Infovox iVox 1.1 improves speech and adds new languages

Amsterdam – 21 February 2007 – Acapela Group and AssistiveWare today announced the release of Infovox iVox 1.1.

Infovox iVox, a product from Acapela Group created in collaboration with AssistiveWare allows the naturally sounding, high quality voices of the Acapela Group to be used by any Speech Manager compliant application on Mac OS X, including applications such as TextEdit, Preview, Acrobat Reader, Proloquo, TextParrot and AppleWorks, as well as many educational titles. Infovox iVox, which is distributed worldwide by AssistiveWare, can also be used with Tiger’s built-in VoiceOver screen reader, and Dutch and French users now have the possibility to hear all the VoiceOver menus and messages in their own language by using Infovox iVox together with AssistiveWare’s VisioVoice.

Infovox iVox is a Universal Binary and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs. The products include all voices available for a language of choice. Version 1.1 adds American Spanish and Canadian French. The following languages were already available: US English, UK English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, and Swedish. All non-American English languages include one American English female voice as a bonus.

Version 1.1 contains the following enhancements:

• New languages: American Spanish and Canadian French
• New high quality Dutch male voice: Max
• Added support for less commonly used Speech Manager functions
• Improved handling of complex sentences for French
• Improved handling of compound words for Swedish
• A number of other fixes and enhancements

Read the full press release.

Rachel Robinson Awarded Best Female Voice of the Year
Rachel Robinson, voice of Coca-Cola’s “Make Every Drop Count” campaign and Celebrity Death Match characters wins Best Female Voice at Voices.com. [PR.com - March 27, 2007]

What The Hell Has Been Going On Since I’ve Been Gone?!

Let’s see…

Don Imus acted an anus, we lost more youths in the struggle, more minds got taken by corrupted vibes, blood and tears were shed, the oceans got toxic and sea life took a hit, it got hot as hell – real fast, and politics started sounding more and more like a hissing and rattling competition.  Meanwhile the dollar and the American reputation lost more weight and is starting to look much like our movie starlet’s receding waistlines, and did I mention my grand kids may never meet a polar bear or a penguin due to global warming?

But Chuck… somewhere a baby laughed, a family reunited, a father forgave a son, an ingenious idea was born… someone had the time to curl under a light bulb with a good book, and somewhere… a solution was seeded inside the hearts of future leaders…  and that’s alright…

Gia’na

Individual voices in agreement create a harmony which bespeaks an age. This is that age and On The Real is giving voice to it.

San Francisco Girls Chorus – Voices of Hope and Peace
Beginning in 2004 with their desire to record “Anne Frank, A Living Voice,” written for Chorissima’s 25th Anniversary, “Voices” is the result of their search for work by women writers like Frank, who were longing for change in their…

Voices.com is Well Worth the Money

I am a voice artist that works solely in Cartoons.

I joined Voices.com at the beginning of the year and only read for one job, a job that 330 other people read for… and I was hired.

Now, I had applied for this job through Craigslist too, but it was my Voices.com audition the creator heard.

It’s the lead in a series.

THANK YOU VOICES.COM!!

So yeah, it’s well worth the money.

Erin Fitzgerald

Nelly Furtado Hosts Juno Awards And Wins Big
Nelly Furtado has swept the boards at the Juno Awards – Canada’s version of the Grammys – taking home five prizes. The 28-year-old singer doubled up as host and winner at the ceremony in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Sunday – picking up the Best Single, Best Album and Fan’s Choice awards, to add to the Best Artist and Pop Album of the Year awards presented to her at a gala dinner on Saturday.[...] Read more!

What I’m watching.
I felt it would be interesting to post up some of the crap I’m watching. Perhaps not.

First, American Drama Heroes. It’s like a comic book in the form of a drama. I can’t resist it. It is one of the very, very few popular TV dramas that I would actually watch from week to week. Right now it’s nearing the end of a season so it’s getting rather intense.

Sexy Voice and Robo, interestingly enough, another drama. This one’s a Japanese drama. It’s about a middle school girl who can imitate and recognize voices really well and a giant robot geek. The two of them become spies kinda by mistake. It’s funny and interesting.

Well, this probably comes as no surprise…. Gundam Seed. I’m a Gundam fan at heart. I can’t resist the allure of giant robots, and Seed is actually, very much to my surprise, well written, action packed and not what I expected. I recommend it to anyone…..who love giant robots or Gundams.

