Dave Courvoisier's Blog » Kudo’s

A Healthy Narration

CourVO — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:04:29 +0000

Yay for Kat Keesling, Diane Havens and many of my other buds from VO Universe and the VO-BB who organized and contributed to the reading of the proposed health care reform bill.

See NY Times write-up HERE.

See VO-BB forum thread HERE.

Visit the official site HERE. (you can also volunteer to read)

One of the voice-talents, Chriss Mezzolesta gets interviewed on TV for the story HERE.

CourVO

Oscar for Voice-Over? (10 performances that should’ve won)

CourVO — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:34:31 +0000

NorthbyNorthwestern.com posts a great "what-if" article about voice acting.

Click HERE to read the top 10 voiceover performances worthy of an Oscar.

CourVO

The Law of Voice

CourVO — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 04:08:04 +0000

You'd think a guy who worked hard to pass the bar in New York, wouldn't want to waste his time vying for the lean profits of voiceacting these days (hey, wait-a-minute…you could say the same for high-priced news anchors, I guess!)…but there's Robert Sciglimpaglia…big as life smiling his way through a great career in voice.

I first met Robert at VOICE 2008, and was impressed that he moved so gracefully between the legalese of contracts and courts as well as the challenges of microphones and marketing.

Robert left a big law firm, to hang his own shingle, specifically so he could have the flexibility to express his creative side…on the side.

He manages a wonderful balance in both fields.

I say all that to lead up to THIS link, which explains in even better detail how and why Robert does it.

Congrats, Robert…I can say, "I knew you when…"

CourVO

Voicey Awards

CourVO — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:21:11 +0000

Voices.com's 3rd-annual Voicey Awards are accepting nominations.

"The Voicey Awards recognize voice actors and voice talents for their
contributions and efforts over the year in the voice over industry."…according to the website.

This is a nice way to make sure someone you admire gets kudos for their work as a voice actor.

Click HERE to nominate and learn more.

CourVO

Brian Haymond & Daughters

CourVO — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:29:51 +0000

Tip o' the hat to Brian Haymond, all-around good guy, good voice actor, and good father who has involved his daughters in his voice work and charity work.

THIS is a link to a public relations site, but worthwhile reading for all the right reasons.

CourVO

Yay Haymond!

CourVO — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:04:32 +0000

When you consort with award-winning talent, all you can hope is that some of it rubs off on you from time to time.

I hear from Brian Haymond regularly in response to ideas we share, blog articles, and challenges in the business. Now come to find out Brian gets a big part of the credit for a "…prestigious 2009 National Religious Broadcasters Media Award for Best Television Commercial of the Year."

That's a quote from a great write-up in Nov 20th's Voice Over Times.

Take a couple of minutes to read about the spot, as well as his involvement with Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child, and his admirable commitment to helping some of the more disadvantaged in our world today.

Waytago Brian!!!!….and thanks to Voices.com for doing such an informative piece on Brian.

BTW, keep an eye on Voices.com in the next couple of days, they're making a lot of rumblings over there in the Great White North about their newly designed website they say they've been working on for a year or more. The premiere comes out very soon, and if David and Stephanie Ciccarelli's reputation for excellence is any indication, the new site is bound to be top-notch.

CourVO

U. S. of O’Connell

CourVO — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:13:59 +0000

Professional voice actor and president of Audio’connell, Voice Over Talent Peter O’Connell was chosen as the voice of “Uncle Sam” for a recent Tops Friendly Markets radio campaign.

‘Love it when deserving people get good breaks, good jobs, and good cred.

Nice going, Peter.

Read all about it HERE.

Find Peter’s website HERE.

CourVO

Some Audio Guy….

CourVO — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:02:06 +0000

…is a busy guy!

Juan Carlos Bagnell mostly goes by the moniker in the title of this blog, but he’s more than just another guy…

Juan appears in the current edition of VoiceOverExtra, with a great article on proper breathing techniques…and he’s also successfully completed a stint as a voice in the Harrah’s Casino web add/game. He plays a character called “The
Nibbler” (doing a REALLY bad impersonation of David Hyde Pierce as
Niles). You can play the game HERE.

Nice goin’ Juan!

