All posts by Micheal

I am a Recording Artist and Studio Owner in New Orleans, Louisiana for over thirty years now. After a whirlwind radio career that took me through St. Louis, Nashville, Harrisburg & Philadelphia, I settled in New Orleans in 1983. VoiceOver work for TV & film, completely-produced radio ads, and audio book recording & production are specialties of the house, but my Airlift Productions Studio also plays in the music arena with artist CD projects and has become a go-to shop for Hollywood South. Look us up on the web at www.AirliftProductions.com, or connect with us at #1-800-210-WORD.

Airlift Music Sessions

The Law, Sex & Guitars At Airlift Productions

February 23, 2016 Micheal Leave a comment

GregDiLeoRecordsAlbumWithAirliftProductionsNewOrleans — TV Ad ScreenShot of Greg DiLeo, New Orleans Legal-Minute Attorney … plying his trade.

If you live in or around metro New Orleans, this dude needs no introduction. Greg DiLeo is Everywhere! Television, Radio, Internet … even on iPhone apps.

I first met Greg through a mutual acquaintance, the lovely & talented Leslie Hoffman, who informed me that Greg was looking for a studio and a quality engineer to help him record an album.

GregDiLeoRecordsWithMichealZiantsAirliftProductionsNOLA — Greg, shoulder-to-shoulder with Airlift Productions proprietor Micheal Ziants

Enter Airlift Mike.

You see, one thing, among others, that separates me from the ‘1,001+and-counting’ other VoiceOver dudes and dudesses all over the internet is that I operate a real, genuine, bonafide, fully tricked-out recording studio!

And I know how to use it.

If, by chance, you only peruse these blogs for my occasional wit & whimsy and have never taken a peek at my room, my totally awesome more-than-a-man cave, it looks like this —-

AirliftProductionsRecordingStudioNewOrleans — Airlift PROductions Recording Studio, New Orleans, LA, USA, Earth – 2016

I designed, built and wired this facility, from the ground up. It’s where the warmth of analogue lives … and the lightning speed of digital delivers!

But, back to Greg. And the Law, Sex and Guitars.

As it turns out, this man of the law is extremely gifted and talented, and just loves to write, compose, play, sing and perform with his guitar, among other things. Throughout our months of recording his album, he brought in 12-strings, harmonica, drum kits, melotron … even a hammered dulcimer!

Together, we recorded everything from introspective, heartfelt ballads to rip-snorting rock ‘n roll. But my fave just has to be this little ditty he composed about, um… well, his girlfriend’s sex toys. We affectionately entitled it ‘Toys On the Shelf’, and it goes like this….

~ “Toys on the Shelf”, written & performed by Greg DiLeo, with Airlift Mike riding shotgun ~

This one’s on the house. If you want to hear the balance of our collective collaborative efforts, track him down on I-Tunes or CD Baby for the rest.

Yes, Greg DiLeo is more than an attorney. And yours truly is a lot more than just another VoiceOver dude.

And, in the future, should I catch you smiling – broadly – the next time a Greg DiLeo TV or radio spot airs, or the I-phone app flares …. just you & I will know why.

L-R.TerryMcDermottGregDiLeoMichealZiants.AirliftProductionsNewOrleans — (L-R) Scottish Rocker & NBC’s ‘The Voice’ finalist Terry McDermott, Attorney Greg DiLeo, Airlift resident rascal Micheal Ziants during a session

Airlift PROductions ~ Audio Alchemy from New Orleans since 1984

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“Micheal Ziants was a pleasure to work with, and he took my creative process and turned it into something I am proud to have on iTunes for sale. I intended to come in to the studio and to take days for a final product, but Mike was like a second musical force in the room, moving the process along until we had a finished product I was happy with and proud to play.

And he always brought out the most beautiful sounds out of my instruments. I have a home studio with ProTools and all the bells and whistles added on, and I can’t get the warmth and presence that he pulls out of my recordings. Kudos to Airlift.” — GREG DiLEO

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Airlift Industrial & Documentary Work, Airlift Music Sessions, Airlift Productions RADIO work, Audio Book Recording & Production

2016 ~ Janus/January and NOLA Airlift Reflections

January 7, 2016 Micheal Leave a comment

January is the month for reflection. And prognostication! (u like that word?)

