Tag Archives: Airlift Mike

Audio Book Recording & Production

What Does John F McElroy Know That You Don’t?

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JohnFMcElroyRecordsWithAirliftProductionsNOLA
New York-based Award-Winning Audio Book Producer John F McElroy records with Airlift Mike at Airlift Productions

If a thirty second radio ad is a sprint, audio book recording would have to be the marathon.

To capture the spirit, essence & dedication of an author is without question a meticulous, pain-staking and arduous ( do you like these words? ) task.

With four Grammy awards on the shelf – for  Best Spoken Word (3X) as well as Best Comedy Album –  Audio Book producer John F. McElroy knows the task well.

John has personally worked with and recorded ( for hours on end ) Jon Stewart, Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, Jason Alexander,  Stephen Colbert, along with scores of other notables.

And just imagine, if you can, working with, directing & producing President Bill Clinton through his personal reading of his triumphs & tribulations in the Grammy Award winning autobiography “My Life”.  I mean, really.

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James Carville Mouths-Off at Airlift Productions, New Orleans

Now, all that being said, Airlift Productions & I are honored and thrilled to count this guy among our clients. Together, hour after hour, John & I steered  James Carville through two entire audio book recordings.  “It’s the Middle Class, Stupid!” and “Love & War”, along with his lovely wife, Mary Matalin.

The amazing thing?  All of our work was conducted via Skype and a Symetrix phone patch. John & I have never personally met.  Similar to the set-up of a radio talk show host, we did all of this work, every second of every hour with John F. coaching and directing long distance from New York!

JamesCarvilleAndMaryMatalinRecordLoveAndWarAtAirliftProductionsQuite a remarkable feat.  Quite amazing sessions.  Quite a Marathon indeed.

Mr. McElroy, thanks for the vote of confidence, sir.  I’m certainly gratified to know that Airlift and I did not misplace your trust.

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“Micheal Ziants and I have worked on a number of celebrity productions together. He’s a cool head in tight spots, keeping the talent moving ahead happily.  He has a wealth of experience at the controls and behind the mic and knows what he can and can’t get–a valuable and rare sense of proportion. Working at Airlift remotely via Skype or phone patch is seamless. It’s like being in the next room.”

~ John F. McElroy, New York based Grammy Award winning Audio Book Producer                       

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Airlift Productions Proprietor Micheal Ziants shoulder-to-shoulder with JAMES CARVILLE at the Airlift Studios during the “It’s the Middle Class, Stupid!” sessions, 2012

                    To communicate is the beginning of understanding.

                                   Airlift Productions communicates.

Audio Book Recording & Production

AudioBook Production 101… Goes To The Dogs!

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Sean O’Shea, the dude who’s got Los Angeles on a leash, records his New AudioBook “The Good Dog Way” at Airlift Productions New Orleans

 

The email came into the Airlift Productions Studios, innocently enough, from Los Angeles in mid-Spring, it was Sean O’Shea, looking to make the AUDIO version of his new book, “The Good Dog Way”, a reality.

Having worked with Sean a year and a half ago, recording VoiceOver tracks for his DVD series, I knew what I was working with.

And how.

With tens of thousands of followers on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, Sean’s like-ability factor, as well as his talent, is more “off the chain” than many of the dogs he’s tamed and trained.

But, he confessed, he was an “AudioBook Virgin”.

Knowing it was his first time, I committed to being gentle.

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Micheal Ziants & Sean O’Shea, navigating the twists & turns of AudioBook production, Airlift Productions New Orleans, June 2017

Our pre-production meeting included tips on studio mic technique, definite ‘Dos and Do-Nots’  – no dairy products the day of recording (audible phlegm), petroleum jelly on lips to limit vocal artifacts, etc. – and I taught him how to “punch & roll”.

We edited his AudioBook masterpiece AS WE RECORDED IT!

Mistakes were fixed right then and there – on the fly. No tedious post-recording editing sessions here. No. We got it right – right there!

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Ziants & O’Shea applying “The Good Dog Way” with Airlift Mascot ‘The Shadeaux”

And roll, we did, through six days of recording, every afternoon, Monday-through-Saturday, teaching America – and the world – a more human, and humane, approach to LOVING our favorite, four-footed, furry friends by LEADING them.

