in Action!

Wow. Way Cool. That's what I thought after watching the following video lifed from Voiceover Universe. It's of concert promotions voice Bob Oakman in action. He plans to use these clips as part of a new demo reel he's putting together. Hmmmm, maybe growing my hair out and adding a beard will help ;)


Find more videos like this on VU

NY?, LA?, How about SouthWest Florida!

Some big names in Voice Over call SW Florida home as detailed in this newspaper article! Maybe I ought to plan a quick day-trip to get some coaching and/or other advice!

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Dato=20091030&Kategori=LIFESTYLES&Lopenr=91030069&Ref=AR

Picking A PreAmp

Voice talents often spend a ton of time looking for the perfect microphone/preamp combination that makes their voice shine.
Below is a chart I found during my research over the years listing common tube and solid-state preamps by the amount of "coloration" a premamp adds.
(*NOTE - Click on the image to enlarge and read or save)

Secret of Voiceover

A VO peer lets the camera's tag along...

A Promo With Some Sting

Hmmm...another reason to keep anchors in the studio?!

New Meaning of "Boob Tube"

The photo below is causing a stir in the journo world. It's of two Denver News Anchors "letting it all hang out" if you will on the cover of Denver Magazine.



Where do your opinions fall?
Is it just another example of the bimbo-ization of news and a symbol of all that is ruining the credibility of local news?
Or do TV folk have a right, perhaps even a duty, to show the viewers they have a personal life, can have fun and not take themselves too seriously?

My opinion? I think it's a great picture. Such a move might not play well in St. Louis, Dallas or Tampa, but Denver is a pretty progressive market and these are two long-time anchors/personalities so I doubt it will hurt the ladies personally or professionally. A younger anchor/reporter is another story. As for their stations, well as is oft said, bad publicity is better than no publicity!

Hoe No You Didn't!

Ahhhh yessssss. The dangers of the TV News "roll-as-you-go" door knock!
Take a watch and listen.....



IF you're going to do these kinds of things, avoid even the hint of trespassing by parking the photog on the sidewalk, the street or other "public" place, not on a person's porch, driveway, or front lawn. If I remember correctly, there's a thing on the camera lens called a "zoom". Use it!
I bet they might have gotten the crazy ol' coot to talk if she hadn't opened her door and seen the photog on her own stoop!

Har-dee's Har Har!

Now THIS is a funny commercial and IMO, an example of all that is RIGHT with the advertising world! Take some chances people!

Revenge of the Spurned Voice Actor

This is an instant classic!
The 20-year "voice of Lexus" gets dumped, so becomes the "voice of Mitsubishi" and has a bit of fun!



In case you care, James Sloyan is the voice talent. By the by, he was replaced by James Remar (Samantha's rich boyfriend in "Sex and the City"} by Lexus because they wanted a voice with wider appeal to fend off recent attacks by Audi.

Ooops! Did I Say That Out Loud?

From the "Things people THINK but don't actually SAY" file...comes this gem from a Seattle News Producer accepting a regional Emmy award.



Having won Emmys and judged Emmys, I can tell you she's basically telling the truth. Now we wait for the consequences!