Tag Archives: E L James

Airlift Mike Closes-Out 2015 With A “Bang!”… Sort Of

Coitus not-so interruptis
Coitus not-so interruptis

Perhaps it’s because it’s what brought us all here to the planet – the “horizontal hokey-pokey”, the “old in/out, in/out”, the “mattress mambo” – that SEX hangs us all up the most.

And intrigues us the most. And sells … everything from beer to burgers, cars to movies.  Just ask E. L. James.

Yes, 2015 has been very good to old E. L. and her 50 Shades Phenomenon.  And to the gang at Airlift Productions as well.

MichealZiantsNewOrleansVoiceTalentAndAudioProducer
New Orleans Voice Talent & All-around Audio Dude Micheal Ziants, Airlift Mike

So, as we wrap-up the old and prepare to unwrap the new (year), here at the Airlift Studios we’re, ah… well, unwrapping a few things too. Metaphorically speaking of course.

I’ve had quite the reaction from this audio file through the past months from both women and men, and after many requests to re-post it, I figured what the heck – let’s exit 2015 with a “bang”! 

Or at least the prelude.

Unlike so many of Airlift’s Productions, this one is raw. Naked. No music. No sound effects. No reverberation. Nothing. Except the human voice. Softly cooing into the human ear.

MichealZiantsAkaMikeMcCannWQUEPhotoShoot1985
Airlift Productions Proprietor Micheal Ziants, in a photo shoot for Q-93/WQUE-FM back in the day, to promote that afternoon M&M Mike McCann

While the reaction from the movie version was mixed at best, this audio book sample has been rather warmly received. OMG. Plug in the ear buds and send the kids out of the room.

Its Airlift Mike’s rendition of a couple sassy & seductive pages from E. L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey”. 

 

Oh. My. 

So, as we exit the old year with a bang tonight, so to speak, and with tongue firmly in cheek, allow the Airlift krewe and me to wish you & yours a most fulfilling, scintillating, and  titillating  2016!

(did all that make it past the censors?)

****************************************************************

Charlyne Fabi“Micheal is an amazing talent. We were faced with several issues on a recent project and he was incredibly proactive in finding the perfect solution. He worked tirelessly and at lightning speed to create music that not only made our client happy but also garnered industry recognition.” ~ Charlyne Fabi, Creative Director, Right Hat LLC, Chicago, Illinois

*******************************************************************

Airlift Productions ~ Telling America’s Greatest Stories from America’s Greatest City since 1984

50 Shades Of Grey … Matter, from Airlift Productions

MichealZiantsAkaMikeMcCannWQUEPhotoShoot1985
Airlift Productions Proprietor Micheal Ziants, in a photo shoot for Q-93/WQUE-FM back in the day, to promote that afternoon M&M Mike McCann Show for New Orleans

As Mardi Gras rumbles through the streets of NOLA yet again (bands, beads & boobs), and just ahead of the opening of “50 Shades of Grey” at a cineplex near you … a few thoughts from Airlift.

It’s kind of funny the way life works sometimes. The Chinese call it ‘wu wei’ …. living with the give and take, the flow of life,  but the biggest industrial VoiceOver job I got all last year centered around an unbelievable set of circumstances.

The CEO of this major Chicago-based supply house needed VoiceOver work recorded for a huge upcoming convention in Dallas. As fate would have it, the CEO was female, and her request to the video producer was, “Have Micheal read it like he did ‘The Highwayman’ on his website.”

Now, the read in question came from an audio book on CD that I had finished recording in the mid-1990s, “Soft Words, Warm Nights“, and was a far cry from anything I’d been cast to record at that point. Not even close.

Passionate. Dramatic. Cinematic. As you may recall from high school or collegiate English classes, this epic poem tells the tale of highway robbery, torrid passion, star-crossed lovers, suicide & murder!

Certainly not what one would call ‘commercial fare’.

Yet across the decades, this recording of ‘The Highwayman’ was the clincher.  This was the approach, the mic technique, the raw emotion that this woman – the corporate decision maker – based her final decision on.

All that being said, here comes another Airlift Mike stretch.

In her sizzling, poker-hot, best-seller “50 Shades of Grey”, E. L. James set fire to the smoldering libidos of women all across the planet.

And now, just ahead of it’s big box office release, Airlift Productions presents ’50 Shades of Grey ~ the Ziants way’ – no reverb, no special effects, no music. Naked. Raw. Real. Sensual. Oh, and fun!

Plug-in the headphones (no kids allowed) and give a LISTEN to Airlift’s audio book audition track here …

***** Micheal Ziants reads from ’50 Shades of Grey’ *****

To the uninitiated who’ve never heard an audio book, yes, the narrator/reader performs all the parts.  It’s all about treating the microphone not as a cold piece of metal … but as a warm, human ear. Making sterile technology & internet downloads all warm … and fuzzy.

It has been said that the most important sexual organ is between the ears, not the legs … the human brain, the gray matter.  So, let’s tickle it a bit.

Whether this read influences the next corporate narration VoiceOver job or not is purely an academic question at this point … but for now, let’s just consider this a bedtime story for the 21st century woman.

NOLAVoiceOverTalentMichealZiantsAirliftProductions2014
Airlift Productions’ Micheal Ziants putting in another day at the office in 2015. “Ah, can I really say THAT on the microphone?”

Airlift Productions Recording Studio ~ Telling America’s Great Stories from New Orleans since 1984!