Tag Archives: Lee Zurik

New Orleans TV News Drops Anchor(s) at Airlift Productions

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(L-R) Airlift’s Micheal Ziants, Norman Robinson, Heath Allen, Rich Lenz at the WDSU-TV Studios for the CMN Telethon

Norman Robinson. Lee Zurik. Camille Whitworth. Rich Lenz. Heath Allen. Rachel Wulff.

Round up the usual suspects.

I have –  to record various voice-over projects here in New Orleans at Airlift Productions.

I first met and recorded Norman Robinson in 1991. He was fresh back in NOLA from the White House CBS-TV Network news beat, and was the newly-ordained anchor man at our WDSU.

Little did we then realize, or even think about future days, but the fact is, 32 years later, we’re still at it!

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Anchor man NORMAN ROBINSON brushing-up his VoiceOver skills at Airlift Productions NOLA

Our most recent project? Recording and compiling every electronic message for every streetcar and bus – even the ferries – in the city of New Orleans.

“Senior citizens ride the bus for only 40 cents”… “Please look around you for any personal items you may have left behind before exiting the vehicle. Next stop, Canal Street.”

NORTA – the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority – tagged Norman and me to record well over 1,500 wav files for use in their system citywide.

** Norman narrates NORTA’s ‘Go Mobile’ App Tutorial **

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L-R, Heath Allen, Theresa Andersson, Micheal Ziants, Rich Lenz – during a break from the original HEALING HOUSE sessions, Airlift Productions 2004

Rich Lenz now calls  Tulsa, OK & OETA home, a gone pecan from NOLA for well over ten years now (gee, Thanks, Katrina), but he served for 16 years as sports director/anchor at WDSU.

Richie and I’ve recorded countless tunes together, including epic anthems to herald the Children’s Miracle Network Telethon fund-raising year-after-year to benefit and support our Children’s Hospital’s life saving efforts for our kids.

** the 1st, of many, Telethon Tunes for Children’s Hospital **

Rachel Wulff records her VoiceOver Demo at Airlift Productions NOLA

After meeting former WWL/WDSU anchor gal Rachel Wulff around the aisles of our local Lowe’s Home Improvement store, I helped Rachel improve her post-anchor life and UP her game by producing a VoiceOver demo for her.

Very nice.

** Rachel’s VO Demo, with her daughter’s cutesy intro **

Fox-8/WVUE’s solid anchor dude – and award-winning investigative reporter – Lee Zurik and I work together on projects for video ace Paul Atkinson.

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Airlift Mike, Lee Zurik, Paul Atkinson – “Glory Days” sessions

The latest project? VoiceOver for “Glory Days”, an homage to the passions and victories of Newman High School’s football program.

As it turns out, Lee was on the same team at Newman with a local boy-made-good you may have heard of – the NFL’s Peyton Manning.

** Lee Zurik narrates “Glory Days” with Airlift Mike **

Man, that must’ve been some wild locker room, huh?

L-R. Micheal Ziants, Heath Allen, Rich Lenz, Brian Landry, making music at Airlift Productions NOLA

The Airlift Productions studio doors are always open to Heath Allen . A veteran reporter for decades at WDSU.  Heath carved-out his reputation in the early days all over Baton Rouge TV, and is today enjoying a well-deserved retirement on the north shore with his Janet.

His compassionate, and knowledgeable in-the-field reporting was always incisive and spot-on. And he picks quite a guitar, at that. The magic Heath brought to our Children’s Hospital Telethon tunes is the stuff of legend.

2023 continues to see local NOLA news veteran Camille Whitworth drop by from time to time for various VO commercial and industrial projects.

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Camille Whitworth sets the VO mood at Airlift Productions NOLA

Camille dedicated years to  the anchor chair at WDSU, and today fills her days public speaking, doing on-camera work for our East Jefferson Hospital, and recording various VoiceOver projects for clients in and around NOLA.

Dependable, personable, and experienced, Camille is always fun to have around the Airlift Studios.

Truth is, there is simply no reason or need for news anchors to walk away from their skills & finely-honed talents when they walk away from the nightly news anchor desk.

Norman, Rich, Heath, Rachel, Lee & Camille are all exceptionally fine and experienced talents with, as the expression goes, ‘ a lot of good miles left on their tires’.

It has also been said, and rightly so, that journalism, as well as the nightly news, is ‘History – the first draft’.

I am so gratified – and humbled – that these remarkable ladies and gentlemen have all chosen to work with me and Airlift Productions to write new chapters.

And, as Paul Harvey used to intone, tell ‘the rest of the story’.

