GKN Weekly Update 7/26/10

Good morning, everyone! I hope your weekend was as fun as mine. Friday night I attended a cancer fundraiser at the Shannon Rose in Clifton which turned into a mini-Applebee's reunion (I worked there for five years). Saturday we celebrated my best friend's 40th birthday at the Greenhouse in Wayne. Sunday I helped my other best friend load in a huge pile of furniture and boxes into her new apartment. Whew! I'm beat but very happy...

Last I narrated the audio book "The Political Officer" by Charles Coleman Finlay. This was not like the other sci-fi stories I've done. This was a thriller and the fact that it took place in space was almost incidental. There was a pretty large cast in this one so I had to figure how do make the characters distinct. Do I throw a different accent of each of them? Most of the characters have Russian names so I could go that way. There were too many so that wouldn't work. On top of that there were no references to any one's citizenship or ethnic background. What to do?

I decided not to give any of the characters an outright accent. The main character Nikomedes is slick & smart and the crew is terrified of him so I smoothed out all of his lines and gave him sort of a smarmy quality. There was only one female role so I lightened her tone. The captain of the ship was tall, commanding, and well-respected so I give him a little bass. The rest of the crew sounded basically the same. It was fun!

TIP OF THE WEEK: I LOVE doing accents! It's so much fun to dive into them and I feel it gives an audio book that much more texture and depth. This time I resisted the temptation to do so. It's not about me showing off my range. It's about telling a good story. I know it sounds cliche, but sometimes less is more.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Man is a little bit better and a little bit worse than his reputation. Al Pacino

STUFF!: I saw "Despicable Me" and it was adorable! It was a pretty simple story and Steve Carell is brilliant as always. Go see it!

From Tom Dheere's apartment this is Tom Dheere, GKN News.

Quote of the Week: Man is a little bit better and a little bit worse than his reputation. Al Pacino

GKN Weekly Update 7/19/10

Good morning on this humid and stormy day! I wasn't supposed to get to this until late tonight, but the studio I'm supposed to go to this morning lost power because of that nasty storm that just passed through. Anyone else having electrical issues?

Okay kids, this one is all about cause and effect. I booked an on-camera commercial last week for Ridge Tire and Auto in South Orange, NJ via my pal Mike Curran of Cablevision.

Click Here to see the spot.

How did I get it, you ask? MY NEWSLETTER!!! Mike read the newsletter while he was trying to cast that commercial. A + B = Cha-ching!

TIP OF THE WEEK: This is what I keep talking about every week, my friends. If you put yourself out there, things will happen! You need to make a constant, conscious effort to market yourself and network. Have a vision, make a plan, and execute it!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Man is a little bit better and a little bit worse than his reputation. Al Pacino

STUFF!: For those of you who didn't get my newsletter, here it is:

http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/725465/9a579515d1/ARCHIVE

If you want to be on my mailing list, please send your contact info to me at tom@tomdheere.com.

From Tom Dheere's apartment, this is Tom Dheere, GKN News.

is on hold for an audio book recording session. The studio lost power!

Quote of the Week: Man is a little bit better and a little bit worse than his reputation. Al Pacino

is heading to Panetta Studios to narrate another audio book!

I'm going to South Orange to be in a TV commercial! Then I'm off to Princeton for a recording session. I love days like these!

just booked another TV commercial! This time I get to speak English.

GKN Weekly Update 7/12/10

Good morning everyone!

I hope everyone is staying cool on yet another sweltering day.

I've been using Microsoft Money for years to track my budget, generate invoices, etc. They don't make it anymore and in January my version will expire so I searched for new financial management software. After some serious deliberation, I got Quicken Home & Business 2010. I'm still getting familiar with it but so far, so good! It's not as elegant as Money but it can do a lot more things. I'll keep you posted!

Here's the big news: my new logo is here!!!



A huge thank you to Nikki Saco of Saco Media for making it and to my buddy Trish Basanyi for referring me to her.

Also, I overhauled my website! www.tomdheere.com

I'm much happier with it now. It feels cleaner, if that makes any sense...

TIP OF THE WEEK: New logo, better looking website, new money program, it feels good to move forward! Branding and systems of execution are two of the most important things you need to run a successful business. One is all about perception, the other is all about reality!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: I believe that theater is a superior form of entertainment. An actor spreads culture. An actor spreads dignity. And if he respects it, he will make others respect it. Karl Malden

STUFF!: Do you have a logo? If so, do you feel it properly represents your talent and personality?

From Tom Dheere's apartment, this is Tom Dheere, GKN News.

Quote of the Week: An actor spreads culture. An actor spreads dignity. And if he respects it, he will make others respect it. Karl Malden

Is going to NY Audio today for a recording session! I will try very hard not to melt...

GKN Weekly Update 7/5/10

Happy Independence Day! I hope everyone got their fill of hot dogs and fireworks yesterday. I was invited to three BBQ's but I declined them all. It was 90+ degrees yesterday and I am NOT good in the heat. Also for those of you who know me, I am a pasty, pasty man and I burn uber-easily. Instead, I spent the day with some friends INDOORS and had a great time.

So, last week was dedicated to narrating the audio book "Mayflower II" by Stephen Baxter. This is the second book I've narrated of Stephen's. The last one was "Turing's Apples". Both are fascinating works and I really enjoyed reading them. Audio books are my all-time favorite VO work!

My logo is almost ready! Check out the mock-up sheet:



I think I know what I want the final product to look like but I welcome your input. Thanks to Trish Basanyi for recommending Nikki Saco. Nikki did Trish's logo and it's fantastic! Once the logo is ready, I will send out my long-overdue newsletter "The Rognog"...

TIP OF THE WEEK: I'm really glad I'm going to finally have a logo. I think it's very important to have strong branding as a networking and marketing tool. If you're a VO talent, actor, dancer, model, etc. you need to think of yourself as a business as well as an artist and present yourself as such. Trust me, you will taken FAR more seriously if you do!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Without struggle there is no progress. Frederick Douglass

STUFF!: Do you have a logo? Does it accurately represent you as both an artist and a business?

From Tom's apartment, this is Tom Dheere, GKN News.

Quote of the Week: Without struggle there is no progress. Frederick Douglass

has another audio book recording session today!