March | 2016 | Airlift Productions Blog – VoiceOver, NOLA & Micheal Ziants

Never let it be said that the recording arts & sciences, nor life in NOLA, are ever boring.

Ever.

So, I get this email from Jamie last week about help with a voice-over audition for a cartoon about animals and sex.

Well, now that I have your attention.

It’s adult. It’s an un-named project. And it’s damned fun. And funny!

JamieNeumannRecordsVoiceOverAtAirliftProductionsNOLA — Jamie Neumann records VoiceOver cartoon tracks at Airlift Productions

Jamie Neumann‘s skill set is just off the charts. She brings an enthusiasm, acting chops and range to the microphone that simply mystify and amaze.

New Orleans will miss her across most of the spring and summer because she’s off to NYC to work with David Simon’s crew on the new HBO show “The Deuce”, all about the porn industry’s early days in Times Square.

Oh boy.

Jamie will work alongside James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal as the hooker who falls for her john. (sigh) Yes, a love story. 🙂

JamieNeumannAtAirliftProductionsNOLA — Jamie Neumann playing panda patty-cake at the Airlift Productions mics, Easter weekend 2016

In the meantime, she’s slumming with yours truly, Airlift Mike, around the Airlift Studio microphones, trolling for work – as a panda-on-the-make!

Give a listen to a panda bear named Heather, detailing her… well, ah, experience.

A-hem! Like I said. Never boring.

It may only be early Spring, but the Heat’s ON at Airlift Productions!

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“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

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy & Digital Magic from New Orleans since 1984

MichealZiantsAirliftProductionsOnCamera4Seacor — Airlift Mike On-Camera for Tim Weston, TLW Productions & Seacor Marine Worldwide

The field of VoiceOver is more than ‘hoo haa’ & ‘boom shaka laka’! While commercial voice work is positioned to cajole, pitch and sell, the industrial read has to be, well… industrious.

Industrial narration is a different bird. And here in Louisiana, Sportsman’s Paradise, it would seem that bird is becoming somewhat of an endangered species.

Through over thirty years of VoiceOver (as well as on-camera work) here in NOLA, Airlift Productions and I have helped steer many a company – both large and small – through some pretty tricky waters.

We’ve narrated and produced audio for Shell Oil, Bollinger Shipyards, Edison Chouest Offshore, Amoco Oil, and Seacor Marine Worldwide Interests, among others.

L-R.JoeRenierMichealZiantsSeacorMarineShoot — Airlift’s Micheal Ziants (Right) with actor Joe Renier, On-Camera with TLW Productions for Seacor Marine … deep in the Gulf of Mexico

But America’s current oil situation, and its subsequent nationwide drop in oil prices, while causing glee for giddy drivers has been cause for major concern – as well as job losses – for countless thousands here in the Bayou State.

Count yours truly in that number.

While Louisiana continues to reel from yet another oil bust, the trickle-down effect is reverberating across the state. And as the oil money dries up, so does the Industrial Narration Voice Over work.

Get a feel for the impact of oil – to Louisiana and America – with this one video which I narrated post-Katrina for the Port Fourchon (pronounced FOO-shon) Commission, along with stunning aerial photography from Andreas Frentzos & Tim Weston at TLW Productions here in NOLA —

Port Fourchon, Louisiana’s southernmost port, and “the nerve center of oil and gas drilling and production in the Gulf of Mexico!”

The VoiceOver read for industrial concerns strips away all the cajoling, pitching and selling. It remains sober, confident and in-control, as it crosses all the Ts and dots all the Is with letter-perfect diction and tone.

On top of that, with much of this type work addressing safety concerns, it occurs to me that teaching someone how not to DIE while on the job is not only necessary, but rather noble.

So, as we move through the balance of 2016, Airlift Productions and I will tack into the winds of change yet again, adjust our sails/sales, keep a vigilant eye on the oil prices, and keep moving forward.

But should you happen to find me alongside this guy at the interstate overpass … with a black-magic-marker-on-cardboard sign, a PB & J will work, ham ‘n cheese preferred, but remember — ” Airlift Mike will talk – WELL – for food!”

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Airlift Mike on-camera shoot with Tim Weston of TLW Productions - 2004 — Airlift Mike on-camera shoot with Tim Weston of TLW Productions – 2004

“We’ve worked with Mike for almost 15-years, both as voiceover and on-camera talent in more than 50 films. Not only is he a great guy and a super talent, but he has the coolest recording studio in the South.” — Tim Weston, President, TLW Productions, NOLA

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984

VoiceOver Recording & Production … with a New Orleans twist