As the sessions progressed, Sean’s confidence and studio savvy grew, as we plowed through chapter after chapter… “Dismantling Dogs”, “The Drug that is You”, “Arousal is the Enemy”, “What you Pet is what you Get”….

Sample just a taste of “The Good Dog Way”, with this one track that Sean calls, “Bar or Therapist”, here…

By Saturday, all 1.73 gigabytes of edited material were ready to be normalized, properly mastered, and prepared for AudioBook internet consumption.

I saved all the edited wave files for future use to create CDs down the road, and crunched the entire project into 192 kilobyte-per-second mp3 files for quicker internet downloading purposes.

What a week. What a project. What an AudioBook!

Andy Rooney once opined, “The average dog is a nicer human than the average human”.

And, no doubt, you’ll put your nicer human’s best paw forward by putting “The Good Dog Way” through your earbuds today.

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“Mike was a saint, and ridiculously patient and supportive (and helpful!!) for this audio book virgin. In another environment, without the support, and with pressure to perform “right”, I probably would have completely fallen apart. So the MVP for this getting done goes 100% to Mike and the chilled out environment he’s cultivated…personally and within his studio.

A big heartfelt thanks to Mike Ziants and the years of expertise he brought to this project to ensure I sounded my very best. If you’re ever in Nola and need the best audio dude, and the best dude dude, holler at my man Mike with www.airliftproductions.com

Thanks for the great week my friend! :)” ~ Sean O’Shea

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

Audio Book Recording & Production

Hurricane Amy Hits New Orleans

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Amy Landon recording audio books at Airlift Productions New Orleans, March 2017

Hurricane season in NOLA arrived a bit early this year.  Little did I realize when we first talked on the phone what a force of nature AMY LANDON was. 

“Hurricane Amy” had found my website, innocently enough, through a referral and a Google search. She reached out to me in January with her initial inquiry, but nothing in that call had prepared me for the drive, intellect, talent and passion that blew into New Orleans in early March.

Idaho native, Los Angeles-Nashville transplant, actress, writer, audio book narrator, voice over talent – and self-described ‘motochick’ –  Amy Landon was looking for a quality recording studio in N’awlins to help her record gigabytes of audio book work throughout March.

I said, ‘Why not?”   And did we ever.

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Los Angeles-based actress AMY LANDON records audio books at Airlift Productions NOLA

Working and recording together every afternoon, we created other worlds – from young-adult paranormal science fiction to dramatic whodunnit mystery thrillers.

And “Hurricane Amy” did all this with just the sound of her voice!

Creating believable character after character, painting scenic pictures, drawing the listener deeper with every ‘page’ of her iPad, Amy weaved audio book magic daily at the Airlift Productions microphones.

Having worked with many talents across many years – and with hundreds of sessions to compare hers with – I was struck by her dogged stamina and hyper-focus, especially after hours-long sessions at the mic.

** A very unique view of audio book production ~ with computer-generated wave files reflected off the studio glass **

For voice talents, no doubt, if the radio commercial or TV tag is the hundred yard dash, the audio book is the marathon!

And this woman is without question in for the long haul, a true hurricane force-of-nature talent, the real deal!

Case in point?

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AMY LANDON “motochick”, all decked-out for a date with her Harley

Amy’s now back in Los Angeles. Did she fly? Take Amtrak?

Uh-no.

She rode her Harley Davidson from New Orleans all the way home to the west coast. 

Solo!

 

Thankfully,  during her time here in New Orleans, she took me along for the ride.

For awhile.

And today, I still somehow find myself watching the weather channel, looking for strange hurricane-type activity boomeranging back towards New Orleans – from the west … instead of the Gulf.

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“Working with Airlift Mike in NOLA was an utter pleasure. I was in town for business for a month and needed to maintain my audiobook recording schedule. Mike was accommodating and a pure professional. He mastered the punch and roll technique in 24 hours to be ready for our first session, and over the course of the month we laid down 5 books and a number of auditions. His studio sounds great. The vibe & atmosphere can’t be beat. You’d be hard pressed to find a better recording studio in the southeast – no matter what your needs. I wish I could have stayed!” ~ Amy Landon

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Airlift Productions ~ telling America’s Great Stories from New Orleans since 1984

mystical micheal musings, Reflections

Easter Weekend Reflections from Airlift Mike

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Whether the reader of these words be Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, Agnostic, or none-of-the-above – there is one thing in which we all must be in agreement: this Jesus of Nazareth’s impact on planet earth and its history is undeniable, quantifiable, and measurable.