In legend, named after the Roman god Janus, who had two heads & faces, January gives us all pause & cause to look back (reflect) and forward (predict/prognosticate) at the same time.

So, let’s do that.

As a VoiceOver & Radio dude operating a full-blown recording studio & production business in the great city of New Orleans, LA for now-THIRTY years, I guess it would be safe to say that I’ve got some pretty fascinating stories to tell.

From working with – and RECORDING – everyone from Archie Manning to Dr. Morgus the Magnificent, Quvenzhane Wallis to James Carville, Ronnie Lamarque to Dr. John, Mayor Marc Morial to Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Reverend Avery Alexander to Congressman Bill Jefferson (I could go on and on, name dropping, but you get the idea) – what a RIDE!

When it comes time to reflect, it’s like, OK, so where do I start?!?

I sure do miss some old friends. How about we start there?

BuddyStallRecordedRadioSpotsWithAirliftProductionsNOLA — Buddy Stall made radio magic for YEARS with Airlift Productions NOLA

I miss my old buddy Buddy Stall. As Louisiana historian, writer & public speaker, Old “Gaspar J” sure could spin a yarn. And always about the people and the town he loved.

Buddy passed (dropped his body) in 2011 at the age of 81, but not before leaving quite the mark on the Crescent City.

His books and speeches about “The City That Care Forgot” are legendary, and were they ever fun!

We worked together for years. Ironically, one of his final gifts to me was the DVD of the special documentary he’d made of the great cemeteries of NOLA!

Give a LISTEN to just one of our radio gems that we cooked-up together through the years. This one is to sell our Louis Armstrong International Airport …

** The Late Buddy Stall making magic at Airlift Productions, NOLA **

Wow!

Reverend & State Rep Avery Alexander Recorded VoiceOver At Airlift Productions NOLA

Or, how about having the opportunity to record the late Reverend Avery C. Alexander for an Academy Award-winning documentary film, as I worked side-by-side with the legendary Charles Guggenheim?!?

(I mean, really. Who wrote this screenplay? And how many ever get a chance to live this kind of life?)

The Rev’s candid, honest & heartfelt sentiments resonate and reverberate from last century to this one.

** Avery Alexander talks of David Duke, the KKK, and anti-Catholic & anti-Jew bias for Guggenheim Documentary at Airlift 1992 **

January 2016, reflections on not only some of the great spirits who’ve spent time at the Airlift Productions microphones, but how about the BUSINESSES that have come and gone?

CosimoMatassaMichealZiantsAirliftProductions1988 — The late legendary & seminal NOLA Recording Engineer Cosimo Matassa sharing a table with Airlift Productions’ Micheal Ziants at the Big Easy Entertainment Awards Show, Fairmont Hotel, New Orleans, 1991

I spent 17 years with Ronnie Lamarque “Bridging the Gap” (remember when he had 7 dealerships on both sides of the river and lake?), I wrote and recorded many commercials for Archie Manning when he & his partner Steve Smith had the long-gone Gold’s Gym franchise on Veterans … and one of my fave old accounts (which has sentimental bearing here) was David Ervin’s “The Daiquiri Factory”!

Imagine using kids from a daycare to “reminisce” (really, can kids do that?) to sell an alcohol-fueled Eggnog Daiquiri on the radio to adults.

Crank up the speakers on your digital device and listen to the gang at Judy’s PlayCare in mid city NOLA make you all misty, so you’ll open up your wallet to buy a daiquiri … back in 1992 —–

** Daiquiri Factory 1992 “Eggnog” Campaign – Airlift Productions **

Yes, from radio spots to television voice-overs, industrial training narrations to comedy albums, music projects to website audio, educational software to documentary films … life around the old Airlift Productions campus is never boring!

Ever.

And gee, I didn’t get a chance to tell the stories about recording Anders Osborne & Theresa Andersson right after they landed in America & NOLA, or capturing two entire audio books with James Carville (and the wife), or tracking VoiceOver with Chef John Besh for TLC!

