These were the initial words most often used by the voice over artist Don LaFontaine to introduce us to the latest Hollywood Blockbuster as he was rightly regarded as 'The King.' He was so well used and respected that he could work from his home studio and have the voice over scripts faxed to him.
"What a life that must be" I said in a blog post exactly 2 years ago this month. Get up in the morning, have a coffee to wet your whistle, pick up the latest scripts from the fax machine and simply talk for a few minutes to earn several thousand dollars.
Nice work if you can get it. My accent has been commented upon in the US so maybe I should give voice over a try. The trouble is, they want the voice to be a good mix of the clarity that allows the audience to actually hear what's being said and the deep bass tones that almost shake you out of your seat. Maybe my surround sound subwoofer is set too high, but he sure rocked my world.
I say rocked, past tense, because sadly 'The Don' died today, aged 68.
There are other voice over artists out there and life for them and the industry they serve will go on. But for a man who had a voice that we heard on our tv and movie screens more that any other, I'm sure he would be pleased to know that for a few days at least, people might actually look for the face behind that voice.
In a world where.........your voice can help sell a movie, that world is eerily silent tonight.
2 comments:
Yes, he had a great voice and I love that Geico ad you linked to two years ago. I think good voice-overs come in two kinds: the really characterful and pleasant to listen to (like his) or the ones that become "invisible" when narrating a programme (Andrew Sachs or Sam West - you don't notice the voice, just the content). Now then, Silverback, with your accent - - if only you were an actor - - !
Hi Silverback, I appreciate your post. We were all saddened at the passing of Don LaFontaine. Movie trailers will never be the same again. Many people may not have known the face, but they probably heard his voice. He truly did have a very distinctive voice. He'll definitely be missed...
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