Through all these now twenty centuries, his messages of Peace, Love, Hope & Redemption have reverberated strongly, from the blood-soaked sands of his birth in the Middle-East to the church steeples on the corners of Anytown, USA.

And as you and I dance every day on a whisker-thin bubble that separates this life from the afterlife, Easter weekend reminds us all of his hopeful, joyful promise of that life which follows this one.

Let’s be honest. This is the part that hangs us all up the most. 

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The Laughing Christ – an artist’s rendering that has adorned the Airlift Productions Studio Walls for over two decades

Life after Death? Really?

When I’m often questioned on this one, I respond, “Well, where do you go when you dream? We already spend a third of our lives (sleeping) existing in pure consciousness. What’s the big deal about going from one third to three thirds?”

We will all do the math.

Life is but a parenthesis in eternity.  From cradle to grave, sperm to worm, womb to tomb … in the final reality – Eternity – no more real than an eight hour nightly dream on your Serta perfect sleeper. For true.

Jesus of Nazareth got that! He lived that. He died that. Or did he? 

Truth be known – You and I are but ghosts driving  meat-coated skeletons made from stardust! Let that one sink in a bit. The biggest part of any of us will never show up in an autopsy. And it’s not about the name on your driver’s license, or how much water you displace in a hot tub. All things must pass. You and me included.

What fights the realization that these words I write are true is Ego. E-G-O – Earth Guide Only, Edging God Out, Eliminating Golden Opportunities! Merely one of the teachings that the Nazarene – in his too-short tour of duty – was trying to get through to mortal man.

And I continue to be amazed by some of our sayings, like “Hey, I’m only human!” No, you’re not. We’re all more. Much more.

But here’s the big caveat – only to the extent that we realize this, internalize this, and make it our day-to-day reality. 

Yeshua, along with the Lion and the Lamb ... and a promise of 'swords to plowshares' ... death to the EGO and a promise of everlasting Life
Yeshua, along with the Lion and the Lamb … and a promise of ‘swords to plowshares’ … death to the EGO and a promise of everlasting Life

If you’ve run with me this far, let’s take it a bit further.

I’ll never understand the Christian who makes fun of the Jew, when Judaism was the incubator for all Christianity! While many will agree that Jesus to his death was still a Jew, few realize that St. Paul (Saul of Tarsus) to his beheading by Nero in 68 AD Rome – was still a Jew!

So, if looked at from a different perspective, all what we term ‘Christianity’ today could be viewed as a rather elaborate and magnificent Jewish sect.  Yes,  the two great faith traditions are inextricably and deliciously intertwined at the root forever.

Easter, Passover – from solemn seder meals to Good Friday crawfish boils – we all need to find a way to come to the same table!

And 9-11 & Osama Bin Laden no more represented sacred Islam than David Koresh at Waco or a hooded Klansman at a lynching represented sacred Christianity. But that is the subject for another holiday weekend blog, another day.

"I am in the Father... and the Father is in Me" ~ 21st century style
“I am in the Father… and the Father is in Me” ~ 21st century style

Yes, this Jesus of Nazareth sure did teach us all to “color outside the lines” … and think “outside the box”. Wait a minute, you mean there’s a box?

Yes, the one humans call a coffin.  

And the everlasting promise of this Easter weekend – no matter what your faith or belief system – is that ‘the box’ is not the end … of … the … story.

(to be continued)

Airlift Productions & Airlift Mike wish ALL across the planet a Happy, Peace-full, Easter Weekend!

                To Communicate is the Beginning of Understanding! 

                               Airlift Productions Communicates.

Airlift Music Sessions

Airlift Mike says, “Rap it Up, I’ll Take It!”

