FX TV Network CEO John Landgraf publishes an annual TV survey. This year there were 495 original series produced (think Game of Thrones, The Crown, Narcos etc). That crowded landscape is a reflection of the world and experience that 2018 came to define. How many commercials, corporate videos, e-learning modules, animation and gaming projects are out there waiting to find an audience? So many go the way of obscurity. There is a fight for attention as the audience we seek to capture is rushing to work, looking after families and trying to live a life. (Read The Netflix Effect – October’s Blog)
Maybe the Robots, whom are coming, would be best to get a move on and get here already (Read Are The Robot's Coming for Voiceover – July’s Blog). All the tension of the creative process infused into a project for it to be completely missed. But these are all the exterior, surface level elements. The what of 2018. More importantly, how does knowledge of these elements allow us to cut through and leave an impact on the audience? It still comes back to craft. And to the thing that can’t be bottled: a purpose, a deeper motivation beyond anything financial (Read Why, Oh Why? – November’s Blog). Especially from the voiceover angle. So much of life, and of the content created, flourishes when it is connected to a purpose. To a reason for existing. All religions, and spiritual traditions tend to teach service to others as a sure-fire path to something greater and more meaningful.
The same in voiceover. The same in content creation. (Read The Power of Intention – April and May’s Blog).
With those things in mind it is truly possible to grab a person walking down the street with just the voice alone (Read Listening to the Human Voice. More powerful than watching film or TV? - June’s Blog).
And to shape the trends in the voiceover, content and media industries with our creative output.Joining positive developments, like the rise in the incidence of Female and Foreign-lanugage English Voiceovers (finally!) (Read Top 8 Trends in the World of Voiceover Right Now - September’s Blog)
Creating an engaging and meaningful content world that reflects the totality of who we are as the human race.
Which is best summed up in my favourite commercial of the year, the controversial Colin Kaepernick Nike Spot, "Dream Crazy":
Wishing you a festive time of warmth, love and laughter.
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Paul Mclaughlin © Versatile Voiceovers
www.versatilevoiceovers.com