Dec 2005
Squeezins Greetings - Merry ChrismaKwanzaaKuh
12/24/05 03:14 PM

Pathetic?
Hardly.
Right now I'm guessing some long lost aunt is kneading a boney digit into your sternum and peppering you with insights about "getting a real job" while you're trying to watch football.
Me? I'm being ignored by millions. I love this time of year.
(Redskins are up by 7 by the way...)
However, as much as I enjoy this "goodwill toward man" vibe that goes down around now, I'm completely amazed this year by the pick axes of propriety being swung over whether or not one should say "Happy Holidays", "Season's Greetings" or to be audacious enough to utter, (shudder),"Merry Christmas".
For me the pinnacle of this nervous absurdity was reached earlier this week when a very earnest cashier at Border's Bookstore in Downtown Minneapolis wished me away with a pearly and sincere "Merry ChrismaKwanzaaKuh".
I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or thank her profusely for the free material.
Now, normally we chat here about projects we're working on, voice-over recording, voice-talent with whom we're producing radio spots, advertising, trends in the recording studio industry, etc. but today I wanted to offer my own personal insight on all this holly jolly folly.
If you reflect on it, and ideally this is a season of reflection, nobody really has to wish you anything. Ever. The utterance of any kindly bon mot is a gift in and of itself - and, hey, it even fits. Understanding this particular gem of wisdom is the first step to being free of any worries about what may or may not be right or proper. Be it "Seasons Greetings", "Happy Holidays", "Merry Christmas", "Happy Kwanzaa" or my new favorite, "Have a dope yule, yo" - it's all good. I'm smiling at every bit of it and just want to say thanks to all of you who've tossed those glad tidings my way this season.
(Redskins are up by 15 now. Someone named Mike is verrrrrry happy)
So, in keeping with the spirit of the season, I'd like to offer my well wishes and thanks to all those to whom it rightly belongs for what has been a wonderful year here at Babble-On.
To our employees - thanks for keeping us focused.
To the voice-over talent - thanks for keeping on-mic.
To all our clients - thanks for keeping us employed.
To our competitors - thanks for keeping us honest.
To our friends and family - thanks for, um, well.... keeping us.
Merry ChrismaKwanzaaKuh, y'all.
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Board of Education - Tips On Timing
12/18/05 09:35 PM

One of the nagging injuries that cripples your average radio script is timing. Or, shall we say, a critical lack thereof.
More often than not, once we're in session, the first take finishes with a sudden and collective "ah hah" springing from the latté crowd perched on the couch in the back of the room (well, to be fair, it's probably just a polite comment from the perfectly coifed and clothed A.E. who's "...just looking out for the client")
Anyway, that vocal "gotcha" rears itself up upon the discovery that the script is too long and won't be able to accommodate the added sound effects and music you need. Worse, your script is too short and you'll be asked to insert yet another price or product mention.
And, as we all know, no one can hear "just a dollar thirty-nine", or "low risk of sexual side effects" too many times.
Indeed - timing is everything.
A method that seems to mitigate this nasty problem is actually pretty simple and doesn't require any special equipment or skill. Once you've typed out your award winning script, just play voice-over talent and record the spot into your voicemail. When you listen back to it simply focus on pace, rhythm, flow and feel - and, y'know, whether or not it's coming in at the right time. Doh!
Nine times outta ten you'll find places that can be tightened up, areas that will benefit from the voice-over talent slowing down, or wonderful occasions to place ...awkward ...uncomfortable ...delicious...
...pauses.
Once you've got your script nipped and tucked to perfection, be prepared to enjoy the most satisfying pause of all while you're in session at the recording studio. That first take will get logged in the books and you'll experience an interminable chasm of quiet as you wait for that A.E. to offer some pithy insight on a timing issue, ...that won't be there.
New Mics and Holiday Lights at Babble-On
12/11/05 12:04 PM

Our view of a nicely lit Hennepin Avenue at 6th St. (Insets) Studio "A" dressed up for the season
Well, it's early December in the world of advertising and voice-over recording - cue up the loooooong, lethargic snoring sound effects please. This time of year is notoriously slow for recording studios and their brethren who pen and produce all that on air clutter you so assiduously TiVo whenever you get the chance.
While a lull like this might normally give most western capitalists the chance to enjoy a little downtown holiday shopping, go for long lunches, or get one's Sudoku chops honed - we here at Babble-On are frittering away our brief down time checking out a few new microphones that we'd like to add to the quiver of our audio arsenal.
Mic shootouts are notoriously dull processes. One of us goes into the booth and reads achingly dry tech jargon from the manual at a variety of volumes to see how the mic responds. The others, (in this case John and I), patiently listen in studio for things like "transparency", "flavor" and "transient response".
Still here? Cool.
Currently, we're testing out dynamic mics that can handle high SPL's (yelling disc jockeys, small children and...others) with minimal deviation (sounding like shit). In a word, these are "beater" microphones. The 3.2 beer of the audio world. Mics you can lend to your ham-fisted uncle with the utmost confidence that even he can't kill'em.
While we currently have a Sennheiser MD-46 that we like to use for this purpose we thought we'd try out a cool looking mic called The Ball, from B.L.U.E. , and the well known icon of this breed - the Shure SM-57.
After about two minutes of hearing Greg stumble and yell through such winning phrases as "enhanced microphone technology" and "inimitable styling" we'd had enough. This was Terry Thomas from Kerker all over again.
Visually, it went something like this....