These are all the new shows I’m getting into at this time. As for old contenders, I watch Penn & Teller’s Bullshit. Additionally I’m getting back into GARO. Granted, it’s over and no longer airing, I love re watching the episodes. Unfortunately, I can’t get anyone to watch it with me other than Aaron. And he’s in Portland now. No one’s willing to watch it because it’s a Tokusatsu program. But it’s not normal tokusatsu. GARO is very dark and full of lots of details, aesthetically pleasing design, and some of the best fight scenes in existence. Seriously, Kodama’s fight against Kouga is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

Any of you interested in checking out some of these shows can watch Heroes on NBC on Mondays. As for Gundam Seed, check it out on DVD, but only if you can find it unedited. The Cartoon Network version isn’t so good. Sexy Voice and Robo as well as GARO are not aired or licensed for US distribution. Those interested in seeing them can download them (with subtitles) from Tv-Nihon. Or of course, anyone can see any of those programs by going through me.

Enjoy Yourself Tonight (Pt. 829)
Enjoy Yourself Tonight (Pt. 829)

So I just got a brief call from the founder of the DDR Club at University of Missouri, Kansas City. The reason he called is because he forgot the answer to the question of XotW (DWI EX of the Week). After that, he asked the whole club to say hi to me.

I just felt so great when I heard so many different voices saying “Hi, Terrence” on the background. It was loud that I needed to take my phone away from my ear for a few inches. And when I responded to them, I felt my voice was so weak compared to them.

Republic of Safety

There is a tradition among Transom bloggers that they report not just on the actual event, but on what they do after the show.

Friday night at Radio Without Boundaries led us from the Student Centre at Ryerson University, to The Beer Bistro on King Street for moules et frites, and then finally to a small Queen West bar for the closing set by the Republic of Safety. It was all in all remarkable and fun, and reminded me of the conformity of our day to day lives.

The evening’s show at RWB actually echoed the themes of safety and danger.

“Remember the feeling of your Mom pushing you on the swings when you were four years old?”

We are sitting in a darkened room, really the only way to hear radio, the same way that you heard it as a child, with the radio hidden under your covers, turned down low.

A single spotlight lit a small transistor radio at centre stage.

A voice, from the radio, yet disembodied as it travels throughout the room, welcomes us, and draws us into that place where the sound overtakes the senses and wraps you in its embrace.

The message from tonight’s guide, Richard Lee, was simple: take risks, push the boundaries, listen hard.

The evening opened with a new work by CBC radio’s Steve Wadhams.

Trains Crossing uses one of the most archetypical of sounds to tell the story of an elderly woman who broods on “what might have been if, as a child, she had told the truth that Saturday night when a man came to the door and asked her a simple question.”

The sounds of trains, the sounds of a woman’s voice, all spatialized by NAISA Artistic director Darren Copeland gave the audience a reminder of the immersive experience that radio can be at its best. And yes the sense of “what might have been” was a powerful one.

Following Steve’s work was Through a Door by Sarah Boothroyd. Through a Door presents Boothroyd’s exploration of Ottawa’s Nicholas Street jail, one of Canada’s oldest public buildings, and the site of Canada’s last public execution.

Boothroyd’s work again draws on sounds that are familiar, the sounds of prison doors and prison walls, but uses those sounds as the raw materials for an atmospheric and evocative exploration of that environment.

Within that fantastic but familiar soundscape voices emerge that tell the story of Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a Canadian journalist, poet, and politician who was assassinated in 1868.

The second half of the evening drew on another archetypical radio experience, with a live radio drama performance titled It Is To Laugh: Transistorized Feedback.

Portland Maine’s Dan Bernard was joined by Toronto performers Mark Ellis, Stacey Depass, and Stephen Latigan. A lively performance, and one which explored and a parodied both classic radio drama conventions, and contemporary media practices, all performed to a multi-layered sonic composed by Michael Townsend, and spatialized by Darren Copeland.

Thinking back to last night, the evening offered audience members a starting point, a group of settings and sounds that were familiar, that allowed a toehold.

And that is the power of archetypes, in radio, or literature, or art. It is the known and the comfortable, and is the place where one begins an exploration of a theme.

But it is now Saturday morning, and Robin Ravlich is speaking, so it is time to leave safety behind.

