Your project is unique. It deserves a custom, one-of-a-kind voice over read to help it stand out. Tim Hill brings that skills and experience to bring your script to life.
When I was a kid, our small town barber cut hair one way – badly. Unless, that is, you were satisfied with a buzz cut. Morrie was his name. He could light a cigarette (it was the stone ages), grab his clippers, and have you out of the chair before he needed to tip the first ash. Buzz cuts were his thing. And why not? There was no need to consider the shape of the face, the type of hair, the kids’ wishes or anything else. Bing, bang boom and you were on your way.
Specialization is evil. There, I said it. Okay, maybe not evil, but it sure seems to get more than its fair share of our attention these days.
Credit where due, doing one thing and doing it well is the basis of many a voiceover career. But what fun is only doing that? Why not use my years of acting and script analysis experience to try to create something truly unique – a “bespoke voice over,” if you will?
So, this one’s for the factotums (factoti?), the generalists, the jacks-and-jills-of-all-trades. Actually I’m referring to those freaks of nature who can seemingly do anything fantastically well and make it look easy – the performing artists we call double, triple, or quadruple threats.
Been thinking a lot about this lately, since I recently had the pleasure of working with three such talents on a very cool TV show called “Shrill,” airing on HULU. The persons in question are Aidy Bryant, E.R. Fightmaster, and Lolly Adefope.
Of course we might expect the inimitable Ms. Bryant to be hilarious and touching as the star of the show. We’ve enjoyed her comedic writing, acting and singing skills on Saturday Night Live for years. But I was really impressed with her as a producer on set – totally in tune with everything that was going on and effortlessly switching “hats” as the need arose. Even with the potentially stressful times due to extra health and safety requirements, from the vibe I got I’m pretty sure if she asked the crew to follow her into a volcano they’d happily have done it.
I was also quite impressed with E.R. Fightmaster, a performer I knew nothing about before I was cast as their “Dad-for-a-day.” With a comfortable ease and grace, a strong foundation in truth, and impeccable comedic timing, they fully inhabit the character of Em. They are also a gifted musical performer and composer, both solo and as part of a duo called Twin. I’m going on the record here saying we should expect to hear a lot more about them in the future.
And what can I say about Lolly Adefope? In less than a decade this native Londoner has built a CV that makes older performers like me tired just to read it. On Shrill she’s the perfect co-lead to match Aidy – effortlessly hilarious, insightful, touching…oh, and in Season 2, episode 4 she’s called upon to sing a Karaoke version of the challenging Lady Gaga mega hit “Shallow.” Of course she blows the roof off the joint, would you expect anything less? Then the story moves on like nothing just happened.
Can we just stop right there a sec. This. Is. Not. Normal. Leave some for the rest of us, will ya’?!
No mere mortals should be allowed to possess such a variety of skills at the highest levels of the performing arts. But there these three artists are, up there owning every moment that they’re on the screen. It’s not hyperbole to say my one day of working with them is destined to be a career highlight, no matter what else follows.
So, what does all this talk of variety have to do with this VO sampler video? Well, this voice over video demo is intended to show a range of what I’ve done and can do.
I approach every project with the goal of making it unique. I don’t have a cookie cutter announcer voice that I fall back on. I trust the script and direction to guide me as to objectives, pace, tone, pitch, character, and all the other factors that go into crafting an engaging read. Sometimes this happens during live directed sessions, other times I work on projects on my own, submitting drafts and offering an agreed upon number of tweaks to get it totally dialed in.
I can say with confidenct that no two projects that I’ve worked on sound exactly alike. Because variety makes for a spicey “bespoke” voiceovers.
Well, the pitch needs a bit of honing, but you get the drift!