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“C.I.T.Y” – aka David Baptiste – records “New Slaves” at Airlift Productions New Orleans ~ January 2017

Perhaps it’s something in the air, the river, or the centuries-long influence of the Spanish & French, but talent seems to grow wild in the fertile soil that is New Orleans.

And, as a veteran studio producer, I love to pick wildflowers.

Furthermore, having watered and nurtured many a talented wildflower through now-over-thirty years of running Airlift Productions here in NOLA, I know a wildflower when I come upon one.

All that being said, meet the latest ones.

It occurred to me years ago that all of hip-hop & rap music was really nothing more than another form of VoiceOver.

Think about it – the producer takes a beat, basically a music track (that can come sampled from anywhere) and records a solid, up-front, and in-your-face vocal track over top of it.

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“C.I.T.Y.” (David Baptiste) listening to playback in the Airlift Productions Booth… gee, this could be the album jacket cover pic

So, I get this phone call a couple months back from this young turk named Jason Jones. He proceeds to tell me that he works at Louis Armstrong Airport, operates a barber shop in the 7th ward – AND he’s putting together a hip-hop label called the Real Deal Nation!

We then meet at the Airlift Studios and I find out that I really like these guys.  A lot.

Young & talented, and full of social consciousness coupled with faith-filled, church-born Christian ethics, these dudes are picking up where Motown’s Temptations & Marvin Gaye back in the day left off.

The only thing they were missing was the producer dude to help pull it all together. Think of what Rick Rubin brought to the table, er, ah… the speakers for Jay-Z.

They HAD “99 Problems”, but now the ‘producer’ ain’t one of ’em!

Enter Airlift Mike.

A poster with details on C.I.T.Y.'s gig here in NOLA across Mardi Gras 2017
A poster with details on C.I.T.Y.’s gig here in NOLA across Mardi Gras 2017

In Jason’s  Real Deal Nation posse are, among others, “Papers” (Stephen Arena from L.A.); “Staxx” (Greg Baptiste of NOLA); and cousin “C.I.T.Y.” (David Baptiste, now in Dallas).

Among our first projects together is “New Slaves” from hip-hop Superstar-to-be “C.I.T.Y.”

Sample just a taste of this Airlift-produced ode to inner-city 21st century hip-hop angst here….

*** REAL DEAL NATION’S ‘C.I.T.Y.’ ~ ‘New Slaves … for the $$$’ ***

Music & Fame have always been, and will always be, very subjective calls.

What was important musically to the reader of these words’ mom & dad, to say nothing of the reader’s grandma & grandpa, is rarely considered important to the reader today in 2017.

But subjectively or objectively, there’s no denying the drive, the passion, the talent captured here on this page.

Or, for that matter, the ability of these N’awlins-based wildflowers to blossom and grow.

Stay well. And prosper. My brothers.

And above all else – Increase the Peace!

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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. Thanks again for your work, Micheal, and we will definitely consider you for upcoming projects—including voice over work.” ~ Charlyne Fabi, Creative Director, Right Hat, Chicago

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from New Orleans since 1984

 

Airlift Industrial & Documentary Work, Airlift Productions Educational Software, New Orleans VoiceOvers

I CAN Learn + Airlift Mike = STEM Careers & Big $$ 4 U.S. Math Students

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I CAN Learn Success Story Damien James enjoying a lobster dinner in Brazil, funded by his life-changing STEM degree & career

** Originally posted Oct. 15th, 2016 ~ And re-posted 1-13-17 in Honor of the Late JOHN R LEE **

I first “met” Damien James in the 9th grade at NOLA’s McDonogh #35.  HIS 9th grade; I was merely the one helping him MAKE the grade – as I taught him Algebra 1 & 2.

Inside a computer!

Damien had it pretty rough, as do way too many of New Orleans’ inner-city youth today… Mom was ‘asleep at the wheel’, brothers were dealing drugs, playgrounds were, how do we say, challenging?

But Damien found a friend – yours truly.

Inside a computer!

ICanLearnWebsiteWelcomeScreenshot

As the narrator and audio producer behind all of I CAN Learn’s educational math programs since 1991, I personally helped steer Damien through the perilous gateway of Algebra and on to his chosen STEM degree – and career.

Too dramatic? Too ‘flowery’? How about a punchline?