Cum invocarem : soprano, alto, tenor, bass & continuo / Giovanni Antonio Rigatti ; edited by Dennis Collins.
Author: Rigatti, Giovanni Antonio, ca. 1613-1648.
Publisher: [Dundee] : Prima la musica!, c2004.
Subjects:Sacred vocal quartets with continuo., Choruses, Sacred (Mixed voices, 4 parts) with continuo., Psalms (Music) 4th Psalm.

Welcome New York Times Readers!
If you’re visiting Women’s Voices for Change after seeing us mentioned in The New York Times Style section — Listen Up, Everybody: I?m in Menopause — welcome to our site! We’ve got lots of great content, including personal essays and…

Crittenton Women?s Union Voices Project
Crittenton Women’s Union has soft-launched the Voices Project, a blog that I’ve been helping with for close to a year. This is a blog that allows lower income women to give voice to their issues, concerns, and feelings. It lets us share in their situation: the despair, the setbacks, the victories, and most [...]

Vox Talk Podcast has been a Godsend

I am a relatively new member and I am absolutely THRILLED I found Voices.com.

This site has been a Godsend… for someone like me who works in the industry behind the scenes, but who is always looking at the spotlight (or microphone) with stars in his eyes! Thanks to the support of my family, a little bit of luck and the insight of your website and podcasts, I am finally getting my name back out there and starting to book some jobs; After having a good start in Chicago several years ago, then taking a not-by-choice near 6 year hiatus, I am starting over, but I am READY! !

Tristis est anima mea : SSAT + SATB / Juan de Lienas ; transcribed & edited by Bruno Turner.
Author: Lienas, Juan de.
Publisher: Lochs, Isle of Lewis, Scotland : Vanderbeek & Imrie, c2003.
Subjects:Motets., Choruses, Sacred (Mixed voices, 8 parts), Unaccompanied., Tenebrae service music.

Find Thousands of Voice Over Demos in newly christened Featured Voice Talent Directory at Voices.com
December 06, 2006, Interactive Voices – Find Thousands of Voice Over Demos in newly christened Featured Voice Talent Directory at Voices.com

Deep Space Voices Add-On For MorphVOX Voice Changer
Be the first to be transformed into a fighting Cyborg, a scary Mutant,
or a stoic Android.
This add-on is especially meant to enhance online role-play. It allows
gamers to get into character better by providing quality voices to
match their in-game avatar. The Deep Space Voices add-on has the
following voices: male/female android, cyborg, male/female mutant, and

Voicey Awards Finalists Announced at Voices.com
Get ready to hit the red carpet of voice overs with the Voicey Awards finalists, some of the finest voice talent in the world. [PR.com - February 16, 2007]

Voice123 Is Searching For Beta Testers
Voice123, the online voice over marketplace, is reaching the Beta stage in the development of the new Voice123 website. [SANEPR 15 March, 2007]

Dava Casoni – Acting and Voice talent
Dava Casoni is a professional actor and voice over artist. This site showcases some of her work and provides contact information to book her as talent.

Voices.com Reveals Third Generation Plans for the Voice Marketplace
Industry leader Voices.com unveils plans to bring their website to the next level including more sophisticated customization features, ease of use, and enhanced security. [PR.com - January 31, 2007]

Organic Food in Social Media
What is the talk in social media when it comes to ?organic food??

Table 3 and 4 slices the data from Table 1 and to into months. Table 3 shows the raw voices whereas Table 4 shows the impact.

From looking at the raw buzz (Table 3) we could easily come to the conclusion that ?environment? is on the decline and ?nutritious? is on the rise.

However, when looking at Table 4 we can see that ?environment? is pretty stable and the growth of ?nutritious? is nowhere near what Table 3 suggests.

All pictures are from the Onalytica InfluenceMonitor and © Onalytica

Crittenton Women?s Union Voices Project
Crittenton Women’s Union has soft-launched the Voices Project, a blog that I’ve been helping with for close to a year. This is a blog that allows lower income women to give voice to their issues, concerns, and feelings. It lets us share in their situation: the despair, the setbacks, the victories, and most [...]

Talent for Dubbing and Sound Effect Recordings Now Featured at Voice123.com
Professional voice over talent and voice producers offer fully produced dubbings and loopings through the largest online voice over marketplace. [SANEPR 3 April, 2007]

Alive Text to Speech
This software is a text-to-speech reader and text-to-voice file converter. It can read text in any program and convert text to MP3, WAV, OGG or VOX files. You can download voices from the Internet.