AirliftProductionsL-R.RichLenzBrianLandryNormanRobinsonDanMilhamHeathAllenMichealZiants.8-29-15 — “Katrina-versary Get-Together” on Saturday August 29th, 2015 (L-R) Rich Lenz, Brian Landry, Norman Robinson, Dan Milham, Heath Allen, Airlift Proprietor Micheal Ziants

But, hey, that’s what January is all about, right? Looking back – and forward.

Stories for another day, another blog, another time.

In the meantime, look us up at the Airlift Productions Studios. We’ll leave the mics hot and warmed-up for you.

As our old buddy James Taylor once reminded us – “The secret to Life is enjoying the passage of Time”.

So, let’s do that.

And allow me to be one of the last to say Happy New Year to you!

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

“I have 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, and Campaign Strategist behind the most dramatic political victories of our generation

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from New Orleans since 1984! And … what’s next?

Audio Book Recording & Production, Careful-They Might Be Ziants

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

December 31, 2015 Micheal Leave a comment

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?)

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

Airlift Music Sessions, Airlift Productions RADIO work, Reflections

It’s A Wonderful Life ~ At Airlift Productions NOLA

December 24, 2015 Micheal Leave a comment

As I pause to reflect on this Christmas Eve 2015, I am ever so thankful to have been blessed to live this most authentic life in this most authentic city… in the most interesting of times.

While way too many today commute to jobs they really don’t like, working at hours and tasks they really don’t care for, I’ve been fortunate to spend every single day of my life through the past thirty years living between the arts and the sciences. In New Orleans, Louisiana!

Music, Theater, Radio, Television and high-end, state-of-the-art technology all collide at hyper speed in the land of my dreams at Airlift Productions in NOLA.

It’s where the warmth of analogue lives … and the lightning speed of digital delivers. Anywhere in the world!

And I get to create digital magic and give clarion focus to dreams and visions with the most fantastic collection of gifted people anywhere on earth.

Just a few cases in point from just the past month here at the Airlift studios…

Jake Landry of Right Lane Bandits Records At Airlift Productions NOLA, December 2015

Let’s start with music. Jake Landry, front man for the Right Lane Bandits, is one gifted spirit, I’ll tell you. He’s a cross between Jason Mraz and John Mayer, with some crooner Michael Buble’ thrown into the mix.

Together with his running partner Paul Piazza on backup vocals and harp/harmonica, Jake paid a visit to Airlift Productions just this past Saturday to lay-down tracks for one of his originals – “Playing You”.

Oh, these women.

*** Jake Landry & Paul Piazza “PLAYING YOU” December 2015 ***

They want to come back with the rest of the boys to beef it up a bit with bass, drums and keyboards, but even at this level, the musicianship, style, and talent are just off the hook, dontchathink?

Meanwhile, Christmastime trolls the internet.

ManattLoyolaVocalists-Betsy.Taylor.Tyler.AirliftProductionsNOLA.11-20-15 — Betsy, Taylor & Tyler cozy-up to the Airlift Studio mics for a Holiday Classic

Tasked by a Chicago-based advertising agency to coordinate sessions and record the audio for a web-based “politically correct Holiday greeting card”, I went to work.

Playing-off the original “Deck the Halls” tune, and inserting a few terrifically fun and funny interruptions accented by sleigh bells, I recorded this new holiday classic with a trio of very talented professors from our Loyola University here in New Orleans. Now playing at an internet near you.

** A “Politically Correct” Deck the Halls from Airlift NOLA **

And as if music weren’t enough, I get to warm-up the mics for myself as well. Gee, you can take the guy out of the radio… but you can’t take the radio out of the guy!

Mike Church putting in another day at the office on the VERITAS Network .... with some help from Airlift Mike — Mike Church putting in another day at the office on the VERITAS Network …. with some help from Airlift Mike

My relationship with the famous (or infamous, depending on how you choose to view him) Mike Church continues. Mike, of course, is known around the planet for having had the longest-running show in the history of Sirius/XM satellite radio, and has just recently launched his own network and channel.