Now, normally we like to share with you snippets of audio from our recording studio adventures. However, we understand that most people, let's call them "normal", would find this type of thing pretty damn dull. So, with respect to those sensibilities we took Greg's performance, put a beat to it, and spun it into something completely absurd. Here's, "whadduzit, whadduzit, whadduzit sound like?"
For the record, the SM-57 won out.
Gotta comment? Let us know below.....
Irreverence In The Bag - Kerker Shelves "The
Usual" For Roundy's
12/02/05 01:39 PM

That guy must be hurling mom's meatloaf into his coon skin cap every time Family Guy, The Simpsons or South Park comes on the tube. Heck, by comparison,"Alex", from a Clockwork Orange, has probably had an easier time relaxing in front of the idiot box.
But, that's TV and movies. By contrast, cynicism in the world of radio advertising is a domain that hasn't been deeply mined. That's why this latest batch of radio ads that we've been recording with Kerker for their Roundy's account has been so refreshing.
A typical recording session with Kerker: many laughs and animated thought clouds
The writers for these radio ads, Terry Thomas, Ian Simpson and Beth Kinney have tapped into a great way to use a single voice, minimal production and unabashedly outrageous premises to create some really funny spots for Rainbow Foods, Copps and Pick 'N Save grocery stores. And, they work hard too - there's always at least three different products and price mentions in each production. What's really impressive is that these radio spots are all being done with the limited budget and margins common to the food industry. Truly, these are cheap laughs.
The voice-over recording for these radio ads is typically a pretty hilarious process. Twin Cities voice-over legend Dick Ervasti, the booming voice-over talent for all these spots, brings a swaggering countenance into the booth to get the character just right. Any single pass behind the microphone will undoubtedly carry with it a distinct sneer and some deliberate finger pointing antics. Somehow, words like "rump roast" just come off funnier that way.
Part of what's been a trip for Terry, Ian and Beth (aside from the time here at the recording studio) is the running tally they've been keeping of all the people, places and things they've thrown under the bus in the name of comedy and moving cans of peas. Here's the infamous, "list of the ridiculed" to date...

All this silliness has proven to be smart marketing, however, as sales at all three grocery chains are on the rise.
We picked out a few of our favorite Roundy's radio ads from the past months recording sessions to post here for you. Here is "Buy One Get One Free", "No Relation", "That's Not Funny" and our new personal favorite, "Sounds Better" featuring the vocal stylings of writer, Terry Thomas - who is now perhaps the only person on earth who has ever made a Neumann TLM-103 sound like complete crap.
Dick Ervasti can be booked for voice-over recording sessions through his Minneapolis voice-over agent, Moore Creative Talent, inc. Terry Thomas can not be booked for voice-over recording sessions for reasons that should be patently obvious.
WORX for me - Colle+McVoy Lace'em Up For Red
Wing Boots.
12/01/05 05:50 PM

For those who sweat the job site or earn their bacon toiling in steam filled kitchens across the country, those words are worn like a badge of honor ...or a pair of kick ass boots.
Red Wing Shoes, a Minnesota company, has been making shoes and boots for working people since 1905. When you're creating radio ads for an iconic brand like that, which has a "can-do" customer base at its core, you've got to be smart about what you say and and how you say it.
A couple of weeks ago we helped Colle+McVoy record, produce and stitch together a whole series of dealer kit radio spots for Red Wing Shoes and its subsidiary brand, WORX. The project gave us a chance to re-connect with John Neerland, a veteran of Cub Foods sessions with whom we used to spend hours in the aisles talking over tins of tuna with other waxy white suburbanites for Minneapolis ad agency, OLSON.
A few places you'll catch the Red Wing and WORX badge.
This gig also provided us the opportunity to chop up audio for the first time with Colin Corcoran, a very savvy writer who was most recently at Hunt Adkins here in town.
From the start of the recording session it became clear that, for Colin's Red Wing radio spots to work, they needed to speak clearly and concisely to an audience that doesn't have wheels of brie in their fridge, or ringside seats at chessboxing matches. Lot's of needless ornamentation and set up was out of the question. Problem was, could we make something so stripped down be entertaining and engaging?
Colin had this to offer about that predicament - "It's amazing how a straight announcer read on paper can seem so lifeless. That is until you put that voice into an environment the listener can relate to. When you have that, the scripts practically write themselves. And the sound effects pretty much tell the story why you need Red Wing boots as much as the words do, but with a lot more dimension".
The sound-design and audio post for these spots ended up being a lot of fun to create. The spots are heavily layered but they don't feel that way - which took a little forethought and preparation. In Colin's words, that "...led to sounds and textures I didn't have time to think of; making the spots themselves that much stronger. There weren't any tricks or comedy involved in concepting these. They were just simple and hard-working. Much like the voice talent was. Much like our target audience is."
The most complex of the spots, called "Machine", literally called on us to create a large inhuman automated background right out of the Hudsucker Proxy. We fashioned a rhythm track from various noises and then layered in steam, clanks and ratchets to complete the scene. Here are the radio ads "Machine", "Waterproof", "Insulated" and "Oxford"

Here are the mixes of "Oblique" and "Slip Resistant" for WORX from Red Wing Shoes and Colle+McVoy.
Greg, Amelia, and former "Guru of Grocery" John Neerland