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Damien James enjoying vacation time with his wife and daughter; “Thanks, John Lee!”

Today, Damien James has risen from the streets of NOLA to become the Information Technology Chief of a major American airline company, and I CAN Learn & I directly helped him get there.

Inside a computer!

Damien’s accomplishments are both remarkable and inspiring. As, together with this landmark, trail-blazing educational mathematics program, he was inspired and enabled to move from the ‘breadlines to the headlines’.

MichealZiantsAirliftProductionsICanLearnTweetScreenshotSTEM degrees, to the uninitiated (and sad to say there are many) – are the Science ** Technology ** Engineering ** Math ** degrees that hold the keys which unlock the doors to America’s future.

And the I CAN Learn Math program has been helping thousands of students achieve that degree – as well as that high-paying career of the future – since 1991!

Witness Damien’s personal story and testimony via YouTube here…

You know something? Of all the audio I’ve produced through all these years here in NOLA, this work with the I CAN Learn Educational System is the work of which I am most proud.  Without question.

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John R. Lee & I CAN Learn feature article in FORBES magazine, September 1997

John R. Lee and I first met in 1991 at the Airlift Productions legendary Iberville Street location. He found me in the Yellow Pages. (Remember them? Yes, ‘digital’ changed everything.)

He was looking for some help. Help in compiling, recording, and organizing thousands upon thousands upon thousands of interactive audio files to drive the engine of his brainchild.

John Lee is a stone-cold, off-the-charts runaway GENIUS.

His prescient vision of merging math textbooks with the digital realm of computers has been often copied through all these years (round up the usual suspects) – but never ever duplicated!

AbsentMindedDisneyMr. Lee is a one-of-a-kind visionary that doesn’t come along just any day… think Fred MacMurray’s lovable character Professor Ned Brainard in the Walt Disney 1961 classic “The Absent Minded Professor”.

But, gang, Flubber this ain’t!

Just ask Damien James. Or his wife. Or his daughter. Or the thousands of other aspiring Damien James wanna-bees whose lives have been forever changed by their introduction to the revolutionary I CAN Learn  Math program.

So, what does the future hold for John Lee and I CAN Learn?

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John R. Lee, Founder & President of JRL Enterprises, creators of I CAN Learn

Well, as John himself opined in his interview late last century with CNN news, “Education is a tricky place to grow a business”.

And despite political boondoggles, bureaucratic red tape, “snake oils”,  and cheap, imitation competitive knock-offs, in that same CNN interview, John told the camera, “You’re not beaten ’til you quit!”

And he hasn’t.

Today, in the fall of 2016, the saga continues, the story continues… and so does the “ah-ha!” moment in the minds of young, eager math students across America.

Oh, and Damien, if you just so happen to be reading this – can you spot me a few bucks ’til next Tuesday?

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 i-can-learn_cd “Mike is a craftsman.  You don’t often hear that word when describing digital media, but it most certainly applies to work done at AIRLIFT PRODUCTIONS. Mike’s  produced literally thousands of audio segments for me,  and they’ve all sounded perfect.  He also understands how to get things done!  I wish all of my contractors were as responsive and committed to meeting deadlines.  You’re in good hands with AIRLIFT PRODUCTIONS.” — Ethan Anderson, former Manager of Multimedia Development, JRL Enterprises, Creators of  “I CAN Learn” e-Learning Software, NOLA
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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy & Digital Magic from NOLA                                                               since 1984

Airlift Productions RADIO work

Everything Old is NEW Again at Airlift Productions

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

Gee, it’s Thanksgiving week in New Orleans, we’re not even really into the Christmas season yet, and I’ve already got one of my fave holiday stories.

The Airlift Productions studios‘ bat phone rings Tuesday morning, and who’s on the other end but my old friend and client Sue Bonano of Sue’s Jewelry here just outside NOLA on fashionable, swanky Old Metairie Road.

You see, kind of like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”, who once said that if she ever went looking for happiness again she’d never look further than her own backyard, some of voice work’s & radio’s most rewarding gems can be found not on national TV or radio… but right down the street.

suesjewelrysignagefrontstoreAt any rate, Sue says to me, “Mike, do you remember that radio campaign we ran back in the ’90s? Those ‘Because…’ spots?”

