Studios in
five cities

Red Nose Day 2013

Monte R is the Red Nose Day 2013 trailer voice

Every other year the UK goes a little crazy. And this year, we're proud to say that Widevox and Online Voices have contributed to that craziness.

That's right, it's Red Nose Day again! The day when people across the British Isles do something a little bit silly for Comic Relief, the charity started in 1985 by comedian Lenny Henry and comedy scriptwriter, Richard Curtis. Everyone loves Comic Relief and over the years they have raised millions for charities in Africa and the UK.

When we got an email asking to provide a voice for the trailer for Red Nose Day 2013, we said yes without a pause and we suggested the super talented Monte R.
Needless to say, both we and Monte did this job completely free of charge.

You can watch (and listen to) the trailer below.



We're slightly jealous of Monte as there aren't many voiceovers in the world that can say that they've worked with Miss Piggy AND Jason Donovan!

You can donate to Comic Relief here

Skrivet av
Ben Kersley

Taggar
Online Voices

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A Positive Accent

What difference does a regional accent make?

Everybody has their own prejudices about different accents. Whichever country you come from there's always one regional accent that is trustworthy, dishonest, happy-go-lucky, salt of the earth, wily, loveable or just the butt of everyone's jokes.

According to an article on the BBC's 'Voices' archive, attitudes towards accents are more affected by social connotations associated with the accent rather than the sound itself, with urban accents such as Brummie (Birmingham accent) and London considered most unattractive to the British ear. But play the sound to someone who has no preconceptions of the city the result is quite different:

American listeners, who do not recognise a Birmingham accent when they hear one, who know nothing about Birmingham and who probably don't even know where it is, do not find the Birmingham accent unpleasant at all. And everything they know about London leads them to find London accents highly attractive.

In the UK, received pronunciation (RP) is considered to be the most authoritative accent and intelligent and is the accent that most people expect to hear on national radio and TV.

At Online Voices, we'd like to be able to provide a range of different accents, which is why we have a drop down menu of different accents for UK, Swedish and Latin American accents. In the future, we'd like to be able to do this for all languages, but in the meantime, if you need a specific accent - be it a Tyrolean farmer, a Provençal pensioner or a Texan oil tycoon we'll use our wide network to find the right speaker!

All you have to do is get in touch at info@onlinevoices.com or ring +46 220 772100 and we'll get to work for you!

Skrivet av
Ben Kersley

Taggar
, accents, BBC, Online Voices,

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Business Person of the Year

Kalle Widelius, Widevox CEO and founder, has been nominated for ‘Business Person of the Year’

The four nominees for Business Person of the Year  2013 have now been confirmed. Företagarna (The Swedish Federation of Business Owners) have chosen our very own Kalle Widelius as one of the nominees. All that remains are a few interviews and presentations before we know who the final winner is. If all goes well, Kalle could go on to the district final,  and hopefully the national final for all of Sweden. So keep your fingers crossed!

Skrivet av
Ben Kersley

Taggar
, Företagarna, business, nominations, prize, award

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Kiefer Sutherland pays us a visit

When actor Kiefer Sutherland came to our studio in Gothenburg we were more than a little starstruck

’Hi. We’d like to book a couple of hours at your Gothenburg studio’
‘Of course, we’re always open. What’s the job?’
‘It’s an actor that’s in Sweden at the moment and needs to record a couple of TV commercials via a link to New York’
‘That’s no problem. Who’s the actor?’
‘Kiefer Sutherland’

….silence….

‘Sorry?’
‘Kiefer Sutherland’
‘Yes… that’s what I thought you said… but that’s…. JACK BAUER!’
‘That’s him. Are you able to….’
‘YES!’
‘Is it possible to…’
‘ABSOLUTELY!’
‘Is there any chance we could also…’
‘NO PROBLEM!’

















When one of the world’s greatest actors and speaker voices want to come to your studio, you don’t hesitate to say yes. Kiefer Sutherland is not only known as CTU agent Jack Bauer (from the series ‘24’, for those that missed the most nail-biting TV show of the noughties), but also one of the most popular and well paid voices in the world of advertising. Until September, he’s here in Sweden to film a production with Lars Von Triers, which unfortunately clashed with his commercial obligations. So on Friday evening, he came up to our studio in Stigsbergshuset, Gothenburg to record a series of TV ads for Bank of America.

















Mr Sutherland has been their ‘spokesperson’ for the last five years,a job for which he is certainly paid in the millions… annually! However high the fee, I can promise that it’s a bargain for Bank of America. Just think, in the thick of the world’s deepest financial crisis, they’ve got ‘Jack Bauer’, the man who saved the USA from terrorism and all sorts of other nastiness. Can they offer Uncle Sam more security than that?

You can see, and most importantly hear, one of his earlier TV ads for the same customer.



So, how was he? Charming and very professional. Our microphone took great pleasure in the whole evening having their membranes blessed by this heavenly voice. But what struck us most was that he was only 176cm tall. Not nearly as big and beefy an action hero as you would think. I thought about wrestling him to the ground just for the sake of it, but at the last second thought better of it. You don’t touch Jack Bauer – not after all he has done for the world.

A few cool facts about Keifer Sutherland
• Son of actor Donald Sutherland
• Has dated Julia Roberts
• Got his big break in the film ‘Stand By Me’
• Highest ever paid actor for a TV series, paid over HALF A MILLION dollars per episode for 24!
• Worked 15 hours a day for six days a week on 24
• Owns over 50 guitars
• Has competed in Rodeo
• Has worked been a voice for commercials since he started in the 80’s
• Plays Ice Hockey in a celebrity team – teammates with Wayne Gretzky

I’ve been running Widevox and Online Voices for 11 years now. The original thought was to start a little company to earn a little extra on the side, while I got on with my ‘proper job’. During the first year my turnover was 30,000 kronor. Today, we deliver sound production to customers around the world for over 60,000 kronor PER DAY!
Naturally, it feels great, but sales figures are just numbers – they have little to do with real feelings. So, when you get to sit behind the desk in the same studio as one of the world’s most famous actors, you get a genuine rush of pride. For Keifer, this was probably just a little extra work, but for me it was a stamp of approval for everything we do. As they say in the commercial above "We’re moving forward”

Skrivet av
Kalle Widelius

Taggar
media, Commercial, Gothenburg, Bank of America, Famous voices

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