Yours truly has been tagged to set the pace for the Crusade!

As Imaging Voice & Producer for Mike’s VERITAS Network and the Crusade Channel, I get to throw pop culture (?), movies, television and news makers into the audio Cuisinart – and hit the blend button!

** The King Dude’s ‘Blazing Saddles’ homage re-joiner **

Or imagine, if you can, mixing former Ambassador John Bolton with Homer Simpson — and adding Gregorian chants?

** Mike Church Imaging for the Crusade On Veritas **

My, my, my… this “Wonderful Life” of mine is certainly never boring.

And always a challenge. But forever a gift!

MichealZiantsAirliftProductionsNOLA — Airlift Mike working the Children’s Hospital Telethon in NOLA on WDSU-TV

To have found this most unique way to take all the skills and talents that I was born with – and then blend them into my own business and have it all play out from this most fascinating city is, to my way of seeing it, the most authentic way to live a life.

And it is my fervent Christmas & New Year’s wish and prayer for the reader of these words that, if you haven’t yet, you somehow find yours!

Merry Christmas! And here’s to Living YOUR Dream in 2016.

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“My experience with Airlift Productions was top notch from the start. My company is based in Los Angeles and I had a client that needed to do a last minute VO session in New Orleans. Micheal was incredibly knowledgeable and accommodating, not to mention a blast to work with! Our session turned out beautifully.” ~ LIZZ RANTZE, Executive Producer, Rantze + Raves Productions, Los Angeles, CA

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To Communicate is the Beginning of Understanding.

Airlift Productions Communicates

New Orleans VoiceOvers, Reflections

Christmas Eve in Newtown

December 15, 2015 Micheal Leave a comment

Chalked Memorial to the Sandy Hook Elementary boys & girls of Newtown

How sadly ironic that in the very week we commemorate the third year anniversary of the tragic heartrending loss at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown … that we hear just this morning of the closing of all schools in the Los Angeles school district due to a “credible threat” of intended harm to it’s students.

Amid all the Christmas decorations and office parties, Nativity scenes and holiday joy – must America now in 2015 add the word ‘terror’?

And whether the threat in LA came from within or from without these shores, the question on many lips this Christmas is this … has America lost its soul?

Or is this, perhaps, how we go about collectively regaining it?

From Newtown to San Bernardino; from Charleston to Aurora; are these gun-control issues or people-control issues … or maybe, just maybe, SOUL-control issues?

If, as the great soul Emerson so eloquently reminded us, “The ancestor to every action is a thought”, what are you thinking about?

Every thing here in the physical plane began as a thought. Every building, every bridge, every novel, every relationship … indeed every child begins with a thought.

The bright young souls lost in Newtown, CT three years ago this week, on 12-14-12

Every single child slain at Sandy Hook Elementary three years ago this week began, as the expression goes, as “a gleam in the old man’s eye”.

So, if you’re reading these words, nodding your head in agreement – GUARD your thoughts, POLICE your own actions, CHANGE the negative pictures! If you, the reader of these words, is not in charge of your own thoughts, I’d like to respectfully ask you – who IS?

In the end, none of us is able to change the cards we are dealt in life. Our only choice in the matter is how we play the hand. Play wisely.

Our fitting tribute to the victims of not only Newtown, but San Bernardino, Charleston, Aurora, Tucson, and a frighteningly-long list is this …

As Gandhi himself so succinctly phrased it – “BE the change you wish to see in the world”. And IncreaseThePeace.

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“Christmas Eve in Newtown” ~ with thoughts gathered from the internet, music from Danny Elfman, produced and narrated by Airlift Productions’ Micheal Ziants

~ Christmas Eve in Newtown, recorded 12-24-12 @ Airlift ~

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Airlift Productions ** Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984

Audio Book Recording & Production, mystical micheal musings

Menasche, Ziants & Carell – Take #2

November 30, 2015 Micheal Leave a comment

DavidMenascheThePriorityListAirliftProductions — Educator-Author-Brain Cancer Activist-Major Mensch David Menasche before doctors and Life had their way with him… proud, defiant and topless – displaying his “I Decide” tattoo

Hard to believe, but this past Thanksgiving weekend 2015 marks one year since my pal David Menasche dropped his body … and moved on.