CourVO

God-Like Status

CourVO — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:50:03 +0000

Before Pat Fraley….before Don LaFontaine, or Dick Orkin, or (fill in the blank with the name of your favorite iconic voice star)…there was Mel Blanc.

As a kid, I worshipped this man. Like Bob Bergen, I tried my best to do all the voices he did. (Bob kept his focus…I got waylaid into news, darnit!). I actually attended a seminar with Mel Blanc once (1979). ‘Wish they had digital videocams back then.

Now, BBC Radio has produced a 30-minute documentary on Mel Blanc in celebration of his 100th Birthday on May 30th. You can listen to the entire broadcast HERE: That’s All Folks! The Mel Blanc Story.

CourVO

Be Like Liz

CourVO — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:44:33 +0000

A wonderful tribute to Liz de Nesnera‘s entrepreneurial spirit appeared today in the e-mailed newsletter of her long-standing life/job coach.

Lest you think this blog is turning into a Barbara Winter love-fest, let me just say that one of Barbara’s points in her approach to new avenues of life and work is that THESE THINGS START HAPPENING when you open your eyes to new ways of thinking. You just start seeing the coincidences and the connections more. OK, it’s happening!

I’ve twice recently blogged about Barbara (here and here). Although she lives in Vegas, I had not met her. It took gentle urging from a Voice-actor friend in New Jersey (Liz) to bring us together for a physical meeting. Now, Liz shows up in Barbara’s e-mail newsletter. (coincidence?)

Here’s a reprint of the article….I know you’ll be as proud of Liz and Barbara and I are proud of her.
——————————-

Last week Liz de Nesnera called to share her latest success story. What had happened
in her blossoming voice over business that prompted the
call? "I had to turn down business," she laughed. "I told the
client I would love to help him out, but I have no time." We
agreed that having a surplus of business is a milestone
worth celebrating. When I pointed out to her that it was about
this time last year that she was in Las Vegas for her first big
voice over conference, she said, "Wow! What a difference a
year makes."

I get calls like that from Liz all the time, but for years i only
knew her as the name on a mailing label. Sometime in the
mid-1990s, Liz attended Making a Living Without a
Job in New York and subscribed to Winning
Ways newsletter. When her renewal came up every
year, she’d send another check, but I didn’t know the person
who went with that interesting name.

      That all changed in 2005. Liz had planned to attend my
Creating an Inspired Business seminar in Las Vegas
in November, 2004. The night before the seminar was to
start, I got a tearful e-mail from her saying that she had lined
up three caregivers for her elderly mother to fill in during her
absence. All three of them had
emergencies and had to cancel. I assured her that she could
attend the next event, which was scheduled for June, 2005.
In April of that year, she signed up for Camp
Jumpstart saying that she was still planning to come to
Las Vegas in June. So we finally met and I was immediately
charmed by her warmth, curiosity and enthusiasm.
It has been such a delight to watch her business change and
grow. Why is Liz off to such a great start?



      She shows up for her dreams. Like everyone, Liz
has had to confront her doubts and move outside her
comfort zone in order to take advantage of new
opportunities. She’s wise about keeping a
balance between information and inspiration.



      Much of her
voice over business has benefited from sharing with other
voice over artists, as well as from classes on building that
kind of
enterprise. But she also knows the value of inspiration and is
quick to tell anyone who wants to listen that participation in
events like Camp Jumpstart and Creating an
Inspired Business have had a positive impact on her
entrepreneurial thinking. Another huge boost to her business
came when she attended a Voice Over Conference in Las
Vegas where she not only gathered lots of useful information
and ideas, she began building a network.



      She gets into the conversation. Liz is a lively
presence on
voice over sites and blogs. A few months ago, she started
her own blog after a fellow blogger did a survey of his
readers asking them if they thought Liz should be blogging.
The response was unanimous and the gauntlet was thrown
down so Liz started her own blog. It’s easy to understand
her popularity. Liz is not only enthusiastic about building her
own business, she’s wonderfully generous about
encouraging other entrepreneurs, no matter what business
they’re in.



      Show up. Get into the conversation. Pass it on. It’s working for
Liz and it will work for you, too.



Want to hear Liz?

CourVO