After a couple months delay getting the new store up and running. I'm finally opening that gate in a few days time. I've also been working on some other very cool things I'll tell you about in the coming month. One of those things involves file-sharing and another involves my equipment here in the studio. Exciting to say the least. Stay tuned.

On a recent trip to the gas station nearest my house (I was on fumes), I pulled into the brand new Shell station down the block. Now to say this gas station is technologically advanced would be an understatement. This place knows when you pull up and get out of your car. When you do it starts spewing ads at you. "Buy this, watch this, less emissions, blah blah." Then it happened. On comes the NBC on Shell TV segment which replays bits of the Tonight Show for you to gaze at while you empty your wallet at the pump. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for equal opportunity employment nowadays but I must draw the line at being so enamored by the boob tube at Shell that I don't notice some carjacker running up behind me, clubbing me over the head with a flashlight and driving away in my 2005 ******** SUV. All before Jay's done with the monologue.

 

I understand that the pump-side entertainment is provided to distract us from how much we're paying for gas but it's also giving these thugs ample opportunity to step out from behind any of the nicely trimmed bushes that make up the Shell landscape and have their way with us unsuspecting gougee's. Here's an idea Shell, how 'bout a big #!$%&* mirror instead?

 

I digress.

Dave Diamond Professional Voiceover now has a unique site-wide client experience. All DDPROVO clients now receive personal access to areas of my site not available to the casual surfer. And, as promised a new storefront is coming soon with faster checkout, more product options and complete integration with the rest of my site. Oooh, things are heating up around here!

The New Dave Diamond Professional Voice-Over Buggy is being populated right now and should be online by the 15th of this month. Not only will it sport a new look but all these things below too:

 

• Improved Customer Experience
• Faster Checkout
• Script Buddy Integration
• much more..

Look for the NEW store coming soon!

It's coming and it's gonna be huge. Beta tests for VoiceHead are coming. What exactly is VoiceHead? Stay tuned for more.

 

Here's what VoiceHead isn't..

 

http://www.voice123.com

http://www.voiceoverdirectory.com

http://www.voiceoverselect.com

http://www.voiceovers.co.uk

http://www.starsnsites.com

http://www.radio411.com

http://www.voicerecruiters.com

 

Script Buddy Released!

For nearly six years my voice-over clients have used a PHP script I wrote to properly gauge the amount of text for any given voice-over script length. It's called Script Buddy and if you're a Voice Talent, Script Buddy is for you. I can't really pinpoint what made me decide to release it to the general public but I felt it was stable enough to release.

You don't have to be a Voice Talent to take advantage of its modest abilities either. Let's say you have a professor who wants a 300-500 word essay on the ill-effects of bio chemical cartoons in todays modern animation landscape. Let's pretend anyway..

Configure Script Buddy to look for between 300-500 characters and start typing away. Script Buddy gives you visual cues as to how short, how right or how long your text is. Easy!

Check out Script Buddy today!

Enjoy.

Consistency is Coming..

I've had loads of work to complete the past couple months and things are starting to fall into place. So, the new year should present ample opportunity to write more and share more each day.

In the meantime, check this out..

Audiovox VR-1 and TVSR.

Not related but who cares..

This is just too creepy for words.

CAUTION: Opinions Ahead

 

Inevitably when categorizing your music you'll run into the 'texture' sub-heading for each track. What is texture? It's the overall sound/feel of the track and it's probably the most important consideration you can make save for artist separation and male/female weighted hours.

 

So, how does one prescribe texture? Well, consider two things the next time you dive into your library to further refine your mix;

 

1. INTRO - How does the track begin?

2. CHORUS - How hard, soft or middle of the road do the chorus sound?

 

Keep these two things in mind when retooling your library and a better sound your station will make.

I recently moved my studio to a new location which happens to be in our new home. Preparing for this move is the reason I haven't had much to say lately. I digress. Here are some early shots of control and my new booth. Enjoy and check back later for updated shots of the complete studio.

 

http://www.davediamondonline.com/promote/controlr.jpg

 

http://www.davediamondonline.com/promote/booth.jpg

I must get six emails a week from people who want recommendations before buying a compressor for their studios. I of course pose the most obvious question, "What will you need the compressor for?" Five out of six of those people say the same thing, "for my microphone." (insert cringe here)

 

Aspiring voice talents please write this down...

 

DO NOT COMPRESS YOUR VOICE-OVER AUDIO WHILE RECORDING!

 

Please let the producer choose how to process your voice-over if necessary. Sending a client a pre-processed voice-over track just shows your inexperience in the industry. Here's why..