I knew immediately what she was talking about: a pair of sixty second ads I’d put together for her in a year that was, well, twenty-one years ago!

As I pulled them out of the Airlift Archive, still safe & sound – on those little DATs (digital audio tapes) – I’ve got to admit, they still sounded pretty effective.

I mean, to be clear here, no one actually talks like this, and I’m obviously putting on a show, playing on emotions and heart strings like a Hallmark Channel special meets Harlequin romance novel.

** Diamonds for Christmas ~ at Sue’s, with Airlift Mike **

Effusive. Intensely dramatic. Even melodramatic. And, along with the DeBeers diamond music swelling underneath and all around, they make quite the poetic & compelling case for ‘Diamonds for Christmas”.

And the only thing I had to edit-out was the line saying, “No payments until February 1996” which, of course, would never work.

** Engagement Rings ~ at Sue’s, with Airlift Mike ***

suesjewelrywebsitelogoSo, I input them to the computer, created the mp3 files, and just like that, these ear-gasmic creations from November 1995 are now airing through the holi-daze  all over NOLA at an Entercom radio station near you. 

For yet another generation of lovers here in 2016.

As everything OLD becomes NEW again.

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Outside the Airlift Productions Studios at night

“Well, Mike, you’ve done it again! Thank you for producing another rock and sock-em voiceover demo that I can be proud of!! Your professionalism and expertise is greatly appreciated and highly respected. I highly recommend Mike of Airlift Productions to anyone in the industry for great quality production work. He is your man!” ~ Karlin T. O’Neill, VoiceOver Artist

 

 

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

New Orleans VoiceOvers, VoiceOver Marketing

UFO Sighting in Louisiana Skies? Well, sort of…

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Laser Tag of Baton Rouge latest TV spot searches for Intelligent Life - and Laser Tag Fun - elsewhere in the Universe
Laser Tag of Baton Rouge latest TV spot searches for Intelligent Life – and Laser Tag Fun – elsewhere in the Universe

As one who’s written and produced countless thousands of radio & TV commercials through the years, I’ve come up with some pretty strange spots and approaches, but none stranger than the subject of this blog.

Imagine a TV spot with NO dialogue until the final seconds, all sound effects and undecipherable alien tongues … a commercial that rewards repeated viewings and definitely arrests attention.

Imagine all that and you can begin to get your imagination around the latest :30 TV creation for Laser Tag of Baton Rouge.

Mastermind Nathan Ales
Mastermind Nathan Ales

Running partner Nathan Ales threw down the gauntlet of challenge back in late July, the germ of an idea originally conceived by Laser Tag management that sounded, well, pretty crazy!

A teen alien doing an ‘Oogle search’ for the Best Laser Tag arena in the universe, who then cajoles his mama into letting him go, they do, he then scares the pants off the staff as he enters to play! 

O-o-kay!

Video Magician Todd Schmidt and I then went to work. 

I laid-out a rough storyboard concept and began an exhaustive sound effect hunt; it had to be cartoon-ish, outlandish and in-your-face Looney Toons fun!

Todd Schmidt, Video Wizard
Todd Schmidt, Video Wizard

The finished audio track was then relayed over to Todd, who did all the ‘Heavy Lifting’, as he waved his magic wand and created all the animation and edited video.

Frankly, I’ve worked with many a video dude through all these years, but this guy is hands-down the Best!

The end result of all these efforts? 

A :30 belly laugh for the folks of Baton Rouge – who after the rains & high waters of August could sure use one!

In living rooms, dens, and bars around the state capital flat screens this late summer, it looks – and sounds – like this —-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMl-ZacRdao

** Laser Tag of Baton Rouge “Alien Encounter” TV :30 spot **

At last check, Davor & his Baton Rouge crew were still re-stocking their supply of Reese’s Pieces.

Oh, and E.T., if you just so happen to be reading this one … PHONE HOME, little dude!

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984

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harlon miller“Airlift is THE place to go for a top quality demo. With Mike behind the board you are in very capable hands. His vast knowledge and command of all things audio blends with his laid-back fun environment to bring out the best in any voice.  Airlift Productions has the experience and all the tools necessary to make a voice-over reel that is on par with anything you would find in New York or LA!”