Voices.com Accepting Beta Testers for Spring ’07 Release
The leading voice over marketplace, Voices.com, is now officially accepting beta testers for their Spring ’07 Release. [PR.com - May 02, 2007]

Advertising Agencies to Benefit from the Spring ’07 Release of Voices.com
Agencies in search of top tier voice over talent and easy project management from hiring to billing have a friend in Voices.com. [PR.com - May 05, 2007]

Venessia
Suite for one woman’s voice, men’s voices and instrumental ensemble composed by Abed Azrie – Sung in Venetian – released in 2000 on l’empreinte digitale.

Voices.com is Well Worth the Money

I am a voice artist that works solely in Cartoons.

I joined Voices.com at the beginning of the year and only read for one job, a job that 330 other people read for… and I was hired.

Now, I had applied for this job through Craigslist too, but it was my Voices.com audition the creator heard.

It’s the lead in a series.

THANK YOU VOICES.COM!!

So yeah, it’s well worth the money.

Erin Fitzgerald

Miserere : for SATB,SATB & organ continuo / Leonardo Leo ; edited by T.J. Martino.
Author: Leo, Leonardo, 1694-1744.
Publisher: New York : Mannheim Editions, c2003.
Subjects:Choruses, Sacred (Mixed voices, 8 parts) with organ., Psalms (Music) 51st Psalm.

Voices.com Announces Major Sponsorship Role at the VOICE Conference
Voices.com, the #1 Voice Marketplace will play an integral part in The VoiceOver International Creative Experience (VOICE), the first-ever conference held for professional voiceover talents. [PR.com - January 23, 2007]

Voicey Awards Finalists Announced at Voices.com
Get ready to hit the red carpet of voice overs with the Voicey Awards finalists, some of the finest voice talent in the world. [PR.com - February 16, 2007]

Voiceover Talent for Recordings in Spanish on Voice123.com
Searching for and hiring voice over actors and producers for projects in Spanish has become a quick and easy task. [SANEPR 5 March, 2007]

New Horror Movie, Film, and Video Voice Over Actors at Voice123
Voice123, the online voice over marketplace, new features professional voice over actors for any type of horror movie, film, or video. [SANEPR 16 April, 2007]

MICHAEL JACKSON AND CHRIS BROWN???
www.freddiebell.wordpress.com Solid Gold Soul June 11, 2007 Welcome to Solid Gold Soul About Freddie Bell Freddie Bell, velvet morning voice talent is a mellifluous voice actor, broadcast-journalist, speaker and National Voice Actor. His vast voice over credits, include hosting several radio programs including the Tom Joyner Morning Show, The Love Train, It?s The Gospel in Tampa, The Freddie Bell [...]

Some advice about unsolicited advice
A few weeks ago, Drew told me that he found himself critiquing the voice-over actors on local radio commercials. He said he could recognize voice talent who need more training because they haven’t learned how to sound conversational in their reads. Among other things, he astutely detected that amateurs invariably let their voices trail off at the ends of sentences. That same day, I called a major entertainment venue here in Atlanta to learn information about an upcoming event. I was rather shocked to hear a voice message in which the events and ticket prices were read in a choppy, uneven manner by someone with an accent. While some local commercials are produced by people with limited budgets, this complex has revenues in the millions each year. Its operations department unquestionably could afford to hire professional voice talent but has not. In both cases, a professional voice-over artist like me could be tempted to offer her services to these businesses to fix their problems. However, both the people producing the commercials and those at the entertainment venue don’t think that they have a problem. My efforts therefore would fall in the category of unsolicited advice and most likely anger the people that I most wanted to impress. I learned this lesson the hard way. As I was beginning my voice-over career, I wrote an e-mail to a local car dealer who runs a lot of radio ads. With my infinite wisdom, I explained that the dealer’s ads about Jenny in the office making a Bundt cake for all of the salesmen was offensive because it presented a very sexist and condescending attitude toward women. Mind you, I sent this message in the late 90s or early in this decade. The ad WAS sexist, but as a new voice talent who had no connection to this advertiser, it wasn’t my place to point out that fact. Naturally, I happily identified myself as a voice-over talent and offered to assist the dealer with future commercials. I have auditioned for that dealer’s spots on numerous occasions but have never booked one. I have listened to my auditions against the ads that ran on the air. My vocal qualities and copy interpretation are eerily similar in many cases. Since I’m a positive person, I believe that maybe the producers knew the talent selected for the ads or perhaps never heard my auditions. I have to be honest, though, and acknowledge that an equally likely scenario is that my unsolicited advice was considered criticism and destroyed my chances of booking work with that advertiser.