 

1. The processing on your voice isn't why you were hired for the job. We don't walk around with voice processors speaking to people, normal people don't anyway.

2. If you process your voice and then the producer processes it, that's twice now your voice-over has been meddled with. *sigh*

3. Processing your dry voice-over destroys your voices natural dynamic range. Any emotion, breathy pregnant pauses etc. are immediately made bland and unpalatable.

 

Please do yourself and your clients a service and stop this madness now.

From the other side of the globe comes mp3 automation software that's just as beefy, useful and stable as the big boys. Yeah, I said it.

 

What is it you ask? That bit in a moment.. I'm the type of person who when they find something great, I immediately start looking for something even better. You're shaking your head yes, aren't you? You know what I'm talking about, you've done the same thing. I'm referring to mp3 automation software of course.

 

Dreyer Media http://www.dreyermedia.com make a really cool looking playout system. Too bad it jacks up your mp3 tags and seems extremely buggy. It could be great if they'd simply answer emails from those of us who write with ideas how to surpass other companies with their feet stuck in molasses.

 

God love those of you who are SAM Broadcasters. Apparently you have the correct combination of hardware, software drivers and knee pads to make it somehow keep plugging away and streaming without constant coaxing.

 

And, if you've been lucky enough to be involved in the four year development and simultaneous beta test of the new version of DRS 2006, you know you're in for a real treat... someday. Hundreds of people use DRS 2006 daily without issue and find it incredibly stable, useful and reliable. There are those who would disagree with me but they're SAM Broadcasters. And, since DRS doesn't require immense scripting to do the simplest tasks (SAM does), SAM people sense they're missing something. Ugh.

 

Now for the payoff.. Remember I said "Finally, mp3 automation for the rest of us.." above? I was speaking about StationPlaylist Studio. http://www.stationplaylist.com Without a doubt the slickest, easiest, most reliable, most configurable and most necessary mp3 automation you'll find today. Bar none. The latest version (4.01) has an enormous amount more of new features than its predecessor. Things that let you breathe a sigh of relief when you first use them.

 

• Voice Tracking!
• Automatic Crossfading
• Manual Cue Points
• Play Multiple External Sources easily..

 

so much more... Now throw StationPlaylist Creator in the mix and WHOA!

 

You must check it out today. Tell Ross I sent ya.

Nothing to be concerned about as a web developer I'm told. Hmm let's see..

 

1. IE6 had so many security holes you could strain spaghetti
2. Bill Gates leaving MS in '08
3. AND MS has yet to acknowledge what a pile of crap WindowsME was

 

Rats always flee a sinking ship, right?

 

Too little too late if you ask me. Firefox has the goods to make IE7 look like a facelift as in cosmetic facelift but it remains to be seen if IE7 can affect the tide of FF users that's flowing in the direction of Gates and company.

 

Stay tuned.

What it really takes..

In my experience listening to internet radio broadcasts over the past several years, I've come to realize two things.

1. You can tell whether the station is worth its salt after three songs. Why you ask? How can you tell? Well, if you're listening to a classic rock station and they play classic rock for three or more songs while you listen, consider yourself lucky. Most webcasters think people who listen to their station want variety. This is so far from the truth, I sometimes can't resist sending e-mail to the owner and letting them know "how bad you suck, give it up." If you're a classic rock station, don't play Linkin Park or Skid Row. If you do, you're dismissed.

Variety is for 18-44 year old females driving Dodge Neons. And while we're on the subject, women don't listen to classic rock unless they have both arms tattooed, use the words "My Harley" in the ocassional sentence and liken their own hair style to that of Billy Ray Cyrus fame.

Men don't want variety. Variety scares men. That's why men only buy white underwear. Throw color in that mix and you've got a revolt on your hands. Unless of course you're a male stripper who makes frequent trips to Vegas for some extra cash. Point made.

2. The majority of people who talk between songs are 18-40 year old males. I use the phrase "people who talk between songs" because these "people" are rarely broadcasters with any prior experience to offer when they crack the mic. Just bold faced stupidity in my opinion. Cracking jokes for their friends who IM'ed to say they're "listening right now." Not much ground breaking going on there. I digress.

Fact is, it will be years before news and advertising media take internet radio seriously and offer any real monetary incentives for quality content. Why you ask? Because Joe Bob's got'em a high speed internet connection (the first in his trailer park), all of Skynards cd's ripped into his $400 eMachine he got off the back of a pickup truck near the Bait and Tackle and he's braggin' 'bout rockin' the south forever online. Yeehaw!

The world is filling with Joe Bob's and Mary Jane's who share the same delusional fantasy that everyone will love what they're playing because it's online.

Please, help make it stop. Please