– – – HARLON MILLER, Voice-Over Actor

(Hear Harlon’s most bodacious demo on his website at  www.harlonmiller.com)

Airlift Music Sessions

Bandits, Robin Hood & Kismet In Old New Orleans

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Airlift Mike & The Shadow at Airlift Productions, where Every day is ‘Take your Doggie to Work’ Day

I first met Jake Landry, innocently enough, while walking my faithful four-footed friend The Shadow through the Old Bonnabel subdivision here just outside NOLA.

After our brief introduction, he told me he played guitar, sang and wrote music, while I told him that I owned and operated a recording studio.

Kismet.

A fave boyhood hero and model of mine was Robin Hood, who heroically stood up for the oppressed, rescued damsels in distress, and went about righting wrongs.

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Jake Landry Records at Airlift Productions NOLA

Jake told me his band was called The Right Lane Bandits and he wanted to make his mark, steal a few hearts, and change the world with his music.

Kismet.

For the record, ‘kismet’ is an old Arabic word that’s often used to describe something significant that was meant to be, that happens seemingly by chance, but is steered by fate or destiny. (Dude, that’s deep.)

For the record, yes, Jake and his band of Merry Men will together with yours truly, Airlift Mike (Robin Hood), make many!

Records, that is.

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Harp-man Paul Piazza mystifies and amazes with his masterful microphone maneuvers at Airlift Productions

Our first project together was a jingle for the Frere Jean Cajun Seasonings folks, but that session merely served as my introduction to Jake’s rather formidable talents and passion.

As producer & recording engineer, my suggestion to Jake was pretty simple: Original tunes are one thing, but we need to give Linda & Larry Listener, Karl & Karla K-Mart, Arnold & Alice Average (who’ve never heard your work before) a yardstick by which to measure your talents – a totally excellent cover song.

So, this past week, that’s exactly what we did at Airlift Productions… record the ultimate, classic cover song.

Written by musical Christian mystic troubadour Van Morrison and with lyrics like “We were born before the wind, Also younger than the sun” …. rockin’ your gypsy soul, Linda & Larry Listener,  here come the Right Lane Bandits —

** “Into the Mystic” ~ Right Lane Bandits at Airlift Productions **

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(L-R) Paul Piazza, Jake Landry, Zach Fellman, Brandon Bates entertaining the house at the House of Blues in NOLA’s French Quarter

 

Catch-up with The Right Lane Bandits when you can, around the House of Blues here in NOLA, or at a night club or wedding reception near you.

While you still can.

 

***Jake and his posse in Greenwich, CT this past month, entertaining the troops via You Tube ***

The ‘kismet’ moral to the whole story here?

Keep your faith in your boyhood heroes.

And walk your dog more often.

ports Director & Anchor … and current King of Daytime Television, ********************************************************************

Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy & Digital Magic from NOLA since 1984NewOrleansskylineg studios share something in common with great concert venues.  They both have a… what is it?  An aura, a vibe, a karma, an

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L-R.HeathAllenBrianLandryRichLenzMichealZiantsAirliftProductions
Original WDSU-Airlift Productions-Children’s Hospital ‘Healing House’ krewe ~ (L-R) Heath Allen, Brian Landry, Rich Lenz, Micheal Ziants

“Great recording studios share something in common with great concert venues. They both have a…what is it? An aura, a vibe, a karma, an ambiance? Whatever you call it, it’s as real as any speaker on the wall or slider on a console. You can’t see it, but, you can absolutely FEEL it. 

Airlift Productions has IT- thanks to the man behind the board ( and in your ear). Michael Ziants has a knack for gently pulling your best work out of you- and then improving upon it in the final mix. The finished product always leaves you thrilled, satisfied and amazed that you really had it in you! The best part- he gives you all the credit and you only realize later what great hands your material was in. 

Do yourself a favor- give Airlift a try. You’ll love the results and every moment you spent producing them.” 

— RICH LENZ, former WDSU-TV Sports Director and currently KING of Daytime Television at KOTV-Tulsa

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, OK

 

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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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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

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