ISMAEL RECORDS NATIONAL TALENT SEARCH!
THE ISMAEL RECORDS NATIONAL TALENT SEARCH HAS ONLY 16 SLOTS AVALIBLE!, AFTER THESE 16 SLOTS ARE FILLED, ISMAEL RECORDS WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT ANY MP3 OR IPOD DEMOS OR LIVE AUDITION REGISTRATION FEES!. THIS TALENT SEARCH HAS NOW BECOME A WORLD WIDE TALENT SEARCH WITH MP3 AND IPOD DEMOS BEING SENT TO ISMAEL RECORDS NOT ONLY NATION WIDE BUT WORLD WIDE. POP RNB, RAP AND GOSPEL RECORDING ARTIST, GET YOUR DEMOS SENT IN WITH REGISTRATION FEE, BEFORE THESE 16 SLOTS ARE FILLED!, MONEY ORDERS ONLY!. WINNER…

by: Sherri
If the accent doesn’t work out, I’ve got a few suggestions. My voice leaves home to go walkabout on a regular basis. First, silence. Don’t use the temp voice. Use a note pad. It’s like writing love notes to your voice. Voices can’t resist that for long. Second, lots of water and less caffiene. Your voice might be suffering from sleep deprivation and be off somewhere trying to nap. Or it might have a hangover. Third, nice, pure air. Last of all, make sure you don’t have any sort of infection. Voices do not like cooties and will vacate as soon as cooties move in next door. I know, it’s a terribly kind of bigotry, but what can you do?

Voices.com Makes Giant Splash at VOICE 2007 in Las Vegas, NV
Major Sponsor Voices.com heated up Vegas sands with charisma and good old-fashioned fun at the Voice Over International Creative Experience (VOICE). [PR.com - April 07, 2007]

Paquita La Del Barrio
A cult figure in Spain and Mexico, this veteran singer is both a Mexican cabaret heroine and the spokeswoman for her gender in the Mariachi world. She sings of male deception and the world-weary in a bold voice imbued with melancholy. – Robert Leaver

Political Ad Voice Talent

I heard a great piece on NPR yesterday with two guys who do a ton of attack ad voice-overs.  Their normal voices were similar to their TV voices, but they both used subtle changes in pacing and breathing that transformed them from normal deep-voiced guys into all-knowing voices of serious condemnation.  Using those voices, they then read various nursery rhymes and turned them into attack ads.  Funny stuff.

There’s a woman who does a lot of the GOP ads here in Minnesota, and I’m sure lots of other places, too.  It’s hard to describe what she does, but it’s this weird sort of hiss or lisp or cutting off of the last part of a word.  It so perfectly captures the prudish, pious disgust that motives certain parts of the conservative frame of mind.  I’d love to know if that’s really how that woman talks or if she actually uses that voice intentionally.  She’s either a master of her trade or an actual pious, prudish woman full of disgust.

Both the guys on NPR said they really had to check their own politics at the door.  I suppose that’s true in a lot of jobs, and we all do check our politics at the door in a variety of situations, such as a Libertarian swingers party.  I have to think if you were a hard-core partisan it would be hard to not have second thoughts about literally being the voice of your opposition.  I’m not sure I could do it, although it’s entirely possible that getting paid like premium voice talent could influence my thinking on the subject.

Personal to Self-Advocates :: Two questions to ask any entity..

You’re contemplating supporting, be it virtually, financially, or spiritually:

• Does the organization in question advocate the support of the self-advocate Voice under all circumstances..?
• Does the organization in question advocate the desegregation of persons with disabilities under all circumstances..?

If you encounter a “yes” answer to the first, cool beans, for there are those who answer “no”.. Should an entity choose to advocate the squelching of the newly empowered self-advocate Voices springing up all over our World, one cannot help but doubt the motivation of an entity that openly, publicly advocates to (seemingly) more powerful entities that they throw the self-advocate Voice into the figurative Trash, especially should that original entity be one that itself presents a public facade of encouraging independent living..

