One ad voiceover was for a UK window company advertising on an English language radio station in Tenerife: new doors and windows for the Brit Ex-pat community.

I guess it shows how much we’re part of Europe whether we want to be or not – the copy in the script directed people to the Meridian store by telling them it’s “just past Lidl on the roundabout”  – a direction I could have used just as effectively in my home town (though not to a Meridian store).

The ad is on Oasis FM and when I checked their website I discovered I recognised one of their former presenters -  another ex-Mercia presenter who I used to work with: Chris Marsden. We both discovered that Coventry was (as their tourist advertising once put it) “a great place to get sent to”. However Chris got out and moved on considerably quicker than I did!

I’ve also just recorded another radio ad voiceover for a hypnotherapist who among other skills can help you quit smoking.  I’ve not smoked for many years but I could have done with something like that to help me when I was trying to give up!

Today’s ads are on Oasis FM and The Bridge

The voiceover script I followed explains that is is a process whereby B&Q can trace wood in their products right the way from the store through the production and manufacture process back to the actual forest it came from.
It’s a pretty impressive piece of eco accountability – it’s how they can claim that all their wood and paper products come from sustainable sources- because (they say) they can prove where everything was sourced from. What’s more there’s a number on your receipt when you buy stuff there that relates to the chain of custody – so in theory you could find out where the forest is that wood in the product you just bought came from.
I don’t have a problem with their approach – in fact I’m glad they are doing something to curb international deforestation…but I do wonder how many of the B&Q’s customers actually care about it. Still I guess the whole point of the voiceover is to help train staff to understand the whole Forest Friendly project so that they can explain the idea behind it to customers.

The B&Q Forest Friendly voiceover was recorded for KnowledgeFront

Anyway I’ve recently invested in a Neumann U87 for my dVoicebox studio and I’m evaluating it in my own voice work and with clients who come to the studio. I’ll write about it soon – but first here’s something I came across while researching the mic before I bought it.

I’m bit of a sucker for geeky studio stuff so when I found a link to a “mic shoot out” putting a vintage U87 head to head with a new U87A model I wanted to check it out.  The video from the Microphone Show shows a studio in the US where they put the 2 mics through their paces with a voiceover, a singer and recording an acoustic guitar.  It’s worth a look if this is the kind of thing you find interesting (though whether you can really tell which mic sounds better when its playing in a YouTube clip is another matter)  Anyway if the geeky stuff isn’t for you then I suggest you cut to the bit of the video that made me laugh out loud.

Basically these sound engineers are sitting round in the studio control room drinking beer and chatting about the mics in the different tests.  It’s all rather earnest… and one guy is looking a bit the worse for wear – but then check out when the tray of new beer bottles are brought in – link here and fast forward to around 7mins.

and no one bats an eyelid!  In fact it carries on being a rather earnest discussion about mics.  That’s Studio engineers for you. They’ve seen it all!

Plus I’ve also just provided further voiceover narration for an ongoing staff training project for a pharmaceutical company.

I’ve also got quite a big project lined up with DDE – a charity that campaigns against drinking and driving.

In fact it’s a remake of a project I first recorded a couple of years ago – so at least some of the subject matter in the script will be familiar.

Plus I’ve just delivered voiceover recordings for a staff training programme for a pharmaceutical company.

I’m also becoming a bit of expert on Health and Safety in the workplace: I’ve recorded the first two of nine elearning modules on the subject for a production company in Warwickshire. So far I’m clued up on accidents in the workplace and the importance of fire safety.

The Health and Safety programme is being produced by Vision Communications

The Smartanalysis system offers an easy to use interface and helps to ensure that drivers do not exceed their statutory time limits. Turns out it quite important to be compliant as you could lose your licence or even go to prison if you’re not.  No wonder the client decided not to go with a light or funny voice for this one!

The project is being produced by wearedna

It seems that many people who run voluntary clubs find it difficult to keep on top of the accounting and financial planning needed to make sure the club is a success.  The programme I’ve just voiced is designed for people with no previous accounting or book-keeping experience.

I’ve been involved with voluntary groups in the past and this kind of course would have been invaluable had it been available at the time.

However whilst the content of the script was indeed interesting the thing that I took away from the recording session was this: don’t renovate radiators the day before a voice over session!

I’m afraid I’m a bit of a DIY enthusiast and I took advantage of the recent Bank Holiday to do some house decorating – part of which was the re-enameling of a central heating radiator.  Even though I wore a mask to reduce the effects of inhaling the vapour from the paint aerosol cans I’m pretty sure the fumes from the painting gave me a slightly more “relaxed” sounding voice than usual. There are times when this may be a quality you want in a voiceover – but this wasn’t one of those times! It just made the recording and editing take rather longer than usual.

The programme is being produced by Synergy Learning

Not only did I learn a load more about how to operate actuators (I knew a bit already as I’ve done VO’s for this company before) but I was also able to use my brand new studio mic: my first session with my new Neumann U87.

Given that its the mic that lots of voice artists aspire to own I have to say my first impression was pretty favourable. It’s considerably louder than my trusty old AT4033.   Which means I don’t need to work so close to the mic. Overall its seems to have great clarity and not to show any great colouration to the sound. On the other hand it doesn’t seem to have the same bass end that I’m used to from the Audio Technica.  I’m still experimenting with positions and stands at the moment.  So is it the best microphone for voiceovers?  I’m not sure yet – I’ll be testing it properly in a variety of situations in the near future and then I’ll post a more detailed report then.

The project for Rotork is being produced by KnowledgeFront

The only disappointment for me was that I got the job finished before my new microphone arrived.

I’ve just made the leap into “mic-as- investment-territory” and bought a Neumann U87.  It’s only just arrived, it looks fabulous and I’m about to give it a road test!

Before making the plunge and buying a Neumann I spent quite a lot of time looking into all kinds of mics for voicework. I was trying to answer the perennial question: “What kind of microphone do I need for voiceover work?”  I’ll be writing about the what I discovered in a future post.

The elearning programme is being produced by Integrated Performance Solutions Inc

It seems these days they don’t use soil in their greenhouses – instead tomatoes are grown in “stone wool” – a spun mineral product made from volcanic basalt.

Growers prefer it as a growth and cultivation medium it because it allows much greater control of the flow of water and nutrients while the tomatoes are growing. No water or nutrients are lost or wasted as they would be when tomatoes are grown in the traditional way in soil.

After the cultivation season is over this stone wool can then be recycled for use in the building industry – apparently 50 cubic metres of stone wool can make 8 cubic metres of bricks.

While I was recording the voiceover a thought struck me. It occured to me that my voiceover sound booth is made by Netherlands based company Esmono. It’s made with an insulating layer of mineral fibre sandwiched between metal panels. Not only does it attenuate sound brilliantly but I realised the mineral fibre in the panels is what we in the UK call “rock wool” and (what I now know) the Dutch call “stone wool” – so (I wondered) does that mean that my booth is partly made from recycled tomato growing medium?   Or perhaps more interestingly – maybe I could I grow tomatoes in the walls of my booth?

The voiceover narration for Grodan was recorded for Arno at www.lubbinge.nl