Oh, not that it was any surprise – diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2006, he/we often joked as he would come for recording sessions at the Airlift Productions Studios, that here came a “Dead Man Walking”. He knew he was on borrowed time for some time. We all did.

But it was the things, the issues, the subjects we talked of endlessly that continue to reverberate and resonate still today through all of my waking, and yes even sleeping, hours.

Emerson, Thoreau, Shakespeare, Gandhi, Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth, even Scot William Wallace from Mel’s “Braveheart” and the concept that “Everyone has to die … but not everyone truly LIVES.”

Case in point, pictured above, David even had his body tattooed with the words “I Decide”, so even while unconscious on an operating table, he was letting the attending doctors know who, indeed, was in charge of the flesh he carried around.

Cajones? Guts? Tenacity? Courage? I don’t think the average man walking around today in America even has a concept or a clue.

And to think that he dragged his body across America – SOLO – from south Florida … all the way to the Golden Gate bridge & Hollywood, then back east & north to New York City, before coming to crash in New Orleans for awhile – all in a quest to figure out if his life, his very existence, even ever mattered.

DavidMenascheRecordsThePriorityListAirliftProductions — David Menasche in the Airlift Productions Studios, November 2013, recording “The Priority List: A Teacher’s Final Quest to Discover Life’s Greatest Lessons”

Rest in Peace and rest assured, brother David, it certainly did.

As you scramble across the holidays to find that perfect stocking stuffer, and you’re looking for something to make a difference, consider “The Priority List: A Teacher’s Final Quest to Discover Life’s Greatest Lessons” from that wacky Amazon crowd.

Or, alternately, you can grab the AUDIO download for your ipod or digital device here – “The Priority List” Audiobook – in David’s own resilient words captured in November 2013 at the Airlift Studios.

A teaser from the Airlift-produced prologue is here ….

David’s take on working with Airlift and me? While I’m certainly gratified and humble regarding my contributions, the testimonial he gave me after days spent recording his audio book is a tad embarrassing, but very heartfelt and sincere —

“I would like to thank Micheal Ziants and Airlift Productions for making the recording of the audio version of my book such a pleasure. Not only is Micheal an incredible audio engineer, he is my new best friend. This guy is one of the coolest cats I have ever had the honor of meeting. He made me comfortable, he made me feel talented, and he actually made my book into a product I can actually imagine people enjoying listening to. So far, the opportunity to work with Michael on a future project is my best incentive to write another book.” ~ David Menasche

Meanwhile, Hollywood and Steve Carell are laying plans for their adaptation for a cinematic treatment. Having worked intimately with David, and being a fan of Steve’s work through the years, I feel he is the perfect choice for this heroic, poignant drama-dey in-progress.

SteveCarellToPortrayDavidMenascheThePriorityList — Warner Brothers selects Steve Carell to portray David Menasche in the movie version of “The Priority List”

Norma, if you’re reading this – stay strong and keep your faith. Paula, if you’re reading this – David understands. Jennifer, if you’re reading this – call me, let’s compare notes and catch-up.

SteveCarellTweetsReDavidMenaschePassing11-20-14 — Actor Steve Carell’s Tribute Tweet to David Menasche

In closing, just one of David’s and my favorite thoughts that we spoke of, meditated on, and laughed often about continues to reverberate and resonate – “You’re a ghost driving a meat-coated skeleton made from stardust. What do you have to be afraid of?”

MichealZiantsDavidMenascheThePriorityListAirliftProductions — Airlift’s Micheal Ziants & Author/Bud/Educator/Major Mensch David Menasche sharing recording studio stories and after-dinner laughs in the Airlift commissary, November 2013

Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from New Orleans since 1984

Airlift Productions RADIO work, New Orleans VoiceOvers

Mike Church & Mike Ziants Take It Down To The Church … Via Veritas

November 23, 2015 Micheal Leave a comment

MikeChurchVeritasNetworkAndAirliftProductionsNOLA — Mike Church putting in another day at the office on the Veritas Radio Network

Mike Church, the longest-running conservative talk show host in the history of Sirius satellite radio is now on to the most exciting and provocative phase of his career.