If you encounter a “yes” answer to the second, the desegregation of persons with disabilities under all circumstances, cool beans, again.. To those who answer “no” to this question, one might do well to ask why they choose to support an action that will only serve to encourage other entities to follow suit, thus setting backwards a movement that has taken some 30, 40-odd years plus to create, the 100% full, unfettered inclusion of all persons with disabilities in our communities..

Just one person’s most humble O.. The Choice, as always, is yours..

Rundgren’s fans accept the challenge
Review rating: Four out of five stars Smack dab in the Bible Belt, Todd Rundgren performed “Fascist Christ.” A risky choice, but not out of character for this uncompromising artist. Todd RundgrenRundgren, 58, saw no reason to change his set…

Voices.com Announces Advertising Opportunities on Blogs and Podcasts
The leading voice industry podcast, VOX Talk, and the Voices.com Blog Network are now welcoming sponsors on a monthly basis. [PR.com - January 31, 2007]

Earning Commissions Through the New Voice123 Affiliate Program
Voice123′s affiliate program offers opportunities to make money by referring users to the largest voice over marketplace. [SANEPR 30 April, 2007]

voice work
master caster tom kato needs 10 spanish speaking people for voice over work. part of large study for tv. 2 hours only. 60 dollars cash. email: please include name and phone number. PLEASE SEND HEADSHOT! immediate. max age 50. must be resident of city for at least 10 years.

Voice Talent,Male,ACTOR of New Orleans: Wayne A. Ferrara
VOICE IMPRESSIONS: Professional Male Voice Talent and narration services by New_Orleans based Wayne Ferrara; one of the most broad range male voice talents in the industry.

Voices.com is Well Worth the Money

I am a voice artist that works solely in Cartoons.

I joined Voices.com at the beginning of the year and only read for one job, a job that 330 other people read for… and I was hired.

Now, I had applied for this job through Craigslist too, but it was my Voices.com audition the creator heard.

It’s the lead in a series.

THANK YOU VOICES.COM!!

So yeah, it’s well worth the money.

Erin Fitzgerald

Voiceover Talent for Recordings in Spanish on Voice123.com
Searching for and hiring voice over actors and producers for projects in Spanish has become a quick and easy task. [SANEPR 5 March, 2007]

Video Animation Tips for the Aggressive Artist

by Kelly Richardson
Animation School Review Columnist

The boundaries of video animation are constantly being tested and redrawn. As cutting-edge technologies turn computers into virtual easels, artists and animators are able to produce some pretty incredible creations.

Video Animation Tips: Creation

Whether you’re new to the animation game or a seasoned veteran, you can never have too many tricks in your bag. There are a variety of ways that you can communicate a message visually without losing something in the translation. Here are some basic ideas to keep in mind as you begin the build-out portion of your project.

• Save Early, Often. Especially if you’re working with Flash video animation software, make sure you repeatedly save files to avoid losing your work.
• Mix and Match. Try combining flat color vectors with photographic bitmaps to give your work texture, versatility, and differentiation throughout.
• Don’t Overdo. When you’re in the creation process, it’s easy to go a bit overboard. Remember that your audience can only absorb so much.

Video Animation Tips: Presentation

On the presentation side, try to imagine your audience in the process of viewing your video animation. This will get you thinking and clicking like a true surfer.

• No Waiting. Always have an alternative animation during loading times.
• Small Files. Smaller video animation files will have a much shorter download.
• Get Feedback. Find out from colleagues and friends how they interacted with your creations.

Keeping these aggressive yet sensible video animation tips in mind will improve your work as a whole, and develop you as a true animation artist.

About the Author

Kelly Richardson covers the local education and technology scenes in major cities across the country. His articles appear in educational journals, periodicals, and e-zines.

Day of Silence (can you for one day lose your voice for those who will never have one)
Since January 22, 1973 over 48,000,000 babies have had their voices silenced through surgical abortion in this nation. Children in their mother’s womb have been dehumanized. Over 4,000 children…

Voicey Awards Finalists Announced at Voices.com
Get ready to hit the red carpet of voice overs with the Voicey Awards finalists, some of the finest voice talent in the world. [PR.com - February 16, 2007]

Behind the Scenes

The Red Masque/Mask

The original Red Masque was Richard Gillespie, the cousin of Commissioner William Gillespie. Richard was a soldier of fortune who traveled the world. In one of his escapades in the China Sea he acquired a mysterious red cloth that he was compelled to wear. Tying it about his head he heard voices, the voices of all who wore the cloth before. It’s previous owners were all seekers of justice. Richard made a mask of the cloth and returned to Victory City and helped his cousin gain appointment as commissioner by exposing corruption in the Steel Town government. William, grudgingly at first, aided his cousin.

