Yesterday, “The Voice”, Don LaFontaine was silenced forever. He was only 68 years old. Though an official cause of death has not been released, it is reported that he did suffer from complications after a collapsed lung. He has be the most prolific voice over actor to ever work in Hollywood. Don did thousands of commercials, station promos, episodics and movie trailers. I have had the pleasure through the years to work with some of the best voice over actors/actresses in the business… they all are great… but fall short of the giant range of Don LaFontaine. Some of you may recognize the voice or you might have seen him in a recent parody of himself in a Geico commercial.
But… I’d like you to watch this video to see a little of what he was all about. It’s a true loss and no one will fill the mic like Don LaFontaine.
Don LaFontain was a living ledged. He is the “In a world” guy. He is “The Voice”. He is what every voice actor has ever tried to be… many can try, but no one will replace Don LaFontaine. Don has been silenced… but his work and voice will live on forever as the best voice over actor of our history.
Warren Miller's Impact
So last night I was flipping through the TV and found Warren Miller’s ski documentary, Impact. It was a nice surprise to run across this film late on a Sunday night with nothing else to watch. The bad part… it’s Sunday night in August and it’s about to hit 100 feakin’ degress this week. Who is Warren Miller? Warren Miller is the master of documentary ski films. Warren Miller has been making ski films since 1949. He has shown the world what skiing and now snowboarding is all about. But watching this great showing of Impact… I started thinking back to when I saw my first Warren Miller film.
My first Warren Miller ski film I saw was way back in 1987. The film was titled “Steep and Deep.” I’ll never forget going to this show. A family friend of mine was old enough to drive and drove my brother and I over to the Scottish Rite Temple in Stockton. I remember that there was excitement in the air… the ski season was coming… the sponsor was going to have a ski fashion show (the neon was awesome) and there was freebies galore. People were excited for the film and the event itself. By the time the house lights dimmed for the movie… everyone seem stoked for a full immersion into the movie. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: documentary, snow skiing, Video & Film
So… I’ve heard of the strange and distant land “facebook”. I asked my friends, “What is this “facebook” you speak of? For I am just a simple caveman and don’t understand your modern ways.” Enough SNL references… after much debate and ridicule from friends and co-workers, I finally made a facebook account. Yeah… I know! Have I been living under a rock? No. Stranded on a desert island? No. In a Turkish prison? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Computers, facebook, Jeff's Rants
Today there was one more “Get a Mac” ad added to the line up, “Off The Air”. Just like the others… very funny. You can watch below or click here for a high resolution file from Apple.
Tags: Advertising, Computers, Mac - Apple, television commercial
Today the geniuses in the Marketing and Advertising department over at Apple unveiled 3 new “Get a Mac” spots. Staying true to the past spots shot on a white background “Pizza Box”, “Throne” and “Calming Teas” are all brilliant. Here are the spots below.
The first, “Pizza Box,” has PC attempting to trick college students into buying a Windows computer, by hiding in a pizza box and marketing himself as free pizza. PC is mad that the Mac in the number one notebook computer on college campuses. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Advertising, Computers, Mac - Apple, television commercial
Is the iPhone 3G the most awesome cell phone ever?
So… I know many of my friends know that I’m a total Apple fan. I have been using Apple computers since around 1982. My family bought our first Apple when the color IIgs came out. I’ve owned many of Macs in my day including a Macintosh Classic II, a Macintosh Quadra, a PowerBook 540c, a Power Mac G4, a Power Mac Dual G5 and now a Macbook. But… I have been a hold out on the new iPhone. Last year when it came out I had to at least check it out. When I saw… it I loved it. I thought back then, that like many other new Apple products, that it was a great start. The original iPhone had a great design, great OS and unbeatable connectivity to the Mac. But the most un-Apple thing they did was tether the phone to one carrier, AT&T. I didn’t have AT&T for a cell phone carrier and was happy with my current cellular provider. That allowed me to sit on the fence… just long enough to see the price drop twice and for this latest evolution. The New iPhone 3G. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Apple, Computers, iPhone, Mac - Apple
Well… our film had its theatrical debut today at the Crest Theater in Sacramento. I must say that seeing the film projected in high definition was amazing. I was really pleased with the projection and the reproduction of the color of the film. The sound mix of the film really showed in this amazing old theater. I was really pleased with the organizers of the Sacramento International Film and Music Festival. They did a great job at picking a wide variety of films with different subject matters to play with our short. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: documentary, film festival, high definition
Marijuana Policy Project
It’s time for our theatrical debut of our short documentary film : “Why isn’t it legal? Marijuana Policy Project at the Playboy Mansion”. It’s playing Saturday during the 1pm session of the Sacramento International Film Festival. This short was shot at the Playboy Mansion during a party/fund raiser for the national non-profit organization, MPP. This was a very interesting event to go to and see all of the celebrities and musicians that came out to support this cause.
This short documentary has interviews at the Playboy Mansion with celebrities and musicians regarding medical marijuana. Kat Von D form LA Ink, Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction, Jackie Martling from the Howard Stern Show, Adrianne Curry from America’s Next Top Model, Margaret Cho - comedian, Scott Kirkland from the Crystal Method, Christopher “Kid” Reid from rap group Kid ‘N Play and actor in House Party, Bernie Ellis - activist, Rob Kampia - the executive director of The Marijuana Policy Project. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: documentary, film festival, high definition, Sony
Telly Award
Good news on the work front. This year I received 2 Telly Awards for commercials that I produced and created. I teamed up with my friend and business partner, Paul Williams, to create so fun and eye catching television ads. With both of these spots we did it our way with minimal input from the clients. We told them to trust us to do our job right… and as expected the clients pushed back. Both of these clients thought that it was out of their comfort level for advertising. But in the end we won and were able to create the spots our way on both accounts. Memo to potential clients… Leave the advertising and marketing up to the professionals. You just might get an award winning spot!
Here is the Folsom Chevrolet “Shop Naked” spot.
Folsom Chevrolet \”Shop Naked\”
Here is the Coast Auto Insurance spot.
Soooooo….. I’ve decided to make some changes here at aroundthebloch.com. Recently our site was hacked. That sucks to say the least. There are really some inconsiderate people in the world who find it their place to leech of other people. I would not have known about this attack, but a nice web admin brought this to my attention. I thank him for that. We have decided that we are going to change what is posted here and what information is presented. I want to thank my friends and family for looking in on the past few years… but I think we’re making the right decision for now.
More to come…