Airlift Productions Gets “Handy” for the New Year

NewOrleansVoiceOverTalentMichealZiantsAndTheShadow
New Orleans VoiceOver Talent Micheal Ziants – along with The Shadow – at Airlift Productions, where EVERY day is ‘take your doggie to work day’

One of the things that I’m most thank-full for as this New Year of 2015 dawns is the opportunity to use more of my God-given talents. Long the VoiceOver guy and audio producer, I’ve had few chances this century to truly flex my creative writing & advertising muscles.

You know, ordinarily the client sends along the copy, and as the voice dude and producer, I simply interpret and record those words to a wave file and send them along. What a gift it is to create that string of words … and then put them into my own mouth!

As a case in point, this thirty second spot airing all over the New Orleans TV market for the New Year. Imagine being tasked with pounding the drum (ever so softly) for a local home improvement outfit that is today expanding their services & products … and taking-on Lowe’s and Home Depot. Really? Really.

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Southland Plumbing TV :30 spot for New Orleans ADI – written and envisioned by Micheal Ziants at Airlift Productions, for Nathan Ales of Ales & Associates, January 2015

So, let’s open with a truncated aphorism.  A what?!? Yes, a saying that we’ve all heard,”Home is where the Heart is”, and then twist it a bit.  Add a colorful N’awlins colloquialism “For true!” And we’re off to the races.

It all adds up to setting the homeboys – a local, family-owned business for nearly 50 years – apart and head-and-shoulders above the ‘big box boys’, all the while playing the strings of the heart.

And it all comes out of the hometown flat screens like this ….

 

*** Southland Plumbing TV :30, written, voiced & audio-produced by Micheal Ziants; Video editing by Todd Schmidt, on behalf of Nathan Ales at Ales & Associates  ***

Nathan Ales and I go back years! He was actually a ‘sales dog’ at Q-93 Radio when I first came to work there in the 1980s, and it was his job to sell that Mike McCann dude.

His affable, quip-filled approach has disarmed many a wary advertiser and always delivered for his clients.  I’m thrilled that we’ve re-connected here in the 21st century and the Southland account is one of our first joint ventures.

Nathan Ales of Ales & Associates, along with wife Debbie
Nathan Ales of Ales & Associates, along with wife Debbie

So Nathan, with his unique blend of street savvy, charm, and moxie does the selling and lining-up the accounts, I handle creative, voice over and audio production … and then hand it over to this guy – meet Todd Schmidt.

The multi-talented Todd Schmidt - actor, raconteur & video whiz kid
The multi-talented Todd Schmidt – actor, camera man, photographer & video whiz kid

Todd has just an amazing skill set – while not working with the poker-hot TV series “American Horror Story” or finishing-up the new “Trumbo” film (this guy stays way too busy), he hangs out with Nathan and me and brings his video wizardry to our projects.  Catch more of his magic here on the web at Schmidt VFX . Remarkable!

Lucky and indeed fortunate I am to be running with these dudes in 2015.  Audio …  and now ‘Creative’ and Video to-go! What can the boyz and I cook up for YOU today?

Airlift Productions Recording Studio ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984

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