Tag Archives: Dean St. Pierre

Halloween Tricks, Treats & Airlift Mike in NOLA

HalloweenMovieWhat 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!

VirginMaryStatueAs 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.

***************************************************************

MikeChurchRecordsWithAirliftProductionsNOLA“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’

 

 

Airlift Mike’s Anatomy Of A Radio Spot. That works.

MichealZiantsNewOrleansVoiceOverTalentAirliftProductions2012PromoPic
Micheal Ziants – New Orleans Voice Over Talent & Airlift Productions Studio Owner ~ 2012 promo pic

It’s kind of hard for me to get my mind around sometimes, but I recorded my very first radio commercial in late 1971 just outside Columbus, Ohio in a little town called Delaware. At WDLR radio. For, of all things – a funeral home.

Today, in 2015, just a few years later, and literally thousands of commercials later, I find myself still perfecting the craft. And at the same time marveling over the fact that while many things in the industry have changed, at the heart of the art will always be the need for attention, engagement, entertainment and imagination!

From reel-to-reel tape to mp3s, from broadcasts to podcasts, from mixing consoles to digital audio workstations – the tool kits have changed but the heart of the art remains the same.

And one of the things that I’ve relished about my now-thirty years of running Airlift Productions here in New Orleans is that many of my clients have entrusted me through the years to not only serve as the voice and producer of the commercials – but to WRITE them as well.

So, let’s play and have some fun, while at the same time, lace-up the Adidas for a jog down memory lane.

LegendsEncoreAirliftProductionsNOLA
Airlift Productions Client Legends Encore

This week I got my imagination racin’ and had quite the time writing copy, assembling bites, voicing and recording yet another radio thirty to help pack the night club known as Legends Encore here in the bosom of suburbia outside New Orleans.

Opening with all the intensity of a movie trailer, “Wine, Women & Song-2015 style” opens with battle axes on shields, horse whinnies, and sword play … and closes with Billy Crystal from “The Princess Bride” shouting “Have fun storming the castle!” The last thought? The night club’s name.

*** Airlift Mike’s Legends Encore Radio :30 ** July 2015 ***

Attention + Engagement +  Entertainment + Imagination = Memorable Radio.

See, while everyone else is trying to cram way too much information, and laundry lists of prices, items, phone numbers, addresses, yada, yada, yada …. Airlift Productions captures attention, has some fun, entertains, and delivers.

For client after client. Year after year.

Now, as to the ‘jog down memory lane’ part of the blog, just a couple quickie faves from the ’90s that I still get comments about….

ArchieManningCloseUpAirliftProductionsNOLAI loved working with Archie Manning. Yes, Peyton & Eli’s pop was a client of mine for a couple years as he and his partner Steve Smith,  a body builder from Mississippi, were co-owners of Archie Manning’s Gold’s Gym on Veterans Boulevard, and I wrote, voiced and produced all their radio ads for them.

I’ll never forget Archie rolling his eyes when I came up with this one: I’d be Santa Claus and he’d be the perennial kid  sitting on my knee during December in the mall telling me what he wanted for Christmas! Really.

We produced this radio spot together – old school, on reel-to-reel tape, no digital edits, in real time – at the Airlift Productions on Iberville Street location in 1992.

*** Airlift Mike with Archie Manning, “Gold’s Gym”, 1992 ***

ArchiePeytonEliManningAirliftProductionsNOLAGee, and the Saints wouldn’t even smell a Super Bowl until a couple decades + later.

Although his boys sure have seen their fair share, huh?

 

Yes, radio spots, in order to be effective, must prove WORTHY of the imagination of the listener. And show RESPECT for the time that they’re investing to listen.

OK, just one more.

LunoBordelonRecordsCajunVoiceOversAtAirliftProductionsNewOrleans
Cajun Comic & New Orleans Voice Talent LUNO BORDELON plies his trade at Airlift Productions ~ along with some help from his pal T-Claude

One of my favorite people on planet Earth is this wacky Cajun from Lafayette, LA named Luno Bordelon. In fact, just this past Tuesday night, while in NOLA on business, he spent the night with us here in Metairie.

Well,  Luno and I were tasked with building the crowds at a local Mexican restaurant named “Jalapenos”, and I came up with the idea that this was “the Mexican restaurant that even a Cajun could love”. 

So, I played intrepid man-on-the-scene reporter and Luno was, well, Luno!  Check out the Lu-nacy here….

*** Airlift Mike & Luno Bordelon for “Jalapenos”  ***

Wow! And after all these years, 1971-2015, this is still FUN!

As a guy who fell in love with theater and the human voice as a kid, then a mad love affair with the radio and tape recorders – it’s still today almost as if people are paying me to play with my train set.

Yes, when it comes to advertising,  audio – and well-constructed radio ads – will always drive the emotional train. Allow me to be your engineer. All aboard! 🙂

AirliftProductionsRecordingStudioNewOrleans
Airlift Productions, New Orleans

****************************************************************

MillieStouseFuselierRecordsVoiceOversAtAirliftProductionsNOLA
Millie with husband Rene’

“I have worked with Michael on a free lance basis for years. I continue to be amazed at his technical genius and amazing voice. His ability to make the average sound spectacular never ceases to amaze me! I have worked with Mike on a variety of      projects, and he gets it done right the first time, every time! It is ‘one stop shopping’ for first rate results!”

*** Millie Stouse Fuselier, New Orleans Queen of VoiceOver ***

*********************************************************************

Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984!

Airlift Mike Rings The Dinner Bell For N’awlins

Anna Mae's Restaurant Opening In Metairie
Anna Mae’s Restaurant Opening In Metairie at the same location as Legends Encore Night club

So, in a city internationally known for it’s incredible cuisine, exactly how do you put the spin on yet another entree into an already crowded field?

How do you make that new entree sizzle, bite, and cut through the clutter?

Keep it real.  Keep it honest.  

** Airlift Mike “Straight Talk” :30 for Anna Mae’s Restaurant **

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

And just last night at the “Soft Opening” party, as I finished my last-bite-as-good-as-the-first of grilled chicken fettuccine alfredo, I had to admit that I sure knew what I was talking about.

Tasked to write, voice and produce a radio campaign to introduce a brand new restaurant is a pretty daunting challenge but I guess you could say that I really sank my teeth into it.

** Airlift Mike’s “Be Anna-mazed” radio :30 **

And adding a piece of real bluesy Clapton-ish feel-good music, a few sound effects, and a clever turn of a phrase branding element sure does add some pepper to the pitch.

Oh, and we can’t leave out the desserts! While most folks talk of calorie-laden, decadent-sounding desserts using the phrase “to die for”, at Anna Mae’s we take a different tactic…

Along with an intro at the top that pokes a bit of fun at the phone-obsessed texting crowd that just can’t seem to tear themselves away from their last message or entry.

** Airlift Mike talks “Just Desserts” for Anna Mae’s **

In fact, the only thing I enjoyed more than coming up with the ideas, writing and producing these radio spots … was actually EATING there at Anna Mae’s.

10392394_682067388582476_1703186430460785207_n

So, brunch, lunch or dinner, if you can’t catch me around the Airlift Productions Studios … you’ll know where to find me.

Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984