And yours truly, Airlift Mike, is most fortunate and blessed to be his running partner in Crusade & Veritas.

You see, Mike & I both believe that what is ailing the “body politic”, as well as American society today, is a collective “turning of the back” on Christ the King and the Law of His Gospel!

I know, I know, I hear you … “But in polite social circles, in order to gain and keep friends”, you say (or create successful radio), “One should never discuss Politics, Sex, or Religion”. To those who still today adhere to this quaint 20th century saying, I say …

“Politics” ~ Rush Limbaugh; “Sex” ~ Howard Stern; and now, Crusading with Faith into the most volatile and incendiary of the three, America will now add the name of Mike Church!

“VERITAS” in Latin means “Truth”. But this is truth with 21st century swag, relevant relate-ability, pop culture (?) and style.

As a devout and devoted Roman Catholic boy of Faith, Mr. Church has launched THE CRUSADE CHANNEL and THE VERITAS NETWORK … available FREE 24-7-365 on everyone’s digital devices. Stream it anywhere and anytime to your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad or laptop here — www.MikeChurch.com.

And Mike, known affectionately as “King Dude” to those who know and love him – and there are tens of thousands – has now tagged yours truly to act as Imaging Voice for this exciting new adventure. So, I shoulder the awesome, and fun, responsibility of setting the tone for this mission. Sample a montage of our initial efforts here …

I first met Mike earlier this century through our mutual radio comrades-in-arms Bo Walker & Don Banks, and have pitched-in through the years to help narrate and give cohesive voice to his patriotic & conservative films & DVDs.

But this Crusade – this championing of the Human Spirit, Faith & Truth – will prove to be really …. something …. else altogether!

Pray for us.

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

“We’ve worked with Mike for almost 15 years, both as voice over 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 New Orleans since 1984

Airlift Productions RADIO work

Halloween Tricks, Treats & Airlift Mike in NOLA

October 28, 2015 Micheal Leave a comment

What a totally fascinating time Halloween is in New Orleans.

As I walk the Shadow (Airlift’s trusty mascot) through the Bonnabel subdivision here outside NOLA, we both find ourselves scratching our respective heads in wonderment.

I mean, this is the only time of year, and probably the only place in America where, on a morning dog walk in the crisp (?) fall air, you’ll ever find statues of the blessed Virgin Mary …. peacefully coexisting alongside Freddy Kruger, Mike Meyers (from the ‘Halloween’ movie), skeletons and vampires!

As faith-filled Catholic brethren all across NOLA put on a show for the kids, while Mary, Yeshua, and Papa Joe share in the laughs & fun from ‘the other side’.

Suffer the children to me?

Meanwhile, Airlift Productions & yours truly soldier-on with a few tricks & treats of our own.

Tasked by serial entrepreneur Dean St. Pierre to re-image and brand his Metairie nightclub yet again, it was my duty this past weekend to create a couple radio :30s for – wait for it – the NEW place to see & be seen (and occasionally obscene) ENCORE!

Flying-up the flagpole (broadcast tower) this week in NOLA on B-97, Bayou 95.7 and Magic 101.9 is this goodie for Saturday night’s epic Halloween bash at the club….

** Halloween @ Encore, courtesy Micheal Ziants & Airlift **

AirliftProductionsMichealZiantsAndTheShadowOnTheJob — Airlift Mike & The Shadow at Airlift Productions, where Every day is ‘Take your doggie to work’ day

Fun stuff, huh? With soundbites from the original Frankenstein, Freddy Kruger’s laugh, Chucky & the Scream dude playing cameos, all supported by Psycho music stabs and screams. Yowza!

Even The Shadow gave it a ‘two paws up +’ rating.

Although some of the thundering, off the charts, LOUD mixes screaming from the Airlift studio monitors, while working on the spot, did make his ears do some pretty funny things. 🙂

And just one other piece to rotate with the Halloween spot, and further brand the new image for ENCORE is this one – with an assist-on-the-play from my old pal Borat?