Within a year William had himself donned the mask a few times at need. The cousins resembled each other enough to convince people there was only the single Masque. In addition to giving the wearer mental powers the mask allowed greater agility and strength. Richard died in a car crash in 1951. Gillespie would don the mask several times over the following decades. But realized the mask was causing him to become increasingly violent.

In 1999 Gillespie engaged in his final disastrous run in with the police while trying to save Sharon Longacre from being assaulted in Hero Park. Diving into the Canal he contracted pneumonia. Sharon Longacre was an aspiring advertising executive who was out jogging when she had her run in with the Masque. Gillespie was dying and decided that saving Longacre meant destiny had marked her as his successor. He had the mask sent to her.

The mask she received in the mail mystified Sharon. Eventually she wore it to a Halloween party. The voice of the mask explained its past to her and after a few weeks of training she became the new Red Mask. She was determined to restore the vigilante?s reputation. She has felt the compulsion of the mask to resort to lethal force but resisted it so far. This may in part be because she is the first female wearer of the mask.

 The Gillespie mansion was untenanted after William died. In 2001 Arthur Chester, a petty thief broke in. Wandering the dusty halls and searching for something valuable and light enough to steal he was drawn to locked trunk in Richard?s room. Arthur broke the lock and found a blood red suit, possibly made of the same cloth as the mask.

 Chester took the cloth and returned to his digs in the Bowery section. In the next weeks he compulsively sewed more bits of cloth onto the suit to create the Jackalent costume. Chester was a failed actor and a thief mainly out of necessity. After he began working on the Jackalent identity he began speed reading books from the local library and working out as much as possible.

 He found a job in a small theatre company as a lighting technician. He still aspires to an acting career but it pays the bills. Chester chose the name Jackalent after a straw man that was a traditional Lenten decoration in England. During Lent people would throw stones at the jackalent to represent them casting off their sins. Chester became a magnet for the dispossessed in the Bowery, people who were wronged and could not trust the authorities for one reason or another.

 Bomber

A number of super humans were born after 1969. This is due to Bomber sleeping around after his wife?s death. It is an irony that a second string super (at best) has fathered and in some cases grandfathered a number of heroes.

 Background:

The Shadow, and his more violent peer, the Spider, inspired the Red Masque. His mask  is similar to  !MPACT Comics? Black Hood. I haven?t figured out exactly whether the mask itself is sentient or an anchor for the spirits of its wearers. It is very old and certainly tainted by dark forces.

 I drew on DC?s Wildcat for the Bomber, a man out of his own time who is still fighting the good fight. Bomber isn?t a very successful hero but he?s having too much fun to let anyone tell him to stop.

 For the Jackalent I turned to the Suppressed Transmission Column in Pyramid Magazine. It?s a great source for all kinds of occult weirdness. The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, also known as the Rev. Dr. Sin, inspired me to create a scary hero. There aren?t enough of those IMO.

 Vengeance is actually a Dhampyre, a son born to a living woman impregnated by a vampire. Yes, there are vampires in this setting. They rule Valknia, an eastern nation more or less openly. Vengeance is somewhat impeded by bright light due to his sensitive eyes. He can regenerate wounds almost immediately and gain super strength when he drinks human blood. That compulsion is growing daily.

Voice Talent for Jingles and Songs Available at Voice123 (voice123.com)
Voice talent seekers can find professional voice artists to record jingles and songs for any type of voiceover project. [SANEPR 23 January, 2007]

Voice123 Is Searching For Beta Testers
Voice123, the online voice over marketplace, is reaching the Beta stage in the development of the new Voice123 website. [SANEPR 15 March, 2007]

Ian Lofty Fulton Male voice over artist – Sydney, Australia
Lofty is one of Australia’s most sort after voice over actors. He has a deep, authoritative tone that’s perfect for straight, retail, soft sell, hard sell, promos and corporate scripts. He’s the man if you require impact.