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Airlift Productions Proprietor Micheal Ziants shoulder-to-shoulder with JAMES CARVILLE at the Airlift Studios

“I’ve been in studios from the Bayou to the Beltway and I can say after recording my last two audio books with Mike that there is no better place than Airlift Productions. The quality of the production, the studio, and frankly the comfort make it the only place I want to record now or in the future”— JAMES CARVILLE, Political commentator, Tulane professor & Campaign Strategist behind the most dramatic political victories of our generation

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Airlift Productions – where the warmth of analogue lives. And the lightning speed of digital delivers.

2016 NOLA VoiceOvers So Far: “Round-Up the Usual Suspects!”

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Airlift Productions “Gift of Life” Stained Glass Window

I guess when I first conceived, designed, built and wired the Airlift Productions Studios,  I was dedicated to creating a space to create.

A space with a ‘vibe’.

A space with an aura.

Comfortable, relaxing, and yet stimulating all at the same time.

Every day looks different because natural daylight filtered through stained glass gives feedback on the day, and every sunset has a different hue… a different feel.

And the sound? Oh yes, it had to be killer!

Whether UP full blast and in-your-face or background mellow relaxed, Airlift Productions is where the warmth of analogue lives… and the lightning-quick speed of digital delivers.

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Veteran WDSU News Anchor NORMAN ROBINSON delivering the goods for Posi-Gen Solar

And check out just a few of the totally cool – and multi-talented  -individuals who’ve been ‘killing time’ with  yours truly already here in 2016 —-

If you live in or around metro New Orleans, these characters really need no introduction. But we’ll give them one anyway.

Norman Robinson, after handling White House duties for CBS Nightly News, and after spending 20+ years in the anchor chair at WDSU-TV, enjoys cracking the Airlift Productions microphones for VoiceOver jobs for various clients, including Posi-Gen solar.

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L-R. Micheal Ziants, Steve Blaze, Todd Schmidt – recording V-O for “Through the Veil”, March 2016, Airlift Productions NOLA

Heavy Metal fans all across the south have lost their minds to the tender, heartfelt refrains of Lillian Axe since the 1980s, and the band’s founder & leader Steve Blaze was by the Airlift mics to lay down V-O tracks last month for “Through the Veil”, coming soon to a flat screen near you.

Imagine. Steve is now a ghost hunter out along the bayou, cher!

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Deuce McAllister records PSA TV VoiceOvers with Airlift Productions, NOLA

Together with over 70,000 of my closest friends, I’ve stood (like a scene out of ‘Gladiator’) in our Superdome and chanted this guy’s name, as he pounded yet another one over the goal line.

The New Orleans Saints’ all-time leading ground-gainer/rusher, with over 6,000 yards and 55 Touchdowns to his credit – “The Deuce”, Deuce McAllister dropped by just last week to ‘drop the mic’ for the Mississippi State Dept of Protective Services.

We laid-down tracks for a PSA campaign slated for air all across the state to raise awareness to the plight of abused and exploited kids.

Let me tell you, Fox-8/WVUE-TV down on Jefferson Davis Parkway here in NOLA is awfully lucky to have this dude in its employ.

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Fox-8’s Lee Zurik, along with videographer Paul Atkinson, recording “Glory Days” VoiceOvers at Airlift Productions NOLA

Lee Zurik not only anchors the nightly newscasts – he makes news! Lee’s mantle above the fireplace isn’t big enough to handle all the awards – the Peabody, National Edward R. Murrows,  the Dupont Silver Batons… as his investigative reports shake up New Orleans almost nightly!

What many do NOT know about Lee, though, is that he was pulling guard for Peyton Manning down at Newman here in NOLA, as he and Peyton were high school teammates back in the day. Really.

We got together in February to make waves for a program called “Glory Days”, along with video dude Paul Atkinson.

And I haven’t even added my contributions – from radio imaging for Mike Church to TV VoiceOvers and radio spots for the local N’awlins market and beyond.

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An Airlift Productions’ VO session in progress, with Steve Blaze at the hot mic

I guess what I find most exciting about 2016 so far is the VARIETY of work: TV promotional V-O for a solar company,  public service announcements to raise awareness for exploited kids, high school football retrospectives … even ghost hunting on the bayou!

And the year is yet young.

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discovery_channel_logo“Micheal Ziants and Airlift Productions offer an excellent and affordable option for VoiceOver & Recording.”– Michael Morris, Head of Post-Production, Discovery Studios, Hollywood, California

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To Communicate is the Beginning of Understanding. Airlift Productions Communicates.