** Sacha Baron Cohen & Airlift Mike for ENCORE ~ OMG **

Yes, it sure has been a pretty interesting – and busy – fall around the Airlift Studios campus. Indeed.

And I haven’t even mentioned the Los Angeles Rantze & Raves phone-patch audio V/O session for ‘Good Dog 2.0’ … or the new Mike Church radio thing as he exits Sirius Satellite radio after 13 years to begin … The New Crusade!

Catch-up with us when you can at Airlift Productions here in NOLA.

We’ll keep the mics hot for you.

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“When I need BIG ‘I-know-that-guy’s-voice!’ sound for any production I am working on, the first call I make is to Airlift Mike. Micheal’s penetrating vocals and second-to-none production quality give my movie & audio feature projects the instant respectability they need. If you want to sound like a pro, meaning no one gives a second thought to your audio because it is so well executed, you want to call Airlift!”

— MIKE CHURCH, World-Famous Sirius/XM Talk Show Host, Founding Father Film Maker, Writer & Producer of ‘The Spirit of ’76’ and ‘The Road to Independence’

Morgus & Me, New Orleans VoiceOvers

Doctor Morgus & Airlift Productions House Calls: The Sequel

October 16, 2015 Micheal 4 Comments

MorgusTheMagnificentSidRideauRecordsAtAirliftProductionsNOLA — Morgus the Magnificent – aka Sidney Noel Rideau Records VoiceOvers at Airlift Productions … for over a Quarter of a Century

OK, it occurred to me after sifting through some of my recent posts, that with visitors to this blog from corners of the globe like China, the UK, Moscow, and even Nigeria… perhaps a few points might need some clarification.

Especially with Halloween now in the air around America… and thoughts & google internet searches about Doctor Morgus on the rise.

Throughout the many decades of Morgus episodes on late night TV, Chopsley was the good doctor’s right-hand man, his henchman, his willing (or not so, as the case may be) accomplice. So, for three decades running now, yours truly has served ‘the master’ as the REAL Chops!

SidNoelRideauMorgusRecordsVoiceOverForNewOrleansAtAirliftProductions — E.R.I.C. the talking skull records VoiceOver at Airlift Productions

Think the role of Alfred to the Batman. Or, as Uncle Sid and I have often joked in a more literary analogy, to borrow from Cervantes, I have operated as the Sancho Panza to his Don Quixote. Yes, Dr. Morgus, er ah, Sidney Noel Rideau & I have jousted at many a windmill… and we have both been considered a pickle short of a whopper by many!

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Sid & I (together with many others today) see much of today’s youth rather long on arrogance and a tad short on character – lacking true values, ethics & a moral compass.

So, what if we could reach them and teach them BEFORE they reach the age of reason, and give them important life-altering thoughts and concepts that will impact their future? And America’s?

SidneyNoelRideauRecordsAtAirliftProductionsNOLA — Sidney Noel Rideau ~ Founder & Creator of the Internet Story Club

Yes, despite Sid’s rather heady accomplishments entertaining generations of late night horror fans as Morgus the Magnificent, it is his ambitious approach to reaching today’s youth via stories, fables & parables that he really wants to serve as his legacy.

Sidney Noel Rideau calls it the Internet Story Club!

Consider this our attempt to use the very medium that has been a roadblock to education – the television – to enlighten, inform, and develop character in today’s youth. Some windmill, eh?

Witness this approach at work here. Sid does the intros and outros and leaves what’s between the quote marks to me, personally directing me through the reads, looking for a ‘voice of God’ sound and flavor. These public service announcements promoting the Internet Story Club – sponsored by the N.O. Public Library – air in the New Orleans market on Fox-8 TV when you least expect it.

These are but three – of 45 total – PSAs that we produced. With many thanks to Blaine Strawn and his incredibly talented post-production team down at WVUE-Fox-8 on Jefferson Davis Parkway

Allow me to close with one more, from my favorite running partner & metaphysical space cowboy, the sage of Concord ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ….