Episode 6 – 05.17.07
It’s here, the latest episode of the Full Moon Show featuring: “I Want Your Job!” with Voice Actor David Kaye, a 100% *New AND More Incognito* Mystery Guest, and the inside track on “Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction” development news!

Manchester s Photography, Art Cultural Social Events Group (Manchester)
Camera Culture Manchester Manchester s Photography Art Cultural Social Events Group Meet like minded people be creative Organised by a Professional Photographer an Artist helping you improve your skills and make new friends. For example on regular photography meet ups or art walks you could improve your skills with that new digital camera or have you always wanted to sketch or paint in the countryside with a group of other creative adults. See the website for a diary of creative and cultural social events for adults of any age or creative experience. w.cameracultureuk.com or contact Alex Jerman on info cameracultureuk.com 0161 2487980 or 07946541020 Your first event free Photography by Alex Jerman w.alexjermanphotography.com Artwork by Mandy Pearks subject to copyright

On The Real

With the relaunching of Air America, On The Real expands and reinvents it’s programming with more contributors and the most thought provoking chatter on radio.  Stay tuned and be sure to podcast the show…..

Individual voices in agreement create a harmony which bespeaks an age. This is that age and On The Real is giving voice to it.

Bob Michaels; Voice Talent, Narrator, Announcer, Voice-Overs
Bob Michaels is a Dallas, Texas-based voice talent; a narrator, voice actor, and announcer providing voice-overs for electronic and broadcast media.

The Need for Speed: Voices at Your Service

Greetings, When you’re in a bind and need voices, where do you turn? When the timing is critical and a message needs to get out, who comes to your aid? This is an open invitation to those of you who have not yet found a home to locate reliable voice talents. InteractiveVoices is the #1 destination for you to connect with voice-over professionals who will be your go to talents in time of need. We give you the tools to connect with talent who have the quickest turnaround time in the industry, often delivering finished products within hours of hiring them. While some agencies may take days to arrange a voice-over with several middlemen in between and higher costs, InteractiveVoices makes it easy for you to contact talent directly in real time and get responses quickly – saving you time and money. Professional voice talent are ready to record your vital messages 24 hours a day and are all conveniently located at one website. Now, that’s encouraging! Timing and Communication are everything in this fast paced, on demand world. Liberate yourself from the rat race and take advantage of the best voice talent service on the planet. Go direct, pay direct, receive direct… There’s no better way. 3 Ways to Find Voices Fast

1. Post a voice-over Job
2. Browse the Featured Talent categories
3. Search the voice talent database

If you’re reading this article and needed your voice-over recorded ‘yesterday’, here’s a link to quickly post your voice-over job and see results within minutes of approval. To your success! Stephanie

New VoiceoverTalent for Television Ads at Voice123.com
The Voice123 voice talent database grows and showcases the talent of new voice actors for television ads and commercials. [SANEPR 2 April, 2007]

Meet Dave Adams the voice of Mojo Sam
Let’s take a break from birdwatching. I would like to introduce everyone to Dave Adams. Dave is an Philadelphia artist and a radio voice actor that I have been listening to for over 30 years. For those of you that are familiar with ZBS media then you know who I am writing [...]

Lecture 4 – The Voice
First assignment, the radio voice – what kinds of voices can we hear on radio in Australia today? How do radio presenters use their voices?

Ace Buddy
This program can read any text in any window. It can also play plain text files. Ace Buddy has a WinAmp-style user interface with dozens of voices, characters and skins.

VoiceProfessionals.com Voiceover Talent
This talented group of Actors and voiceover artists from the U.S. Northwest can be contacted through the website for work on your televsion, radio or other voice project.

Voices.com and Voice123: The Verdict is In, Pro Voice Actors Unite
In a recent poll involving over 10,000 voice actors, an overwhelming majority of respondents said that they prefer Voices.com over voice123 as their voice marketplace. [PR.com - March 05, 2007]

Advertising Space Available In The Voice123 Industry Directory
The online voice over and media industry directory offers adverting space for companies to promote their products and services. [SANEPR 13 April, 2007]

Voices.com Presents at the 2007 Canadian Venture Forum
David Ciccarelli, CEO of Voices.com, will present Voices.com, The Voice Marketplace, at a national showcase event to top tier North American venture capitalists and angel investors. [PR.com - February 27, 2007]