2014 Pendy Award - Best Actor in a Seminar Short

This was reasonably unexpected - it seems that I've won a 2014 Pendy Award for Best Actor in a Seminar Short, for my role as Richard O'Malley in "O'Malley's Media Storm".

We are taking questions from the audience... uh, yes? 

"What the heck is a 'Pendy Award'?"

Great question!  I hadn't actually heard of them before November of this year.  They are annual awards from Pendant Audio - an audio production group which was formed way back in 2004 dedicated to the creation of radio dramas in the style of radio serials from the Golden Age of Radio in the 1930's and 40s'.  They solicit audio scripts, post casting calls for voice actors, and through the magic of elves and computers, pull it all together on a regular basis. They have several shows, shorts and longer-form projects which can be found on their SHOWS page.  Next question... 

"What's a 'radio'?"

Really?  You're going with that?  Ok.  Yeah, a radio is like the internet without pictures?  Naaahhh... It's like streaming audio, except once upon a time, humans used to choose what got played.  And before that, they actually performed live at specific times, and you had to listen then or you wouldn't hear it. Crazy, huh?  Those were the dramas and shows that everyone  kept up with.   Most of the early voice actors came from radio and vaudeville, their talents and characters honed by years of live performances and the glorious creative environment of working with other actors.  Folks like Mel Blanc, June Foray, Dawes Butler and a ton of other folks whose voices you would probably instantly recognize.  These folks are some of my heroes, and I love the idea that audio dramas are being actively produced.

"Can anyone just listen to these?"

Yep - they post them on the Shows Page I mentioned earlier, and they have a regular podcast you can subscribe to (and I gotta put in a quick plug for Instacast here.  Been using it on the phone - iOS is free - and it's pretty solid!) 

"What kind of stuff do they do?"

It really ranges quite a bit - their most ambitious project has been "The Phantom Canyon" (which includes the very talented Lea Gulino among the cast).  

"And what exactly did you do?" 

I played Richard O'Malley, an overblown television host who has an odd and interesting guest on his show "O'Malley's Media Storm".  It was part of the "Seminar - Original Anthology Show" which features short plays and other projects "heard through the lens of lessons in a futuristic post-apocalypse..."  So, it's kind of a unique venue...  This project appeared in Episode Number 59, released in October of 2014.  My bit starts right around 8 minutes.

A big thanks to the folks at Pendant Audio, and everyone who had a part in making this happen!

Samsung Developer Conference Keynote - Voice of the Body

I was really happy to discover a this video:

Voice of The Body 2.0 from ATOMIC D on Vimeo.

It was from a recent project where I provided the voice.  While working,  it was not clear where the video would be used. But, it turned out that this was the video presented to the Samsun Developer Conference as the keynote.  Even though I was concentrating on the script during the time I was behind the microphone, it was obvious that the visuals and production quality was very high.

Kudos to the team at Atomic D!  Very nice work.

Rinse & Repeat: Create, Creation, Creativity, Creativishosity

Over the years I've been lucky enough to cross paths with seriously creative individuals.  Some make art, others music, a few form companies, while a select set find and inspire boundless wonder within each gloriously gifted moment we receive.

Reinvigorating. Challenging. And just to use the word again, Inspiring. 

That wave pushes you forward and momentum reigns.  It ebbs a bit, you drop into a trough and begin to wonder if your last idea was your best.  Ever. 

Perhaps the more times you ride those changes, the more comfortable you get with them.  Though certainly you wish it was more like a spring-fed and gravity enhanced river than the capricious result of wind, weather and tidal constraints of a great ocean.

And I don't pretend to have solved or gained great insights into the process.  But, I do appreciate when signposts appear along the way. The creative impulse remains a brittle found nest, and must be cupped, protected and tended.  Which makes me look for thing which help make sense of it.

This PBS snippet crossed my path:

The other thing of late is that I've been enjoying Creativity, Inc. in audiobook form.  

Written by Ed Catmull with Amy Wallace and read by Peter Altschuler.  It investigates a larger question certainly - how do you create a dynamic culture of creativity?  I'm enjoying the themes he has addressed concerning Trust and the role of the manager of a team.    And I'm more than a bit jealous of the work environment which has evolved over in Emeryville.   It's fun to pick off the ideas which can be applied to the task of VO character creation each day.  

Levi's Talking Scoreboard Radio Spots

This project was a hoot -  had great fun coming up with the voice for the new Levi's Stadium scoreboard, who has questions about things...

Audio for the radio ads for the new Levi's Stadium, featuring the Levi's Talking Scoreboard.

Today's Under-Headphones-Studio-Bike-Geek-Headwear

Courtesy of the talented sheep and weavers at Kucharik. It has served many hours of saddle time and now is working well under the headphones for morning auditions.
mmmmmm..... wool with earflaps.

Since this now seems to be a series, yesterday's was a thinner, lighter option with traditional watchcap design. Courtesy of Rivendell Bicycle Works (though I think the light green is a thing of the past.)

GamingLives.com Interviews Gene Mocsy - Writer/Designer of "1954: Alcatraz"

GamingLives.com sits down with Gene Mocsy, the designer and writer (and as we learn in the interview a character voice here and there...) of 1954: Alcatraz, which hopefully will be released from Deadalic Entertainment this coming year.   He talks about the inspiring environs he found both on the famous island itself and throughout the city of San Francisco. 

This has been an interesting project to be involved with - seeing it expand from an independent venture to a fully-realized release from a major gaming company.  But through it all (as with the video games which get me most excited) is a dedication to captivating characters and interesting stories.

It's an interesting interview with insights into the long process of creating a game environment.

... yes, an at times creeeeeepy environment!

1954: Alcatraz - Interview with Gene Mocsy, Designer and Writer

Behind the Scenes: ADR with Disney Audio Legend Doc Kane

Wonderful behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of ADR - here noted engineer/ADR artist Doc Kane talks about the process and techniques of recording the vocals and voice tracks which are laid into films and animations.



Thanks to Sirenetta Leoni's "Inside Voiceover" for passing along this engaging video!