“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.”

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NormanRobinsonRecordsVoiceOverAtAirliftProductionsNOLAAugust2015 — Norman Robinson in the Airlift Productions Studios August 2015

“I have had the privilege of working with professionals all over the world. Micheal Ziants is among the best of them. His professional integrity is only surpassed by his love for humanity. It is perhaps his boundless humanity that drives his passion for his work and his compassion… to say nothing of his appreciation and understanding of the human spirit at it’s most creative level.”

— NORMAN ROBINSON, Nightly News Anchor at WDSU-TV, New Orleans for over two decades

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To Communicate is the Beginning of Understanding

Airlift Productions Communicates

Airlift Productions RADIO work, New Orleans VoiceOvers

Napoleon Hill, Star Wars & Airlift Mike

October 11, 2015 Micheal Leave a comment

“Think and Grow Rich” Author, a young NAPOLEON HILL

As the great 20th century American thinker Napoleon Hill so eloquently reminded us all – the IMAGINATION is the Workshop of the Soul! And therein, I use power tools.

You see, one of the many things that separates me from the one-thousand-and-one other guys who offer VoiceOver services on the internet today is that I not only operate a genuine, bonafide, tricked-out full recording studio, but, in many cases, I also get the opportunity to WRITE and CREATE – from the ground up – the V-O copy I read.

How thrilling to put my OWN words into my OWN mouth!

NOLAVoiceOverTalentMichealZiantsAirliftProductions2014 — Airlift Productions’ Micheal Ziants putting in another day at the office.

The power tools? Well, those would be meditation and exercise. Properly focused and fine-tuned, these two aid and assist in the entire creative pursuit, as they feed the imagination from the deep wells of the subconscious, which then directly grease the wheels of the entire writing process.

Too deep? A classic case in point would be the exercise of this past week.

Tasked by running partner Nathan Ales to create, write, voice, and produce thirty seconds of audio for Baton Rouge, La. television & radio to promote a Laser Tag outfit … I went to work. And can we make it “Star-Wars-y”?!?

Oh, sure.

*** Airlift Mike’s “Star-Wars-y” Laser Tag of Baton Rouge ***

Working within the 29.5 seconds ‘Goalposts’, that’s a lot to accomplish: Cop a James-Earl-Jones-ish attitude & pitch, grab some cinematic french horns, make ‘Sky-walk’ into a verb, draw an analogy to paintball challenges, state a very direct call to action, and finish with an ‘out-of-this-world’ tag – literally.

** Laser Tag of Baton Rouge :30 Television, along with running partners Video Wizard Todd Schmidt & Sales Ace Nathan Ales **

Now, how much fun is that?

From the ‘Workshop of the Soul’ – to countless tens of thousands of ears and eyes via the magic of technologies (radio, TV & the Internet) that weren’t even on the radar when Napoleon Hill was born.

Now, how magical is that?

Work? Excuse me? That’s what my coal miner brothers have been doing their entire lives, not me. For I have made my vacation … my vocation! The only ‘mining’ I do is within the ‘mind’ ~ and the ‘Workshop of the Soul’.

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MichealZiantsDavidMenascheAirliftProductionsNOLA — The late David Menasche, author of “The Priority List” (soon to be a major motion picture from Warner Bros), recording with Micheal Ziants at Airlift Productions NOLA in 2012

” I would like to thank Micheal Ziants & Airlift Productions for making the recording of the audio version of my book such a pleasure. Not only is Micheal an incredible audio engineer, he is my new best friend. This guy is one of the coolest cats I have ever had the honor of meeting. He made me comfortable, he made me feel talented, and he actually made my book into a product I can actually imagine people enjoying listening to. So far, the opportunity to work with Micheal on a future project is my best incentive to write another book. If any of you out there ever need a professional to help you with sound recordings, contact Micheal Ziants at Airlift Productions immediately!”

— the late DAVID MENASCHE, Author, Educator of Young Minds, Brain Cancer Activist, Major Mensch

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984

Airlift Productions Blog – VoiceOver, NOLA & Micheal Ziants

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